Try this for Size – Steyn City Golf Course

Text: John Botha. Article from the August 2013 issue of Compleat Golfer Magazine.

The construction of Johannesburg’s Steyn City is at an advanced stage, and although still a long way from being launched, it’s already the talk of the town.

At 19th holes around the greater Johannesburg area, there has been much talk about the latest golf estate Steyn City, complete with its Jack Nicklaus-designed course.The biggest development of its kind in SA and the brainchild of insurance mogul Douw Steyn, its name might not be the most imaginative, but this is Steyn’s baby – albeit a big, expensive one – and the developer can call it what he likes.

Covering some 700 hectares, more than 8 500 homes are planned for the ‘City’, which will have retail complexes, schools and a hospital. The sheer scale of the place is mind-boggling, and so too is the amount of money being spent on infrastructure. The project is costing billions of rands, literally (R6 billion is the number being bandied about), which includes the necessary widening of the two main access roads, William Nicol and Cedar, as well as a bridge over the Jukskei River.

Bordering Dainfern, this sprawling property on both sides of the river was previously occupied by thousands of’informal settlers’, but after being purchased by Giuseppe Plumari, the CEO of Steyn City, this community was moved and a major clean-up of the area was undertaken. One must assume that the Dainfern residents rejoiced once this rather unattractive area was rid of its sea of shacks and palls of smoke in winter (and presumably the accompanying security threats), and they can now look forward to having more palatable and well-heeled neighbours.

The construction of Johannesburg’s Steyn City is at an advanced stage, and although still a long way from being launched, it’s already the talk of the town, writes John Botha.

The moving of the community was an amicable one, however, as the developers of Steyn City have created over 7 000 job opportunities to date, of which many have been taken up by the previous residents. This has been coupled with numerous projects to improve the lives of children in nearby settlements.

If anyone had suggested that Johannesburg needed another golf course, they would have been told that they needed their head read. Particularly in Gauteng, the demand for tee times has dwindled, and it is no secret that the golf business is hopelessly overtraded. Even some of the premier clubs are cutting costs and discounting memberships and greenfees in a bid to stay afloat, while Steyn City is on a spending spree of biblical proportions.

After the squatters’ shacks were removed and the clean-up of the area was completed, thousands of cubic metres of capping soil was brought in to cover the rather rocky terrain, which was first
shaped to accommodate the golf course. The transformation of the landscape has been dramatic and again, one can only marvel at the sheer scale of everything, from the roads and six-storey, multi-million-rand gatehouses, to the boss’ home – reputed to have cost in the region of R230 million. Of course, this is a ‘snip’ when compared to Steyn’s London mansion in Belgrave Square, said to have cost upwards of R800 million.

A series of lakes and wetland complexes are being introduced and, wait for it – more than a million trees are being planted. Patrick Watson, Steyn City’s master landscape architect who designed the Lost City’s gardens and forests, tells us that at least another million shrubs and ground-cover plants will be planted before the city is unveiled.

“Covering some 700 hectares, more than 8 500 homes are planned…”

The strategy for the marketing of the homes is simple – get the place looking like a million dollars (or make that a billion dollars), then start selling. The course, but for a few cosmetic touches, has been completed, yet it is only due to be opened in early 2015. This is very different to the courses that have opened over the last three decades. Most did so too soon, and would have benefited from at least another growing season.

The layout is typically Nicklaus, bearing all the hallmarks of wide fairways, large greens and a total of 74 bunkers. The man who will be managing the golf operation, Ken Payet, says the layout has been designed to be user-friendly and will measure some 6 500 metres from the club tees. At full stretch, the course will be 7 100 metres long, and it will be no pushover from the tips.

The shaping was done by Golf Data’s Sean Quinn, and the company has also been commissioned to do extensive work on the system of lakes and wetlands. Golf Data will be responsible for the maintenance of the course, which will be clad in cool-season grasses. It must be said that this is already a very attractive layout, with subtle shaping and changes in elevation.

Of one thing there is no doubt: no expense is being spared to make this something rather special, starting with the clubhouse and parking facility. Already completed is the underground parking – two floors of it, with enough room to accommodate a full field’s vehicles as well as the fleet of golf carts. The clubhouse, with its environmentally friendly ‘green’ roof, is a triumph of modern architecture, with classic touches such as Roman arches and acres of Italian marble. The pro shop, with its panoramic views of the course, also promises to be one of the most impressive anywhere. It’s no wonder the proposed building was shortlisted among the Future Projects category at the 2012 World Architecture Festival (WAF). Expect to see it claiming awards once completed, as it’s the product of Boogertman and Partners, the same architecture firm that designed Soccer City, which won the 2010 WAF award for the sports category.

It would seem there is no rush to complete the project, and although there is obviously a plan with accompanying time frames, the priority appears to be to get things right from the start. This must be applauded. Despite the depressed state of the economy, it is encouraging to see that Steyn and his team are showing no lack of confidence in the property market of the future, and who would dare contradict the man who founded Auto & General and the Budget Insurance Group, businesses that have done very nicely, thank you. We just can’t wait to play the course, which we are told will be open to the public until the full complement of memberships have been taken up by residents.

Private Parks

It has become something of a status symbol for the well-heeled to have their own private 18-hole playground. If these three layouts are anything to go by, Steyn City will soon be ranked as one of the top courses in the country.

1. Leopard Creek

Johann Rupert had this eye-catching course built on the border of the Kruger National Park in 1996, using Gary Player to design a layout that quickly established itself as one of the best in the country. You can play the course as long as you stay at one of the lodges associated with it, and greenfees range from R2 100 to R2 500.

2. The Links at Fancourt

Opened in 2000, The Links was the special project of Dr Hasso Plattner, and remains one of the most exclusive courses in the country. Plattner brought in Gary Player to design the layout turning an airport runway into a links masterpiece.The course is open to hotel guests – for the sum of R1 600.

3. Blair Atholl

Businessman Robbie Wray is another who called on Player to build his dream golf course, and in 2007 Blair Atholl opened to rave reviews. Considered South Africa’s version of Augusta, it’s strictly private, so you’ll need to know a member to get to play it.