A year ago, GPCC was in the best shape I had seen it in a long time. So, returning there this December, I had expectations. However, the practice greens didn’t suggest standards were the same. In fairness though, I knew the course had suffered since the Nedbank Challenge. However, having driven over the awful speed humps on the road to Sun City, I was hoping for something worth the price of the green fee and the drive. Unfortunately, the course was not close to how I had found it in 2022. Fairways and greens are struggling, the greens so slow that it didn’t seem worth putting. Even knowing how slow they were, it was difficult to get putts to the pin. The fairways were uneven and felt like the first cut. Not much run. Arriving on the 14th tee left me aghast. All the sprinklers were turned on. We had to detour around the bridge as one sprinkler, either broken or not rotating, was trained at it. The fairway was drenched with the non-rotating sprinklers forming puddles. On No 14 green a sprinkler drenched the back of the green and the water was streaming towards the bunker. While I accept this is an automated process, it reflects a lack of care. The level of service seems to have been downgraded at arrival and halfway house. It improved at the end with drinks. I love this course and each year I swear I would never return due to the R556 road to the resort, but the course has always been the attraction. I hope my latest experience was an anomaly and it will return to its super self. Please!
