FACELIFT TRANSFORMS OPEN COURSE
Stellenbosch Golf Club hosts its first SA Open from January 21 to 24, and
the sheer length of this parkland course, thick rough, and tree-lined
fairways promises to create a real championship test.
BY STUART McLEAN
Stellenbosch Golf Club, in the heart of the mountainous Cape Winelands, has
undergone an exceptionally quick facelift to present itself as a magnificent
championship layout for the 88th SA Open, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and
Vodacom.
No golf club in future should be given such a short notice period = about
six months in Stellenbosch's case = to prepare their course for what is
South Africa's premier championship, and also the richest event after the
Million Dollar Challenge.
But, given the time constraints, Stellenbosch has done exceptionally well.
Every bunker on this scenic parkland course, all 37 of them, has been
remodelled, new tees have been built, and a brand new practice putting green
constructed in front of the clubhouse.
A total of 1,8km of new fencing has also been erected around the perimeter
of the course, which on several sides opens up to vineyards and rolling
countryside on the outskirts of the historic town of Stellenbosch.
With all these improvements, this course, which has no tradition of ever
holding a South African championship of any description, looks like proving
a worthy venue for the Open, and it will be no surprise if the SAGA returns
here again for another event in the near future.
Some golfing traditionalists have queried the choice of Stellenbosch ahead
of established Western Cape Open courses such as Royal Cape and Mowbray.
However, in keeping with the new South Africa, it's only right that new
courses are included on the Open roster.
In many respects, Stellenbosch is also one of the few genuine modern
championship layouts in the region, where the older courses tend to be a
little short, and depend on the wind to present a challenge.
Stellenbosch will be the longest sea-level course to host the Open, at 6 520
metres from the championship tees. It will play nearly 500 metres longer
than Durban Country Club, and 400m longer than Royal Cape, and what's more
the par is 71, instead of the club par of 72.
The wind will not be as much of a factor as it usually is at those two
courses, but competitors will instead have to deal with fierce heat in
January, and thick kikuyu rough which has been fertilised and watered since
the start of summer.
Only two new bunkers have been built. One is on the right of the green on
the par-4 eighth hole, and the other is positioned back left of the par-3
ninth green. All the existing bunkers were dug out, remodelled by Golf Data,
and filled with white sand. The work has enhanced the look of the greens,
giving them a more modern look.
Peter Matkovich came in some years ago to redesign the greens on 12 and 18,
and Stellenbosch plans to redo the other 16 greens before too long.
Quite a few of the holes have been toughened in terms of sheer length by the
introduction of new tees. The second hole has a new tee 68 metres further
back from the club tee that makes a gentle par-4 a far more different
proposition. And the straightforward par-5 fifth hole has been turned into a
slight dogleg thanks to a new built nearer to the boundary fence.
On the longer back nine the big differences between club and championship
tees can be seen at the 10th = where this dogleg hole has been stretched by
90 metres, making it the longest par-4 on the course at 426 metres = and the
17th, where a short par-4 has become a hole measuring 385 metres.
Stellenbosch professional Graham Webster, who has been at the club since
1986, is delighted with the changes. He believes that the course will play
much differently from when it hosted the SA Masters from 1986 to 1990.
"It will be a great test, and I'm looking forward to seeing how difficult
the layout will be for the professionals. The rough is being grown to a
height of 100mm, and that's going to force everyone to play out sideways
unless they draw a lucky lie," he said.
Webster's three feature holes on the course are the par-3 seventh, the par-4
11th, and the par-5 14th.
"The 14th is the best par-5, with its big trees hiding the green. You've got
to drive the ball on the right hand side of the fairway in order to have a
chance of going for the green in two. Hit those trees, and your ball falls
down into thick rough, leaving you with no shot to the green. The two
bunkers on the right of the green have been enlarged to catch any pushed
shot."
"The seventh with its elevated tee is a superb par-3. It's not long, but the
wind swirls in this corner of the course, making club selection very
difficult. It's a narrow green, and if you take too much or too little club
you're going to be in a bunker. We now have one big bunker at the back of
the green."
"The 11th is my idea of a good par-4, because you have to carefully position
your tee shot. There are also tall trees which have to be avoided down the
right."
Indeed, a feature of the course is that you have to shape your tee shots
with both a fade and a draw at Stellenbosch. It does not suit any one
particular style of player.
Webster contends that the holes sure to trouble players the most during the
Open are the uphill fourth, also flanked by intimidating trees; the eighth,
with a fairway that slopes severely from right to left; the par-5 12th from
the back tee, which has two water hazards that should turn it into a good
three-shotter; and the long dogleg 16th.
Stellenbosch is a highly popular course with visitors from November through
to the end of February. In this period it averages about 250 rounds a day,
providing wonderful revenue for the club. But with a lot of hot days and
very little rain in this period, concern has been voiced about the impact
all that traffic will have on the condition of the course leading up to the
Open.
The course will not be closed to members and visitors until the week of the
Open, but from January 1 they will be forced to place their golf balls on
mats to protect the mown areas from divots.
This is common practice at St Andrews in the months leading up a British
Open on the Old Course. The mats are being borrowed from Johann Rupert, who
used them at Leopard Creek in the weeks before the recent challenge match
between Ernie Els and Nick Price.
The greens are soft, easy targets at present, but they will be firmed up for
the Open, and that's where club members will notice a big difference in how
the course plays.
