BREAKING 60
AT SOUTH
AFRICAN COURSES

WHEN & WHERE IT HAPPENED

Published by : Stuart McLean - 01 February 2020

It’s a magical scoring barrier everywhere in the world, the holy grail among golfers: to shoot 59 or lower in 18 holes.

Cape Town professional Peter Karmis was the first to score a 59 on the Sunshine Tour, in the 2009 Lombard Classic at the Royal Swazi Spa. It has since been done again on the tour, but asterisks are attached to the two 59s at Mount Edgecombe and the two 57s at Royal Durban.

Peter Karmis was the first player to shoot 59 on the Sunshine Tour
Peter Karmis was the first player to shoot 59 on the Sunshine Tour.

These were in the Nelson Mandela Championship, and heavy rain in Durban on both occasions meant that the courses had to be shortened to make them playable. Royal Durban had a par of 65 in the 2012 Nelson Mandela.

Yet 59s, and lower scores, on courses at least 5 500 metres in length, have been popping up frequently all over South Africa in social rounds and club competitions in the new millennium. We know of several golfers who have done so, including an amateur. All told, by our records, 11 golfers in history have shot 59 or lower in South Africa, and that’s not including Karmis, who achieved it in Swaziland. (Look at our list below, and if any 59 is missing, please let us know.)

The SA Top 100 Courses website is particularly interested in tracking down all the exceptionally low scores in our country’s history. One of the items of information we have for every Top 100 club on this platform is the course record. That research has helped us unearth some low scores which might have gone unnoticed.

Most golfers have heard of Louis Oosthuizen’s remarkable 57 at Mossel Bay back when he was a rookie professional in 2002. He has since promoted the Louis57 brand.

But did you know that Branden Grace has also posted a 59 in his home town of Knysna, or that Sunshine Tour pro Daniel Greene has done it twice, at different courses, in his home region of the KZN Midlands. Greene in fact matched Oosthuizen’s 57 in a round at the 9-hole Bosch Hoek layout in January 2019.

Numerous golfers have come up one shy, shooting a 60, the most recent on the Sunshine Tour being Jean Hugo in October 2019 when he won the Wild Coast Sun Challenge.


LOWEST ROUNDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

57 (15-under)
Mossel Bay
By Louis Oosthuizen on December 12, 2002 at age 20, with two eagles and 11 birdies. He was out in 29 and back in 28.

57 (15-under)
Bosch Hoek
By Daniel Greene in January 22, 2019 club medal. The Sunshine Tour pro played the front nine in 27 with five birdies and two eagles, then came back in 30 with 6 birdies.

58 (14-under)
State Mines
By Jaco van Zyl in April 2003 Diner’s Club Tour event. First score in a tournament under 60 in South Africa. Had 12 birdies and an eagle. He shot 65 in the second round for a 36-hole total of 123. Note: Van Zyl had a 57 in the 2012 Nelson Mandela Championship at Royal Durban. However, the course had to be shortened to 5594 metres (par 65) due to heavy rain and flooding.

59 (13-under)
Windsor Park (Randpark)
By club pro Eric Moore in 1949 on the original Windsor Park.

59 (13-under)
ERPM
By John Bland in a club competition in the 1970s while he was the club pro.

59 (13-under)
Knysna GC
By Branden Grace in a social round in September 2015

59 (13-under)
Silver Lakes
By Shaun Norris in a club competition in 2015. He’s also shot 60 and 61 at his home course, and played off a +9 handicap when he was an amateur.

59 (12-under)
Victoria CC
By Mark Truter in November 2003 on the old course before it was redesigned. Shot 27 on front nine with an eagle and 7 birdies. On the back nine he had 4 birdies and one bogey, having lost a ball at 16. He made a birdie with his second ball.

59 (12-under)
Victoria
By Daniel Greene in 2008 on the new layout.

59 (12-under)
Gowrie Farm
By Matt Saulez in a social fourball in April 2018. Thought to be first 59 by an amateur in South Africa. Played front nine in 4-under 31 and back nine in 8-under 28, with 3 eagles and 6 birdies.

