Golf

Cape Town has always had a reputation for a scintillating night life and white sandy beaches but it's also a world-class destination for clubbers of a different kind.

South Africa pro tour, the Sunshine Tour (www.sunshinetour.co.za) brings a handful of tournaments to the Cape specifically to championship courses like Pearl Valley Golf Estate in Paarl (021 867 8000 / www.paarlvalleygolfestates.com), Arabella (028 284 0006 / www.westerncapehotelandspa.co.za) near Hermanus, and Fancourt in George (044 804 0030 / www.fancourt.co.za) the latter being the venue for the prestigious Gary Player Invitational Pro-Am.

For the golf enthusiast, South Africa is a wonderful destination - and that's an understatement. The country boasts an ideal climate for spending time out on the fairways under the bright African sun and golfers here are blessed for choice.

If you enjoy the challenge of a coastal course, there is a stunning selection available. If you prefer playing at altitude, where the ball flies that much further, the selection is just as good.

Probably the most famous golf course in South Africa is the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, home to the Nedbank Golf Challenge, that offers the biggest first prize of any tournament in the world.

However, there are many other world-class courses that have featured on both the European PGA Tour as well as the local Sunshine Tour, and a wealth of excellent courses besides.

South Africa has produced a number of golfers of the highest calibre, including Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman - major winners all - and once you've experienced some of the courses we have to offer, you'll begin to understand why.

Start planning your golfing safari now!

CAPE TOWN GOLF COURSES

Atlantic Beach Golf Club

The Atlantic Seaboard, also known as Cape Town's 'Riviera', stretches from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront on the north shore of Table Mountain all the way down the west side of the cape peninsula to Hout Bay.

This incredibly beautiful stretch of coast is connected by the most picturesque, scenic drive along Victoria Road and properties on this stretch of South Africa's Cote d'Azur fetch unprecedented prices, now that this truly beautiful part of the coast is so sought after.

Boschenmeer Paarl Golf Estate

The club was formed in 1908 and since then Boschenmeer has gone through some radical changes with the development of the Boschenmeer Estate.

The project included the design and construction of an additional nine holes, turning Paarl Golf Club into the Western Cape's first 27 hole facility.

Devonvale Golf Club

Blending the magnificence of natural beauty and vineyards, with sculptured greens at an international standard golf course, Devonvale Golf Lodge caters for the Individuals and well as Groups. The Lodge is built near the clubhouse with magnificent views over the vineyards, the surrounding mountains and the golf course.

Pearl Valley Golf Estate

Pearl Valley Golf Estates is a Jack Nicklaus-designed, 170-hectare championship golf course (par 72) lying in the heart of the Cape Winelands. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Drakenstein Mountains, it is one of the most visually spectacular golf courses in the world and one of the most challenging in Africa.

Pearl Valley Golf Estates was named 'Best Golf Course of the Year' in 2005 and won a PMR Diamond Arrow Award in 2008, achieving the highest rating of any golf course in the Western Cape. In 2007, it announced a three-year deal to host the South African Open Championship, one of the oldest Opens in world golf.

Every hole is designed to offer everyday enjoyment for members, whilst effortlessly rising to the challenge of major international championships by speeding up the greens, bringing the back tees into play and defining more challenging fairways.

Rondebosch Golf Club

Rondebosch Golf Club's 18-hole course is rated as a 'must-play' amongst golfers. Situated only ten minutes from Cape Town's city centre, with magnificent views of Devil's Peak and Table Mountain, the course is a popular choice for local and foreign visitors.

Since its establishment in 1911, the Club has built a solid tradition, which is upheld by its strong membership. Continued development and beautification has ensured that the course maintains its excellent condition all year round. It remains a challenge to the serious golfer, but is user friendly for the less experienced.

Rondebosch has hosted seven consecutive Sunshine Tour events, 2 professional ladies European Tour events and the South African Ladies Amateur Open.

The river which winds through the course provides challenges to the players and is home to a variety of bird life; from cormorants and kingfishers to wild ducks and egrets.

Westlake Golf Club

Against the amethyst slopes of the Silvermine mountains lies one of Cape Town's Premier Courses - Westlake. This easy to walk, 18 hole Par 72 golf course is characterised by the towering trees, which line many of its fairways.

Westlake has a very interesting, yet user-friendly design and quite a few doglegs. If you manage to stay out of the trees, you will achieve a good score.

From the first to the eighteenth hole, every step affords panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.

Established in 1932, Westlake Golf Club welcomes visitors with its special blend of old world charm and modern amenities in an atmosphere of conviviality and camaraderie.

Milnerton Golf Club

Milnerton Golf Course is an 18-hole, par 72 seaside course situated in a leafy suburb just 10 minutes north of the city of Cape Town. Surrounded by natural beauty, the course is a pleasure to the senses.

Nestled between the Atlantic ocean and the Riet Vlei river, this lush links-type course is relatively flat with few trees. But with the sea and the lagoon bordering most holes, and the 7 beautiful water holes waiting to claim the wayward shot, it offers a truly unique golfing experience! Typical of many links-type courses, you will play the first 9 holes out, enjoy a light meal at the halfway house, and then return back to the clubhouse via the second 9.

