Leopard Creek Country Club, a Gary Player design beside the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Ranked · 7 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses Designed By Gary Player

Nine major championships as a player, and more than 300 courses as a designer across six continents. Gary Player's architecture favors bold, demanding holes that ask for a brave shot, and the best of them sit in spectacular settings, from a man made links on the South African coast to the cliffs of the Black Sea. Here are the seven we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Leopard Creek Country Club, via Google

How we chose them

Gary Player Design has shaped courses on every continent that plays golf, so a global ranking has to weigh more than one country or one style. We looked for design quality, tournament pedigree, the strength of the setting and the overall experience for a traveling golfer, the courses worth crossing the world to play. South Africa, his home, naturally dominates the top of the list, but the spread runs from the Gulf to the Black Sea to India and the Costa del Sol.

Every fact here, from opening years to tournament history, was checked at the time of writing against the clubs and recognized sources. The verdicts and the order are our editors' view rather than any single published list, so reasonable people will reorder the field. Most of these welcome visitor or resort play and several host professional events. If you want any of them built into a costed itinerary with the lodging, the transfers and the tee times planned around your dates, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

The Links at Fancourt

George, South Africa · Presidents Cup 2003

Widely regarded as Player's finest design and one of the best courses in South Africa. Built on a former airfield outside George on the Garden Route, it is a man made links of huge, rumpled fairways, deep bunkers and firm, fast turf that asks for imagination and nerve. It staged the famous 2003 Presidents Cup, halved between the United States and the Internationals, and the South African Open, and it is play for resort guests by arrangement, the headline round of a Garden Route trip.

Plan a South Africa golf trip

Leopard Creek Country Club

Mpumalanga, South Africa · Alfred Dunhill Championship

One of the most spectacular settings in golf, laid out on the banks of the Crocodile River beside the Kruger National Park, where holes look out over the bush and the wildlife on the far bank. A Player design and a regular DP World Tour host as home of the Alfred Dunhill Championship, it is a strategic, beautifully conditioned course with the unforgettable backdrop of a safari. Access is for members and their guests, and it pairs perfectly with a stay in the Kruger.

Plan a safari and golf trip

Gary Player Country Club, Sun City

Sun City, South Africa · Nedbank Golf Challenge

The course that carries his name and one of the toughest resort tests in the country, the long, demanding host of the Nedbank Golf Challenge each November, often called Africa's major. Set in the bushveld resort of Sun City northwest of Johannesburg, it is a big, muscular layout that rewards length and punishes the wayward, with the famous closing stretch the players know well from television. Open to resort guests and the easiest of the South African headliners to play.

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Saadiyat Beach Golf Club

Abu Dhabi, UAE · beachfront design

The first beachfront course in the Gulf and repeatedly voted the best in the United Arab Emirates, a Player design on Saadiyat Island where several holes run hard against the dunes and the sea. Saltwater lagoons, native gardens and the Arabian Gulf give it a genuine coastal feel rare in the region, and it is immaculately kept and easy to combine with the museums and beaches of Abu Dhabi. A polished, year round visitor course and a fine winter sun round.

Plan an Abu Dhabi golf trip

Thracian Cliffs Golf and Beach Resort

Kavarna, Bulgaria · Black Sea cliffs

A Gary Player Signature design and one of the most dramatic courses in Europe, carved into the cliffs above the Black Sea on Bulgaria's northern coast. Holes tumble along the clifftops and down toward the water with vertiginous drops and huge sea views, a thrilling, photogenic round that has won a string of awards since it opened. Part of a resort with a marina and beach, it anchors an unexpected and good value golf escape on the edge of the continent.

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DLF Golf and Country Club

Gurgaon, India · DP World Tour host

A Player redesign that turned the DLF club near Delhi into India's most demanding championship course and a DP World Tour venue, host of the Indian Open and more recent tour events. Water, sculpted bunkering and fast, contoured greens make it a serious test, the kind of course that separates the field, set in the city of Gurgaon on the edge of the capital. The standout modern tournament course on the subcontinent and a draw for keen golfers visiting India.

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El Paraiso Golf Club

Costa del Sol, Spain · 1973

An early Player design on the Costa del Sol, laid out with Ronald Fream in 1973 in the valley near Estepona and a gentle, mature parkland course that has aged gracefully. Wide fairways, water and stands of established trees make it a relaxed, scenic round rather than a brutal test, well suited to a mixed group on a Costa del Sol golf holiday. It is the easy going member of this list, a pleasant change of pace among the heavier hitters of southern Spain.

Plan a Costa del Sol golf trip

Designers, opening years and tournament history verified June 2026. Several are private or members courses played by arrangement; resort courses welcome guests. Green fees and tee sheets vary by season. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Play a Gary Player design

Tell us which of these are on your list, the links at Fancourt, the bush at Leopard Creek, the cliffs of Thracian or a Gulf round at Saadiyat, and roughly when. One concierge arranges the tee times, the lodging and the routing, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Gary Player golf questions

What is the best Gary Player designed golf course?

The Links at Fancourt in George, South Africa, is widely regarded as Gary Player's finest design and is our pick, a man made links built on a former airfield that staged the 2003 Presidents Cup and the South African Open. Leopard Creek beside the Kruger National Park and the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, home of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, are the next two.

How many golf courses has Gary Player designed?

Gary Player Design has been responsible for more than 300 golf courses across some six continents, from his native South Africa to the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This list ranks the seven we rate most highly, weighing design quality, tournament pedigree, setting and the overall experience for a traveling golfer.

Can you play the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City?

Yes. The Gary Player Country Club at Sun City in South Africa, home of the Nedbank Golf Challenge each November, is open to resort guests and visitors, and is one of the toughest and most famous resort courses in the country. Tee times and green fees move with season and demand, so always confirm directly before booking.

Which Gary Player courses host professional tournaments?

Several. The Gary Player Country Club hosts the Nedbank Golf Challenge, Leopard Creek hosts the Alfred Dunhill Championship, The Links at Fancourt staged the 2003 Presidents Cup, and DLF Golf and Country Club in India has hosted DP World Tour events including the Indian Open. That tournament pedigree is part of why these designs rank so highly.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, opening years and tournament history verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.