| Autumn course treatments update |
| This week, our annual autumn treatments have been taking place across the course. While hollowtining is never a golfer’s favourite sight, it is an essential part of maintaining the greens, tees and fairways, ensuring the course remains in top condition throughout the season. By relieving compaction and improving drainage, this process helps create healthier, stronger putting surfaces for the months ahead.
During this period, the greens have also been sanded and worked to improve their smoothness and roll, meaning each time you stand over that birdie putt, conditions will continue to get better and better.
You’ll also be pleased to hear that all of the rough has now been cut back — yippee! With rain forecast for the weekend, everything is falling nicely into place.
A huge thank you once again to Neil and the team from STM for the long hours and hard work they have put in this week. We look forward to welcoming you all back onto the course very soon. |
| Stellenbosch Suzuki Challenge update |
| The leaderboard is wonderfully poised at the top after Round 8 of the inaugural Stellenbosch Suzuki Challenge, with the competition tighter than ever. With only two rounds remaining, everything is still to play for and the race to be crowned our first ever winning team is wide open.
Who will rise to the occasion and claim the title? We cannot wait to see how it all unfolds over the final rounds.
A huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors at Suzuki Stellenbosch for their valued support. A special thanks to Francois and his amazing team for helping make this event such a success. |
| All smiles… for our Round 8 Champions |
| Pos |
Player 1 |
Player 2 |
Pts |
| 1. |
Francois de Vries |
Clive Wagner |
295 |
| 2. |
Willem Malherbe |
Leonie Malherbe |
294 |
| 3. |
Philip Robinson |
Dayle Richards |
261 |
| 4. |
Adriaan Laubscher |
Christiaan Laubscher |
252 |
| 5. |
Willem Castelyn |
David Rossouw |
244 |
| 6. |
Mossie Mostert |
Nieuwoudt Heerschap |
240 |
| 7. |
Pierre Henning |
Louis Koch |
231 |
| 8. |
Gerhard Beukes |
Kobus van Schalkwyk |
228 |
| 9. |
Wilbar Robberts |
Chris Bekker |
206 |
| 10. |
Pieter Coetzee |
Johan Bredell |
201 |
| A special thank you to one of our members who recently shared some fascinating information with us, using hole and competition statistics gathered from ScoreCapture.
I am not going to reveal everything just yet, but I am sure you will find the insights both interesting and enjoyable. There will certainly be much more to come over the next couple of months, so keep an eye out for future editions. |
 |
| During the period from 3 January to 11 April 2026, Stellenbosch Golf Club hosted 23 competitions that attracted 745 players over 1,947 total rounds. The club’s performance reflected challenging course conditions, with members averaging 17.4 strokes over par and a median score of 17.0 over par.
While these figures indicate the course played significantly difficult during this period, the consistent participation demonstrates strong member engagement. The steady turnout across 23 events suggests the club’s competition schedule successfully maintained interest despite the elevated difficulty levels.
This is only for Saturday competitions, he did share all the other competition days with me also. Very interesting indeed… how are you doing in comparison to this? |
| Average strokes above par by hole |
| Hole 1 is the hardest, with players averaging 1.44 strokes over par. Hole 7 is the easiest, with players averaging only 0.55 strokes over par. |
| Course rating and slope update |
| Following the course changes implemented after the Investec SA Open, a temporary slope and course rating adjustment will be introduced from Saturday, 18 April.
To finalise these updates, a course rater from GolfRSA will visit on 8 June to complete the permanent course and slope rating review. As a result of the interim changes, some players may notice an adjustment to their playing handicap.
All tee sets have now been updated for the temporary ratings, and of course the new Black Course tees will also be included. In due course, there will also be revisions to the stroke indexes across all holes.
I will continue to keep you informed as this process develops. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions in the meantime.
Exciting times ahead! |
| A trip of a lifetime for Neil |
| A truly special experience for our Greenkeeper, Neil, who recently had the opportunity to attend The Masters and spend time at the world-renowned Augusta National Golf Club.
It was no doubt a trip he will never forget, with visits to several other courses across the USA to see how things are done on the other side of the pond and to gather fresh ideas that could one day be implemented here at Stellenbosch Golf Club.
Neil also spent time in Chicago with the international Hunter team, exploring the latest developments in irrigation systems and technology.
We cannot wait to welcome him back, enjoy a well-earned beer together, and hear all the great stories from an unforgettable journey.
Lekker, Neil! |
| Happy 70th birthday, Peter Hill! |
| Ending off this week’s newsletter with a very special celebration… a happy, happy, happy birthday to our Club President, Peter Hill, who celebrates his 70th birthday today.
Peter is marking the occasion at the beautiful Fancourt, surrounded by family and loved ones — a wonderful way to celebrate such a milestone.
If you get the chance, please send him a message. I am sure he would greatly appreciate your warm wishes.
From all of us at Stellenbosch Golf Club, we wish you a fantastic day and a memorable year ahead, both on and off the golf course.
Keep it down the middle,
Louis |
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