South Africa’s Retief Goosen believes the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club will be a tricky test for the 210 golfers teeing it up in the Joburg Open starting on Thursday.

“The course is really long and very narrow and there’s a tough wind that blows across the whole course, which makes it tricky. The course is in great shape, but it will rain, it’s just a question of when.

“Down by the river, it’s very wet and you can hardly find a dry spot on the fairways, so more rain could be a problem,” Goosen warned on Wednesday.

The Goose said his initial aim in 2012 was to just recapture his best form after a back problem plagued him in 2011.

“My back is okay right now but I don’t know if I can win, I hope so! My last two tournaments went pretty well, just my putting let me down in the last rounds.

“Since the South Africa Open in November I’ve been playing nicely. Basically since my back got better, I’ve been able to practise better, to improve my game and make an impact. It’s from practising that you develop confidence and you have to have confidence to have feel.

“I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself, but it will be nice to have a chance to win,” Goosen said.

The two-time US Open champion said he has been receiving expert advice on his back problem.

“From the British Open it was a nightmare. I pulled out of a lot of tournaments and I couldn’t practice. I took a few months out because of my back, a couple of doctors suggested surgery, but I’m going to leave that as long as I can. I’m doing more physio and yoga to see if I can get the disk under control,” Goosen said.

Charl Schwartzel will be chasing a hat-trick of titles at the Joburg Open starting at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on Thursday, and the Masters champion gave an ominous warning to the rest of the field when he said how much he liked the course.

“Last year, and even the year before that, I’ve played some really good golf here. I played here many times before as an amateur and a junior and I like it. A lot of shots just suit my eye and the greens are lovely.

“It’s a great place for me to start the year because I know the course so well. It’s not every day you play in a European Tour event and can stay at home!” Schwartzel said on Wednesday.

While the altitude of over 1 600 metres is not good on the lungs, Schwartzel said it suited his game plan for a course where his last eight rounds have been under 70 and 42-under-par overall.

“It’s one of the tougher courses in Johannesburg because of its length. And today it was playing the longest I’ve seen it for a while. But I feel good when the scoring is not so good, when guys don’t run away with the course.

“It’s also long because of all the rain and the rough is pretty dense too. You can get lucky, but you can’t afford too many loose shots. I hit a lot of three-woods around here, just to get the ball in play and 200 metres for your second shot at altitude is not much, so I’m not scared to back off off the tee.

“The main thing is not to make any stupid mistakes, the emphasis is on getting the ball in play,” Schwartzel said.

If the South African does win the Joburg Open for the third straight time, he will become just the sixth golfer to pull off a hat-trick of wins in a European Tour event after Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.

“It would be my first three-in-a-row and I’m up for the challenge. It’s something to play for, making it a hat-trick,” Schwartzel said.