SIMON’S TOWN GOLF CLUB
- WESTERN CAPE
Simon’s Town has the only 9-hole links on the Cape
Peninsula and occupies the most scenic situation on
False Bay overlooking Boulder’s Beach. In season, Southern
Right whales come in close, and a colony of African Jackass
penguins live within 200 metres
of the course.
The club celebrated its centenary in 2016, but some be-
lieve it might have been the country’s oldest club, ahead of
Royal Cape. However, records are only available from 1916.
Simon’s Town GC has a legendary reputation for its hospi-
tality. Visiting league players have been known not to return
home aft er a Saturday match and instead tee it up again the
next morning. Simon’s Town itself is popular with tourists,
and there are small, family friendly beaches within walking
distance of the club.
The clubhouse and opening hole, an uphill par 3, are
separated from the rest of the course by the main road from
Simon’s Town to Cape Point. The entire course was previ-
ously on the shore side of the road, but ground was lost to
a residential development in the late 1980s, It’s remarkable
that a golf course exists here, on a gradual mountain slope
down to the sea.
With six par 3s and no par 5s, Simon’s Town measures
just 4 148 metres from the men’s tees, with a par of 66, and
ratingof62.However,becauseoftheregularoceanbreezes,
the undulating terrain which slopes towards the shoreline,
and small greens,
itcanbeachallenginglayout.Breakingeven70isnotas
easyasitlooks,particularlywhenthesouth-easterblows.
Simon’s Town is a small club with 130 golfing members
(there is also bowls and squash), and the annual subscription
isR2800forafullmember,R1700forunder40.Affiliated
visitorspayR180for18holes,non-affiliatedR200.
Memorable hole:Whenthesouth-easterisup,noholeis
more terrifying for visitors than the par-3 15th, which plays
fromanelevatedteetoatinygreenperchedontheedgeofa
slope. It’s 183 metres, but most golfers reach for their driver
on what the club considers its signature hole. You also play
thisasthesixth,butit’sshorterthefirsttimeround.
Club Manager:Richard Felder.
64 / JANUARY 2018 / GOLFDIGEST.CO.ZA
UITENHAGE GOLF CLUB – EASTERN CAPEDid you know?
Fact 1 / With Simon’s Town being a maritime naval town,
at one time half the club members were navy personnel.
However, this has dwindled since the turn of the millennium,
and only a handful remain.
Fact 2 / The course lies on the site of a former Boer War
POW camp.
Fact 3 / Pensioner competitions take place on Mondays
and Friday mornings.
Uitenhage is an
industrial town inland
from Port Elizabeth, and
has one of the oldest clubs
in South Africa, founded
1891 with eight members
on a 9-holer hacked out of
the bush in Van Riebeeck
Heights. It moved in 1901 to
the Swartkops River, and then
to its current location in 1950
with a membership of 232.
The club’s fi rst 18-hole
course was designed by
golfi ng pioneer Dr Charles
Molteno Murray the year
before he died.
The course, on an
undulating piece of property
with some challenging holes,
has matured over the years,
with visible improvements- new dams were built at
the sixth and 12th holes –
although membership has
fallen from a high in the 1980s
to 328 currently.
The course had the only
bent grass greens in the
Eastern Cape for many years,
but 10 years ago the greens
were overseeded with Royal
Blue cynodon, a hardier
grass for the warm summer
conditions. Greenkeeper
Morris Olivier, who doubles
up as the club manager,
rebuilt the greens.
The clubhouse, available
for functions, was upgraded
in the 1990s, with a new
pro shop, halfway house
and sundeck. Visitors are
welcome, with special rates
(R100 to R140) on Mondays,
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays
and Sundays.
The club has produced
many Eastern Province
champion golfers, notably
Mike Hargreaves, who won
the SA Junior title in the
1960s.
Club Manager:
Morris Olivier.MUST PLAY COURSES | PRESENTED BY