Looking to play the best golf courses in South Africa? GolfReviewsGuide.com picks out the top courses to play in South Africa.

South Africa is among the top countries for golf in its part of the world with a host of championship courses for golfers to choose from.

Stretching along the southern coast of Africa, the country is subtropical with the Indian Ocean on its east and the Atlantic Ocean on its west.

The weather is typically warm in South Africa, the conditions are normally dry, and the golfing season is fairly long.

In our list, one legendary player from the country is associated with multiple courses: Gary Player. Jack Nicklaus, another legendary golfer, makes a couple of appearances in our list below.

Have a look at all five of our recommendations for the best golf courses in South Africa – including the first-up course that is among the lengthiest in the world.

Sun City – Gary Player Golf Course & Country Club

Located in Sun City, South Africa, The Gary Player Golf Course and Country Club opened for play in 1979. That makes it the oldest course to make our list.

This private course is named after its designer, Gary Player, a South African golfer who is often listed among the best golfers ever.

This course, like so many other championship courses, is a par-72 contest, however, the total length is a whopping 7,981 yards. That total yardage makes it one of the lengthiest championship courses in the world.

This course hosts the annual Nedbank Golf Challenge, one of the most lucrative golf tournaments in the world.

The Sun City course is considered the best in the country and we make it the best of the best.

St. Francis Links Golf Course

Situated in St. Francis Bay, South Africa, the St. Francis Links golf course is relatively new having designed in 2006.

A Jack Nicklaus Signature Course, the Golden Bear designed the venue along with Greg Letsche. Today, it plays as a par-72 venue at a total length of 7,166 yards.

The resort course, which hosts the SDC Championship on the DP World Tour, is a seaside links-style venue, meaning you can expect open terrain, seaside conditions, hard fairways and lots plenty of wind.

Golfers can expect a natural and challenging course, undulating terrain, and a course that was judged to be the best in South Africa in October 2021 in the World Golf Awards.

Lost City Golf Course (Sun City)

The Lost City Golf Course is another Gary Player designed course. Like another of his famous courses, Lost City is located in Sun City, South Africa.

This is a public course that opened in 1993. It is also a par-72 challenge at a total length of 7,308 yards.

The course is noted for its varying styles: covering a large area of land, it has a desert style in some parts, a mountain style in others, and a parkland-style elsewhere.

One very famous feature of this intriguing and unique golf course is a water hazard on the 13th hole that is a creepy hazard, to say the least.

A host of crocodiles live in the hazard so don’t be too keen on recovering an errant shot – even if Gary Player himself signed it.

Prince’s Grant Golf Estate

The Prince’s Grant Golf Estate, a resort course, is located in New Guelderland, South Africa with wide views of the Indian Ocean.

Peter Matkovich designed the course, with the Prince’s Grant Golf Estate built in 1994. It is a par-72 challenge and the total yardage is 6,846 yards of the links/parkland style.

As a links-styled course, there was a conscious plan during design to resemble the links courses in Scotland and the courses of Great Britain.

This course underwent some updates during the Covid-19 era, with reconstruction work completed in late 2020.

There are sizeable greens for golfers to aim for, undulating fairways and rewarding challenges.

Leopard Creek Country Club

The Leopard Creek Country Club‘s golf course is located in Malalane, South Africa and plays host to the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

This course is a private venue and was established in 1996. The famous course is in the same general area as The Kruger National Park.

Gary Player designed it in the parkland style. Today, it plays as a par-72 course at total yardage of 7,087 yards.