South Africa holds a great tradition for golf

Africa
South Africa

Having been inhabited by Englishmen for years, South Africa holds a great tradition for golf. Its Open Championship is one of the oldest in golf history (first played in 1903). Home of more than 500 courses – including the Extreme 19th at Legends Resort, the longest and most spectacular par 3 in the world. There are more than 150.000 golfers and the country has cradled some of the greatest golfers of all time, like Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Ernie Els. Geographically it is a great location for Europeans: no jet lag!

Leopard Creek, The Links at Fancourt, Pear Valley, Gary Player GC and Pinnacle Point are some of the best courses in the World, with great maintenance, spectacular views and some extra activities, make the destination one of the best golf spots existing.

 Where to Fly

It all depends on the destinations selected for the golf holiday, but Joburg and Cape Town are South Africa’s two main Airports. George, a city in the heart of the Garden Route, is another airport to arrive to, as well as Sun City.

 Accommodation options

There are many options to consider: Table Hotel at Cape Town, The Fancourt Resort or the Hyatt Oubaai in George, The Legends Resort near Joburg and the Entabeni & Gondwana Reserves, this last one very close to Pinnacle Point Golf Course.
Four different spots need to be considered to take full advantage of the trip: Cape Town (Table Mountain, Cape Point, etc.), The Garden Route up to George, The Legends Resort (with its Extreme 19th) and Sun City ("Las Vegas" in South Africa). A good combination of these will make it the golf holiday of a lifetime.

Some courses are just a must

Some courses are outstanding – maybe even better than some of the most “famous” courses in the world. These are some of those venues not to be missed:

The Links at Fancourt: this Gary Player Masterpiece at the Fancourt Resort was constructed moving more than 500.000 m3 of sand. It hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup and it’s maybe the most spectacular course you can play in the country, not only due to its great design but also because of its impeccable maintenance and flawless customer service. It is a tough course, which can deny scoring to the most skilled golfers.

Pinnacle Point: Peter Matkovich designed a fantastic venue with dramatic level variations and great views of the Indian Ocean. There are over 50m cliffs and the Club House offers spectacular views of the ocean and the golf course.
 

Leopard Creek: the Course is inside the great Park Kruger and apart from being a great venue, it also offers the chance of playing golf inside a Natural Reserve and the opportunity to watch any of the Big 5 at any moment. It is an experience that goes far beyond just golf.

Gary Player CC: one of the best courses designed by the "Black Knight" and host of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, the first event to give 1 million dollars to the winner (outside USA). A first class Club House completes a great experience, up to the level of a top 10 golf course in the world.

Legends Signature Course: this Course has the detail of being created by 18 different designers: each hole was designer by a different PGA Tour Player (Justin Rose, Goosen, Els among others), with the peculiarity that if using the back tee in every hole the course can be stretched to almost 9000 yds (bear in mind the place is over 1000m over sea level and balls fly some more yards). It is located inside the Entabeni Reserve and with its Tribute Course (replicas of 10 of the most famous par 3s in the world), and includes a helicopter ride to tee it off for the Extreme 19th. The experience can take no less than 3 days.

Arabella: another extraordinary golf Course with a great 5 stars hotel inside de premises. Maintained at the highest level, the 8th hole is probably one of the most pictured golf holes in the world.

Oubaai: this Course by Ernie Els combines a great piece of land, the imagination of a 4 times Major Champion and a great maintenance team, which all together make it a must when you travel along the Garden Route. It has a 5 starts hotel and some breathtaking holes (especially 6th,17th and 18th).

These are not the only great courses in the country, as we can also mention: Erinvale GC, De Zalze, Stellenbosch (these last 2 hosts of 2006 World Amateur), Westlake, Pearl Valley, Simola, Pezula, Montagu y Outeniqua (these last two also in Fancourt). There is so much golf to play that one single trip might not be enough.

Recommended Itinerary
Rugby is a big attraction in the country so maybe a group can combine golf with the Super 15 or the Rugby Championship.

If golf is your only interest (although you cannot overlook 2 days in a Game Reserve), the suggested itinerary will be:

2 nights at Cape Town, with 2 rounds of Golf (Westlake and Steenberg).

4 nights at Fancourt, with 4 rounds of golf (Links, Montagu, Oubaai and Pinnacle Point)

3 nights at Legends Resort, including no less than 2 Game Rides and one round at Signature Course plus the experience of Extreme 19th and playing the Tribute Course at least once.