Sishen always impresses as an interesting and challenging course to play, yet it also continues to be one of the best conditioned courses in South Africa, even in one of the most arid areas of the country. It’s been drier than usual in this part of the Northern Cape for most of 2024 — you can see how parched the rough areas have become — but the mown areas of the course are in terrific shape. I liked the general presentation, particularly the shaping and mowing of the raised tees. I had the pleasure of playing with former Sunshine Tour legend Des Terblanche, who lives in Kathu, and he gave a superb exhibition of how to manage your game around a course where it’s all about positional play off the tee, to avoid being blocked out by any of the kameeldoring trees that line each hole. The pro shop is under new ownership and is much improved.
