Location: Sun City, North West Province, South Africa | Ranking: #57 — The Global Golfer Top 100
Type: Bush Resort | Designer: Gary Player (1993)
Editor’s Note: The Lost City Golf Course is the most theatrical golf experience on earth — and perhaps the most gloriously absurd. The 13th hole’s island green is surrounded by a moat containing 38 live Nile crocodiles. The Nedbank Golf Challenge brought Tiger, Ernie, Phil and every major champion here annually for 30 years. The Palace Hotel towers behind the 18th green like a fever dream of African baroque architecture. It is preposterous, spectacular and completely unforgettable.
Contact & Booking
- Website: suncity.co.za | Green Fees: From ZAR 2,800 (approx. £120) | Rating / Slope: 76.8 / 143 | Airport: Johannesburg O.R. Tambo (JNB) — 2h drive.
Championship Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Yards | 450 | 565 | 418 | 195 | 430 | 415 | 210 | 560 | 435 | 3,678 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | IN | TOTAL |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Yards | 432 | 418 | 198 | 175 | 565 | 428 | 438 | 558 | 440 | 3,652 | 7,649 |
Par 4Par 3Par 5
Key Notes & 19th Hole
- Hole 13 — Par 3, 175 Yards: The crocodile hole. The island green is surrounded by a water hazard containing 38 live Nile crocodiles — not decorative; they are real. A ball landing in the water cannot be retrieved. A ranger stands by. The green is small and the pressure is unlike anything else in golf.
- The Palace Hotel (5★): Africa’s most extravagant hotel — 340 rooms, a casino, six restaurants and the Valley of Waves waterpark. The post-round buffet beside the pool is an unmissable Sun City ritual. Book via Expedia →