The Goat Track

The Claret Jug is on the line, and we are breaking down everything you need to know ahead of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. In this episode, we dive into the venue's rich history and trace South Africa's deep connection to these famous links, from Bobby Locke's historic battles to Branden Grace's record-breaking round of 62 back in 2017.

To get the real picture of how the course is actually playing, we check in with Mike Hollick live on the ground in Southport. Mike gives us the first-hand scoop on the current links conditions, how hard and fast is it? And the brutal holes that are set to torture the scorecard this week.

Finally, we run through the South African contingent teeing it up and debate how they will fare against the elements. We wrap things up by lock in our Golfchamps teams, serving up our favorite value plays and a few bold, high-differential sleepers to help you climb to the top of your pools.

T and JDV welcome South Africa’s newest DP World Tour champion, Michael Hollick, to the show! Michael takes us behind the scenes of his massive win in Germany and explains the reasoning behind his surprising decision to skip the Scottish Open.

As he prepares to make his Major debut, he reflects on the long, hard-fought journey to get here. Plus, get an inside look at Royal Birkdale as Michael shares his tactical observations from the fairways and reveals what it will take to conquer the course this week.

Terrence sits down with JDV to unpack an unforgettable few days up in Mpumalanga. They cover the unique layout and routing of Kambaku Golf Club in Komatipoort. Is it better than Boschoek? Where does the name come from? And what happens when an architectural appreciation round gets interrupted by an absolutely insane crocodile sighting right ABOVE the course.

Taking a quick detour from the fairways, Terrence shares a few stories from walking the wilderness trails in the Kruger Park, before the guys head up to the Dullstroom altitude. He close out the episode by breaking down the Ernie Els-designed Highland Gate, capped off with a truly crazy story from the 17th hole. A trip for the ages and some stories that can't be missed.

The dust is still settling after our recent Top 100 rankings interview, and the feedback has been flying in. In this episode, we unpack the reaction—the good, the bad, and the fiercely debated—and dive into why certain course rankings get everyone so fired up.

Next, Hoff takes center stage to talk through his latest game-improvement toys and his ambitious roadmap for upcoming lessons. Will the tech actually translate to a lower handicap, or is it just more gear for the bag?

We also explore the wild concept of stadium golf taking over the iconic Kingsmead cricket ground, before wrapping up with a brutally honest look at the latest golf triumphs and tragic failures from T and JDV.

Hit play for your weekly dose of course architecture talk, casual banter, and local golf realities.

In this episode, we sit down with Golf Digest editor and the mastermind behind the South African Top 100 courses ranking system, Stuart McLean. We pull back the curtain on the entire ranking process to discover exactly who assesses the courses, how the scoring categories are structured, and how panelists separate a great overall experience from a course's true architectural ranking.

Stuart also opens up about the future of the evaluation system, the complex reasons why some clubs choose to opt out of the rankings entirely, and wraps up by sharing a few of his absolute favorite golf destinations across South Africa.