Graceland Country Club

Overview: At the Graceland hotel and casino complex in Secunda, Gary Player’s inland links-style course follows the natural folds of the Mpumalanga landscape. The 18-hole layout is par 72 and measures roughly 6,500 metres from the championship tees, with the front and back nines running along opposite sides of a valley. Water, elevation changes, rolling fairways and strategically placed bunkers give the round a more varied shape than the flat surroundings might suggest.

History: The course was created in 1997 as part of the Graceland Country Club development. Its history is closely connected to the wider hotel, casino and entertainment property, but the golf course has its own identity as a Gary Player design. The routing uses existing dongas and drainage features rather than smoothing the site into a uniform resort landscape, which helps explain the course’s inland links description.

Did You Know? The official hole guide highlights the par-three 15th as a short but demanding hole where placement is more important than simply attacking the flag. Several streams cross the property and dams attract birdlife, so the course’s natural water system remains visible well beyond the obvious hazard lines.