GOLF @KINGSWOOD

Kingswood Golf Director Dean le Vieux was introduced to readers in the December 2025 edition, after taking up his post on 1 September last year, coinciding with the Spring Day launch of Kingswood’s Clubhouse and Community Centre.

In this capacity, Dean is supported by Assistant Golf Director Tim Steynberg. But since our last report, two members of the Kingswood Golf Club (KGC) team – Golf Coordinator Catherine Gericke and her 2IC, Corlene du Plooy – vacated their posts for respective personal reasons. Kayleigh King has now been appointed as Golf Coordinator, and Carla Felix-Pheiffer is our new Golf Receptionist. We are excited to have them on board.

Making it easy

Members’ response to ScoreCapture, along with other systems integrated to make a round at Kingswood as user-friendly as possible, has been overwhelmingly positive.

‘Golfers agree that our new systems are working, and they are adjusting fast,’ says Dean, reminding that, in the past, it was required to manually fill in your scorecard.

‘The tech now available allows players to input scores and other information using their cell phones. Apart from inserting your score, it makes it a lot easier to add up points – and having live leaderboards adds to the excitement and ‘gees’ when keeping an eye on your buddies.’

Kingswood leaves lasting HOGA memories

The HOGA (Home of Golf Africa) Cup was well attended when it was Kingswood’s turn to host this exciting event on 10 April. A collaboration between regional tourism bureaux, local and district municipalities, HOGA showcases the Route’s best courses.

The competition continued at various local golfing destinations over the course of eight months. ‘The HOGA Cup was well received at Kingswood – and planned to take place on an annual basis, it’s sure to return to our course,’ says Dean.

‘Some of our members finished on the podium and carried on to participate in several of the other HOGA competitions.’ The photos on these pages tell parts of the story.

On making the Top 50

What would it take to get KGC onto the country’s Top 50 list? When touching on this subject in the previous edition, Dean lauded the efforts of Ivan van Heerden and his greenkeeping team to improve conditions and playability on the course.

‘This is a move in the right direction, considering that we aim to get the club into the country’s Top 50 tally,’ he said. When the latest ratings were released earlier this year, KGC had moved up four spaces.

‘I’d like to point out that the most recent rating process kicked off early last year – months before the launch of the Kingswood Clubhouse and Community Centre, which has, of course, added significantly to our offerings.

‘Reaching the Top 50 is still hot on our list of priorities. It’s all about the experience that members and visiting golfers have at Kingswood, and our main focus is on ensuring that the experience is a memorable one.

‘It’s going to take continuous efforts, but with lots of hard work behind the scenes and on the course, I believe we’ll get Kingswood Golf Club into a good position in the foreseeable future.’

From the community liaison desk

Marketing and communications manager Beatrice Esterhuysen shared info on one of KGE members’ favourite clashes on the course: The Kingswood Ryder Cup was initiated in 2023 by a group of golf members who regularly play in the Wednesday and Friday morning groups.

The competition is contested between estate members living north of Plattner Boulevard (the Red Team) and those living to the south (the Blue Team), and is only open to players who participate in these groups. Regular players who are not Kingswood residents are also eligible and are allocated to either team by means of a random draw conducted by the respective captains.

The event follows the traditional Ryder Cup format, featuring match play with Betterball on day one, Foursomes on day two, and Singles on day three, culminating in a formal trophy presentation.

It differs from the official Ryder Cup only in that it is not played over three consecutive days.

Typically, each team has between 16 and 18 players available across the three match days.

Team selections are made by the captains ahead of a highly anticipated public draw, which determines the matchups.

Due to the number of participants, not all players can be selected for every round, which can lead to some disappointment. However, it remains policy that every available player participates in at least one day of the competition.

Competition between the teams is fierce, with valuable bragging rights at stake, yet the event is equally defi ned by its camaraderie, light-hearted banter, and strong sense of fun.

The Red Team narrowly triumphed in both the 2023 and 2024 events. In 2025, the competition ended in a thrilling tie, with the outcome decided on the very last hole of the final match.

This year, the Red Team secured a more decisive victory, winning 16.5 to 11.5, although the contest was far closer than the final score suggests. May this outstanding event continue to thrive as a highlight of the Kingswood golfing calendar, with the next Ryder Cup scheduled for April 2027.

More members, minor increase

Dean and his team are chuffed with the steady growth in membership numbers: ‘We are now sitting at 615, which is more than anticipated within year one’s time frame. Commensurate with this consistent increase in membership is the positive response to our compulsory annual rates increase. ‘

When the new rates were released, they were well-received all around. Our calculation and subsequent decision not to enforce a massive increase was made to please members – and it’s working!’

On the subject of the Clubhouse, Dean lauds the efforts made by its restaurateurs, pro shop personnel, and all staff catering for the golfing fraternity. ‘We want to deliver on the expectation of every golfer that uses this facility. What members want is key.

‘Marketing on several platforms encourages residents, members, and golfers to make full use of the clubhouse. Part of this drive is the hosting of live music on a monthly or fortnightly basis.’

Dean invites members to swing past the Kingswood Golf Club office to discuss suggestions or contributions that may help the KGC crew to attain their goals.