South African Golf History & Personally Hosted Golf Tours

South Africa has given the game some of its most recognisable names.

Bobby Locke helped put South African golf on the world stage, followed by Gary Player, one of the most successful and respected golfers in the history of the sport. Player won nine men’s Major championships and became one of the few golfers to complete the career Grand Slam. 

Then came another wave of champions: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, Charl Schwartzel, and Louis Oosthuizen. Together, South Africa’s Major winners have carried the country’s golfing reputation across Augusta, St Andrews, the US Open, and beyond. 

For overseas golfers, that matters. It means South Africa is not simply a scenic destination that happens to have golf. It is a true golfing country, with a culture, history, and competitive record that runs deep.

Players who shaped South African golf

Every great golf destination needs its stories. South Africa has plenty.

Gary Player became a global symbol of discipline, fitness, travel, and relentless competitiveness. His black outfit, global schedule, and Major victories made him one of golf’s great ambassadors.

Ernie Els, “The Big Easy,” brought elegance and power to the world stage. A four-time Major champion, Els also enjoyed huge success at home, including multiple South African Open titles. GolfRSA notes that Els won the South African Open five times, underlining just how dominant he was in the local game as well as internationally. 

Retief Goosen was calm under pressure, especially in US Open conditions, while Trevor Immelman and Charl Schwartzel gave South Africa more Masters glory. Louis Oosthuizen added another chapter when he won The Open Championship at St Andrews in 2010. 

This legacy gives South African golf a weight that visitors can feel. You are playing in a country that has produced champions, not just courses.

Ernie Els by billypoonphotos (derivative work by Bluedogtn), used under CC BY-SA 2.0

Courses shaped by landscape, not forced onto it

One of the great strengths of golf in South Africa is the variety of land.

A golf trip here can move from coastal fairways to wine country, from mountain backdrops to bushveld, from resort golf to courses that feel carved into the cliffs. South Africa has more than 450 courses, spread across a wide range of landscapes and provinces. 

That variety is a gift, but it also needs careful planning.

Not every course belongs in every itinerary. Some trips suit Cape Town and the Winelands. Others make more sense around the Garden Route. Some groups want Kruger and Sun City, while others want a golf and safari route with more time to slow down.

This is where a personally hosted golf trip adds real value. The question is not, “Which courses are famous?” The better question is, “Which route will give your group the best trip?”

The Matkovich legacy. A big name in South African golf tours.

The Matkovich name is part of this story.

Peter Matkovich began designing and constructing golf courses in South Africa more than 25 years ago. The wider Matkovich Group has since worked across Africa, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Mauritius, Nigeria, and Tanzania. 

That is not just a business history. It is a golfing legacy.

Matkovich-designed and associated courses are known for working with the land rather than overpowering it. Golfscape describes Peter Matkovich as a leading Southern African designer who has completed world-class courses and redesigned many others, with a philosophy shaped around “listening to the land.” 

That phrase matters because it explains why so many South African golf courses feel different. The best ones are not generic. They belong to their setting.

Why this matters when planning a golf trip

A great South Africa golf tour is not built by simply choosing famous names from a list.

It needs judgement.

Which course should you play first? How long should you stay in each region? Should the safari come before the golf or after it? How much travel time is too much? When should you build in a rest day? Which courses suit your group’s standard of play? Where does the non-golf experience matter just as much as the round?

These are not small questions. They decide whether a trip feels effortless or exhausting.

A personally hosted golf itinerary gives you a better route, better rhythm, and fewer surprises. It means you are not planning from overseas with half the picture. You have people on the ground who understand how the country, courses, transfers, and experiences fit together.

Personally hosted golf safari trips: what you actually get

A personally hosted trip is not just someone meeting you with a smile. It means the itinerary has been built with care before you arrive.

At Matko Golf Travel, that can include:

• tee time planning 
• course recommendations 
• accommodation guidance 
• transfers between regions 
• safari lodge planning 
• wine, coastal, and lifestyle add-ons 
• practical pacing for overseas travellers 
• one point of contact throughout the planning process 

The goal is simple: to make the trip feel smooth, personal, and properly thought through.

Some groups want as much golf as possible. Others want golf, safari, wine farms, coastline, and downtime. Some are travelling as a group of golfers. Others include partners or family who want a balanced itinerary.

That is why personalisation matters. The best golf trip is not the one that looks impressive on paper. It is the one that fits the people travelling.

A Golf and safari trip with more meaning

Golf and safari is one of South Africa’s strongest travel combinations.

A morning on a championship course and an afternoon game drive are very different experiences, but together they create the kind of contrast people remember. One is technical, measured, and familiar. The other is wild, quiet, and completely different from ordinary life.

When planned properly, the two do not compete. They balance each other.

A good golf and safari package gives you enough time to enjoy both. It avoids the rushed feeling of moving too often. It allows the golf to be good, the safari to be meaningful, and the travel between them to feel natural.

This is where Matko’s local experience and golf background make the difference.

Built around you, not around a brochure

South Africa has the history. It has the players. It has the landscapes. It has the courses.

But your trip still needs to be yours.

That might mean Cape Town and the Winelands. It might mean the Garden Route. It might mean Kruger and Sun City. It might mean Mauritius as part of a wider golf travel plan. It may be a once-in-a-lifetime bucket-list trip, a club group, a couples itinerary, or a small group of friends finally making the trip happen.

Matko Golf Travel takes that starting point and builds around it.

The result is a custom South Africa golf tour with the benefit of deep local knowledge, a real golfing legacy, and a team that understands what makes a trip work on the ground.

Plan your South African golf story

South African golf has been shaped by champions, designers, landscapes, and decades of passion for the game. A trip here should carry some of that story with it.

If you are thinking about travelling to South Africa for golf, don’t start with a fixed package. Start with a conversation.

Tell us your dates, your group size, the kind of golf you enjoy, and whether safari, wine, coast, or family time should form part of the trip. We’ll help build the route from there.

Explore our South Africa golf experiences, learn more about why South Africa is such a strong golf destination, or start with Plan My Trip and we’ll help shape a personally hosted golf and safari experience around you.