59 (11-under)
The Woods at Mount Edgecombe
By Colin Nel and Jorge Campillo in second round of 2013 Nelson Mandela Championship. Heavy rain meant preferred lies and a par reduced to 70. Nel, who made a remarkable 18-shot improvement on an opening 77, had an eagle and 9 birdies. Campillo had five 2s, three in a row from the third to fifth.

60 IN SOUTHERN AFRICA TOURNAMENT

Shane Pringle, Gabarone GC, 2002 Botswana Open,
10 birdies and one eagle

Ernie Els, Fancourt Outeniqua, 2003 Ernie Els Invitational
(shot 65-60 to win by 8)

Gary Clark (England), Devonvale, 2009 SA Open Qualifier
(31-29), 10 birdies and one eagle

Matias Calderon (Chile), Waterkloof, IGT Tour, April 2017
(31-29), 11 birdies and one eagle

Jean Hugo, Wild Coast, 2019 Wild Coast Sun Challenge,
8 birdies and one eagle

Christo Lamprecht, Kingswood, 2020 Cape Province Amateur Open
(30-30) 10 birdies and one eagle

Shane Pringle, Gaborone GC, 2002 Botswana Open,
10 birdies and one eagle

Ernie Els, Fancourt Outeniqua, 2003 Ernie Els Invitational
(shot 65-60 to win by 8)

Bobby Lincoln, Leopard Park, 2005 Mafikeng Senior Open
(31-29) Three eagles and 6 birdies

Gary Clark (England), Devonvale, 2009 SA Open Qualifier
(31-29), 10 birdies and one eagle

Matias Calderon (Chile), Waterkloof, IGT Tour, April 2017
(31-29), 11 birdies and one eagle

Jean Hugo, Wild Coast, 2019 Wild Coast Sun Challenge,
8 birdies and one eagle

Christo Lamprecht, Kingswood, 2020 Cape Province Amateur Open
(30-30) 10 birdies and one eagle

