A legendary golf course is being reborn. Ahead of the 2026 Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player, the iconic Gary Player Country Club at Sun City is undergoing the most dramatic transformation in the history of “Africa’s Major”, setting the stage for a championship that promises to test even the finest players in the world.
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From the 3rd to 6th December 2026, the world’s elite will return to Sun City to confront a course that will look familiar, yet play like something entirely new.
At the heart of the transformation is a spectacular 470-metre par-four first hole, a completely new opening challenge built parallel to the original hole and positioned higher up the mountainside. It is a bold architectural statement and the single biggest change to the course since the Nedbank Golf Challenge began in 1981.
The message to the field is unmistakable
The tournament may have a storied past, but the challenge ahead belongs to a new era. The former first hole has also been given a new purpose, becoming the course’s first dedicated practice range, giving the world’s best golfers an enhanced environment in which to sharpen their game before facing the pressure of championship competition. Some of the changes include:
New professional tees on the third, sixth, eighth, 10th, 14th and 15th holes.
All of the greenside bunkers are being refurbished with Bunker Armour.
A new greenside bunker has been constructed on the eighth hole.
A new fairway bunker complex on hole 13.
A new bunker to the right of the 14th fairway.
The dam alongside the second hole has been enlarged.
A new spectator viewing area has been created between the seventh and 12th greens.
New walkways through the natural bushveld linking the greens to the new professional tees.
A more open approach for the second shot to the left of the ninth fairway to allow the players to see more of the waterfall and the far left pin position
The transformation does not end at the opening tee
Across the course, the refurbishment has introduced new professional tees,revitalised bunkers and an enlarged dam on the second hole, while the ninth holehas been dramatically enhanced with a newly opened vista overlooking the waterfall.
Together, the changes create a sharper, more strategic examination of the game while preserving the character, drama and unmistakable identity of the Gary Player Country Club.The stakes could hardly be higher. The opening field already carries the weight of major championship pedigree, with Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau joining South Africa’s rising star Casey Jarvis, defending champion Kristoffer Reitan and Marco Penge. More names are expected to be added as the field takes shape.
For Reitan, returning as defending champion, the prospect of conquering a radically altered course adds another layer of intrigue to his title defence. Jarvis arrives with momentum of his own, having secured back-to-back DP World Tour victories and emerging as one of South Africa’s most compelling young golfing prospects.The transformation is about more than the players, It’s about creating a championship experience worthy of one of the most celebrated tournaments on the African sporting calendar.
Spectators will encounter not only a dramatically reimagined golf course, but an expanded programme of entertainment, dining and resort experiences, turning tournament week into a celebration of sport, luxury and spectacle.
According to Sam Sithole, Chairman of Sun International, the enhancements to the Gary Player Country Club are set to place one of the world’s most iconic courses in a true league of its own that will elevate its status as the jewel in Sun International’s golf offering.
“The changes to the Gary Player Country Club give the world’s best players a new challenge,” says Brett Hoppe, Resort General Manager at Sun City. More than four decades after the first tee shot was struck at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, Sun City is once again preparing to make history. Only this time, the stage itself has changed. The mountains remain. The legacy remains. The pressure remains. But the course is different.
When the world’s best arrive in December, every tee shot, approach and putt will be played against a new landscape, one designed to push champions beyond what they already know. A legendary course has been transformed. A new challenge awaits. And at “Africa’s Major”, history is ready to be rewritten.
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