Yellow 6560 metres, CR73.8/135
White 6323 metres, CR72.6/133
Blue 5821 metres, CR70.0/128
Red 5371 metres, CR67.7/120
Women’s white, CR79.0/147
Women’s blue, CR76.1/141
Women’s red, CR73.3/135
R620 weekday
R800 weekend
Charles Alison 1955
011 706 1361
www.bryanstoncc.co.za
30 (2022) & 33 (2021)
Bryanston prides itself on having a clear vision of its role as a country club in the Sandton community. It is a club which focuses on the family, through all the generations, and social events, explaining why it has reached a record number of 3 000 members in recent years. Outstanding service levels from management and staff, excellent catering, plus clubhouse refurbishments, has helped keep members happy and proud of their club.
The parkland course is a sprawling affair on attractive undulating terrain, and there are many challenging par 4s at Bryanston. The original club property was vast and likely could have housed 36 holes. For many years Bryanston had a distinctly rural look to it before parcels of land were sold for development.
Bryanston was in the middle of the countryside, far from Johannesburg city centre, when the club was founded in 1948, and construction of the course began in 1949. The design was by prominent English architect Charles Hugh Alison, who worked with Harry Colt, but he never got to see the final product. Under the supervision of Tommy Tomsett, Koos de Beer and the club’s long-serving pro Jimmy Bullock, it took six years to build all 18 holes. The back nine was opened in 1951, and the full course in 1955.
A wide waterway, deep in places, runs through the centre of the course, coming into play on several holes, and as part of their long-term planning the club has invested heavily in upgrading it so that it improves the aesthetics of the property and has running water at all times of the year.
62, Mark Lumley in 2012 club champs. He won by 11.
The front nine opens with back-to-back par 5s, and ends with a downhill par 3. The tenth is one of Gauteng’s most classic long par 4s, very much an original hole in design terms with its fairway curving left around the edge of the waterway, and then crossing the hazard. The back nine is packed with strong golf holes, culminating in the daunting par-4 18th which slopes downhill and then leaves a long second to a green on the other side of the waterway.
Modern 310-metre long range opened in 2022 for members and guests, close to first tee and clubhouse, and managed by Warrick Greentree. It is home to the Titleist National Fitting Centre managed by David Nortje, and the MyGolfPro fitment area with fitters Ulrich van den Berg and Ty Pyne-James. Bryanston has 10 PGA professionals, including teaching pros Llewellyn van Leeuwen, Julie Bruyns and Dean Nysschen.
2023 Collin Campher & Michelle de Souza
2022 Jaden Deltel & Di Johnstone
2021 Collin Campher & Stephanie Barbaglia
2020 Mark Lumley & Kaiyuree Moodley
2019 Jaime Lewis & Leigh Thackwray
1/ Big tournaments have been few and far between at Bryanston. It hosted the 1969 women’s SA Amateur, and 1977 men’s SA Amateur; the next SAGA event was 40 years later, the 2017 men’s Premier Interprovincial.
2/ Bryanston won the 2017 John Collier Survey Award for good governance and compliance among SA golf clubs. “Bryanston excelled in turf and water management, biodiversity planning and monitoring,” said the report.
3/ General manager Paul Leishman, appointed in 2010, is recognised as one of South Africa’s top managers, and has played a leading part in the club’s renaissance. His tenure has seen a relaxation of the dress code and onerous rules, making the club fun for members. Bryanston became a genderless club in May 2020.
4/ The course’s first nine was opened in 1951 by club president Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, who launched the Anglo-American Corporation in 1917.
5/ In June 2012 holes-in-one were recorded at the 11th on three consecutive days, by Glen Whittaker, Mike Greer and Nick Gordon.
Conditioning Ratings
Facility Ratings
It was a wonderful trip down memory lane having grown up playing Bryanston. The condition was fabulous and I loved being back. I did however miss the rough veldt grasses which were so much a part of the old Bryanston. But one can't complain when one finds a course in world class condition. The kikuyu has made it long and this oldie seemed to use the driver and rescue a lot. Well done to all at BCC.
Bryanston is a great test of golf, requiring not always the longest shots into the greens, but rewarding accuracy off the tee and into greens. Conditioning has been excellent of late, despite much work being done in and around the course. Greens remain challenging but have settled over the years and are more than playable, while being a stern test depending on where flags are placed.
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