The Gary Player Sun City Golf Course

Probably the most famous golf course in South Africa is the Gary Player Country Club also known as the Sun City Golf Course. This 18 hole par 72 course is home to the world famous Nedbank Golf Challenge. This resort caters for the entire family and is definitely a box to tick for any golfer planning a tour of South Africa. The Gary Player golf course is more than 7 000 metres long and borders right on the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve allowing golfers to spot some game whilst playing. The Gary Player golf course is very tricky with every hole rated as difficult because of the amount of hazards thrown into the design by (obviously) Gary Player himself. As if being one of the longest courses in the world isn’t enough. The most distinctive hole is definitely the ninth. This par five with an island green is truly spectacular and something to be proud of completing. The Gary Player golf course is set up to cater for all levels of players with the back tee markers set up substantially further than the forward tee off markers. This immaculately manicured Gary Player Golf course is set to accommodate all handicaps whilst still being a challenge to every level of player. The grass on the fairways greens and rough is all kikuyu. In the rough the longer grass is particularly difficult to handle since it sticks to the ball and envelops it entirely.

To get to Sun City’s Golf Course you would need to go just north of Rustenburg. It’s around a hundred and fifty kilometers out of Johannesburg and It offers a whole world of entertainment besides the golf that makes the entire experience a pleasure. If gambling is your thing then you can be sure you will enjoy the classy gambling environments are set up in class.

The whole thing started back in 1978 when Sol Kerzner, South Africa’s King of Entertainment took Gary Player up to see the site where he intended on building Africa’s Las Vegas type city. At that point it was just bushveld with perhaps the odd cow and a whole lot of…well…nothing else really. Sol told Gary of his idea to host the world’s largest, richest most magnificent golf tournament right here. After having flown out via helicopter Kerzner took Player to the where the 18th hole would one day be and told him his vision of building a place where Sinatra and Bassey would sing and heavyweight boxing championships would be held. Naturally Player’s first question was about the distinct lack of water in the area. To which Kerzner remarked that whilst there may be no water at the moment, they would get it there. What grew from there was the current haven in the old meteoric crater at which the world’s top 12 available golfers are invited to play in generally the hottest part of the year to win the world’s richest golf prize of 2 million dollars. And almost every great on the circuit has won or taken a shot at winning the prize. Johnny Miller, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, David Frost, Nick Price, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and recently Jim Furyk. After the Black Knight had begun to work on the Gary Player Golf course in 1978, he finally completed the entire 18 holes in 1981. This was then the first year of the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Gary Player said that the golf course was very difficult to build because of all the sheer rock underneath. As with any crater that has experienced a lot of pressure and force, the entire area was almost complete rock underneath the building. Some of the rocks were ten feet big. But aside from all the obstacles experienced they finished one of the greatest and most famous golf courses in the world today.

If you would like to contact the Sun City Golf Course, give them a phone call on +27 (0)14 557 3426 or email kpayet@sunint.co.za.