Cape Town and Winelands Golf Courses

Pearl Valley Golf Estate

Nestled in the heart of South Africa's beautiful Cape Winelands, Pearl Valley Golf Estates is recognized internationally as a prestigious destination for world-class golf, and is currently host of the SA Open, the second oldest open in the world.

The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and his touch and vision are evident throughout the course. To meet his high standards of golf course design and aesthetic beauty, the lush green fairways and greens, together with the brilliant white river sand lining the bunkers was carefully planned to make Pearl Valley Golf Estates the most visually spectacular golf course in the country.

Every hole is played against the spectacular backdrop of the mountains surrounding the estate and all are challenging due to the bunkers and fast greens.

The course has been designed with the area's prevailing winds in mind; the winter northwesterly and the summer southeasterly. All par 3s and par 5s play in different directions, ensuring that the same conditions are not experienced too many times in one round.

Erinvale Golf Estate

Erinvale Golf Estate, Host of the 1996 World Cup of Golf, nestled at the foothills of the Helderberg and Hottentot Holland mountains is one of South Africa's great golfing challenges.

Situated in the beautiful wine region, Erinvale's breathtaking mountain and sea views are an integral part of this unforgettable golfing experience.

Designed by Gary Player, Erinvale's beautifully manicured par 72 championship course boasts some of the country's most challenging and spectacular holes. The demanding front nine meanders through park-like terrain, whilst the back nine provide a contrasting challenge as it winds its way through the foothills of the mountains with panoramic views of False Bay.

Atlantic Beach Golf Club

Atlantic Beach Golf Estate, situated on the West Coast lying nestled between a wonderful nature reserve and the Atlantic Ocean, with clear views of both Table Mountain and Robben Island.

Recently used as a qualifying venue for the Open Championship, The Atlantic Beach Golf Course is a links course in the tradition of fabled courses such as St Andrews and Pebble Beach Golf Courses. Winding its way through the undulating dunes, and peppered with islands of Fynbos, the challenging (yet fair) course has been designed to be as enjoyable for the expert as it is for the weekend golfer.

It is with this in mind that the developers have made every effort to protect its environment, and as such any balls lost in the fynbos are deemed to have been lost and are not be retrieved.

The course is set out in two loops of nine that both return to the clubhouse, ensuring that few of the holes run in the same direction, a real bonus when the wind blows in from the ocean.

Royal Cape Golf Club

A day at Royal Cape allows you take in and play the oldest golf course in South Africa, formed in November 1885 as Cape Golf Club. It wasn't until 1910 that H M King George V gave the club its Royal status, in commemoration of the visit of H R H The Duke of Connaught, representing the King at the opening of the first Union of South Africa parliament.

With great views of Table Mountain from most holes, the Royal Cape is a true championship course having hosted the SA Open no less than 10 times.

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. 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, notably at the corner of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and also the 14th, 15th and 16th holes run in the same direction, a real bonus when the wind blows in from the ocean.

De Zalze

De Zalze Golf Course was opened for play in November 2000 under the name Spier Country Club. It was only in December 2003 with the opening of the new clubhouse that it changed to trade as De Zalze Golf Club, in line with the De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate development. Spier, together with Kleine Zalze, have redesigned the estate to make it one of the most sought after golf real estate properties in the Cape Winelands and South Africa.

De Zalze offers a fine mix of parkland holes, its main defences being the water features on several of the holes. The oak-lined Blaauwklippen River winds its way through the golf estate and comes into play at various intervals. Renowned golf course architect, Peter Matkovich, designed the De Zalze Golf Course, making most of the stunning setting while placing a premium on accuracy.

Although the scenic beauty of the area is evident on every hole, the 13th could be labelled as the signature hole at De Zalze. A boardwalk leads to a selection of tees in the hart of a dam. At 299m the hole doglegs left along the shore of the dam and depending on your tee shot crossing the water safely, the approach shot should be just a pitch. The kidney-shaped green is bunkered on the right and with water all the way up the left and around the back it makes a target not to be taken lightly. A par or less on this hole will stick fondly in the players memory.

Stellenbosch Golf Club

Stellenbosch Golf Club was formed back in 1904, making it the 4th oldest course in South Africa. It wasn’t until 1953 that it grew from a 9-hole course into the 18 holes it is today. It has a championship layout that has hosted many prestigious tournaments in the past. Amongst others, the South African Open and South African Masters were hosted at this picturesque 18-hole layout.

Nestled beautifully in between some of the world’s most famous wine farms, the course is surrounded by vineyards and offers fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.

Although the tree lined fairways may seem intimidating at first, if you adopt a clever game plan you will be pleasantly surprised at how much space there actually is when playing through the trees.

With the addition of the water hazards at the 12th and 18th holes, Stellenbosch is a real treat for golfers of all abilities.

Mowbray Golf Club

Located only 10 minutes from the Waterfront , Mowbray Golf Course is an ideal destination for any golfing tour visiting the Cape. Set at the foot of Table Mountain, the course is renowned for the breathtaking views on offer.

A true championship course, Mowbray has been host to the SA Open on 7 occasions and host to the Bells Cup 3 times.

Mowbray is a parkland course, which provides an excellent test of golf. The terrain is flat, but plenty of trees and water features make for an interesting experience, with the beauty of the mountain and abundant wild life dominating the scenery.

A significant feature of any coastal course is, of course, the wind. This is where Mowbray is unique, in that the holes have been so laid out that you will seldom find yourself with the wind directly in your face or right at your back.

Whilst the course is not particularly long, the golfer will find Mowbray a real challenge