South Africa has long been a popular destination for its wine and safaris, but it is also quickly gaining recognition as a true golf destination. South Africa has some of the world’s best golf resorts and golf courses. South African golf hero Gary Player has designed many famous golf courses such as The Links at Fancourt. Golf and wine or golf and safari holidays are very popular with golfers nowadays. Check out these 10 Golf Courses in the Western Cape!
Cape Town, The Links
The Links is a private Club, but limited tee times are available for guests staying in the Hotel at Fancourt. The Links at Fancourt was added in 2000, an awe-inspiring example of magnificent design and golf-course construction, about which designer Gary Player says: “I feel a genuine affinity for Fancourt having been involved from day one as a designer of the original golf courses, I experienced one of the greatest thrills of my golf career here when captaining the International Presidents Cup team against Jack Nicklaus’ American team, and it is the home of perhaps my greatest achievement as a golf course designer, The Links.”
The Links at Fancourt is without doubt the most impressive piece of golf design and construction ever in South Africa. Fancourt owner Dr Hasso Plattner commissioned a golf course, which would not only be a thorough test for every golfer, but would also rank among the top courses in the world.
George, Outenique
Ranked 17th in South Africa by the Golf Digest experts, Fancourt’s Outeniqua golf course offers a leisurely and entertaining golfing experience. It provides a more forgiving terrain than its counterpart, the Montagu, but offers its fair share of challenges to keep golfers interested.
Also designed by Gary Player and named after the Outeniqua Mountains, the course can comfortably accommodate a large field of golfers. A detailed stroke saver takes golfers through the course, providing distance measurements and images that assist players with navigating the course. A warm-up area, featuring a full-length range and a chipping and bunker practice area, is available to golfers before play. Golf carts are available for hire, weather permitting.
Stellenbosch, The Zalze Golf Club
The Zalze Golf Club is located in Stellenbosch in the Blauwklippen River Valley. Here you may be making your hole-in-one on a course, which is a mix of a Links and a Parkland course. A beautiful setting designed by Peter Matkovich between mountains and wine farms where the river is a recurring obstacle. In October 2006 the World Amateur Championships were held here. You will love the beautiful location and the beautiful natural setting in which you will be playing.
Somerset West, Erinvale
At the foot of the Helderberg Mountains is one of South Africa’s most challenging golf courses. This is a course with 2 very different nines. The feature of the first 9 is that they are located on a flat area and the second nine climb the slopes of the mountain. The signature hole of this course is the Par 4, 17th hole going downhill. The view here is breathtaking and as a golfer you will enjoy the beautiful mountains but also the sea view on the False Bay.
Paarl, Pearl Valley
Perhaps one of the most beautifully situated courses in the wine country around Cape Town is in the valley of Paarl. Pearl Valley is also called ‘picture perfect’ with its view of the Simonsberg and Drakenstein mountains. Laid out within a 500-acre residential estate in the Cape Winelands, Pearl Valley is one of the most visually pleasing courses imaginable, with brilliant white river sand bunkers that contrast sharply against the varying emerald hues of the fairways and greens. Pearl Valley was the stage of the South African Open from 2007 to 2009.
Mossel Bay, Pinnacle Point
Located near Mossel Bay on the Garden Route you will find this impeccable 18 hole course. The Pinnacle golf course is comparable to the best golf courses in the world and is a piece of masterpiece in design. Peter Matkovich is the golf architect responsible for the design and describes Pinnacle Point as the most dramatic golf course he has ever encountered in the world.
Knysna, Simola
Seeing all the beauty on this track probably won’t keep you cool. On the coast but out of the wind, that is a special feature. Each hole is constructed in such a way that it blends naturally into the surrounding area. With a view of the Knysna lagoon, all the way to the Heads and over the Knysna River that slowly winds down, you might just lose your focus.
Knysna, Pezula
Pezula Championship Golf Course is located in the picturesque town of Knysna, the jewel of the world famous Garden Route. This good golf course is a sweeping spectacle of fairways and greens rolling through the pristine Southern Cape landscape. The golf course was designed by David Dale and Ronald Fream of GolfPlan USA. Pezula means High up with the Gods, and I think we understand why it has that name.
Kleinmond, Arabella
A gem and lives up to its name, it means: “Beautiful land” and nothing could be further from the truth. The course is challenging enough to keep you coming back and fun enough not to want to say goodbye. The course blends into its environment without compromising the expectations of the amateur or professional golfer. It borders the largest natural lagoon in Southern Africa, and the 9th, 17th and 18th run parallel to the lagoon.
Constantia – Tokai, Steenberg Golf Club
An exclusive and private golf club in the idyllic setting of Constantia, a beautiful wine region just outside Cape Town, where gardens, vineyards and forests balance each other. This Golf Course attracts golfers looking for the total golf experience. The par 3, a not too short 14th hole, has a green of 76 meters and the green hill is guarded by beautiful native bushes, which break through the echo of the mountain range behind it. Steenberg is named annually in the top 100 golf courses in South Africa. The Steenberg golf course is open to the public, but guests of the hotel of the same name enjoy certain privileges.
