From hitting rocks to professional wins: The rise of Danielle du Toit

Danielle du Toit’s golfing journey began when family friends saw her hitting rocks with a stick and encouraged her parents to sign her up for lessons. As they say, the rest is history.

“It’s an interesting story because no one in my immediate family plays; however, my aunt was quite keen. Friends of ours saw me hitting rocks with a stick, and they encouraged my parents to take me for lessons. My aunt kind of stepped in from there and kindled the flame. She would take me out on the course and set challenges, and that really made me fall in love with the sport. Before I knew it, I started playing tournaments and never looked back,” said Du Toit.

Du Toit is a South African professional golfer who competes on the Ladies European Tour (LET). In 2025, she captained the winning team at the PIF London Championship and won the NTT DATA Ladies Pro-Am on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to never stop. Never stop trying. Never stop improving. Never give up on a round. But also to never stop having fun, because if you are not having fun, nothing will work. I had to learn that one the hard way through many tribulations over the last two years, but in the last couple of months, I’ve made it a priority to seek the joy in every moment, and I can’t emphasise enough how much that has changed my daily life.”

Speaking to Eyewitness News about her recent competition, where she secured her second Sunshine Ladies Tour title after winning the Standard Bank Ladies Open, she explained that her strategy for Durbanville was to play “boring golf.”

“It is really, really tempting to go out firing at all the pins, especially when your opponent starts off hot like Olivia did. I made the error on the 4th hole to be too aggressive with my fairway bunker shot, which consequently led to a bogey on a par 5. I told Marco in that moment that I did exactly what I said I wouldn’t do, and that was to chase the moment rather than play the game. I reset on the next hole and made a birdie, which really started the turnaround for the whole match.”

The professional golfer noted she needed a mental reset after a double-bogey on the 16th, before eventually sinking two massive putts on the 17th and 18th.

She shared the conversation she had with her caddie, Marco van der Merwe, during that critical stretch.

“It comes back to my previous answer. There were still two holes to play, and a lot can happen in two holes. I just looked at him and said, ‘I’m not going down without a fight.’ He, on the other hand, reminded me that the only thing I can control is my process and to do that as best I can. It led to two incredibly clutch shots, which we both are super proud of. That momentum was huge going down the last and then leading to the eventual win.”

The Pretoria-born player says the Durbanville competition last weekend marked the first time she played well in front of her family.

“That’s another funny thing; I told my sister later that night that it was the first time that I actually played well in front of them! In the past, I always tried too hard to play well in front of them; this time, I really relied on their support to galvanise me through the round. I cannot overstate how much it meant to me to celebrate this victory with them. It was one of the most special moments of my life.”

Reflecting on her first tour win at the NTT DATA Ladies Pro-Am in 2025, Du Toit discussed the technical changes she has been implementing with her coach.

“I don’t know if it’s really a hurdle, but it has required a lot of patience and faith. We made a lot of changes from about October last year, and although I knew we were on the right track, it didn’t always feel that way. Slowly but surely, the range work starts to show in practice rounds and then eventually in tournament rounds, and then eventually good scores follow. It is a very satisfying feeling to have a tangible result for months of hard work.”

Looking ahead to the 2026 season, she remains ambitious: “One of my big goals is to play in a major championship and make the cut. I've had my eye on it for a while now, but I finally feel like I’m in the right spot to achieve that goal.”