INSIDE THE ROPES

On the

RISE

The Sunshine Tour Players' Player of the Year is now ready to be tested internationally

Christiaan Maas’ all-encompassing love for the game is also to the benefit of those who have the privilege of watching him
play

BY MICHAEL VLISMAS

In 2022, Herman Loubser had about an hour to get together R7 500, rush to his nearest PostNet, and enter the Sunshine Tour Qualifying School before the close of entries. A few weeks later, he won the first tournament of the Sunshine Tour season.

'Quite a few people were surprised by that, but I wasn't,' says Loubser, who, after earning and losing a card before this and then sitting on the sidelines during Covid, was frustrated and hungry to get his career going – and wasted no time doing so.

In March this year, Loubser celebrated his most successful season to date on the Sunshine Tour with a third-place finish on the Courier Guy Order of Merit and a second victory, all of which earned him a DP World Tour card for next season. He also received the recognition of his peers in winning the Sunshine Tour Player's Player of the Year Award.

'The Players' Player of the Year Award was really cool. It's slightly different to any other award which is based on facts or points. This is based on the opinion of your fellow pros, which makes it even more special. The guys you play with week in and week out recognise how hard you've been working and if you've been playing well. It's a big honour for me,' he says from France, where he's enjoying some much-needed downtime.

'And the DP World Tour card is a lifelong goal which I've achieved. That only starts in November, so I have time to get my game ready for that. I haven't really thought about the goals for the season yet. I still have quite a few tournaments on the Sunshine Tour before then.'

Loubser's last-minute dash to the PostNet in 2022 shouldn't come as a surprise for a golfer who has enjoyed a different journey to most in order to reach this point in his career.

SUNSHINE TOUR CAREER

2017
Won Qualifying School

2022
Won the Lombard Insurance Classic

2025
Won the Vodacom Origins of Golf – Parys

2025
Earned R317 000 for winning the Vodacom Origins of Golf – Parys

'The Players' Player of the Year Award was really cool ... This is based on the opinion of your fellow pros, which makes it even more special ... It's a big honour for me'

'I was born in South Africa and then my parents moved to the Isle of Man. I played for the Isle of Man golf team as a junior. They were such an amazing group of people. I really enjoyed my childhood there. But we still spoke Afrikaans in the house, and we braaied every week – even in the snow. The South African culture has always been strong in my family. So when we came back to South Africa I went back to the SA flag pretty quickly. I have too much heritage and am too proudly South African to play under a different flag,' he says.

'Losing my card was really hard, and then the two years on the sidelines was tough financially and mentally. I was watching all of my mates do well, and I felt like I also belonged there but just didn't have the opportunity. It was motivation for me to practice harder, and that helped me when I got my card and then won my first event. I've always had the belief and motivation.'

Loubser is now in exactly that space where he's ready to test himself at another level, on the DP World Tour, while also having a greater understanding of his own game.

'I think I've realised that instead of trying to chase a swing that looks good or feels perfect, I just need to improve a little bit each day. I just need to try and find a little move that makes my swing slightly better. And my mindset has been a bit more confident as well. The belief is a bit higher as well. When you see people around you doing well, it helps with that belief that you know you're just as good.'

Loubser has been learning as much as he can on the Sunshine Tour these past few seasons.

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'I remember playing with Wallie Coetsee early on in my career, and he said I need to be careful not to become a range golfer, as in those golfers with pretty golf swings who spend all their time on the range but when it comes to the course they don't know how to make a score. That was good advice. And other experienced professionals have told me to try and get overseas as quickly as possible. The Sunshine Tour gives you a lot of opportunities to get there and you need to take them. It's easy to get comfortable in your home country where you just go through the motions and get complacent.'

He'll also have plenty of advice coming from his younger brother Conrad, who Herman introduced to his best friend Casey Jarvis and who now caddies for Jarvis. Theirs has been a remarkably successful caddie-player relationship that this year took them all the way to The Masters. And Loubser has enjoyed being a part of this.

'My little brother is a legend. I love him lots. It's really cool to see how he and Casey have grown together. I didn't switch off The Masters app for every shot they played there. So Conrad will definitely give me a few travel tips, and I'll pick his brain. But having grown up on the Isle of Man, I'm accustomed to most European golf courses. I played my first event in Scotland when I was 11 or 12 and it became a regular thing to travel far for golf tournaments at a young age. Then we moved back to South Africa and I went to hostel, which was an adjustment – a new country and no friends or family at the age of 15. But it made me more accustomed to travel and being on my own. It's made me a bit more independent. So I think I'm more excited by the travel and to play a lot of the courses I've seen on television rather than worry about how I'm going to attack them.'

But there is still plenty of time before then to keep honing his game on the Sunshine Tour. And to keep working on his other passion.

'My girlfriend taught me how to ski. She's a ski instructor in Europe. So I'm working on that.'