The iconic Wild Coast Sun course remains one of the most exhilarating golfing experiences in South Africa. Built on rugged undulating terrain next to the Indian Ocean, it offers a combination of quirky and dramatic holes.

Wild Coast Sun Country Club is laid out within a 1,800-acre estate on the edge of the Eastern Cape, overlooking the Indian Ocean, near Port Edward.

Constructed by Robert Trent Jones II in 1983, it remains the only course designed in South Africa by the American golf architect and it’s routed over terrain in keeping with the coastline around this part of the Cape: wild, rugged and spectacular.

Set in natural bush between the Mtamvuna and Mzamba rivers, Wild Coast Sun’s fairways rise and fall then twist and turn throughout its 6,400-yard length, presenting especially challenging holes at the six par-three holes on the scorecard.

It is surprisingly short from the club tees at 5,329 metres (5,828 yards), mainly because of the par-threes, but then again there are no long par-fours. On a calm day it’s benign, yet extremely tricky and testing in a firm wind.

Virtually every hole is played in its own separate parcel of land, offering very little warning of the changing topography to come. Trent Jones has stretched his imagination to the full in sculpting a course from this rolling landscape.

The par five 12th ‘Green Mamba’ is rated one of the best 18 holes in South Africa, with the tee-shot played from an elevated tee toward a cascading waterfall from where the fairway then cuts through a valley towards the kidney-shaped green.

DID YOU KNOW

• 62 by Brett Liddle. Jean Hugo had a 60 (30-30) in October 2019 at Wild Coast Sun Challenge (eagle, 8 birdies), but preferred lies were in effect. Shaun Norris shot 60 (31-29) in the July 2024 SunBet Challenge (eagle, 9 birdies)
• James Kingston’s 61 in the 2005 Nashua Masters (29-32) included scores from one to five on his card. He aced the 11th and had an eagle-two at the second
• The first Sunshine Tour event at the Wild Coast was in 1984, and Seve Ballesteros was in the field, finishing third