Centurion

My first visit in five years to Centurion and the course has come on substantially. It appeared to be less claustrophobic off the tee than before, with more generous fairway landing areas. The closing holes on each nine (7 to 9 and 15 to 18) are testing with water in play on each of them. Mistakes at these holes can ruin a round, and you have to play them with caution. Measures have been taken to improve safety on the dogleg right par-5 12th where homes either side of the fairway have been struck by golf balls over the years. With the white and yellow tee boxes moved further back, and lowered, the temptation to cut the corner of the dogleg and shorten the hole (523m from white) has been reduced. Golfers have got the message and are being sensible, aiming towards a marker pole in the fairway.

Sabelo

17 June 2024

Centurion is playing better in all respects than it has done in years and the greens are superb. The excellent par-5 seventh is back to where it was before the flooding of recent times from the Hennops River when it often had to be played as a par 3. A low berm has done its job in diverting the overflow of water away from tees and fairway when the river rises too high. Interestingly, Centurion have lowered two tee boxes (4 and 12) for protective reasons. The previously elevated tees had seen hooked tee shots at the long fourth endangering golfers on the second green and balls hitting estate homes on the par-5 12th. There the back tees have been lowered and taken further back -- the number of impacts on houses has fallen 50 percent. A challenging Matkovich design for the club golfer, notably the start over the first six holes with four superb 4s measuring 441, 439, 369 and 364 from the white tees.

Stuart McLean

08 June 2024

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I played the course on December 30. Having worked at Centurion for many years and having my son live on the residential estate, I was disappointed by the overall conditioning. I understand it's a difficult time of year, but this was more long-term effects on the conditioning. The tee boxes were spongy and had not been verti-cut for months. The greens were soft with hundreds of pitch marks as well as other diseases. The clubhouse facilities and service are good, and club pro Jannes Sik has a nice, well-stocked shop.

Kevin Stone

04 January 2024

Course in good condition but would have preferred the greens a little faster.

Ignis van der Merwe

08 December 2023

Fantastic course to play, my favourite in Gauteng. Visually pleasing to the eye. Well-maintained and the greens roll smoothly.

Robert Mulligan

22 May 2023

Our fourball tried one of Centurion's new composite courses. Called the Hennops (after the river through the estate), it offers mostly a variety of yellow and white tees, plus two blues and one red. We had to pay attention on every tee to make sure we followed what was on the scorecard. From the back tees we played three par 5s, three par 4s (including the tough 18th) and two par 3s. We played blue tees at No 6, which made this a short par 4, and No 11, which I found a better par 3 at 171 metres than 200. The solitary red tee was the par-5 15th, playing 480 instead of 550. None of us went for the green in two over the river, but I did think about it before noticing it was stroke 2. Perhaps they should have different strokes for this course? The round was enjoyable, and I would recommend golfers also try the John Vorster Drive course, which uses just blue and red tees. It was on the same scorecard.

Dieter ten Haag

28 December 2022

One of my favourite long par 3s in Gauteng is the 11th at Centurion. This has evolved into a particularly attractive looking hole as well as a dangerous one. Centurion has a problem with golfers not repairing pitch marks on the greens, but the 11th green is mostly unscarred as few golfers hit it in regulation. It is a hole where the safest option does seem to be a lay-up even though there's no water hazard. I like the thatch-roofed lapa on the tee box, the wonderful greenside bunker under the bushveld trees left of the green, and the desert scape down the right of the hole with its variety of plants. With so many distractions how can you concentrate on the tee shot? Talking of tees, Centurion's are better than most. They are closely mown, firm, level and well presented. Quality tee boxes are not appreciated enough. Centurion reminds us of what can be achieved.

Stuart McLean

30 March 2022

Centurion was closed for three weeks after the damaging February floods which engulfed half the golf course. The height of the water had to be seen to be believed and most of the lower part of the course resembled a lake for three days. It's a tribute to greenkeeper Mark van der Linde and his maintenance team that it's playable again and looking exceptionally good despite the scars the water left. Much reseeding of fairways has taken place as part of the mop-up. The seventh has been shortened to a par 4 for that reason. The par-4 16th which crosses the Hennops River also gets hammered by any flooding, as does the fairway of the par-5 opening hole. Curiously, Centurion's bent grass greens (which have endured for 25 years) continue to impress. Not only are they free of poa but they have a healthy texture and roll superbly. One of the course's main assets.

Stuart McLean

30 March 2022

Centurion have switched back to the original Matkovich routing of their course, after a 3-year experiment in which the two finishing holes on each nine were transposed. The par-3 eighth and short par-4 ninth built in the middle of the large dam fronting the clubhouse became Nos 17 and 18 during this time. Now the club have reverted to the old 18th, a dangerous risk-reward 418m par 4 where the tee shot carries a corner of the dam, with water then flanking the entire left side of the hole from tee to green. Centurion has several strong par 4s, principally the 465m second which must be one of the few Stroke 1 holes in South Africa which hasn't a single bunker, or even a water hazard near the green (another one is the 8th hole at Humewood). Sheer length makes this a formidable hole for the club golfer. The fairway rises slightly from the tee before executing a soft right turn around trees towards a 3-tier green.

Stuart McLean

11 December 2021

Quite uncanny that my latest visit to Centurion follows further flooding on the course at the end of November. Centurion has been unfortunate with flooding in recent years, as rain falls in the catchment area of the Hennops River in Kempton Park, and this narrow river then overflows its banks as it surges through the golf courses at Irene and Centurion. The par-5 seventh is usually the worst affected hole at Centurion, the river dumping tons of silt and rubbish on the fairway, but some other greens were briefly underwater. Irene upstream had SA Open qualifying on November 30, and the course had to be shortened to a par 67 to enable any play. Yurav Premlall shot 64 and went on to win the Freddie Tait Cup in the SA Open at Sun City as the leading amateur.

Stuart McLean

11 December 2021

Centurion has experienced a difficult summer with the flooding of the Hennops River on to the course in December. The water was so high it was flowing into houses adjoining the ninth. The flooding dumped tons of river sand and hundreds of tyres on to holes bordering the river. Remarkable clean-up from staff. The course still bears a few scars (No 16 suffered the most damage) but nearly all the holes are in great condition again. The growth of trees has seen Centurion blossom into an attractive "parkland bushveld" layout.

Stuart McLean

24 March 2020

Centurion - Gauteng

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