St. Francis Links

Overview: St. Francis Links runs through the sandy coastal landscape around St. Francis Bay, using the natural relationship between beach, dunes and inland ground that gives links golf its identity. Jack Nicklaus shaped the course as a championship layout with generous-looking corridors, changing wind angles and a series of strategic hazards that ask for a clear plan before each shot. The setting is open and quiet, but the exposed land means that club selection and trajectory can matter as much as raw length.

History: The course opened in 2006 as a Jack Nicklaus Signature design. Nicklaus Design describes the site as a natural course between the beach and arable land, a setting that allowed the layout to echo the traditions of the British Isles without copying a particular historic template. St. Francis Links quickly established a place in South African golf, and the club’s own records note that it was voted Best New Course in South Africa in 2007. It has since hosted national professional and amateur competitions.

Did You Know? The name “links” refers to the marginal land between the shore and cultivated ground where early golf developed, and Nicklaus Design uses that idea to explain St. Francis Links’ character. The course is therefore more than a seaside label: its identity comes from the way the playable ground sits between the coastal edge and the settlement around St. Francis Bay.