Waterkloof Golf Club played 17 March 2020
To me and more so to Eza, going to Waterkloof golf club was anticipated with a bit of excitement. Not because of the description of the course and its history, but because it is a course that Eza have played many times when she was working at the university in Pretoria. A course close to her home some 30 years ago.
As many of the newer golf courses around big cities like Pretoria and Johannesburg, the golf course is built as a part of an estate, country club or village development.
That is; the course and golf club is what should make it attractive for people to build or purchase a villa at the estate. And of course many of these estates will have tennis courts, bowling green, swimming pools and the like to attract potential new owners.
Meaning that some of these golf courses are not made by golfers, for golfers with the sole purpose of playing golf. It doesn’t mean that such a course cannot be great or that the ambience or feeling of belonging to a club – a group of people sharing their interest in golf – cannot be pronounced. It just means that golf was not and is not the sole purpose for the founders.
In my opinion Waterkloof’s golf course is a result of those factors. It is a very long course with a high slope rating. 3 very long par 3 holes even from the shorter tees. I’m not a long hitter but it felt weird to use a driver on one of the par 3’s to reach the pin 215m in front of me.
Also the 9th hole, par 4, 432m from the white (the normal tee for middle handicappers down here) looked strange and all 432m towards the green is uphill. There is not or were not many really exiting holes. A great view toward the city of Pretoria, but otherwise no wow-factor.
In spite of all that, it was my impression that they have a great club life with a lot of activities going on and, at least the day we played, with a lot of young guys from the university and more black people playing that we have seen on any other course.
Facts about the course
Sorry but there isn’t a lot of information about the golf course, when it was established, course record, tour tournaments played on the course etc. on their web page. But in according to Eza the course was open for play around 1980. It’s a course build in an open landscape, with not a great variety between the holes.
As said, it is a long course. 18 holes, par 72. Yellow (that’s the back tee) 6677m, rating 75,0 (that is the number of strokes a scratch handicapper should be able to play it in). Then comes white, blue and red tees going from 6305m, 5989m to 5284m.
Course record
I was told in the shop that the record is 60 made by Matias Calderon in 2018 and that he is presently playing on the Sunshine tour
My game
A long golf course with not so many tricky holes that are calling for course management skills, is all about hitting the ball as long as you can from the tee, as well as for many of your second shots.
That made me go into the Green and Red golfers mode. So, from the first tee I decided to go for experimenting (Green) golf. That is really trying to get the weight of my body behind the stroke and then hitting it with a swing speed of around 120 miles per hour. Like Justin Johnson.
Though, for the first couple of holes, I only used my 3-wood. You see, at bit of Grey golf thrown in.
Final result: a round in 92. And a lot of learning for the next round. Also decided to find a driving range to practice. Go to https://golfaroundtheglobe.net/a-short-introduction-to-focus-golf/ to learn more about the different colors of golf.
Be creative – get your body weight behind the ball
Evaluation of Waterkloof golf course played March 17, 2020
Short summary
Waterkloof golf course is built in an open landscape, with not a great variety between the holes. It is a very long course. Slope rating from back tee is 75. You have 3 very long par 3 holes even from the shorter tees. I’m not a long hitter but it felt weird to use a driver on one of the par 3’s to reach the hole 215m in front of me. And I was playing it from what on my home course would be the normal men’s tee.
Also the 9th hole, par 4, 432m from the normal tee for middle handicappers, is very long considering that all 432m toward the green is uphill. There is not many really exiting holes. For people like me who cannot hit a driver more than 215m it was mostly about hitting it as long as I could and then go and hit it long again.
To me this is not a golf course made by golfer for the pleasure of playing golf, enjoying the competition and the camaraderie in the 19th hole.
Comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome!
Hey man. No, only the muscles of the right arm. Today I trained it on the driving range and during a round of golf. It works, but only if I have the patience to focus on that swing movement alone and repeat it enough time to make it a reflex. And that’s the challenge for a green golfer, practicing grey golf. Anyway, we are stock down here and I have nothing else to do than perfecting my golf. See you in Torremirona sometime in the future.
Hi Finn and Eza, nice story again.
Reading about this very long course and you hitting like Johnson, I suppose that not only your golf was red and green, but also your biceps, triceps and even hamstrings must feel red and green 🙂 🙂
Thanks for the update.