Black 6930 metres, CR78.9/Slope 155
Yellow 6273 metres, CR75.6/152
White 5721 metres, CR72.2/145
Red 5124 metres, CR68.7/135
Women’s white, CR78.9/149
Women’s red, CR74.8/140
Hotel guest R5 000
(includes caddie and halfway house)
Gary Player 2000
044 804 0030
www.fancourt.co.za
1 (2022) & 1 (2021)
The Links at Fancourt is one of the world’s most significant and creative design achievements. Gary Player was set the challenge of building a unique and distinctive five-star golf course for Fancourt owner Hasso Plattner, and produced something monumental for the game in South Africa.
Golf Digest ranks it among the Top 100 Courses in the World outside the United States, and The Links achieved its highest ever ranking of No 28 in their 2022-23 list of the World’s 100 Greatest Courses.
Dramatic, unconventional holes, undulating fairways, pot bunkers, and links-style greens in a variety of shapes and elevations make this one of the modern wonders of the golfing world. It might not qualify as a “True Links,” yet it is a surreal experience for those who have the privilege of playing it.
Exclusivity has not only given The Links an extra mystique, everything about the experience of playing there is distinguished, from the clubhouse to the first tee starting rituals, to the menu at the halfway house. It adheres to an ethos of high standards and respect for the game’s traditions. The club has a small membership, and is not open to visitors. However, Fancourt hotel guests do have access to a limited number of tee times.
The course has been in the public eye though and hosted several high-profile international tournaments, most notably the memorable 2003 Presidents Cup match which ended in a spell-binding tie between Gary Player’s International team and a United States team led by Jack Nicklaus. The European Tour visited for the 2005 SA Open and 2012 Volvo Golf Champions. And The Links has hosted the Women’s World Cup.
The Links is not only a highly challenging golf course – even tour professionals have found it daunting – it is also a pristine environmental habitat, its 18 holes bordered by grasslands and wetlands. It is a wildlife reserve, without large animals. Since 2011 it has retained its designation as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, one of only 905 courses in the world to achieve this global benchmark.
Read: FANCOURT LINKS IS NUMBER ONE IN CONDITIONING
64 by Nicolas Colsaerts in 2012 Volvo Golf Champions; Jaco van Zyl in 2013 Dimension Data Pro-Am; Ben Eccles in 2016 DiData
Holes which would grace a list of the world’s best include the long downhill par-3 second, boasting an astonishingly large sloping green; the highly unusual par-4 tenth, called Kilimanjaro, with an elevated green perched at the top of the dunes; and the par-5 16th, over and through the dunes to a hard-to-find rumpled green. There are also two fabulous short par 4s, Nos 6 and 14, their fairways littered with bunkers, with the most diminutive of greens. There are five par 5s, three of them in the last six holes.
Guests staying at Fancourt have a range of luxury accommodation to choose from. There are 113 guest rooms and suites, either in The Manor House (18 suites) or elsewhere on the estate. Its facilities include four restaurants, a spa, gym, hair salon, business centre, four swimming pools, tennis courts, a leisure centre with Kidz Club, cycling, hiking and jogging trails. There is a discount on green fees for hotel guests.
The Links has its own range and short-game area a short walk from the clubhouse, complemented by a unique 5-hole short course for a fun experience.
1/ The Links is a walking course, with no cart hire, and a caddie for every player is compulsory.
2/ It is exclusive for members and guests, plus Fancourt hotel residents if times are available. There is a separate entrance road away from the Fancourt resort.
3/ The SA Open in December 2005 saw one of the great golfing duels between Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, who at the time were among the top 10 players in the world. They played together the final 36 holes, and were tied on the back nine of the final round until Goosen improbably chipped in for a birdie two at 17 to go one ahead. Els then narrowly missed an eagle attempt at the par-5 18th to tie. Goosen’s total of 10-under 282 was eight clear of the third-placed finishers.
4/ Branden Grace’s big breakthrough came in the 2012 Volvo Tour Champions at The Links when he won a three-way playoff against Els and Goosen.
5/ The first-ever LPGA Women’s World Cup was held at The Links in 2005 and won by Japan.
6/ The Links was No 28 in Golf Digest’s World Top 100 for 2022-23 (this excludes courses in the United States). The Links had previously been No 56 (2020), No 38 (2018), No 43 (2016) and No 34 (2014). It was ranked No 3 in SA from 2004 to 2010, then No 1 in 2011, and again from 2014 onwards.
7/ Australian pro Ben Eccles played the back nine in eight-under 29 in the 2016 DiData Pro-Am, with a birdie at 10 and then seven in a row from 12 to 18. He equalled the course record with a 64, and two days later had a 64 on Fancourt Montagu.
Conditioning Ratings
Facility Ratings
I generally have played The Links during winter, so it was good to see the course in summer playing more like a links should with firmer and drier conditions. Conditioning is faultless.
The finest course in South Africa by quite some distance in my opinion. Not only is the course always in superb condition but as a test of golf in all weather conditions it tests every aspect of your game. The golf course is backed up by excellent staff and quality caddies. I have been fortunate to play The Links on some 20 occasions and I have never once left disappointed. I have played it in 40km winds and driving rain and never considered walking off, because the course envelopes you in the experience.
Course layout and condition superb. The Links tests all shots in your game and one is called to use every club in the bag. Playing to the correct position is vital and hitting driver isn’t always the correct choice. Position in the fairways and on the greens is vital to good scoring, as is avoiding the fairway bunkers. A great challenge for all golfers.
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