The iconic Par 3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, known as “The Coliseum”, is the signature hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. It is famous for being surrounded by a two-story, 16 000-seat stadium, creating an incredibly loud, rowdy atmosphere, often resulting in beer showers on players.
For four days – and temporarily – South Africans got a taste of something similarly iconic. Much will be said and written about the LIV Golf South Africa tournament, which concludes today, but any story will be incomplete without the mention of the Par 3 Number 17 at Steyn City Golf Course.
Known as “The Party Hole”, the 136m stretch from tee to green may not boast a 16 000-seater gallery, but for the past four days, it delivered the same energy and atmosphere as The Coliseum.
Someone is going to walk away with $4-million at the end of today, but the 90 000-odd spectators who descended on the estate are going to walk away with the memory of this hole that became the signature of this tournament, which landed on our shores this week.
While the entire tournament was a great sales pitch for our music, it was on Number 17 that the sounds of Gqom, Afrikaans music, Mango Groove and AKA reverberated loudest. It was on the 17th that the crowds screamed louder and sang passionately. It was on the 17th where the 57 competing players felt the gees of South Africa.
None of these top world golfers can claim they did not hear sound of South Africa in between their shots. All of them will fly back home to go tell our story. Not just a story of golf, but one of passion.
And now that we have finally hosted a LIV Golf event, we can understand that in this series, spectators take centre stage. Not only do they come in big numbers: they sing loud, they dress in themes and there is blurring music throughout the course. This is different from golf as we know it – stoic and serious.
Fans will be forgiven if they came to the tournament and never watched one shot played and still went home feeling this was the best golf tournament they have attended.
For four days, this was not Steyn City as we know it. The course was reconfigured. Par 5 12th Hole played as Number 18, the fairways were narrower and the rough higher, making it unforgiving for missing fairways and difficult to post big scores.
But all this was temporary. After today, the course will go to its normal self. But the memories will live forever, pun intended. And the world will remember South Africa.
And so, when the history of iconic Par 3s is written one day, alongside The Coliseum and the Par 3 Number 17 at the TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – arguably the most recognisable and photographed hole in professional golf course – the Party Hole will be mentioned fondly, yet briefly, and with nostalgia.
In fairness, in return for our gees, we got bang for our cash.
In our midst we had Bryson DeChambeau who hits the ball so far golf courses seem too short for him. In our midst we had Dustin Johnson, who if he were not white, you’d swear, with that swag, is from the Bronx. In our midst we had Sergio Garcia, who dresses as well as Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
There was also Team South Africa, known as Southern Guards SC on LIV, made up of Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Dean Burmester.
For obvious reasons, they enjoyed the loudest cheers.
It is not every day that you get top golfers on our shores. It is not every day that they get to play for our entertainment, and $4-million course.
This afternoon someone will be standing on the podium with a trophy and a fat cheque, maybe also drenched in the most expensive bubbly. Also this afternoon, 90 000 South Africans, and hundreds of thousands more who watched on TV, will be proud of what we have shown the world.
This afternoon, as it was clear the whole week, the owners of LIV Golf will know the gees lives here.
