Golf Near Cape St Francis: Two Coastal Courses, Two Distinctive Rounds
Cape St Francis gives you two very different rounds of golf within a few minutes' drive of each other. St Francis Bay Golf Club sits on sandy, fynbos-lined terrain with a links feel and glimpses of the sea. It rewards accuracy over power.
St Francis Links, designed by Jack Nicklaus, takes you out into the dunes. It’s bigger, wilder, and widely regarded as one of South Africa's best.
Both will test your club selection when the wind gets involved, and both have a hole or two you'll still be thinking about back at the clubhouse.
Two Courses At A Glance
| St Francis Bay Golf Course | St Francis Links Golf Course | |
| Character | Village course with links-like elements | Dune-based links-style course |
| Design | Original 9 by Robert Grimsdell; expanded to 18 holes | Jack Nicklaus Signature design |
| 18 Holes | Par 71 | Par 72 |
| 9 Holes | Yes – 9-hole rounds available | 9-hole play available at selected times |
| Terrain | Sandy, gentle undulations, coastal fynbos | Dunes, wetlands, natural contours, elevation changes |
| Key Challenge | Position, smaller greens, coastal bush and wind | Positioning, wind, bunkering, elevation and undulating greens |
| Stand Out Setting | Coastal holes 11–15 | Dune, wetlands and views |
| Golfing Character | Plenty of variety | Pronounced risk and reward |
| Golf Cart | Available for hire | Available for hire |
| Walking | Yes | Yes |
| Booking | Recommended | Recommended |
St Francis Bay Golf Club
Established Course With A Coastal Personality
| Best For: | Social golfers, mixed handicaps, thinking golfers |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
| Main Challenge: | Wind, accuracy and positioning |
| Walking: | Easy |
| Best Time To Play: | Early morning |
The Appeal: A varied, established coastal course where accuracy, positioning and adapting to conditions matter as much as distance. |
The St Francis Bay Golf Club dates to 1975, when a private nine-hole course was developed with a layout by Robert Grimsdell. It was later expanded and rebuilt as an 18-hole course in 1999.
Today it is a par-71 course of moderate length, but don’t mistake its relatively modest yardage for an easy round. The sandy, gently undulating terrain, coastal vegetation, smaller greens and changing wind make position and club selection important.
The course has a distinctly local character. The 11th through 15th form a coastal stretch, crossing the village’s main road and playing towards the sea. The result is a round that changes personality as you progress.
A Course Where Position Matters
St Francis Bay golf course is not about overpowering every hole. Its sandy fairways can give it a links-like feel, while dense patches of coastal fynbos create defined corridors and punish wayward shots.
The mostly small, lightly bunkered greens put a premium on approaching from the right position.
The five par threes are another feature of the layout. Each presents a different problem, making club selection and reading the conditions more important than simply judging the distance on the card.
The Coastal Stretch
The run from the 11th through the 15th is where the course really announces its proximity to the sea.
The 12th is one of the course’s most strategically interesting holes: a short par four that plays out completely differently depending on the wind. If you want a safer strategy, take enough club to find the fairway and leave a shorter approach.
Longer hitters can attempt to carry the coastal bush and gain a much shorter second shot. The dunes tighten around the end of the fairway, creating a narrow route towards the green.
The 13th is arguably the most photographed hole. From the tee, the view opens across the ocean and St Francis Bay, giving you one of those moments where the setting becomes part of the round. At around 295m though, it punishes you for hooking off course as thick bush guards the route to the green.
The 15th is a 480m par five, bringing another kind of challenge. Approach matters most, thanks to its elevated green, with a ball that comes up short rolling back down the slope. If you manage a par here, it feels well earned.
The Wind Changes The Equation
The coastal setting means wind is a constant factor, often forcing you to rethink club selection, shot shape and course management.
The 17th is a perfect example: this par three can be a short-iron in a helping breeze, but turn into a long-iron test when you’re hitting into the wind. Get the club wrong, and you can quickly find yourself short-sided, in the rough or facing a tricky up-and-down.
The mix of moderate length, smaller greens, tight targets, bush and ever-changing conditions is what gives this course its reputation as a thinking golfer’s course. You don't need to bomb it off the tee to score well here.
Good positioning, smart club selection and keeping the ball in play is the difference between making par and dropping a few shots.
The 19th Hole
The clubhouse is a proper 19th-hole spot, with the bar and deck overlooking the course. A relaxing space to grab a drink and watch the final groups come in. The lounge and dining area have a sociable, unpretentious feel that fits the course.
After a round where the wind, water and a few questionable decisions may have tested your game, this is where you can settle in and compare cards.
Rentals/Services
✔️ Golf carts
✔️ Club hire
✔️ Pull-carts
✔️ Practice facilities
✔️ PGA instruction
❌ Caddies
St Francis Links:
Planning A Golfing Getaway?
Get in touch with Cape St Francis Resort and stay in fabulous oceanside accommodation in between eagles and birdies. Booking through the Resort as a guest equates to a more favourable green fee.
