Founded in 1967, Durbanville Golf Club has established a firm reputation for camaraderie and sportsmanship, earning it the fond accolade, The Jewel of the North. The Sunshine Ladies Tour is in action there this week for the Standard Bank Ladies Open.
The course, originally designed by Ken Elkin, lies a mere 30 minutes from Cape Town (on the N1) and is known for its open space, beautiful fairways, bent grass greens, and immaculate condition; currently boasting some of the finest greens in the Cape.
Durbanville Golf Club offers a golf course with excellent fairways, great putting surfaces and perfectly manicured greens, combined with open spaces and a relatively flat terrain, make for an enjoyable game.
There are no steep hills to climb, nor thick jungle to swallow your golf ball. Here you will find open space with beautiful fairways, bent grass greens the equal of any others, a course in immaculate condition. All in all, a wonderful setting for a game of golf with a view across the course to the distant mountains.
The undulating nature of the terrain means there are several striking downhill holes on the property, but conversely it also means the closing holes on each nine are played uphill to the clubhouse. There is a challenging set of par-threes, particularly 12 and 17, and the uphill 16th is one of the region’s toughest par-fours. The par-five 11th is stroke one, largely through having a long narrow fairway framed by tall trees leading to an elevated green.
There is a narrow range close to clubhouse with mat tees, plus a short-game area. It is home to the Pure Motion Golf Academy which has the most advanced junior section in the Western Cape.
DID YOU KNOW
- The club was founded in 1967, four years before the course was open for play. The estimated cost to build 18 holes in 1967 was R36,000.
- Former SA Open champion Wayne Westner had a course record 63 to win the 1990 Durbanville Open. The previous year John Bland had shot 65-64 to win, breaking the old record in each round.
- Dylan Frittelli won the 2008 SA Junior Strokeplay at Durbanville on 273.
