| If you are looking for a memorable but affordable | | | | beautiful countries on Earth is not just about wild |
| golf experience then you should definitely check out | | | | safaris and great beaches; it is also the newest golf |
| South African golf vacations. South Africa golf | | | | holiday destination spiraling to the top of most |
| vacations offer beauty, tranquillity, challenges and | | | | golfers' lists. South Africa's golf is blessed by the |
| good value for money. The size of France and Spain | | | | presence of 300 plus sunny days, beautiful |
| combined; it varies from the picturesque Garden | | | | landscapes and courses designed to challenge players |
| Route towns of the Western Cape to the raw | | | | of all skill levels. With such ingredients the golf soup |
| stretch of subtropical coast in northern KwaZulu-Natal. | | | | can only be delicious as most golf vacation groups |
| Many visitors are pleasantly surprised by South | | | | heading to South Africa find out. |
| Africa's excellent infrastructure, which draws | | | | Although South African boasts of over 500 courses |
| favorable comparison with countries such as Australia | | | | laid out on such diverse terrains as coastal plains to |
| or the United States. Good air links and bus | | | | mountains, the country is still a secret few golf |
| networks, excellent roads and a growing number of | | | | holiday makers know about. However, more and |
| first-class B&Bs and guesthouses make South Africa | | | | more people are getting in on it mainly due to the |
| a perfect touring country and - with the dramatic | | | | interest generated by world class courses like The |
| slide of the rand in 2001 - a cheap one too for | | | | Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, home to the |
| visitors. | | | | Nedbank Golf Challenge, the world's richest golf |
| Crime isn't the indiscriminate phenomenon that press | | | | tournament. |
| reports suggest, but it is an issue. Really, it's a | | | | The Gary Player Country Club built in the crater of an |
| question of perspective - taking care not to become | | | | extinct volcano, boasts of one of the finest and |
| a victim of crime, is something to be kept in mind | | | | trickiest courses in the world. Rising like an Oasis |
| always, regardless of which country you're in. | | | | from the bushveld around it, Sun City is home to this |
| Statistically, the odds of becoming a victim in South | | | | premium course that plays 6,938 meters for a par of |
| Africa are highest in downtown Johannesburg, where | | | | 72. Start off your South Africa golf tour with this |
| violent crime is a daily reality. You would really have | | | | gem for its wide fairways of Kikuyu grass that make |
| no reason at all for venturing to this area if you are | | | | for a harrowing time on the greenside rough, slick, |
| on a golfing vacation. Any shopping you might want | | | | kidney-shaped greens which require patience and |
| to do, you can do in very safe, very big, world-class | | | | physical endurance and the cunningly placed water |
| malls situated all around Gauteng and in other parts | | | | hazards that ensure your game is played more |
| of the country. | | | | between the ears than on the ground. The signature |
| Other cities present a reduced risk - similar to, say, | | | | ninth, more than the rest of the holes, totally justifies |
| some big cities in the United States; most country | | | | the green fees of just $39 - didn't I say it was |
| areas are safe by any standards. Rest assured also, | | | | affordable? |
| that any and all resorts you choose to stay at in | | | | While at the Sun City Resort, also add the Lost City |
| South Africa, has excellent security measures in | | | | Golf Course to your golf package. The verdant |
| place, and you should really not be affected by the | | | | fairways and the dramatically placed bunkers make |
| crime problem at all. | | | | this Gary Player layout intriguing and testing at the |
| CAPE TOWN is southern Africa's most beautiful, | | | | same time. At 6,983 meters, this track is probably |
| most romantic and most visited city. Indeed, few | | | | most famous for its 13th hole where water hazards |
| urban centres anywhere can match its setting along | | | | inhabited by crocodiles come into play! |
| the mountainous Cape Peninsula spine, which slides | | | | South Africa is an expansive country and your golf |
| into the Atlantic Ocean. By far the most striking - and | | | | travel would leave you jaded if it weren't for |
| famous - of its sights is Table Mountain, frequently | | | | invigorating courses like Leopard Creek, ranked 25th |
| shrouded by clouds, and rearing up from the middle | | | | on Golf Digest's Top 100 Courses outside America. |
| of the city. | | | | Bordering the Kruger National Park, Leopard Creek is |
| More than a scenic backdrop, Table Mountain is the | | | | an 18-hole championship course designed by Gary |
| solid core of Cape Town, dividing the city into distinct | | | | Player. |
| zones with public gardens, wilderness, forests, hiking | | | | South Africa offers stunning courses in almost every |
| routes, vineyards and desirable residential areas | | | | part of the country but your golf tour would be |
| trailing down its lower slopes. Standing on the | | | | incomplete without playing courses like the Robert |
| tabletop, you can look north for a giddy view of the | | | | Trent Jones designed Wild Coast Country Club, set |
| city centre, its docks lined with matchbox ships. | | | | against a backdrop of the Indian Ocean, The Durban |
| Looking west, beyond the mountainous Twelve | | | | Country Club, Arabella Country Club and the |
| Apostles, the drop is sheer and your eye will sweep | | | | Glendower Golf Club, host of The Transvaal Open. |
| across Africa's priciest real estate, clinging to the | | | | The sheer quantity of courses in South Africa makes |
| slopes along the chilly but spectacularly beautiful | | | | it impossible to swing away at all of them in just one |
| Atlantic seaboard. Turning south, the mountainsides | | | | golf tour, but do try to include The River Club Golf |
| are forested and several historic vineyards and the | | | | Course in Sandton, Johannesburg , George Golf Club |
| marvelous Botanical Gardens creep up the lower | | | | near Fancourt and The Pecanwood Golf & Country |
| slopes. Beyond the oak-lined suburbs of Newlands | | | | Club Estate bordering the Hartbeespoort Dam. |
| and Constantia lies the warmer False Bay seaboard, | | | | When next planning a vacation, consider South Africa |
| which curves around towards Cape Point. | | | | as your destination. You'll get affordable, world-class |
| Try South Africa on for size and you'd be surprised | | | | golf, in the best resorts in the world. Have you made |
| at the choices. South Africa, one of the most | | | | your booking yet? |