Gabrielle Macdonald

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Sunshine Ladies Tour 2023

I’m just back from a 5 week stint in South Africa where I was competing on the Sunshine Ladies Tour. It was a great way to escape the winter and start my 2023 season. To start the trip I flew to Johannesburg and headed for Sun City, a resort surrounded by the Pilanesberg National Park. I was excited to see where my game was at, after doing some technical work on my swing in January. Despite the thunderstorms and delays that week, we managed to get all 3 rounds in and I finished up in a tie for 13th place. I dropped a few shots near the end so I was a bit disappointed however it was a solid performance. The tour then headed for Fancourt on the Western Cape, but I had just missed out on qualifying for a spot in the limited field event, so I spent the week as a reserve on site. I almost made it in, moving up to 1st reserve the day before the tournament started so I had to wait around on the day until everyone teed off and the tournament got underway. It was a shame not to be playing as I felt like my game was in good shape but it was a good lesson – highlighting the importance of every shot – a top 10 at Sun City would have got me in. 

We then flew to Cape Town to the Atlantic Beach resort. As the name suggests we were right by the sea, and we experienced some of the windiest conditions I’ve played in… coming from Scotland that says a lot! Despite the ball moving on the greens and the unplayable conditions the tour seemed determined to complete all 3 rounds. I was tied 3rd after round 1 but unfortunately finished 22nd. It was fairly exhausting playing in 70kmph gusts on an extremely tight golf course, and by the end of round 3, I was delighted to be finished and moving on to a new week. 

There was one more regular event on the Sunshine Tour in Johannesburg at Glendower Golf Cub before the co-sanctioned events with the Ladies European Tour. The field was strong with 110 players and only the top 30 made the cut for the final day. Unfortunately I didn’t have my best golf and I missed the cut. Luckily I had done enough to qualify for the Joburg Ladies Open the following week and my first LET event this year. It was an exciting opportunity and after some good practice on my driving I felt confident going into the event. So you can imagine how I felt after starting round 1 with 3 bogeys in a row. The ability to forget previous mistakes and focus on the next shot is key in golf and I did my best to stay patient, but despite making a few birdies I ended up with a 76 (+3) in round 1. I needed a low score in round 2 to make the cut and I got off to a good start. However, a few bad tee shots on the back 9 cost me in the end and I missed the cut by 2 shots. The margins are small between a good week and a bad one in professional sport and it can be difficult trusting the process and moving on from disappointment. My ranking on the Sunshine Tour after these 5 events meant I was one spot out of automatically qualifying for the final event in Cape Town. I flew there for a pre-qualifier round in the hope of getting one of the five spots left into the field. I was in a great position through 11 holes but had a bit of a nightmare on the 12th and blew my chances of making it. A bit like leading the formula 1 and then out of nowhere you crash and you’re now out of the race. 

I decided to fly home rather than hang around the rest of the week. After 5 weeks on the road I knew it would be nice to come home and rest and reflect on what went well and the areas I need to improve to ultimately do better in my next events. My coach said to me if you’re not winning then you’re learning and that is definitely the case this time around. It was great to be back to competitive action and despite some disappointments I enjoyed my time in South Africa. I was lucky enough to go on safari and also visit the famous Camps Bay beach in Cape Town. Now I’m back to the cold, and I have a bit of time at home before my next event in France in April. 

South Africa 2020

A win, 3 missed cuts, and the Coronavirus

I got back from South Africa last Thursday and it was the quietest I have ever seen Edinburgh Airport! Which would be great if it wasn’t due to the coronavirus pandemic. I was slightly apprehensive about travelling home but fingers crossed I haven’t caught anything and my flights went ahead as normal, so it was a relatively smooth experience. South Africa is only just starting to have cases of the virus, so during my time I felt as though I was escaping all the panic and mayhem that was happening back home. 

I started my trip in Johannesburg 4 weeks ago, and I was travelling with two girls from the UK and we were all getting put up by a lovely host family at Ebotse Links. It was so exciting to be out competing again on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, where I had started my professional career almost exactly a year ago. After a few days adjusting to the heat and altitude I played my first competition, over the brand new 18 hole par 3 course at Serengeti Estates. Having never played a par 3 tournament before, it was a great new concept and lots of fun. It was also a pro am team event, where we played as team of two pros and two amateurs. After the two rounds we finished tied for the lead, and needed to play-off for first and second place. It was exciting to be involved in a play-off with a fair sized crowd watching, and I admittedly felt pretty nervous! Luckily for me, my partner holed a great putt on the 4th extra hole to crown us the Canon Serengeti Par 3 Challenge winners! It was a fantastic way to start my trip, and I finished in 11th place individually. 

After that I had two more events in Johannesburg, the first was at Soweto Country Club. Soweto is one of the largest township areas in the city, and the golf course was recently upgraded and refurbished by the city. The course proved difficult due to the thick rough and bouncy greens and unfortunately I missed the cut by 2 shots. It was disappointing for me but I was optimistic about my golf by the following week at Glendower Country Club. I had a solid first round of 73 but after getting off to a bad start in round 2, I was battling to make the cut again. I dropped a couple shots at the end of the round and missed it for the second week in a row. I felt like my golf wasn’t that far away as I was striking the ball well, but my putter was costing me. 

The tour then moved to Cape Town for the final event, the South African Women’s Open which is also a Ladies European Tour event. The field was strong with all the regular tour players over for it. My boyfriend also came over to caddy for me… and to see all that Cape Town offers! I felt a lot more comfortable in this environment than the previous year but there are fine lines in sport and again I missed the cut by 2 shots. I felt a bit deflated to finish my trip on a disappointing note, but I know I’ll come back stronger, I just have to keep working hard. 

