Fancourt Hotel and Country Club

Just seven miles from the George Airport, Fancourt is conveniently located along South Africa’s scenic coastal Garden Route and marks a prime spot on our South Africa golf safari tour.

Offering sublime views of the majestic Outeniqua Mountains from all three championship courses, Fancourt Country Club is a true golfer’s paradise. This exclusive golf resort in South Africa also boasts a golf academy, two five-star hotels, a luxurious spa, and multiple dining outlets. 

The Links course played host to the dramatic 2003 President’s Cup where Ernie Els and Tiger Woods faced off to a tie after three playoff holes. It’s also the highest-rated course at Fancourt and is consistently among the top five in South Africa.

Proud South African, Gary Player, claims this Fancourt golf course as his best design. Modeled on his beloved links courses of the British Isles, the course is visually stunning and a delight to play, although not a true links course since the subsoil is clay. While private, the Links course offers a selection of hotel times for guests.

The Montagu course is rated among South Africa’s top 10 layouts and is a parkland design by Gary Player. Known for its stunning scenic vistas, strategically placed bunkers, fast greens, and immaculate conditioning. In 2005 David McLay Kidd was brought in to redefine bunkers and greens among other changes including adding and eliminating water features.

In 2018 Player was again at the helm of the resort courses synonymous with him, to make the design more challenging for low handicappers and yet more playable for higher handicaps. He achieved this by reducing the number of bunkers and forced carries and improved fairway definition.

The third course, Outeniqua, which translates as ‘the land of milk and honey,’ and is also the moniker of the surrounding mountains is another Gary Player-designed parkland classic that resides in South Africa’s Top 25 courses.

Rather than a ‘signature hole’ it is known for the ‘signature view’ that one encounters when walking from the 11th green to the par 3 12th – definitely one to savor.

The property dates to the mid-1800s when Henry Fancourt White built The Manor House, now a designated historical landmark and a boutique member of the Leading Hotels of the World.

The property has had multiple owners over the years and is now owned by Dr. Hasso Plattner, the founder of SAP software, and his wife Sabine. The resort underwent an extensive renovation and upgrade in 1994.