Houghton Golf Club · Johannesburg, South Africa

How do you keep a century-old, Nicklaus-shaped landscape both wild and true in the middle of a 10-million-person city? Director of Agronomy Stuart Ross answers by swapping textbooks for observation, data for feel, and routine for relentless curiosity.

In this long-form conversation Ross unpacks:

• Rolling as feedback loop – why a single dawn pass with a Tru-Turf roller (often coupled with the Spiker or Slicer attachment) tells him more about moisture, firmness, and player mood than any spreadsheet ever could.
• People over prescriptions – a 24-strong crew, 64 expressive bunkers, and a culture where every rake-mark or mower line is an experiment rather than a chore.
• Living laboratory – using Houghton’s Highveld micro-climate and indigenous surrounds as test beds for sand profiles, growth-regulators, and sustainable water use, then sharing what works — warts and all — with the global turf community.

What emerges is a radical, quietly human story: a superintendent who treats every morning walk as research, every player smile as data, and every attachment on his roller as an invitation to rethink what a golf course can feel like.

🎧 Listen to Chapter 15 now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you roll.