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Golf guide • South Africa • Western Cape

Golf in Cape Town: historic courses between Table Mountain and the Atlantic

Cape Town, at the south-western tip of South Africa, offers four very different courses within forty minutes' drive: Royal Cape, founded in 1885, Steenberg among the vines of Constantia, the Metropolitan beside the Atlantic and the Atlantic Beach links facing Table Mountain. Golfers come to combine golf, vineyards, spectacular scenery and great restaurants. The best period runs from October to April, the dry southern summer, provided you accept the south-east wind.

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Few cities sit in such a setting. Cape Town leans against Table Mountain, whose plateau rises above 1,000 metres, flanked by Devil's Peak and Lion's Head, while the Atlantic pounds the coast from Sea Point to Camps Bay. Founded in 1652, the city is today the country's legislative capital and its second-largest metropolitan area. From almost every course you keep an eye on the mountain: it serves as a landmark, and its clouds often tell you where the wind will come from.

Golf here has a long history: Royal Cape, founded in 1885, is the oldest club in Africa and has hosted the South African Open ten times. Around it, the city lines up courses of character without leaving the metropolitan area: Steenberg at the foot of the Constantia mountains, the Metropolitan between the stadium and the ocean, Atlantic Beach in the dunes of Melkbosstrand. The great courses of the Winelands, around Stellenbosch, have a guide of their own.

The trip falls naturally between these greens and the rest of the peninsula: lunch on a Constantia wine estate, sunset on Lion's Head, the coast road to Cape Point. Allow a week to play three or four courses without giving up the rest, and plan on a car: distances are short, but the courses are scattered to the four corners of the city.

The courses

Green and white flag in front of a reed-fringed pond, vineyards and a rocky mountain ridge

Royal Cape Golf Club

  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The doyen of African golf, founded in 1885 by General Sir Henry Torrens, first played on the Wynberg military camp before settling in 1906 on its present ground, still in Wynberg; George V granted it the title "Royal" in 1910. Around twenty minutes from the centre, this par 72 of some 6,100 metres is a flat parkland with narrow tree-lined fairways, where streams and ponds often come into play. Ernie Els won the South African Open here in 1996, and the Sunshine Tour's Cape Town Open has been played here since 2012.

Signature hole. The 14th, a par 4 of around 440 yards doglegging right, with water protecting the front right of the green, ranks among the most demanding holes in the country.

Official website

Steenberg Golf Club

  • Architect: Peter Matkovich
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Designed by Peter Matkovich, Steenberg is played on one of the oldest estates in the Cape, established in 1682 in the Constantia valley, around half an hour from the centre. This par 72 crosses vineyards, pine woods, wetlands and fynbos, with Table Mountain as a backdrop, and a landscaped stream complicates the closing holes. Its bentgrass greens are among the most highly regarded in the province, and the layout allows bump-and-run approaches, rare in South Africa. A complete course, enjoyable for every level, easily combined with a tasting on the estate.

Signature hole. The 14th, a par 3 of around 166 metres, plays to a green 76 metres long, described by the club as the largest in Africa, set in an amphitheatre of bunkers.

Official website

Metropolitan Golf Club

  • Architect: Mark Muller
  • Opened 2010
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

Founded in 1895 as the Green and Sea Point Golf Club, the Metropolitan occupies a site at Mouille Point squeezed between Green Point urban park and the Atlantic, five minutes from the V&A Waterfront. After the stadium was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Mark Muller redesigned it and the course reopened in 2010: nine fairways played twice, with fourteen greens and different tees, for a par 71. Wide fairways, renowned bentgrass greens and an ever-present sea breeze make it the ideal course for the day you arrive.

Signature hole. The 18th is a par 3 played over water to a green set below the clubhouse.

Official website

Atlantic Beach Links

  • Architect: Mark Muller
  • Opened 2000
  • 18 holes

At Melkbosstrand, on the west coast, some 35 minutes north of the centre, Atlantic Beach is a links-style course opened in 2000 and designed by Mark Muller. It plays among rolling dunes, fynbos and milkwoods, with bunkers filled with crushed shells and, from many tees, views of Table Mountain and Robben Island across the bay. The wind decides everything: it is the wildest course of the trip and the most demanding when the south-easter blows. Best kept for players who love seaside golf.

Signature hole. The 13th, named "Lion's Head", is a par 5 of around 555 yards doglegging left, with a blind tee shot and a steeply uphill third, between the milkwoods.