Article Search
Search for news articles
Top 100 Course News, Blog
and Feature
Recent news articles
1 Bosch Hoek Golf & Lodge Near… Read more
Joe Knox is not a golf pro… Read more
Louis Oosthuizen’s display at Leopard Creek is… Read more
Homeowners at the Oubaai golf estate in… Read more
The weekend of the SA Open at… Read more
Fancourt have built a new halfway house… Read more
This year is the 25th anniversary of… Read more
An attractive 9-hole course on the remote… Read more
Peter Matkovich has kept himself active as… Read more
Marco Simone was the first purpose-built golf… Read more
More than half of South Africa’s courses… Read more
On a quiet Central Drakensberg road between… Read more
Listed below are all 414 courses affiliated… Read more
Gary Player Country Club will forever be… Read more
The new millennium has seen a remarkable… Read more
Pretoria Country Club has been rated on… Read more
The US Open at Los Angeles Country… Read more
South African Open host Blair Atholl, ranked… Read more
Of all the great tournament venues that… Read more
Augusta National has Amen Corner to describe… Read more
The closure of Beachwood CC in Durban… Read more
Former Sunshine Tour commissioner Arnold Mentz has… Read more
Durban Country Club will be closing their… Read more
Casey Jarvis has become the second youngest… Read more
In South Africa, the Halfway House stop… Read more
Amanzimtoti Country Club was devastated by flooding… Read more
The Garden Route is a popular destination… Read more
Pearl Valley has been judged as having… Read more
Zwartkop Country Club, the 18-hole course owned… Read more
Does any other sport offer as many… Read more
Silver Lakes has asked to be removed… Read more
Mount Edgecombe Country Club is hosting two… Read more
KZN estate Cotswold Downs, at No 52… Read more
There was a change of the guard… Read more
Houghton and Hermanus are two clubs at… Read more
Woodhill continues its phenomenal rise up the… Read more
Having a river flowing through your course… Read more
Atlantic Beach is one of those courses… Read more
Katberg, Orkney and Emfuleni are this year’s… Read more
An exciting project in Mpumalanga is the… Read more
We’re seeing five key changes to the… Read more
The Eastern Cape has been included as… Read more
The Alfred Dunhill Championship is one of… Read more
Royal Johannesburg’s newly renovated West Course was… Read more
Durban Country Club’s iconic short par-4 18th… Read more
Composite courses could become fashionable locally in… Read more
Blair Atholl is an exciting new addition… Read more
Veteran East London Golf Club member Denis Jones… Read more
How would you react if you learned… Read more
Blair Atholl has the longest stretch of… Read more
Amanzimtoti Country Club suffered the most devastation… Read more
Durban Country Club will next year be… Read more
Bryanston Country Club head teaching professional Leigh-Jane… Read more
Work has started on the refurbishment of… Read more
Golf Digest magazine in the United States… Read more
The Sunshine Tour visited 17 of SA’s… Read more
TOP 20 GREENS 1 Fancourt Links, 2… Read more
No 1-ranked Fancourt Links claimed more honours… Read more
Links courses were the big winners in… Read more
Gauteng is endowed with wonderful golf courses,… Read more
Today’s announcement of 20 courses ranked between… Read more
Anyone who has played at Plettenberg Bay… Read more
Woodhill is one of 17 courses in… Read more
Four courses – Reading, Eagle Canyon, Centurion… Read more
Two new entrants to the Top 100… Read more
Such has been the huge amount of… Read more
The new year ushered in great excitement… Read more
The 2022 Top 100 Course Rankings will… Read more
It was 30 years ago this January-February… Read more
Christiaan Burke, this year’s scoring sensation in… Read more
In recent years golfers have experienced more… Read more
Ian Leach, a doyen of golf club… Read more
They do not count as criteria when… Read more
Following the oddest year in major championship… Read more
From Plettenberg Bay in the east to… Read more
Veteran Western Province golfer Greg Woodbridge gave… Read more
In a high-profile appointment, Meyer du Toit,… Read more
Fancourt in the Garden Route is acknowledged… Read more
After an innovative, lengthy and suspenseful week… Read more
Golfers in the greater Gauteng region are… Read more
South Africa’s collection of bushveld courses are… Read more
Big positional swings are a feature of… Read more
Three of the new entrants into the… Read more
My 61-day Road Trip visiting 70 courses… Read more
Cash prizes for holes-in-one are being offered… Read more
The design of the standard golf cart… Read more
Zimbali Lakes has been an anticipated golf… Read more
Highland Gate was a popular venue for… Read more
It’s not fashionable today but there was… Read more
The Humewood links in Port Elizabeth has… Read more
A countdown has begun to the announcement… Read more
Irene Country Club elected its first female… Read more
The Top 100 Courses website has a… Read more
I’m on a road trip around South Africa aiming to complete visiting… Read more
The PGA of South Africa announced its… Read more
Pinnacle Point have done it again and… Read more
Gary Player Country Club will become the… Read more
St Francis Links has introduced a great… Read more
Big changes are taking place at South… Read more
Colin Nel at the weekend became the… Read more
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD FOR ST FRANCIS LINKS During… Read more
The golfing members at Irene Country Club… Read more
While golf has happily resumed, with most… Read more
One of South Africa’s iconic golf courses,… Read more
GolfRSA today received the green light for… Read more
Golf courses around South Africa serve as… Read more
The golf industry will need to adapt… Read more
GolfRSA is making every effort to ensure… Read more
South African golf courses today are increasingly… Read more
PGA professional John Dickson spends most of… Read more
One of the stated 10 keys to… Read more
The national lockdown over the coronavirus has… Read more
David Melman is the Golf Manager at… Read more
Golf clubs have been issued with lengthy… Read more
There are a handful of golf courses… Read more
When the idea of a Top 100… Read more
Silver Lakes Golf & Wildlife Estate in Pretoria has been named one… Read more
Golf participation in South Africa would appear to be increasing, with Handicap… Read more
Serengeti Estates in Ekurhuleni has created one… Read more
Intimidating and challenging closing holes help create… Read more
Umhlali Country Club in Ballito on the… Read more
Erinvale Country Estate & Golf Club is… Read more
The Links at Fancourt and Leopard Creek… Read more
It’s a magical scoring barrier everywhere in… Read more
Royal Johannesburg & Kensington will make history… Read more
FIND A TOP 100 COURSE