KING DAVID MOWBRAY – WESTERN CAPE
Two years ago saw a rare event in South African golf when
King David Golf Club closed and its members merged with
those of Mowbray Golf Club to form a new club in Cape Town. It
has proved a successful union which has boosted the fortunes and
fi nances of one of the country’s oldest clubs (1910).
King David Mowbray, now with a full membership of more
than 1 200, has thrived since the merger at the end of 2015, and
stands out as a beacon for what can be achieved when two golf
clubs amicably pool their resources. It’s surprising that there have
not been other such mergers around the country as golf clubs
struggle to remain profi table.
King David had a relatively small membership, and every eff ort
was made to ensure that most of those members came across to the
new club, rather than let them seek other golfi ng homes in the Cape
Peninsula. One of the ways to entice them was to ensure that the
golf course showed an improvement, and the greens at King David
Mowbray have been transformed in conditioning over the past two
years to an extent where older members say they are currently the
best they have been in the history of the club.
King David Mowbray, far from being an exclusive members club,
is very much community driven. It is home to the offi ces of the
SA Disabled Golf Association, and the club hosted the 2017 SA
Disabled Open and World Cup. The club also boasts one of the best
development programmes in the Western Cape under dedicated
development programme manager Daphne Sole.
The course, one of the closest to Cape Town city centre, looks
deceptively short on the card at 6 000 metres from the back tees,
62 / JANUARY 2018 / GOLFDIGEST.CO.ZA PHOTOS COURTESY GOLF CLUBS
but its tree-lined fairways and crosswinds make for an
interesting challenge where accuracy pays off. It was ranked
No 92 in the 2016 Golf Digest Top 100.
Memorable hole: King David Mowbray has some of the
most stunning views of Devil’s Peak, and the mountain forms
a majestic backdrop to the signature par-4 15th hole, the start
of a strong run of closing holes.
General Manager: Jason van Veyeren.
Golf Director: Cameron Johnston.MUST PLAY COURSES | PRESENTED BYDid you know?
Fact1/TheoldMowbrayGC was Cape Town’s premier
championshiplayout, sharingthehostingoftheSAOpen
andSA Amateur withRoyalCape. Ithasheldseven SA
Opens(between 1932 and 1987)and six SA Amateurs,
plus severalother professionalevents. The SA Amateur
is duetoreturn in 2 019.
Fact 2//An unusual feature is the busy train line which
runs throughthemiddleofthe course, splittingitinto
two sections of seven and 11 holes. There is a separate
halfway house facility on the section away from the
clubhouse.
Fact3//Land around the clubhouse was sold off for the
development of an office park, and there’s a restaurant
just metres away from the fi rst green.