Fancourt in South Africa is a great golf destination in South Africa. It has several courses and amongst the Links course which is currently ranked No. 1 in South Africa. I stayed in the resort for 4 days and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is a driving range right next to the resort where I spent several hours just practicing. Great views of the mountains in the back.
driving range at Fancourt
I played Montagu and Links during my visit. It started with Montagu where I opted for a caddie and walking the course to get the best experience.
the course
A short dogleg left to right opening hole. I hit my driver right, missed the green and started with a bogey.
Downhill par 3 for the second hole, where you preferably should miss it left if you don’t hit the green. I missed it right in between the bunkers, but managed to get up and down for a par.
Uphill par 4 with bunkers on the left. The bunkers does not really come into play and I hit my drive over and into the fairway. Wedge to the green and a 2 putt for par.
nice par 5 at Fancourt Montagu
Really nice par 5, especially around the green. I hit a poor drive right, 7 iron lay up and had a 9 iron to the green.
I missed my approach far left and had a difficult chip across the mount. Resulted in a bogey.
Another relatively short par 4 with bunkers well placed in the fairway. I missed my driver right but managed to get on the green in two and made par.
difficult hole 6 on Fancourt Montagu
The most difficult hole on the course and you need to be accurate from the tee with bunker protecting the left hand side of the fairway and water if you are too long. I opted for a 3 wood and hit if perfectly down the fairway.
Also: Sentosa Serapong, Singapore
Unfortunately I missed the green and made bogey. A really good and tough hole where I should have made par after that tee shot.
strong par 4 on Fancourt Montagu
This was one of my favourite holes on the course. A tricky and long par 4 with little room for error. I hit a good drive in the fairway and far enough to get a good view of the green
I hit a good approach shot to the green and got a par.
beautiful par 3 at Fancourt Montagu
beautiful par 3 with the mountains in the distance and water in front. It was slightly downwind so playing a bit shorter which meant I could hit a 6 iron.
Difficult to see the fairway from the tee as its protected by bunkers, but there is plenty of space. I hit a drive down the fairway and decided to lay up.
Made par to finish the first nine in 39 shots, which I was happy with.
back nine at Fancourt Montagu
Good opening hole to the back nine. It is reachable if you get a good drive down the fairway.
I tried to reach the green in two, but hooked the ball right into the water. Bogey….
Excellent par 3 with beautiful surroundings. I played the course in May and as you can see it is autumn where the leaves are falling down. I hit a good 6 iron and made par.
Another one of my favourite holes, the scenery is just fantastic. Dogleg left to right and puts pressure on hitting a good drive. I took the aggressive line over the left hand bunker and found the fairway.
Another stunning par 4. Only 365m but plenty of bunkers to take any wayward tee shots. I managed to get another good drive, approach and made par.
15th is a 380m par 4 slightly uphill. As you can see from above I found the bunker on my seconds, but got away with a par which was nice.
17th is a really good par 3 over water. Playing 160m I hit a 6 iron and managed to find the right hand side of the green and made par.
Even though it is relatively short par 5, the tee shot is tricky with a narrow landing area. I went for the driver and hit it solid down the fairway. The green is well protected by water so I decided to layup short of the green.
my experience
It is a very good finishing hole. My game plan of laying up paid of as I hit my approach pretty close and made the only birdie on the round. I was satisfied with my 78. It is not a particularly long course, but has some difficult holes where the tee shot is important. The course condition was pretty good even though they had maintenance done a week before. I can thoroughly recommend playing it.
