Fancourt has a distinctly more European atmosphere than competing Sun City. The architecture is elegantly minimalistic instead of African fantasy, and that is due in large part to Hasso Plattner, the German owner. And yet Africa is more present here than elsewhere. In the Garden Route, visitors can look forward to encounters with the fascinating “big five” of wildlife: lions, leopards, buffalo, rhinos, and elephants. The “big three,” on the other hand, refer to the resort’s golf courses: The Links, Montagu, and Outeniqua. The Links is one of the best courses in Africa. To achieve this masterpiece, Gary Player and his design team spent months traveling through Scotland and Ireland to draw inspiration from the fairways and greens so steeped in history. The 2003 Presidents Cup was held on The Links course, which ended in a historic tie after a playoff between Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.
