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Cape Town - One of the greatest players in the history of golf, Gary Player, calls his home “Heaven on Earth" - and it is for sale at a price tag of R50m.
Rietfontein, the magnificent Karoo stud farm, has been home to Player and his family for the past 44 years. Described by Player himself as a place of true bliss or “Heaven on Earth”, it is located on the Oorlogspoort River just outside Colesberg and is far from city lights, noise and pollution.
Designed by Philip Watermeyer, the master-built homestead pays tribute to the traditions of Karoo building with its stone plinths, stark white walls, black roof and extensive use of other natural materials.
The interiors, by top designer Michele Throssell, reflect a modern Scandinavian influence in pristine combinations of wood panelling, pale slate floors, packed stone fireplaces, glass feature walls and polished steel accents.
The home includes a basement wine cellar, an ultra-modern kitchen with Larchwood cupboards, an upstairs library/reading room, a private study with its own lounge area and a luxurious gym.
Much of the house opens out to the garden or to a large terrace with lovely views of the surrounding hills, and the large formal dining room flows off a cool entrance courtyard with an oversized skylight and large Koi pond.
There is a long lap pool outdoors as well as a trampoline, tennis court, enclosed hillside braai area with a hot tub and various garages, storerooms and seating areas.
The enclosed vegetable garden, orchard and herb gardens are all irrigated, and the property also boasts a private chapel, a hothouse, two guest flats and a three-bedroom, two-bathroom guesthouse with its own pool and entertainment area.
And, of course, it has a golf course. With 165 tournament wins to his name, Johannesburg-born Player is also acclaimed as the architect of more than 325 golf courses on five continents. Nine holes of his eco-friendly “home course” were designed by Player himself.
Player acquired the stud, where champion racehorses have been bred and raised since 1883, in 1974. It has produced over 2000 top thoroughbreds and achieved worldwide acclaim for the exceptional quality of its breeding stock.
In the business section of the farm there are 46 stables, eight of them in a special foaling barn, 14 staff houses, tack, equipment and feed storage sheds, two offices and a veterinary treatment room.
Grazing and exercise areas include 14 post-and-rail paddocks, several fenced camps and an enclosed oval race-track of about 3 000m. The farm also has its own fenced game reserve, and equipment on the property includes tractors, trucks, balers, windmills, water pumps, reservoirs and water tanks.
“We are honoured to have been awarded the mandate to market this property,” said Rory O’Hagan, CEO of the Chas Everitt International Luxury Portfolio division.
“We ... have no doubt that South African and international investors will be clamouring to make it their own.”
* Images supplied by Chas Everitt International.
