Golf Digest South Africa - Jan/Feb 2026

WATCH ONLINE The Links Experience Golf Course Overview

LINKS TERRAIN Opened in 2025 was The Links Experience at Fancourt, by Gary Player Design. This is the par-4 fifth hole.

faces. There are four tee options, black being longest at 2 661 metres and red the shortest at 1884, and it can also be played as a Par 3 Course. There are no holes 10 to 18, as at other 9-hole layouts. The only variation for a second round would be to play the same nine again from a different tee. The par 3s are excellent, and the fourth, called Devil’s Elbow, is a superb par-4 where the fairway curves left around a large dam, leaving an approach shot directly over water to the green. 12 GREYTOWN Greytown, KZN Midlands DOWN 2 • SCORE 44/60 Clubhouse 8 / Aesthetics 7.5 / Design Variety 7.5 / Conditioning 6.5 / Innovation 6.5 / Challenge 8 One of KwaZulu Natal’s oldest clubs (1895) has a delightful classic tree-lined layout, with several holes built on a hillside with stunning scenery. The 1950s clubhouse is at the summit, so the holes rise and fall throughout the

greenkeeper. Spread over 6 235 metres, It has attractive bushveld surroundings in a rich farming area and a pleasant clubhouse. Good use of mounding and bunkering adds character to flat terrain. Finishes with an excellent par 4 (415 & 377) with water alongside the green. The property is to become a golf estate once all the infrastructure and water supply is completed. 11 THE LINKS EXPERIENCE AT FANCOURT George, Southern Cape NEW ENTRY • SCORE 44.3/60 Clubhouse 8 / Aesthetics 7 / Conditioning 9 / Design Variety 7.5 / Innovation 5.3 / Challenge 7.5 Opened for play a year ago, created by Gary Player Design, this is a new addition to the Fancourt resort course portfolio, on the site of the old Bramble Hill layout. Par 34, with 3 par 3s and one par 5, the ninth. The links feel is evident in the design of the green complexes and bunkers with revetted

environment for golf, a course full of trees, a stream, and surrounding hills where iron ore mining has taken place over the past century (Thabazimbi means “mountain or iron”). The course is seven kilometres south of the town in pristine countryside, and leopard sightings are common in the area. Large impala herds tend to be a nuisance overnight when they roam the holes and trample the greens. The course opens with a terrific dogleg right par 4, and the quality of the design is excellent from start to finish. Good length at 6 202 metres. 10 MARBLE HALL Marble Hall, Limpopo DOWN 1 • SCORE 44.7/60 Clubhouse 8.5 / Aesthetics 6.7 / Conditioning 7.5 / Design Variety 7.5 / Innovation 6.5 / Challenge 8 A modern redesign of an older course by Jannie Swanevelder, who worked under the late Douw van der Merwe and has remained at the club as

114 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026

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