Top 7 golf courses for incredible wildlife encounters around the world

Courses
Elephant on a golf course

With beautiful golf courses found everywhere, the sport encourages you to travel worldwide.

No two countries are the same, and golf is the perfect excuse to explore the globe and all it has to offer.

Every course is different, with challenging holes and layouts but also another dimension – wildlife.

From bouncing kangaroos to deadly game or alligators, playing courses around the world can be the perfect option to combine the sport you love with once-in-a-lifetime animal encounters.

Wherever you and your golf bag travel, you are almost guaranteed to come face to face with wildlife, some more dangerous than others!

Here are the top 7 golf courses that often share their greens with some of the most incredible species around the planet.

7. Pennard Golf Club, Wales

Boasting idyllic cliff views, this Swansea-based golf course offers outstanding natural beauty to all that venture their way.

It is almost guaranteed that you will encounter Welsh livestock during your round, with cattle and sheep roaming the course.

Green fees: £85pp

6. Fripp Island Golf Resort, USA

This pretty golf course in South Carolina provides a challenging test and is most definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Alligators often frequent the course and reside in the freshwater lagoons in and around Fripp Island – we don’t recommend fishing your golf balls out of the water here!

Green fees: £90pp

5. Brora Golf Club, Scotland

Often considered the home of golf, you really can’t go wrong with Brora, a classic links golf course in the Scottish Highlands.

Along with its stunning views of the notorious highlands, the course is rife with livestock and a true Scottish golfing experience.

Green fees: £95pp

4. Stanthorpe Golf Club, Australia

Based in Queensland, the Stanthorpe Golf Club is an absolute must when exploring the east coast of Australia.

When strolling down the fairway to your next shot, you will inevitably see kangaroos hopping, bouncing and boing around the golf course.

Green Fees: £15pp

3. Elephant Hills Resort, Zimbabwe

Situated at the world-renowned Victoria Falls, this challenging golf course ticks off a large portion of every golfer’s bucket list.

In addition to the spectacular scenery, you may see an incredible home for wildlife, including elephants, warthogs, buck, impala, waterbuck, baboons, guinea fowl, Egyptian geese, egrets and cranes while out on the course.

Green fees: £60pp

2. Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club, Canada

A summer-season golf course in Whistler, British Columbia, offers picturesque views of all that this part of Canada has to offer.

When summer starts to come around, native black and grizzly bears start to emerge from the mountains when hungry, making encounters all the more likely.

Green Fees: £110pp

1. Skukuza Golf Course, South Africa

In the heart of the South African safari, within the Kruger National Park, lies the mindblowing Skukuza Golf Course.

This course features a staggering array of wildlife, including lions, hyenas, leopards, Nile crocodiles, elephants, hippos, buffalo, zebras, wildebeest and antelope.

The course is unfenced within the National Park and truly earns its name of the ‘World’s Wildest Golf Course’ and Number 1 status on this Golf365 list.

Green fees: £30pp

READ MORE: Five must-play courses in Wales – the UK’s hidden golfing gem

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