Gary Player Golf Courses

One of only five golfers to have completed a career Grand Slam and winning a total of nine major championships in total, the Black Knight became a true role model within the game of golf.

After setting up Gary Player Design in the 1980s the fitness fanatic went on to be involved in more than 400 design projects on five continents throughout the world.

Gary Player Facts

Gary Player has a number of designs within the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World. Whether it is the Links at Fancourt, regarded as South Africa's finest resort which has staged the Presidents Cup and South African Open or what many are calling the best new course in Europe, Thracian Cliffs. Player has managed to create a lasting legacy of great courses that not only the Pro's enjoy but can also be sampled by amateurs who travel to these destinations for their golf holidays.

Whether it is the European Tour golf courses at Fancourt and Leopard Creek, the annual spectacle provided at Sun City with the Nedbank Challenge or the stunningly beautiful Thracian Cliffs, Gary Player's designs are amongst the very best in the world, appreciated by amateurs and professionals alike.

Player has made his mark around the world with well-regarded golf courses in France at Chateau de Taulane, India's Delhi Golf Club and Morocco's Mazagan Beach.

Sun City must have one of the most recognisable courses in South Africa, the Gary Player Country Club has been the host of the Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge since 1981. This beast of a course measures in excess of 7,700 yards from the Championship tees and is revered as one of South Africa's, as well as the world's, top golf courses.

Gary Player Country Club Statistics
Par: 72 | Year Opened: 1979

Neighbouring the Gary Player Country Club is the Lost City Course, said to be one of Gary's favourite projects, it is known for some amazing holes, bordered by great expanses of water. The 13th hole is Lost City's most amazing - should you find the water, as many do, you will have to contend with 2 metre-long crocodiles in order to retrieve your ball!

Lost City Course Statistics
Par: 72 | Year Opened: 1993

Born in 1935 in Johannesburg, the youngest of three children, Player did not swing a golf club until the age of fourteen and two years later declared that he would become the best golfer in the world, he turned professional just a year later aged 17.

In 1957 Gary married wife Vivienne Verwey, professional golfer Bobby Verwey's sister, just four years after turning professional. During his early playing career he would travel from tournament to tournament with Vivienne, his six children and their nanny in tow.

During his career he became known as one of "The Big 3", Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus being the other two and went on to become one of the most successful golfers in history with 167 professional wins, 9 Majors and 9 Senior Tour Majors. He is the only player in history to complete the career Grand slam on both Tours.

Player competed regularly on the PGA Tour, he led the Tour money list in 1961, and went on to accumulate 24 career Tour titles. As well as playing in the U.S. he also played an exceptionally busy schedule all over the world, and he has been called the world's most traveled athlete.

In 2009, Played made his last competitive appearance at the Masters, where he was playing for a record 52nd time but returned in 2011 to join Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as an honorary starter.

Gary Player Design have been involved in over 400 projects in 36 countries spanning five continents with their three different design brands, Gary Player Design, Player Design, and Black Knight Design.

Gary Player was first and foremost a professional golfer but he eventually turned his hand towards consulting on golf course designs. He has worked witht he likes of Karl Litten, Robert von Hagge and Bruce Devlin over the years fine tuning his golf course design skills to create Championship standard courses like the layouts at Sun City which hosts the European Tours Nedbank Golf Challenge every year and Saadiyat Beach which was voted The Best Golf Course in the UAE by The World Golf Awards.

• BlackSeaRama Golf Course, Varna, Bulgaria
• The Dehi Golf Club, Delhi, India
• Erinvale Golf Club, Western Cape, South Africa
• Golf de Mogador, Essaouira, Morocco
• Almerimar Golf Course, Costa Almeria, Spain
• Palazzo Arzaga Golf Resort, Brescia, Italy