The Best Golf Courses in Sun City
Sun City is a two course resort carved into the bushveld northwest of Johannesburg, and both courses came from the same hand. Gary Player built each of them, the championship monster that hosts the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the desert style layout with crocodiles in the water. Here is how they compare, and how to build a trip around them.
Photo: Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, via Google.
How we chose
Sun City is unusual among great golf destinations: the resort has exactly two championship courses, and Gary Player designed both. So this is less a long ranking than an honest head to head between two layouts that share a property, a climate and a designer but play very differently. We weigh design pedigree, tournament history, the strength of the test and the all round experience, and we say plainly which course suits which kind of golfer.
Designers, opening years and par were verified at the time of writing from Sun International and leading course databases. Green fees move with season and exchange rate, so we mark them indicative and tell you to confirm directly. Editorial verdicts are our own. Both courses are open to resort guests and visitors, which makes Sun City one of the most accessible bucket list golf stops in Africa.
Reviewed June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. How we research and rank.
The ranking
1. Gary Player Country Club
The headline course and one of the toughest tests in the southern hemisphere. Gary Player laid it out in 1979 and it has staged the Nedbank Golf Challenge, long billed as Africa's Major, every year since 1981. From the championship tees it stretches beyond 7,800 yards, with kikuyu fairways, water in play and a brutal closing stretch around the lake that has decided the tournament countless times. It is strictly a walking course, no carts, which adds to the sense of occasion. The everyday golfer plays it from sensible tees, but the back markers are there to remind you what the professionals face every December. Read more in our Gary Player Country Club guide.
2. Lost City Golf Course
The resort's second course is a complete change of character, a desert style layout opened in 1993 that Player routed through rock, scrub and red sand around the Lost City complex. It is more forgiving and more fun for most visitors than its big brother, with bold bunkering and dramatic framing, but it keeps one unforgettable hazard: the par 3 thirteenth plays over a pit that is home to a colony of Nile crocodiles, so a short tee shot is best avoided. It is a genuinely good golf course in its own right, not a novelty, and pairing it with the Country Club gives a group two very different rounds without leaving the resort. Our Lost City course guide has the detail.
Those are the only two courses inside Sun City itself. To extend a trip, the Johannesburg and Pretoria courses are about two hours southeast, and a full South African golf tour usually pairs Sun City with the Cape or the Garden Route. See our best courses in South Africa for the wider picture.
Indicative green fees
| Course | Designer | Indicative green fee |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Player Country Club | Gary Player (1979) | about R2,500 to R4,000 |
| Lost City Golf Course | Gary Player (1993) | about R1,500 to R2,500 |
Both courses sit a short resort shuttle apart, so a stay of three or four nights comfortably covers each one at least once, with time for the spa, the Valley of Waves and a Pilanesberg game drive between rounds.
Booking individual rounds? See our recommended tee time partner for the Sun City courses.
Plan a Sun City golf trip
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and who is in the group, and one concierge builds a costed trip around both Player courses, the right rooms at the resort and a Pilanesberg safari add on, with no obligation.
Sun City golf questions
What is the best golf course in Sun City?
The Gary Player Country Club is the best course in Sun City and one of the finest in South Africa. A Gary Player design opened in 1979, the par 72 stretches beyond 7,800 yards from the championship tees and has hosted the Nedbank Golf Challenge every year since 1981. The Lost City Golf Course, the resort's second Player design, is a more playable desert style layout famous for the crocodile filled water hazard at its par 3 thirteenth.
How many golf courses are there at Sun City?
Sun City resort has two 18 hole championship courses, both designed by Gary Player: the Gary Player Country Club and the Lost City Golf Course. They sit a short shuttle apart inside the resort, so a stay of three or four nights lets a group play each course at least once.
How much are green fees at Sun City in 2026?
Indicative 2026 green fees run from roughly 1,500 to 2,500 rand at the Lost City Golf Course to around 2,500 to 4,000 rand at the Gary Player Country Club, with resort guest rates and packages often available. Fees move with season and exchange rate, so always confirm directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf at Sun City?
Sun City plays year round in the warm North West climate. April to September is the dry winter season with sunny days, cool mornings and little rain, the most comfortable time for golf. The summer months from October to March are hotter with afternoon thunderstorms, so play early in the day.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, opening years and par verified June 2026 from Sun International and leading course databases; green fees indicative for 2026, always confirm directly before booking. Last reviewed June 2026.