Cape Town Golf Courses you just have to visit

Cape Town and its surrounding areas offers perhaps the most concentrated area of world-class golf courses set amongst the most inspiring scenery. Many of the Cape Peninsula and Cape Town golf courses are rated the country’s finest.

For example the Arabella Course, which is located in Kleinmond in the Western Cape. The course was designed for the expert or the amateur by the famous architect, Peter Matkovich. What has resulted is a course that is focused on balance and fits perfectly into the environment without sacrificing anything for the golfer. Some other important courses are the Boschenmeer, Clovelly, Erinvale and Atlantic Beach courses. Atlantic Beach is in Blaauwberg on Melkbosstrand. The course is quite tricky to handle when the wind picks up so you may have to use the firm turf to play some low running shots. On quiet days you can really enjoy the sea breeze coming off the ocean on this Championship Links golf course. Of course we can’t leave out Hermanus, Langebaan or Metropolitan Cape Town golf course. And definitely not Bellville right in the breath-taking heart of the Welgemoed Valley. The course is hardly ever affected by the winds of the Peninsula and to make up for that has some very testing bunkers and water hazards. This stunning Cape Town golf course is always lush, fresh and green, and a definite must no matter what time of year you find yourself here. Especially seeing as it’s quite easy to get to being close to all major routes in the middle of the peninsula. Go play a round with the Hottentots Holland Mountains as your backdrop to a beautiful game in the sheltered valley. You have to try out Milnerton, Mowbray and Pearl Valley.

And definitely Rondebosch Golf course a very popular choice amongst travellers and locals, just ten minutes from Cape Town city centre. It is one of the most beautiful courses with most holes bragging a spectacular view of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak. Perhaps that’s the reason why it has been chosen to host two Ladies European Tour events, seven Sunshine Tour events and the Ladies Amateur Open. This typical Parkland course attracts a lot of bird life, possibly because of the beautiful river snaking its way through the course adding to the water hazards. Recent changes to the course have made the course even more challenging, what with the rolling fairways, long drives and windy conditions. All that means is it’s a good game of golf all round.

Another Cape Town golf course you can’t miss out on is the Royal Cape Golf Course, the oldest course in Africa. Established in 1885 it’s a simple 15 minutes from the city centre and hosted the South African Open eleven times. The narrow fairways means that off shots are punished by trees on either side, and if you happen to squeeze some past there you’ll have to face a lot of bunkers around the green. The parkland course has undergone some modifications to fall in line with the United States Golf Association’s specifications. Some other courses worth trying are Somerset West, De Zalze, Steenberg and Stellenbosch, which hosted the South African Open in 1999. This Championship Parkland course is beautifully surrounded by vineyards and Cape Dutch style houses in the area. And you have to try out the Strand, Westlake and Worcester Courses. The Worcester Golf Club was designed by Peter Matkovich and Gary Player and is situated about 45 minutes out of Cape Town. Perhaps it was the panoramic beauty of the Brandwacht Mountains or the expanse of Worcester and the Breede River Valley set before him that made Player describe this course as the finest site in the world. The Cape Peninsula and Cape Town golf courses certainly have the lion’s share of first rate courses and if you ever go for a trip to the Cape make sure you pack your clubs and experience some of the best courses the world has to offer.