THE SECOND 10
THE TOP 10
11 ELEMENTS 80.3 POINTS Near Bela Bela, Limpopo 6792 metres Peter Matkovich Up 2 places from No 13 12 ROYAL JOHANNESBURG EAST 80.2 POINTS Johannesburg, Central Gauteng 7001 metres Bob Grimsdell Up 4 places from No 16 13 PEZULA 80.0 POINTS Knysna, Southern Cape 6308 metres Ronald Fream & David Dale Up 5 places from No 18 14 FANCOURT MONTAGU 79.8 POINTS George, Southern Cape 6714 metres Gary Player Design / David McLay Kidd Down 3 places from No 11 15 PINNACLE POINT 79.4 POINTS Mossel Bay, Southern Cape 6460 metres Peter Matkovich Down 5 places from No 10 16 THE CLUB AT STEYN CITY 79.0 POINTS Fourways, Central Gauteng 7054 metres Nicklaus Design Up 1 place from No 17 17 EAST LONDON 78.8 POINTS East London, Eastern Cape 6070 metres George Peck, Col SV Hotchkin Down 8 places from No 9
1 THE LINKS AT FANCOURT 83.7 POINTS George, Southern Cape, 6930 metres Gary Player Design
No change from 2025 2 BLAIR ATHOLL 83.2 POINTS Lanseria, Gauteng North 7527 metres Gary Player Design
No change from 2025 3 PEARL VALLEY 82.8 POINTS Near Franschhoek, Western Cape 6577 metres Jack Nicklaus Signature Up 1 place from No 4 4 DURBAN COUNTRY CLUB 82.3 POINTS Durban, KwaZulu-Natal 6148 metres Laurie Waters, George Waterman / Golf Data Up 4 places from No 8 5 LEOPARD CREEK 81.8 POINTS Malelane, Mpumalanga 6501 metres Gary Player Design Down 2 places from No 3 6 ARABELLA 81.6 POINTS Near Kleinmond, Western Cape 6212 metres Peter Matkovich Up 1 place from No 7 7 ST FRANCIS LINKS 81.4 POINTS St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape 6553 metres Jack Nicklaus Signature Down 2 places from No 5 8 GLENDOWER 81.0 POINTS Johannesburg, Central Gauteng 6974 metres
GARY PLAYER CC The par-4 eighth is one of the most challenging holes at the Sun City resort.
2025 SA Open and the more recent Jonsson Workwear Open. Other than the 16th hole, they worked effectively in making the course playable within a few hours. The range at DCC has been rebuilt with new teeing areas and was used by the tour pros. South Africa can be proud of the club's resurgence since the 2022 Durban floods. Gary Player CC’s demotion to the Second 10 caused a stir in 2022, and the course fell as low as No 17 in 2024. The Nedbank Challenge host is re- garded as an iconic layout by many, and its removal from the Top 10 must have seemed like heresy. However, while it may have looked the picture of perfection at tournament time, there were plenty of Sun City resort golfers disappointed by their experiences at other times of the year. Being a Top 10 course does carry a burden of having to be in showroom condition the other 11
18 ZIMBALI 78.4 POINTS Ballito, KZN North Coast 6467 metres Tom Weiskopf Down 4 places from No 14 19 HUMEWOOD 78.0 POINTS Gqeberha, Eastern Cape 6342 metres Colonel SV Hotchkin No change from 2025 20 CHAMPAGNE SPORTS RESORT 77.8 POINTS KZN Central Drakensberg 6694 metres Hugh Baiocchi No change from 2025
Charles Alison / Golf Data Down 2 places from No 6 9 SISHEN 80.6 POINTS Kathu, Northern Cape 6657 metres Bob Grimsdell Up 3 places from No 12 10 GARY PLAYER CC 80.5 POINTS Sun City, North West Province 7162 metres Gary Player & Ron Kirby Up 5 places from No 15
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 59
MAY 2026
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