Eastern Cape Golf Courses: Book Tee Times & Play South Africa's Best Links Golf in 2026/2027

The Eastern Cape is the province where South Africa’s links golf heritage is most directly expressed. Eighteen courses are listed in the GolfLux database, and the two that define the destination’s international standing are at opposite ends of the design spectrum. Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) is described by the GolfLux listing as often ranked just behind Durban Country Club, an authentic links course with winding fairways and natural sea breezes on the Indian Ocean coast. St Francis Links at St Francis Bay, designed by Jack Nicklaus and carrying a slope of 149, is one of the highest-rated courses in South Africa by technical difficulty. That slope of 149 puts it in rare company: for context, Augusta National’s slope from the championship tees is 148. The address is literally 1 Jack Nicklaus Drive.

Beyond those two headline courses, the province adds Olivewood Golf Estate at slope 148 in East London, Wedgewood Park Country Club at slope 136 in Port Elizabeth, Bushman Sands Golf Club designed by Gary Player in Alicedale, and a further thirteen courses spread across the Gqeberha, East London, and Garden Route coastal corridor. The Eastern Cape is not just a single-city golf program. It is a coastal driving circuit, and the roads that connect Port Elizabeth to St Francis Bay to East London run through some of the most distinctive coastal and valley landscape in South Africa.

The Eastern Cape suits dedicated golfers specifically seeking Humewood’s links character and St Francis Links’ Nicklaus design at slope 149, visitors building a South Africa coastal circuit that connects the Eastern Cape with the Western Cape Garden Route, and couples who want the Addo Elephant National Park safari alongside the links golf.

Best golf courses in Eastern Cape

Eighteen courses are listed. Five form the primary visiting program.

1. St Francis Links

St Francis Links is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 6,553 meters with a slope of 149, designed by Jack Nicklaus, located at 1 Jack Nicklaus Drive in St Francis Bay according to the club. The GolfLux listing describes it as masterfully crafted by the legendary Jack Nicklaus, positioned between the beach and fertile valleys, with the blue sea and wide grasslands giving it a sense of peace and luxury. At slope 149 it is one of the most technically demanding courses in South Africa by rated difficulty, and the St Francis Bay coastal setting gives it a links character that the inland plateau courses cannot replicate.

It suits experienced low-handicap golfers who want the most demanding single round in the Eastern Cape, golfers specifically collecting Nicklaus-designed courses across Africa, and anyone for whom slope 149 is itself the objective.

2. Humewood Golf Club

Humewood Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 6,372 meters, located at 39 Marine Drive in Summerstrand, Gqeberha according to the club. The GolfLux listing notes it is celebrated as one of the nation’s premier golfing destinations, often ranked just behind Durban Country Club, esteemed for its authentic links character. The Marine Drive position in Summerstrand places several holes in direct proximity to the Indian Ocean coastline, and the natural sea breezes that influence every round give it the wind-dependent character that distinguishes genuine links golf from parkland courses that simply sit near the sea.

It suits golfers who want the most historically significant and nationally ranked Eastern Cape links experience, and as the anchor course for any Gqeberha-based golf program.

3. Olivewood Golf Estate

Olivewood Golf Estate is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 6,207 meters with a slope of 148, located on Schafli Road in East London according to the club. At slope 148 it is marginally below St Francis Links in difficulty rating and one of the more demanding coastal courses in the province. The East London position makes it the natural anchor course for the northern Eastern Cape coastal program.

4. Bushman Sands Golf Club

Bushman Sands Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 71 layout measuring 6,034 meters, designed by Gary Player, located in Alicedale in the Karoo region of the Eastern Cape according to the club. The Player design in the semi-arid Karoo interior gives it a completely different character from the coastal links courses, and the Alicedale position near the Grahamstown area puts it within range of the Addo Elephant National Park to the south. It suits golfers who want the most distinctive inland Eastern Cape round in a Karoo bushveld setting.

5. Wedgewood Park Country Club

Wedgewood Park Country Club is an 18-hole, par 72 layout measuring 6,004 meters with a slope of 136, located at 226 Cape Road in Mill Park, Port Elizabeth according to the club. The slope of 136 makes it the most demanding of the Gqeberha city courses and a practical second-round option for golfers who cover Humewood on day one.

Which course is better?

St Francis Links is the first choice for Nicklaus design credential and the highest slope in the province. Humewood is the links heritage first choice and the most nationally ranked Eastern Cape course. Olivewood suits East London-based golfers. Bushman Sands is the Karoo interior option with Gary Player design. Wedgewood Park is the strongest second Gqeberha round. Most Eastern Cape programs pair Humewood and St Francis Links as the two primary days.

