Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs in South Africa, having been founded in 1894, and it moved to its current location next to Schoeman Park Golf Club in 1953, with Bob Grimsdell designing the 18-hole layout. Forty years later, Peter Matkovich was brought in to upgrade the layout with new greens and bunkers.

The putting surfaces on the club’s original course were constructed – like Kimberley’s – from blue-coloured diamondiferous mine tailings, a by-product of the local mining operations, but the new course was built with grass greens, which helped to attract both the SA Open and the SA Amateur championships to the club in 1958.

The club hosted the SA Open again in 1963 and it also staged another three editions of the SA Amateur in 1964, 1968 and 1975. In the last of these prestigious national tournaments, club member Peter Voster won the event 3&2 in the final, having won the title at Humewood ten years earlier by a more convincing 7&6 margin against his opponent in the match play final tie.

Feature holes include par threes at the 8th and 11th, which play in opposite directions across the intimidating spruit that runs through the property. The long, left doglegging par fours at the 9th and 17th (rated stoke index 2 and 1) are the toughest holes on the card but the par three 16th, with a sloping green protected by water on three sides, is another one to watch.