R72 Coastal Road,
nr Port Alfred, Eastern Cape 6170
Office
+27 (0)40 676 1101Pro shop
+27 (0)40 676 1100Fax
+27 (0)40 676 1115Website
Visit websiteGolf pro
YesThe Course:
18 holes. Links-style. Undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb.
Surroundings:
Dunes and woodland.
Designer:
Gary Player
-33.484798
27.133977
100 km SW of East London / 160 km E of Port Elizabeth.
FROM PORT ELIZABETH follow the N2 heading east, direction East London. After approx 40 km take the R72 direction Port Alfred. After approx 100 km pass through Port Alfred. After a further 30 km on the R72, and just after crossing the Great Fish River, Fish River Sun is on your right.
FROM EAST LONDON take the R72 direction Port Alfred. After approx 120 km Fish River Sun is on your left, just before crossing the Great Fish River.
Fish River Sun
Fish River Sun Country Club: On South Africa's Sunshine Coast, in an area of great beauty, much historical interest and no real estate development, Gary Player has designed another in his excellent portfolio of South African courses.
Fish River is a bit off the beaten trail compared to the more popular Garden Route courses, but its naturalness and quality of layout ensures a round here is a rewarding experience. Although the Indian Ocean is only seen from the higher elevations, you'll be glad of the wind protection afforded by the tall line of impressive dunes that separate the golf course from the sea.
This well-maintained, semi-links style course, which slopes away from the clubhouse towards the dunes, contains many open areas where long grasses will catch anything too wayward. On other stretches, dense bushes line the holes, putting a premium on accuracy rather than length.
Although the course comes close to Fish River at one point (though you will not know it), it is in fact a smaller inlet from the sea, Old Woman's River, that comes dangerously into play on three of the back-nine holes.
The superb par-5 12th is wrapped around a horse-shoe bend in the river, while your drive must carry over the river on the par-4 13th. On the par-5 16th you make the second river crossing, this time about 100 metres before the green - another dazzling hole.
You'll occasionally find some tight dog-leg holes on this course, but above all will remember the magnificent views, testing layout and the Euphorbia (or Candelabra) trees that line several of the holes.
Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.
Must book in advance. Handicap preferred.
Non-metal spike facility. Walking permitted. Golf carts available for hire. Caddies available.
Good
Fish River Sun is a member of the Sun International Group, which owns and operates many resort destinations in southern Africa, including the Sun City Resort north-west of Johannesburg, Wild Coast Sun near Port Edward and Royal Swazi Spa in Swaziland (all detailed in Where2Golf.com).
The river that features most prominently on the course is not in fact Fish River, which is just beyond the course's southern perimeter, but Old Woman's River - a smaller river that also flows out to the sea.
The origins of the river's name is still the subject of speculation. One explanation is that during the 1819 Frontier War, when the British were expelling the Xhosa from the area, an old woman who lived alongside the river refused to leave. The story has it that her house was burned to the ground, with the old woman still inside it. Alternatively the river may have been named after Old Mother Finlayson, who ran an inn serving the British troops in this area during the mid-1800's.
R72 Coastal Road, Port Alfred 6170, Eastern Cape
+27 (0)405 66 1101
Visit websiteThe Fish River Sun Vacation Club boasts a superb 18-hole Gary Player designed Golf course, Body and Skin Clinic. The self-catering units, comprise 37 two bedroom units (one equipped for paraplegics), 2 three bedroom units and 1 luxury three bedroomed unit.
Fish River Sun
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