Blending breath-taking scenery, coastal vistas and challenging course designs, a golf holiday to Cape Town will live long in the memory. Read on to discover our comprehensive guide to the best golf courses to play on your next trip to The Mother City.
Nestled between the majestic Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Town offers an unparalleled golf experience, that encompasses everything that we love about golf in South Africa with abundant beauty and nature combined with world-class courses in immaculate condition.
Cape Town offers some of the best courses not just in South Africa but the continent as a whole, with it’s courses each offering their own unique characteristics. We are often asked by our customers, what are the best golf courses in Cape Town?
So, we’ve put together this list of the very best for you to look out for on your next visit.
Set against the majestic backdrop of the Bot River Lagoon about an hour south-east of Cape Town, Arabella Golf Club ranks as the 8th best golf course in South Africa and is always a treat to play.
A Peter Matkovich-designed masterpiece, Arabella prides itself on being in tune with its natural surroundings with a lot of the course defences being part of the unique ecosystems that border the course. The course has previously hosted the Gary Player Invitational until 2008 and has also been regularly featured on the Sunshine Tour proving its merit as one of Cape Town’s best layouts.
Arabella facts
The second Jack Nicklaus signature course to open in South Africa, Pearl Valley is a superb course that’s renowned for its impeccable conditioning and strategic layout. The course naturally winds its way through the Cape Winelands, making it one of most captivating courses visually in all of South Africa.
Officially inaugurated by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in 2003, Pearl Valley is currently ranked 12th in South Africa and offers golfers a demanding experience with long straight drives a necessity to score well.
Pearl Valley facts
Erinvale Golf Estate, located in Somerset West, South Africa, presents an idyllic golfing haven amid the Cape Winelands. Designed by Gary Player, the 18-hole championship course seamlessly integrates with the surrounding Helderberg Mountains and vineyards.
With a challenging layout, Erinvale demands respect from golfers as well as precision and strategy when tackling its excellent layout. Ranked 26th in South Africa, Erinvale has played host to numerous DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) events as well as Sunshine Tour events, proving its quality and challenge even at the pro level.
Erinvale facts
Located in the picturesque suburb Fish Hoek a few miles south of Cape Town, Clovelly is a fantastic 18-hole course which offers a challenging yet fair round of golf. Dating back to 1934, the golf course is one of South Africa’s oldest with a rich history and was laid out by Dr Charles Molteno Murray who designed South Africa’s oldest course Royal Cape.
The course is designed around the numerous sand dunes and water hazards which make up its main defence, meaning golfers will have to favour accuracy over bombing the driver off every tee.
Clovelly facts:
Situated in the heart of Cape Winelands, perfect for a golf and wine trip. Stellenbosch Golf Club is a gem that offers picturesque views of the area alongside a firm test of golf from start to finish. Founded in 1904 Stellenbosch is South Africa’s 4th oldest golfing establishment.
Featuring numerous strategically placed bunkers, fast greens and undulating fairways, Stellenbosch is better protected from the wind than some of the courses on the Cape Peninsula, however, it still maintains its level of challenge throughout. It’s signature par-5 8th hole is a great test where a straight drive is an absolute necessity to avoid drifting into the vines or bushes that surround the course.
Stellenbosch facts:
South Africa’s oldest golf course, Royal Cape Golf Club epitomises tradition and excellence. The layout was designed by J.W. Stewart and later Dr Alistair MacKenzie, and has played host to no fewer than ten South African Opens, numerous Sunshine and Challenge Tour events, plus, the South African National Amateur Championships.
A classic parkland course, Royal Cape is known for its tight tree-lined fairways, ponds and creeks that come into play on several holes and its strategic bunkering – it’s safe to say that accuracy is of paramount importance when tackling this course.
Royal Cape facts:
Forming part of the wider historic Steenberg Estate, one of South Africa's best golf resorts. Steenberg Golf Club is another Peter Matkovich design which flawlessly fits into the breathtaking landscape of the Constantia Valley. Featuring different styles throughout its 18-holes, Steenberg provides a variety of challenges to golfers.
This includes many doglegged holes through the famous Steenberg vineyards, then onto more familiar pine-tree lined parkland, then wetland holes with the signature 7th hole, before finishing in a heathland section featuring waste bunkers and heather – it’s a course that will please every type of golfer.
Steenberg facts:
One of Cape Town’s younger golf courses but no less prestigious, Atlantic Beach has a lot to offer golfers from its challenging 18-hole layout to its fantastic views of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Blouberg Mountains lying on its doorstep.
Designed by Mark Muller, great care was taken to ensure the course had minimal impact on the surrounding environment to protect unique coastal ecosystems and give Atlantic Beach its unique ‘lived-in’ natural feel. It’s signature 13th hole aptly named ‘Lions Head’ is an excellent risk and reward par-5 featuring a dogleg left and the opportunity to maybe get on the green in two and putt for eagle!
Atlantic Beach facts:
Located in the shadow of the Helderberg Mountains, De Zalze is another Peter Matkovich creation laid out in the Spier Estate right in the heart of the Cape Winelands. A classic parkland layout featuring lots of water, tree-lined fairways and plenty of risk and reward, De Zalze is an excellent choice for all groups of golfers.
Its signature 13th hole is well worth the wait being a short par-4 you tee off from the middle of a lake and big hitters may be tempted to take on the green, but make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew.
De Zalze facts:
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As the Official Golf Tourism Operator of the PGA TOUR and with over 25 years’ experience, Golfbreaks is one of the world’s longest established and most trusted golf travel companies. We organise golf breaks, holidays and tournament experiences for more than 200,000 golfers annually at over 2,000 resorts and golf courses in the UK, Europe, and further afield.
