Gary Player Country Club

Gary Player Country Club, on the record

Gary Player Country Club: Gary Player, Ron Kirby (1979). Par 72, 7,832 yards. Jim Furyk won the 2005 Nedbank Golf Challenge here with 282 (−6).

Updated October 24, 2026

Club

Sun City Resort (Sun International)

Where

Sun City, North West, South Africa

Opened

1979

Design

Gary Player, Ron Kirby (1979)

Par

72

Length

7,832 yards (the championship setup)

Access

Resort

Owner

Sun International

Superintendent

Mike Wallington, Course superintendent (confirmed 2026-10-20)

Fairways

kikuyu

Course record

61, Padraig Harrington, 2001, in competition

Website

suninternational.com/sun-city/golf

The champions here

45 editions on the record, by event, newest first.

Stories

• Miller beats Seve for the first Million Dollar

  The first Million Dollar Challenge at Sun City in 1981 ended with Johnny Miller beating Seve Ballesteros in a playoff.

  Source: Wikipedia: Nedbank Golf Challenge

• Harrington's 61

  Padraig Harrington holds the course record of 61, with 12 birdies, from the third round in 2001; Lee Westwood shot 62 in 2011.

  Source: SA Top 100 Courses · UPI

• A resort course to beat the classics

  Player and Ron Kirby built the course when Sun City opened in the late 1970s, as South Africa's first golf resort, to outdo the country's old classic venues; it has since hosted more than 70 pro tour events.

  Source: SA Top 100 Courses

The place

• DesignCloverleaf greens

  Player and Ron Kirby built cloverleaf-shaped greens so pins can be tucked into narrow tongues; the exception is the round, flat green of the 17th, a new hole built for the 2003 Nedbank Challenge.

  Source: SA Top 100 Courses

• LandmarkPilanesberg valley

  The course sits in a bushveld valley of the Pilanesberg at Sun City, and a missed fairway usually means a penalty drop from the bush.

  Source: SA Top 100 Courses

• QuirkNo range at the course

  The Gary Player Country Club has only a chipping and putting green; the only driving range at Sun City is at the Lost City course.

  Source: SA Top 100 Courses

• FirstFirst $2 million first prize

  The 2000 tournament at the course carried the first $2 million first prize in world golf; Ernie Els won it in a playoff over Lee Westwood.

  Source: SA Top 100 Courses

Changes to the course

• 1979Opened

  Gary Player, Ron Kirby

• 2003Changes

  new par-4 17th built for the 2003 Nedbank Challenge with water around the green and a new 437 m back tee

  Source: SA Top 100 Courses

The tour here

The PGA Tour and DP World Tour weeks at this course since 2017.