{"id":"st-francis-links","name":"St Francis Links","club":"St Francis Links","former_names":null,"place":["1 Jack Nicklaus Drive, St Francis Links Golf Estate","St Francis Bay","Eastern Cape","South Africa"],"city":"St Francis Bay","country":"South Africa","lat":null,"lon":null,"access":"semi-private","opened":2006,"architects":["Jack Nicklaus"],"par":72,"yards":7192,"signature_holes":"No. 17 (par 3, Redan-style green); No. 4 \"Double Vision\" (par 3, two greens); No. 11 \"Eish!\" (par 4); No. 18 (par 4, high tee, water left)","website":"https://stfrancislinks.com/","facts":[["Club","St Francis Links"],["Course","St Francis Links"],["Address","1 Jack Nicklaus Drive, St Francis Links Golf Estate, St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa"],["Owner","Links Golf Club RF Ltd"],["Access","semi-private"],["Public booking","yes"],["Opened","2006"],["Architects","Jack Nicklaus"],["Superintendent","Charl Blaauw, Greenkeeper (confirmed 2026-10-24)"],["Greens","bentgrass"],["Fairways","cool-season grass"],["Course record","62, Pieter Moolman, 2024, in competition"],["Phone","+27 42 200 4500"],["Website","https://stfrancislinks.com/"]],"history":[{"year":2024,"event":"SDC Championship","org":"DP World Tour; Sunshine Tour","line":"DP World Tour (European Tour); Sunshine Tour","winner":"Jordan Gumberg","slug":"jordan-gumberg","card":true,"players":[],"nationality":"United States","score":"276","to_par":"-12","margin":"playoff","playoff":true,"runners_up":"Robin Williams","sources":[{"name":"The Golf News Net","url":"https://thegolfnewsnet.com/ryan_ballengee/2024/03/03/2024-sdc-championship-final-results-prize-money-payout-leaderboard-and-how-much-each-golfer-won-131716/"},{"name":"ESPN","url":"https://www.espn.com/golf/schedule/_/season/2024/tour/eur"},{"name":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_European_Tour?oldid=1325209300"},{"name":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDC_Championship?oldid=1366443325"}],"year_page":null},{"year":2023,"event":"SDC Championship","org":"DP World Tour; Sunshine Tour","line":"DP World Tour (European Tour); Sunshine Tour","winner":"Matthew Baldwin","slug":"matthew-baldwin","card":true,"players":[],"nationality":"England","score":"270","to_par":"-18","margin":"7 strokes","playoff":false,"runners_up":"Adri Arnaus","sources":[{"name":"Wikipedia SDC Championship","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDC_Championship"},{"name":"ESPN DP World Tour 2023 schedule","url":"https://www.espn.com/golf/schedule/_/tour/eur/season/2023"}],"year_page":null}],"visits":[{"year":2023,"tour":"DP World Tour","event":"SDC Championship","status":"completed","start":"2023-03-16","end":"2023-03-19","rounds":"R1-R4","shared":false,"winner":"Matthew Baldwin","slug":"matthew-baldwin","card":true},{"year":2024,"tour":"DP World Tour","event":"SDC Championship","status":"completed","start":"2024-02-29","end":"2024-03-03","rounds":"all rounds","shared":false,"winner":"Jordan Gumberg","slug":"jordan-gumberg","card":true}],"details":[{"kind":"hole_name","name":"Double Vision","detail":"The par-3 4th has two separate greens: a lower one used most of the time, and a harder target higher on a dune.","holes":[4],"sources":[{"name":"SA Top 100 Courses","url":"https://satop100courses.com/course/st-francis-links/"}]},{"kind":"hole_name","name":"Eye of the Needle","detail":"The par-4 8th is named for the gap the tee shot must thread to a narrow fairway.","holes":[8],"sources":[{"name":"SA Top 100 Courses","url":"https://satop100courses.com/course/st-francis-links/"}]},{"kind":"hole_name","name":"Eish!","detail":"The par-4 11th is named for what many golfers exclaim on its elevated tee when they first see the hole carved through the dunes.","holes":[11],"sources":[{"name":"SA Top 100 Courses","url":"https://satop100courses.com/course/st-francis-links/"}]},{"kind":"feature","name":"The dam at 13-15","detail":"The Sand River runs through the property, and a large dam on the upper part of the course frames holes 13 to 15, guarding the left side of the par-5 13th.","holes":[],"sources":[{"name":"SA Top 100 Courses","url":"https://satop100courses.com/course/st-francis-links/"}]}],"lore":[{"headline":"Half the aces on one hole","story":"Of the 229 holes-in-one recorded at St Francis Links, 114 have come at the 17th, where Nicklaus built a Redan-style green in the dunes that slopes toward the back, where the pin is always placed.","label":"widely reported","sources":[{"name":"SA Top 100 Courses","url":"https://satop100courses.com/course/st-francis-links/"}]},{"headline":"The Ultimate Par 3","story":"CEO Jeff Clause converted the course into 18 par-3 holes using temporary tees 75 to 130 metres from each green - \"The Ultimate Par 3\", with its own scorecard and even a club championship.","label":"widely reported","sources":[{"name":"SA Top 100 Courses","url":"https://satop100courses.com/course/st-francis-links/"}]}],"renovations":[],"card":[],"osm":null}