A booking of at least 4 players is required.
St Francis Links
Golf Designed Around The Landscape
| Best For: | Experienced golfers and serious links players |
| Difficulty: | Challenging |
| Main Challenge: | Wind, dunes, bunkers, elevation and strategic risk |
| Walking: | Moderate to challenging |
| Best Time To Play: | Early morning |
The Appeal: A strategically demanding Nicklaus layout where dunes, wind, elevation, bunkers and natural features continually influence the shot in front of you. |
Designed by Jack Nicklaus, this 18-hole championship course opened in 2006 and is built around the natural dune landscape of St Francis Bay.
The course's hole names give some idea of its personality: Double Vision, Braveheart, Wetland, Eye Of The Needle, Eish!, Top Shelf and St Francis Bay are not merely labels - many describe a defining feature or the decision golfers face.
Risk And Reward From The First Tee
St Francis Links rewards golfers who understand their own game. The official hole descriptions repeatedly return to the importance of choosing the right line, managing risk and knowing when not to attack.
On the 2nd, for example, carrying the bunker and bush can open up a better scoring opportunity, while the safer line favours position.
The 3rd makes the same point from a different angle. The fairway offers room for the average-length player but narrows around the bunker for longer hitters, with a green framed by dunes, bunkers and vegetation. Position rather than raw power is the best approach.
Holes That Stay With You
The 4th, Double Vision, offers two distinctly different shot-making options depending on the tee and elevation. Its unusual design feature gives the hole character for golfers of different abilities.
Look forward to the 5th as one of the course's great visual moments. The safer strategy is to take a longer club up the well-bunkered fairway and leave a shorter approach, while the aggressive option is to attack with the driver.
The 7th is a proper risk-and-reward hole. The green is deeper than it looks, so there’s an opportunity to take on the pin with a longer iron if you’re confident.
One of the narrowest fairways on the course is the 8th, squeezed between two dune systems. And you don't need to hit a driver here. A mid-iron off the tee leaves a short iron into one of the course's biggest greens.
But don't be fooled by its size. A raised spine and false fronts make it trickier than it looks.
The Wind Is Part Of The Design
At St Francis Links, wind is not a minor inconvenience. It can change how a hole plays and influence everything from club selection to the preferred side of the fairway.
The 11th, Eish!, is all about the wind. The hole follows the shape of the dunes, and the same tee shot can feel completely different depending on which way the wind is blowing. With the wind helping, you can be more aggressive; with it coming at you, the fairway and approach get a lot tougher.
Things get serious from the 12th to the 15th. Water features come into play, and while you’ve got a chance to attack, a risky shot can quickly cost you.
Then there’s the 17th, a cracking par three with the village as your backdrop. The green has some serious slopes, and with the pin tucked towards the back left, distance control is key.
Get your tee shot right, and you’ve got a great chance at birdie, but miss your spot and that slope can make two putts a challenge.
Warming Up
St Francis Links has a separate Par 3 Course for a quick round, warming up or working on your short game, as well as a large putting and chipping area next to the clubhouse.
The 280m driving range has demo equipment, 20 bays, bunkers, target areas and a putting green with guest access on days of play.
The 19th Hole
After a round on the Jack Nicklaus Signature course, settle in for a drink or bite to eat at the modern clubhouse. Jack’s Bar has a relaxed club atmosphere, views over the course and St Francis Bay, sport on the big screen, and a restaurant serving light meals and bigger plates.
There’s also a halfway house for that mid-round refuel, plus a Pro Shop if you’ve managed to lose a few balls along the way.
Rentals/Services
✔️ Carts
✔️ Clubs
✔️ Pull-carts
✔️ Practice/Instruction
✔️ Caddies
St Francis Bay Golf Club:
Two Courses, One Golf Destination
St Francis Bay Golf Club gives you an established coastal layout with sandy ground, fynbos, smaller greens and a particularly memorable run of holes beside the ocean. But while it feels relaxed, the golf still asks questions of every player.
St Francis Links uses the natural dune landscape as the course foundation. Its larger-scale terrain, deeper strategic elements, elevation changes and Nicklaus design philosophy create a more pronounced championship-golf experience.
For golfers staying in the area, playing both is the best way to appreciate the difference. You get two courses shaped by the same coastal environment, but with distinctly different approaches to routing, hazards, strategy and shot-making.
A Good Day Out On The Fairways
Two courses, two different approaches to the game, and plenty to keep a golfer thinking. Whichever tee you step onto, take your time, watch the wind, enjoy the setting and give yourself a little extra time afterwards for the 19th.
Get in Touch
| | anita@capestfrancisresort.co.za |
| | +27 (0) 42 298 0054 |
| | +27 (0) 82 494 3755 |
| | +27 (0) 86 412 3764 |
| | Da Gama Way, Cape St Francis, 6313 |
| | 34 11’ 56.39" S | 24 49’ 53.04" E |
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