Courses I've played : Lost City Country Club : 4 (7)/10

I don't know why I do it to myself, every time I find myself looking forward to a round at one of the courses at Sun City (Gary Player CC and Lost City CC) I find myself hoping, wishing almost that I won't have a bad experience and every time I find myself disappointed the instant I arrive at the complex gates.

I am going to separate this review into two sections: one about the course and one about the way Sun International (SI) makes you feel when you play their courses.

I don't know if it is just me but every time I go through to Sun City to play golf, I feel like I am not wanted.

If I am expected to drive for an hour and a half and pay over R500 for a round of golf I don't expect to have to pay to get into the complex (a little 'welcome sir, enjoy your round, please go through' would make the world of difference in starting off the experience on the right footing and perhaps might make you ignore any of the other indifference you may experience) and I also don't expect attitude from the staff. I expect to be treated damn well (perhaps SI should look to Pinnacle Point for 'pointers').

I don't expect the guy behind the pro-shop counter to argue with me about the cost of the round (that I got off the SI website) and call his own staff stupid for charging a different rate the day before and then refuse to take the 'voucher' that is foisted on you at the gate and which says that it will be accepted anywhere within the complex on it.

At least the shop is reasonably priced - I would assume that a lot of golfers at least buy a shirt to commemorate their visit, but what I don't get is the overwhelming selection of black socks - is there some emerging fashion trend that I am not aware of?

I also don't expect anyone talk to me like I am an idiot, when I make a comment about the course guides costing R10 at the Lost City when they are supported by advertising and are free elsewhere - I don't care if they have GPS in their carts (his comment), I am paying for it.

For R500+ for a round of golf (and a third of tank of petrol) I also expect the staff in the restaurant to at least smile and not to demand my half way ticket before taking an order and to have a little civility, but then I suppose when they see what we are paying to play and what guests pay to stay at the resort and compare it to what they earn, they probably do as little as they have to, to keep their jobs.

Perhaps SI should invest some effort and funds into training their staff and getting them to realise that being nice doesn't cost a thing, but not doing so can cost you your livelihood. The glum faces behind the refreshment counters on the course, paint a very vivid picture of the SI working experience.

BTW, from the SI site (I guess it needs an update)

Green Fees

18 Holes:
Residents of Sun City and non-residents can utilise the facilities and green fees include golf cart sharing (carts are compulsory), halfway house lunch and strokesaver book.

Individual Hotel Residents R420.00
Individual Non Residents R495.00
PGA Member Proof of membership required R350.00
Junior Under 18 years of age R250.00

Group Hotel resident (20+ golfers) R375.00
Group Day Visitor (20+ golfers) R420.00

Club Hire Fee Cleveland Classic R350.00

I also expect SI to make sure they get their booking system right - two friends could not play today, because SI booked the same set of names into 4 fourballs without checking and we ended having to play as a two ball. Its the little things that matter when you want to be one of the top courses in the country.

I also expect the maintenance staff on the course to be aware of the fact that there are golfers on a golf course and not mow, weed-eat and blow leaves at full tilt when they are trying to play a shot less than 10m from them.

Thank goodness for Peter (our spotter), the guy in the cloakroom and the bloke who cleaned our clubs after the game or the day would have been a complete loss.

I also expect the SI website to work properly with FireFox (or is that just expecting to much?)

On to the golf course, which is actually quite nice. The Lost City is a resort course and it is nowhere near as hard as its sister (championship) course, the Gary Player Country Club. It is also quite a bit more visually appealing, with its elevated tee shots, crocodile infested hazards and impressive surrounds.

The course plays very short off the white tees (at least the way the course was setup today) but that does not detract from the experience at all. If you hit the fairway you will find yourself with a decent shot at par, if you don't you may end up well over it (they grow the kikuyu tall and deep and it is very nasty to have to play out of). The course itself is in excellent condition, if a little dry, but then you cannot hold the weather against the greens keeper.

The greens are also in stunning condition and amongst the best I have played lately, for all the usual reasons: they are true, they are consistent and they hold the ball rather than being unfairly hard. The green shapes and slopes allow for some really interesting pin positions and I can see them being setup to challenge the better player with some decent risk/reward positions.

I don't think that there is an unfair hole on the course in terms of bounces, lies and blind carries, etc, pretty much every hole has a challenging shot for the better golfer and an easily accomplished one for the high handicapper where par is within reach. Throw into the mix the decent use of long and short par 4's and 5's and you have a golf course that you will probably walk off with a smile on your face irrespective of what you shoot (Note to course staff: the white tee markers on the 7th tee are 80m's out - a 385m par 5?)

From an overall golfing experience, it almost feels like the game is over to soon because you have been having so much fun - the course just seems to flow from one hole to the next and if anything the only holes that feel slightly out of place are the short par 4's, the 10th and 12th - they just don't feel like they fit in with the rest of the course for some reason. I can't say how the course feels from a first-timers perspective in determining where the fairways go and that (I have played the course at least 5 or 6 times and know my way around) but finding your way from a green to the next tee is really easy and the cart paths make it almost impossible to get lost.

Most people will probably tell you that the feature hole at the Lost City is the Par 3 13th (with the crocodiles in the hazard in front of the green, played over from an elevated tee) or they will make a case for the par 5 18th, with the water down the right, the long waste bunkers left, the irregularly sloped fairway and the clubhouse sitting majestically behind the green, but I quite fancy the shortish par 4, stroke 5, 14th: it has everything a short and difficult par 4 should have: a risky tee shot if you want to take on the green for 1 or 2, an easy place to put the ball if you are content with a par or 1 over and a raised green with subtle breaks. The hole is played from an elevated tee down onto a wide expanse of fairway which narrows at the 260m mark and falls off into a tree lined donga. Your second shot is uphill, through a gap in the trees over the self same donga, up onto a raised green with a pot bunker front left, thick kikuyu rough behind and some nice semi fairway on either side if you have a tendency to fade or draw the ball a little to much. The green slopes from back to front with a slight lip at the front and the high point towards the back left. The pin was in the middle and at the back today, but I expect that a lot of golfers would fall prey to the bunker if the pin where placed anywhere near the front left or middle of the green. A great hole to play, a fair hole for the high handicapper and a great way to rack up a double if you want to take it on and get it wrong.

The experience is further enhanced by the addition of the GPS screens in the carts (this is a carts only course) - they are brilliant for giving you exact yardages, letting you know how you are doing in keeping up with the field and they also give you a facility to record you score on the cart, rather than having to worry about your scorecard and pencil on every hole (nice to see to, that SI didn't miss a trick with advertising on them). I'd like to see my home course get some of these nifty little toys!

In summary, we had a great time on the course, but a completely forgettable one off it. The course gets a 7, but the overall experience only warrants the awarding of 4 rating.