Ten Top Golf Resorts in South Africa ? South Africa?s top golf resorts

South Africa is covered in golf courses. It is almost perfect golfing country - ideal weather, plenty of space, wonderful scenery and a population obsessed by sports and the outdoor life. Add in one of the world's all-time great champions - Gary Player - as a national sporting hero, and it is little wonder that South Africans and tourists alike flock to play on some of the world's best and most affordable courses. There is even the option to mix it up a little - golf, spa and safari!

Not all the country's most famous courses have made the list. I've concentrated on those that have tourist accommodation on site.

Sun City

A vast play ground with hotels at all levels, Sun City offers entertainment day and night with a casino, spa, water park, nightclubs, and shows. Then, there is golf. The huge desert style Lost City course has real crocodiles at the 13th hole! The Gary Player Country Club and Golf Course is one of the most famous in the country, home to the prestigious Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Practical details:

Address: Sun City, North West Province

Tel: +27 11 780 7810

Price: Entry fee of R75 for day visits. Hotels rooms from US$209 per room per night double b&b.

No of rooms: The Palace at Sun City 338 rooms; Sun City Hotel 340 rooms; Cascades 243 rooms; Cabanas 380 rooms.

Star rating: *** ? *****

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Steenberg Golf Club

In a stunning setting just south of Cape Town, overlooked by mountains, this beautiful 18-hole course, with small luxury hotel, restaurant and spa, winds its way through water, vineyards and mountain fynbos. The par-three 14th hole offers players the largest green in Africa (at 76 meters long).

Practical details:

Address: Steenberg Estate, Tokai Road, Constantia 7945, Cape Town

Tel: +27 21 715 0227

Price: from US$290 per room per night double.

No of rooms: 24 rooms and suites

Star rating: *****

Pezula

Another superb setting, between the Knysna Lagoon and the Outeniqua Mountains, makes this 18-hole course a joy to walk. With a fabulous beach, spa, sports facilities from archery and tennis to riding and canoeing, there is plenty for the non-golfer as well. Accommodation comes in the hotel, 5 stand-alone villas and the exclusive beachside Pezula Castle.

Practical details:

Address: Lagoonview Drive, Eastern Head, Knysna, Garden Route

Tel: +27 44 302 3333

Price: from US$800 per room b&b for min 3 night stay.

No of rooms: 83

Star rating: *****

Fancourt

This is South Africa's premier golf resort, with three championship courses designed by Gary Player, a golf academy with a Taylormade performance lab, PGA professionals on staff and two pro shops. There is also an all-singing all-dancing spa for the golf-widows and a range of accommodation from rooms in the original Manor House to garden suites, or 2,3 or 4 bed houses to rent along the courses.

Practical details:

Address: Montagu Street, Blanco, George, 6529, Garden Route

Tel: Hotel +27 (0)44 804 0010; golf reservations: +27 (0)44 804 0030

Price: from US$450 per room per night double.

Star rating: *****

Mount Edgecombe Golf Lodge

Book ahead as the accommodation is limited at this charming old colonial lodge on a former sugar plantation. It's just 3 km (2 miles) inland from Umhlanga Rocks on the Durban coast. The lodge is on the 9th tee of one of two championship golf courses on the estate, within easy walk of the clubhouse. The courses wind through the lush subtropical vegetation and along the river offering plenty of challenges along with a fabulous setting for a day's play. There are also three pros and a driving range to help improve your game.

Practical details:

Address: 47 Far Lane, Hoylake Village, Mount Edgecombe, KwaZulu-Natal

Tel: +27 (0)11 789 1661

Price: from US$156 per person per night single, b&b.

No of rooms: 6

Star rating: ****

Hans Merensky Hotel & Spa

Right up against the boundary of northern section of the Kruger Park, this wonderful golf and spa resort offers the perfect opportunity to get in a game and a game drive at the same time. It also has a spa and a host of other activities on offer. You share the course, designed by Bob Grimsdall, with resident giraffe, zebra, crocs and other wild residents, so tuck a camera into your golf bag.

Practical details:

Address: 3 Copper Street, Phalaborwa 1390, Limpopo Province

Tel: +27 15 781 3931

Price: from US$97 per person per night sharing; b&b.

No of rooms: 136

Star rating: ****

Wild Coast Sun

Currently undergoing a total refurbishment, the Wild Coast Sun is perfectly positioned to take advantage of South Africa's most beautiful stretch of coastline. You can admire it in all its rugged glory on the only golf course in the country designed by renowned golf architect, Robert Trent Jones Jnr, a short but rugged 6000m course that has hosted several PGA tournaments. The 13th hole is played across a ravine and waterfall. There is a golf academy on site.

Practical details:

Address: Main Bizana Road, Port Edward, Kwa Zulu Natal

Tel: +27 11 780 7810

Price: from US$360 per night double.

No of rooms: 246

Star rating: *****

Zebula Golf Estate and Spa

There is action aplenty at this entertaining Waterberg estate, where you can meet lion cubs, go gameviewing by elephant, ride quadbikes or sink into the spa. Or you can play golf on a fabulous Peter Matkovich designed course with views across the magnificent Waterberg Mountains.

Practical details:

Address: D1000 Road, Mabula District, Bela Bela, 0480, Waterberg, Limpopo,

Tel: +27 (0)14 734-7700

Price: from US$150 double per night.

No of rooms: 20 chalets

Star rating: *****

Riviera on Vaal Hotel and Country Club

Vereeniging may not be the first place people may think of heading for a weekend away, but this surprising boutique hotel on the Vaal River may just change your mind. It has three restaurants, dinner cruises, a spa, and attractive golf course, with a clubhouse designed by renowned Victorian architect Sir Herbert Baker. And it's less than an hour's drive from Jo'burg.

Practical details:

Address: Mario Milani Drive, Vereeniging, Gauteng

Tel: +27 (0)16 420-1300

Price: from US$235 per person per night single; b&b.

No of rooms: 96

Star rating: ****

Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa

Part of the global Starwood network, this luxurious resort, golf lodge and spa, while big, has been thoughtfully designed around the curves of the landscape to blend, as far as possible into the hillside. It stands within the Kogelberg Biosphere, its 18-hole golf course meandering along the flower-fringed banks of the Botriver Lagoon.

Practical details:

Address: Arabella Country Estate ? R44 Kleinmond, Hermanus 7195, Western Cape

Tel: +27 28 284 0000

Price: from US$192 per person per night single; breakfast optional extra.

No of rooms: 145

Star rating: *****

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