I had a few days to explore Cape Town before flying home, and it really is a beautiful city and part of the world. We went to Cape Point (the most southerly part of Africa), saw the penguins on boulders beach, went on a wine tour, explored the V&A waterfront and relaxed on the beach at Camps Bay. We had been planning to go up Table Mountain and hike Lion’s Head but there was a fire that broke out on Lion’s Head and the mountain was shut for the next few days whilst they tried to put it out, before eventually being closed due to coronavirus! 

Now that I’m home, like everyone else I’m not sure what lies ahead. My next few events have been postponed until later in the year so at the moment the earliest I will be competing is May. However, I think it is highly likely that those events will also be cancelled or rearranged. I plan to use this time to rest my elbow injury which has been lingering since October, so I will be limiting my practice to short game over the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed we know more soon, and I hope everyone stays as healthy as possible! 

South Africa 2019

PORT EDWARD, SOUTH AFRICA – FEBRUARY 28: Gabrielle Macdonald during day 3 of the Supersport Ladies Challenge at Wild Coast Sun Country Club on February 28, 2019 in Port Edward, South Africa. EDITOR’S NOTE: For free editorial use. Not available for sale. No commercial usage. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images)

Five weeks ago I flew out to George, on the Western Cape of South Africa to start my professional career and now I’m sitting waiting to board my flight home. I can’t help but reflect upon my time out here. Having never been to South Africa I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’ve had a great time. The trip has been full of new experiences from hitting my first shot as a pro; playing in my first pro am; playing 5 weeks in a row; playing in my first LET event and being chased by a baboon at Cape Point. The latter being the most nerve-wrecking out of all these experiences! 

I’ve played 5 events on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, with some satisfying results. My first event was the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am and I could not have picked a better place to start my career. The courses at George and Fancourt were stunning and the hospitality was first class… with a daily selection of cake and ice cream in the players lounge! However, I wasn’t too distracted by the hospitality and I managed to get myself in contention after shooting 68 in round 2. It was such a buzz to have a chance at winning in only my first event as a pro and although I finished in a tie for 6th I was really pleased with this result. More so, as this was my 1st competitive event since early November and also since my mum passed away. I was a little emotional, knowing how much my mum would have loved to have seen me do well, and I guess I missed having my family around to support and celebrate.

Next up was Durban, to play in the SA Women’s Masters and the SuperSport Ladies Challenge. If I was on a high from the Di Data I was quickly brought back down to earth when we arrived at our digs! Life on tour really isn’t glamorous! After surviving a night with bed bugs we managed to find a new place to stay on site at San Lameer and we lucked out with a fab host family! Despite struggling a little with my game that week, I finished in 14th place and another cut made. 

It was a tight turnaround as we then went straight into the practice round and Pro Am at Wild Coast Sun. The course really is wild! It covers some amount of land up on a cliff top and is on the edge of a wildlife reserve. It’s really exposed to the wind and we were all warned of high winds forecast. Fortunately it wasn’t quite like a windy day at Craigielaw and I seemed to cope with the trickier conditions that we had in round 2. I played some great golf that week, and finished outright 3rd. Again it was exciting to be in contention and I felt like maybe it could be my week when I teed off in the final round. However, I didn’t take advantage of my good approach play on the front 9 and my short putting let me down. 

My final stop of the tour was Cape Town for two more events. After playing 3 events in a row, I was ready for a few days off! Luckily we had time to relax and do some site seeing which is actually quite rare on most of my golf trips. Cape Town really is incredible with the striking Table Mountain and scenic coastline. I know how lucky I am to visit such amazing places like Cape Town. After a few days off I felt mentally refreshed and raring to go again at Royal Cape GC. It wasn’t my best golf week but I am proud how I grinded it out after a poor opening round. In some very typical Scottish weather, I managed to move up each day and finished tied 13th in the end. 

It was then onto Westlake for the Investec South African Women’s Open which was a co-sanctioned LET event. This event had the highest purse and so I was eager to have a good week! As it would happen, I was probably too eager! Although, after hitting two great shots on my opening hole and sinking the putt for birdie, I actually felt right at home in my first LET event. Unfortunately, after a shocker of a bunker lie on my 9th hole my golf started to slip and I let my mistakes get to me more than I normally do, thinking I had played my way out of the tournament. This was my biggest lesson learned of the trip – never think it’s over- as had I saved a few shots in my last few holes I would have been around the cut mark with a lot less to do in round 2. To be honest, I actually felt a little embarrassed with my score and also disappointed with myself and my attitude on the golf course. I needed the afternoon off to clear my head and the views along Chapman’s Drive and Hout Bay definitely helped distract me.

By the next day I was ready to give it my best shot at making it to the weekend, and I got off to a good start with 2 birdies in the first 4 holes. However, a double bogey on the 14th hole proved costly and I ended up missing the cut by 1. I was gutted, it was the first cut I’d missed on the trip and missing it by 1 is a tough one to take. However, I was happy with the way I had played in round 2 and how I had recovered from the double bogey, playing the last 4 holes in 1 under. They say you learn more from your mistakes than your wins and that has probably been the case on this trip!

Overall, It’s been a fun few weeks out here and a great start to my pro career. There’s nothing quite like playing competitive golf and to have that week after week has been such a good experience for me. I’m now looking forward to going home and spending time with my family and sleeping in my own bed! It will also be good to get some practice in before my season starts in Europe on the LET Access Series. Let the adventures continue!


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