The Attraction... On most holes, the sound of the waves breaking on the shore just metres away will remain long after your game is over. The spectacular view of Table Mountain from almost every hole is breathtaking, while the nature lovers will be thrilled at the abundance of water birds on the bordering river.

Royal Cape Golf Club

With lovely views of Table Mountain from most holes this championship course offers a beautiful setting that will make your visit here truly memorable.

Background

Royal Cape Golf Club is a true championship course having hosted the South African Open no less than ten times and the SA Amateur Championships eight times. The most recent SA Open held here was in 1996 and was won by Ernie Els.

The Course today

Extensive work was done on the greens in 2000 to bring them up to the USGA standards and the course today is a fine test of golf and worthy of its championship rating. Essentially it is a very flat parkland course, well maintained and a pleasure to play with lovely views of the surrounding mountains. But don't be deceived by its apparent easiness. The fairways are narrow, demanding extreme accuracy off the tee, wayward shots can be heavily penalized amongst the trees and the greens are well bunkered. There is also plenty of water on the course.

Clovelly Country Club

With one of the finest golf courses in South Africa, Clovelly offers its members and visitors a memorable experience. Nestled in the pristine and tranquil Silvermine Valley close to Fish Hoek lies Clovelly Country Club. Clovelly - like fine Cape wines - improves steadily with age.

Clovelly's championship-quality greens (bent grass/poa annua mix) are among the finest in Southern Africa. Of moderate length (5 869m - Par 72 men & Par 73 ladies), Clovelly is unique in that it follows neither the links nor the American tradition in its design. It is a tight course by South African standards, and has a fine blend of testing holes, with the Silvermine River, and adjacent ponds adding much to their character.

Looking at the stunning course, one can hardly imagine it having been a series of sand dunes with a greenhouse as its rendezvous. A favourite course of Bobby Locke, each hole has a special distinctive setting, with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains and the bay.

Erinvale Golf Club

Gary Player designed the 18 hole championship golf course and has fast become renowned throughout the golfing fraternity, both locally and abroad. Erinvale hosted the 1996 World Cup of Golf, where thirty two participating nations competed and found the course both a golfing challenge and visual delight. It currently hosts the annual SAA Open, showcasing the South African golfing talent.

This is one of the best and most beautiful golf courses in South Africa of two separate and contrasting nine holes. The front nine meanders through flat parkland terrain and the many houses on this part of the estate, while the back nine climb drastically up the mountain with views of the coastline from the top holes. There is a lot of water and some unusual pothole sand traps.

The signature hole is on the par-four 17th, a finishing hole that is a test of nerves for any golfer! Playing downhill from an elevated tee, this hole is long and narrow, with tall pines flanking one side and an out-of-bounds on the other.

Mowbray Golf Club

The club is recognized as being one of the best in the country with all major amateur championships having been played there. Mowbray has hosted the SA Open seven times and the Bells Cup three times.

Set at the foot of Table Mountain, Mowbray Golf Club is renowned for its breathtaking views, lush fairways and immaculate greens.

There are a variety and abundance of birdlife clusters around the water features. Experience the pleasure of teeing off down newly mown fairways, bordered by tall pines and indigenous trees.

Bellville Golf Club

Centrally situated in the Peninsula (Cape Town, South Africa) within easy reach from all major access routes, this course is a must for all golfers. This 18-hole golf course situated in the Welgemoed suburb of Bellville, is set in a sheltered valley of rolling hills with panoramic views of the Hottentots Holland mountains in the distance. The 72 Par, 6000 meter course offer golfers the opportunity of a challenging round of golf.

When upgrading the course, the course architects made every effort to incorporate the natural contours and features of the course. This resulted in a course that caters for golfers of all levels of expertise. The course is well bunkered, well watered and has 5 water holes.

The dams and water canals abound with birds and wild fowl. Manicured fairways and greens, lined with a variety of trees and floral features add to the tranquil and pleasing setting.

Durbanville Golf Club

The Durbanville Golf Club began in 1971 and the Club has come a long way since those early days. It is located in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town, just a 30 km drive or 25 minutes from Cape Town on the N1 freeway.

There are no steep hills to climb, nor thick jungle to swallow your golf ball. Here you will find open space with beautiful fairways, bent grass greens the equal of any others, a course in immaculate condition. All in all, a wonderful setting for a game of golf with a view across the course to the distant mountains from the lounge bar, where you may enjoy your drink after the game.

Arabella Country Club

Bordering the largest natural lagoon in South Africa, with the ninth, seventeenth, and eighteenth running parallel to the water, Arabella Country Club provides both a wonderful golf challenge and an eye-catching landscape. Designed by top local designer Pete Matkovich, the course has been ranked 100th in the world outside the US by Golf Digest USA.

It made a strong impact when Golf Digest named it the best new course in South Africa in 1999, and it has kept up the high standard it set early on, featuring regularly as one of South Africa's top-10 courses.

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