Yellow 6015 metres, CR72.5/126
White 5578 metres, CR70.0/120
Red 4964 metres, CR66.8/111
Women’s white, CR76.3/145
Women’s red, CR72.4/131
R400 for 18 holes
Golf cart R340 (R200 weekdays)
Gary Player / Peter Matkovich 1988
023 342 7482
www.worcestergolfclub.co.za
97 (2022) & 96 (2021)
Worcester’s championship layout, 112 kilometres from Cape Town in the Boland Golf Union region, is set against an attractive backdrop of the Brandwacht mountains. In winter, a fine time to play here, these often have snow on their peaks.
It is the third oldest club in the Western Cape, founded in 1895. The course, opened in 1988, adjoins the N1 highway and is easy to access. The layout is an early Peter Matkovich design when he was working for Gary Player Design.
Matkovich was into risk-reward short par-4s and par-5s, and being creative with the shaping of greens. He liked to be different in his thinking, so the final three holes on each nine are only par 3s and par 5s, three of each. He introduced one of the first par 3s (No 7) where golfers had to carry a large body of water to a green sitting on the edge of the dam, and a double green shared by No 9 and 18. Unusually for Matkovich though there are no water hazards next to this double green, originally shaped in the form of the African continent.
The course is in a quiet rural setting, with plenty of open space, which makes the surrounding land popular with mountain bikers. Worcester’s layout could be described as “Karoo parkland.” The fringes of the course border the dry bushy scrubland that is indigenous to an area with limited rainfall. The green fairways provide a stark contrast to the rest of the landscape.
Being in a windy area, there are plenty of challenges here, particularly on or around the attractively contoured greens which are a feature. The early holes, all par 4s, venture into scenic low hills, but once you play the steeply downhill fourth the terrain becomes easier to walk. Water hazards (not all visible from the tee, a weakness of the course) come into play from the fifth to the eighth.
The par-3 seventh is a hole which gets attention, the tee shot having to carry a wide expanse of water to the green, varying from 158 to 102 from the three tees. The teeing areas for this hole are unusually stretched in a line along the bank and pathway of the dam.
2022 Chris Erasmus & Liezel Moller
2021 Ryk van Schoor jnr & Maree van Rensburg
2020 Ryk van Schoor jnr & Wilhelmin vd Merwe
2019 Dandre Spies
60 by Sunshine Tour pro Ockie Strydom in Wijnlander tournament (28-32)
The course has two superb risk-and-reward short par 4s, the sixth (where a dam is in play off the tee) and 12th, which is just 283 metres from the back tee.
Unusual range next to clubhouse and adjoining first hole, as the tees (mats) are built in steps on a slope. A 130-metre range for short irons, with a warm-up net.
1/ There is a unique double green in front of the clubhouse, one of the biggest in South Africa, shared by the par-3 ninth and par-5 18th. The double-storey clubhouse has a panoramic outlook over the course.
2/ Two of the club’s leading players are descendants of legendary Springbok rugby centre Ryk van Schoor. His son and grandson, also named Ryk, have been club champions.
3/ The club’s annual flagship event is the Wijnlander, a four-day tournament in October.
4/ Three Sunshine Tour pros, Ockie Strydom, Oliver Bekker and Christiaan Basson, started their golf at Worcester. The club has hosted the Junior and Mid-Amateur interprovincials.
Conditioning Ratings
Facility Ratings
Worcester is well worth the drive from Cape Town and is in excellent condition. The design variety was unexpected and I enjoyed the risk and reward elements of several holes. The opening nine holes is particularly interesting with challenging green complexes. The general layout, presentation and attention to detail was impressive. Definitely a course to play when travelling to the Cape Winelands.
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