HOW THE TOP 10 COURSES MATCHED UP Course Play Cond Mem DV SV Aest
Total 83.5 83.1 82.9 82.3 81.6 81.0 80.6 80.3 80.0 79.8
1 The Links 2 Blair Atholl 3 Leopard 4 Pearl Valley 5 St Francis 6 Glendower 7 Arabella 8 Durban CC
16.8 16.6 16.4 15.8 15.6 15.9 16.0 15.3 14.5 15.5
12.8 12.6 12.2 12.5 12.7 12.4 12.1 12.7 12.3 11.7
13.3 12.3 12.4 12.6 13.2 13.0
14.8 16.2 15.6 15.9 15.2 16.0 15.8 16.0
12.2 11.8 12.5 12.5 12.4 12.6 12.0 12.1 11.5 12.5
13.6 13.6 13.8 13.0 12.5
11.1
HOWEVER, IT IS THE GENERAL RARITY IN South Africa of demand- ing and exacting courses such as The Links that makes Playability here – a criteria which measures the difficulty for low-handicaps against enjoyable options for high-handicaps – an issue for local golfers, not the attested overall challenges which may be onerous but are inherently fair. The Links too is a design where you cannot attempt reck- less shots at every given opportunity. There’s a severe punishment for stupid- ity or lack of awareness of a critical situ- ation. What you might get away with elsewhere doesn’t apply at The Links. South African golfers are as a rule quick to question the fairness of any golf holes that have a high risk-reward quotient than the norm – as if losing too many golf balls impacts negatively on a course – not fully understand- ing that golf is meant to be a difficult and at times seemingly unfair game. The fact is, if you don’t have the skill or confidence to attack holes such as these, don’t attempt it. Opprobrium is
11.7
13.0 12.2 13.5 13.2
12.0 12.4 12.0
9 East London 15.8
10 Pinnacle
14.9
cis Links is a hole that agitates many a club golfer. Just 303 from the club tee, yet having a narrower fairway than the other holes, flanked by thick coastal bush on either side. Golfers commonly approach it timidly with a shorter club off the tee to keep the ball in play, but then find themselves having to hit a longer approach into a devilishly sloped green guarded in front by a deep bunker. Jack Nicklaus excelled himself with the design of this hole, grasping a rare chance to mentally intimidate golf- ers from tee through to green, having never really had the ability to do so at his other South African locales. ST FRANCIS LINKS IS ANOTHER punitive design stressful on the eye for less experienced golfers. For Sun- shine Tour pros it has been averaging
instead heaped on holes which pres- ent a narrow margin between success and failure. Yet the best courses have always had them primarily to get into the heads of golfers and examine their mental fortitude. One of the most fearsome holes local- ly, for amateurs and professionals alike, is the par-3 seventh at Leopard Creek. At whatever length you play it, 157 or 177, it demands precision iron play. The first reaction standing on the tee is to play left of the green, whether deliber- ately or involuntarily, to avoid the water flanking the right side. But that leaves a scary pitch to a narrow and firm green that could run over into the water. It’s a hole where you need to have a strategy on the tee to emerge without a catastro- phe. (See Page 112.) Similarly, the par-4 eighth at St Fran-
60 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2025
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