Best time to play golf in Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape has a broadly temperate climate on the coast, cooler than KwaZulu-Natal to the north. South Africa’s tourism authorities note the province has mild temperatures year-round with the main rain season falling in spring and autumn rather than the summer or winter extremes of other provinces.

May to September is generally the driest and clearest window. The sea breeze that defines the links character at Humewood and St Francis Links is at its most consistent, and the coastal roads between Gqeberha and St Francis Bay are comfortable for driving. This is also the dry safari season at Addo Elephant National Park.

October to April brings more variable weather with spring and autumn rain. Humewood’s links conditions are most dramatic in this period when wind and rain create the authentic links scoring challenge. Morning rounds at all courses remain playable.

Eastern Cape golf holidays and package tours

The Eastern Cape suits four to seven day programs structured around a coastal driving route. Port Elizabeth International Airport serves Gqeberha with direct connections from Johannesburg and Cape Town. The drive from Gqeberha to St Francis Bay takes about 90 minutes on the N2 coastal highway, and East London is about three hours further northeast.

The most natural Eastern Cape golf program is two to three days based in Gqeberha for Humewood and Wedgewood Park, a drive to St Francis Bay for St Francis Links and one night, and either a return to Gqeberha or a continuation northeast toward East London and Olivewood. The Addo Elephant National Park is about 70 kilometers north of Gqeberha and fills a full day or overnight for non-golfing program content.

Addo Elephant National Park is the strongest non-golf draw in the province. South Africa’s Department of Environment notes Addo as a Big Five reserve with one of the highest elephant densities of any protected area in Africa, accessible from Gqeberha in about an hour. The park has expanded beyond its original elephant focus to include lion, buffalo, and black rhino. Browse South Africa golf packages or create a custom Eastern Cape and Garden Route itinerary connecting the province with the Western Cape.

Golf with the Wild Coast and Addo Elephant Park

Addo Elephant National Park, established in 1931 to protect the last eleven elephants remaining in the Eastern Cape after decades of hunting, has grown to cover over 180,000 hectares and support a population of over 600 elephants according to South Africa’s Department of Environment. The park is malaria-free, making it one of the most practically accessible Big Five reserves in South Africa without the health precautions required for the Kruger and Limpopo parks. For golfers based in Gqeberha, a morning round at Humewood followed by an afternoon drive into Addo covers the Eastern Cape’s two most recognized activities in a single day.

The Wild Coast, the coastal strip between East London and the KwaZulu-Natal border running through the former Transkei homeland, is the most culturally distinct part of the Eastern Cape. The Xhosa communities of the Wild Coast maintain a traditional architectural and ceremonial culture visible in the painted homesteads, the red ochre dress of married women in traditional areas, and the landscape of rolling green hills falling to the Indian Ocean cliffs. Nelson Mandela was born in Mvezo near the Wild Coast and grew up in Qunu, both now designated heritage sites. For golfers who extend beyond East London to the northeast, the Wild Coast route along the R61 between East London and Mthatha provides the most direct engagement with this specific cultural landscape.

St Francis Bay itself, where the Nicklaus course sits, is a tidal canal village with whitewashed walls and thatched roofs that has attracted a small arts and surf community. The surf break at Supertubes in neighboring Jeffrey’s Bay, one of the most internationally recognized surfing spots in the world, is about 15 kilometers from St Francis Bay and a practical afternoon stop after a morning round at St Francis Links. Jeffrey’s Bay hosts a stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour annually, which gives the area a specific sporting identity alongside its golf credentials.

Book tee times in Eastern Cape

St Francis Links is the most in-demand Eastern Cape course and should be booked at least two weeks ahead for peak season weekend slots. The combination of the Nicklaus credential and the slope 149 rating draws golfers from Johannesburg and Cape Town as well as international visitors. Humewood should be booked a week ahead for weekend slots. Olivewood, Bushman Sands, and Wedgewood Park are accessible with a few days’ notice outside of public holiday periods.

When organizing an Eastern Cape golf program, confirm St Francis Links and Humewood as priority bookings, the coastal N2 road timing between Gqeberha and St Francis Bay, accommodation in Gqeberha for the city courses and at St Francis Bay or Jeffrey’s Bay for the Nicklaus course, and how the Addo Elephant National Park day connects with the golf morning schedule. Start planning here or browse South Africa golf packages to build an Eastern Cape program that covers the links coastal circuit.