St Francis Links occupies one of the finest links sites, built in high rolling dunes overlooking St Francis Bay and the Indian Ocean. The dunes stretch for kilometres and you could have built as many links here as there are at St Andrews.

Jack Nicklaus excelled himself as a designer with his varied challenges, short and long, wide and narrow, uphill and down, each hole complemented by exquisite greens complexes with bent grass surfaces that hold their own mysteries. The course asks for brave shots and inventive ones. With cool season grasses it might not be a firm and fast-running links, yet it shouts links terrain of a magnificent quality from No 1 to 18.

The scene is set with a remarkable opener, requiring a drive over the edge of a bunker in a dune to a hidden fairway. Four different sets of tees make the course enjoyable for everyone, and forward tees are even the sensible choice for low-handicaps on a windy day. Some bunkers are deep and severe, yet the course has become more playable in recent years with fairways widened.

This is a True Links, although some purists might not appreciate the water hazards, unavoidable due to the Sand River running through the property. A large dam on the upper part of the course frames holes 13 to 15. It guards the left side of 13, shortest of the par 5s. And at the dramatic par-4 18th, played from a high tee, another prominent hazard left of the fairway makes for an intimidating tee shot.

Each hole is named, and some aptly describe what lies ahead. The par-3 fourth, Double Vision, has two separate greens, one on a lower level used most of the time, and another more difficult target higher on a dune. Eye of the Needle at No 8 is just that: you thread your tee shot through a gap to a narrow fairway. No 11 is simply called Eish! That’s what many golfers exclaim standing on the elevated tee when they first see this spectacular par 4 carved through the dunes.

The double-storey clubhouse occupies a scenic position above the 18th green. There’s a fine-dining restaurant, and is a popular venue for functions.

St Francis Links was named South Africa’s Best Golf Course at the 2021 World Golf Awards in Dubai.

Read: RIDING THE GOLFIE AT ST FRANCIS LINKS

Read: ST FRANCIS LINKS RECEIVES TOP COLLIER AWARD