NE OF THE 10 KEYS to greatness in a golf course is having an ex- cellent 18th to finish the round. The cherry on top of the icing. The 18th does not necessar- ily have to be one of a course’s best holes, or even a particularly dra- matic one, yet golfers like to walk off having played something spe- cial and challenging to climax the round. Golf-
par 5. The par 5 finish is more prevalent among modern designs – The Links at Fancourt, Leopard Creek, Blair Atholl, Arabella, and Pinnacle Point stand out as examples. At Open Championship links in Scotland and England there is an undoubted preference for a par 4 finisher at a links, which is also the case locally at Humewood, St Francis Links, Atlantic Beach and Milnerton. The preference among the raters was for a par 4. “Par 4s come into their own at the 18th when the game is all square,” emphasised one rater. “A good par 4 requires a well-positioned drive and a challenging second to a green that has a variety of pin positions.”
affect their overall impression. Golf Digest’s raters have voted for their 10 best finishing holes in South Africa, based on Aesthetics (the visual and emotional power the hole evokes), Challenge (the degree of skill required to play it well) and Uniqueness (how original it is compared to other holes). It should come as no surprise that these 10 holes come from our top- ranked courses, five of them being in the current Top 10 of the rankings. Holes like these are largely why these courses are considered among our best. One surprise though is that only one par 5 makes the list, even though 45 of our Top 100 courses conclude with a
ers may forgive a weak opening hole, yet a disappointing 18th may adversely
The par-4 18th at St Francis Links, with its water hazard guarding the left side of fairway.
82 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JULY/AUGUST 2025
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