A quarter of the Fancourt Links is made up of par-threes and Nicolas Colsaerts birdied them all on his way to a commanding four-shot lead in the first round of the Volvo Golf Champions on Thursday.

Colsaerts is known for his no-holds-barred driving off the tee, but his brilliant nine-under-par 64 was actually set apart by his superb iron-play and clinical putting as he birdied the par-three second, eighth, 11th and 17th holes.

“I’ve never birdied all the par-threes on a course before and you don’t see that on a scorecard that often. You’re not really looking for birdies on the par-threes, I’m thinking more that I can reach most of the par-fives in two, so it was a bonus,” Colsaerts said after shattering the Fancourt Links course record.

The Belgian was level-par through seven holes after bogeying the par-four sixth hole after a three-putt, but Colsaerts, playing his first competitive round at Fancourt, began to work out the intricacies of the course as he finished the front nine with successive birdies. His final stretch was nothing short of magnificent as he closed with four straight birdies – 3-4-2-4.

“I’m very happy, to have the course record on a course like this is quite a thing. I’ve heard about this place for a long time, after the President’s Cup was played here and it being the number one course in South Africa,” Colsaerts said.

Although the wind played a relatively minor part for Fancourt, Colsaerts said he still had to be watchful.

“It was moving a little bit, it switched at times. It was pretty calm at the start but then there was a bit more wind after the ninth. You still had to look at it. I hope it stays like this because the course will be pretty difficult if the wind gets up,” Colsaerts, who was in the fourth two-ball off the first tee at 10am, said.

Apart from the irritating three-putt on the sixth, the only time the 29-year-old was semi-concerned was on the short par-four 14th hole, when he found the fairway bunker. Colsaerts chipped out to just short of the green and then made his up-and-down for par.

The world number 76 seems to have a thing for Volvo-sponsored tournaments, having won the Volvo China Open in April and then reaching the semifinals of the Volvo World Matchplay Championships in Andalucia before losing to Ian Poulter.

“I like to think I’m having a love affair with Volvo, but there are still three rounds to go!” Colsaerts laughed. “But the Matchplay – beating Goosen, McIlroy, Vegas and McDowell – was when I really understood that I can be a top-class golfer.”

The quality of his golf on Thursday was immaculate and the big-hitting lover of house music was still enjoying the feeling when he spoke to the media.

“I just seemed to hole out all day, every birdie was from close range and I took every chance from six-to-eight feet. I was hitting my irons very close and, after you’ve done that three or four times, you just keep firing at the pins. I kept hitting the fairways as well and it was probably one of the best rounds I’ve played, if not the best,” Colsaerts said.