Official website

Where to stay

The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa

Between the Twelve Apostles range and the ocean, on the coast road south of Camps Bay, this 70-room hotel from the family-run Red Carnation group lies within Table Mountain National Park. Ask for an ocean-facing room and book a treatment in the spa's gazebos on the mountainside. The evening drink belongs at the Leopard Bar, facing the sunset. The Metropolitan is around twenty minutes away.

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel

Opened in 1899 in the Gardens district, at the foot of Table Mountain, the Mount Nelson is Cape Town's great historic hotel. Its pink façade dates from 1918, painted to celebrate the end of the First World War, amid nearly four hectares of gardens. Book afternoon tea in the lounge, then end the day at the Planet Bar. A central base, halfway between the northern and southern courses.

Steenberg Hotel & Spa

For those who want to sleep beside the course, the Steenberg Hotel occupies a Constantia wine estate whose manor house has been a national monument since 1983. Ask for a Premier One Bedroom Suite, north-facing, its long terrace looking out to Table Mountain, the golf course and the valley; lovers of period charm will prefer the Manor House suite, furnished with antiques. Two restaurants, Tryn and Bistro Sixteen82, and a spa complete the estate.

White hotel with a pool on a rocky shoreline, beneath slopes of fynbos and cliffs at sunset

Where to dine

La Colombe

Set on the Silvermist estate, between Constantia and Hout Bay, La Colombe has been named by World's 50 Best as the best restaurant in Africa. Chef James Gaag serves multi-course menus, in a classic or vegetarian version. The signature dish, Tuna "La Colombe", arrives in a sealed tin that you open yourself. On weekdays, a lunch menu fits neatly after a round at Steenberg. Booking essential.

Kalky's

On the fishing harbour at Kalk Bay, on False Bay, this wooden shack, open since 1996, serves fried fish to a loyal local crowd: you queue at the counter, then wait for your number to be called, facing the boats. Order the snoek and chips, or ask which line fish came in that day. Come on a weekday, as the queue grows at weekends. Steenberg is around twenty minutes away.

Beyond golf

Lion's Head at sunset

At 669 metres, Lion's Head can be climbed in about an hour and offers a 360-degree view from the summit over the city, Table Mountain and the Atlantic. On full-moon evenings, the climb is a local tradition. Its slopes are also a launch site for paragliders: a tandem flight over Sea Point and Camps Bay gives you another reading of the peninsula.

The Cape Peninsula and the penguins of Boulders

The road along the peninsula leads to Cape Point past fynbos-covered cliffs. On the way, at Simon's Town, Boulders Beach is home to a colony of African penguins that began with two pairs in 1982 and now numbers around 3,000 birds. Boardwalks let you watch them from a few metres away, in coves enclosed by granite boulders.

Robben Island

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, the island where Nelson Mandela spent eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison can be visited from the V&A Waterfront. The trip lasts around three and a half hours, including the crossing, and takes in the prison, the quarry and Mandela's cell. Book several days ahead in high season.

Winding coast road above the ocean, between cliffs and fynbos in pink and yellow flower

When to go

Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate. From October to April, the southern summer is dry and sunny, with courses in excellent condition; it is also the season of the south-easterly wind, the "Cape Doctor", strong from September to March, which weighs mainly on the coastal courses. March and April, at the end of the south-easter season, often offer the best compromise. From June to September, winter is mild but wet, with fronts from the north-west that can last several days.

Getting there

Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is around twenty kilometres from the centre: allow about 25 minutes to the hotels, depending on traffic. Direct flights link it to London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and Air France runs a seasonal service from Paris. A hire car or driver is essential to get between the courses.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Cape Town?

Royal Cape, the oldest club in Africa, remains the historic benchmark: it has hosted the South African Open ten times. Steenberg, among the Constantia vines, is often preferred for its setting and the quality of its greens.

How long does it take from Cape Town airport to the golf courses?

Around a quarter of an hour to Royal Cape and 25 minutes to the city centre and the Metropolitan. Steenberg takes about half an hour and Atlantic Beach a little longer.

When is the best time to play golf in Cape Town?

From October to April, during the dry southern summer. March and April, at the end of the south-easter season, often offer the best compromise between heat and wind. Winter, from June to September, is the wettest period.

Can you play Arabella golf course from Cape Town?

Yes, but as a day trip: Arabella lies near Kleinmond, on the Bot River lagoon, around an hour to an hour and a quarter's drive from the centre. This Peter Matkovich par 72, opened in 1998, is worth the journey, not least for its 8th, a par 5 with a green set on the lagoon.

Can you combine Cape Town with the Stellenbosch winelands?

Yes. The Winelands are less than an hour from the centre and have their own great courses; we cover them in a separate guide. Many golfers split their week between the two.

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