King David Mowbray

King David Mowbray Golf Club was established on 1st January 2016, when King David Golf Club (formed in 1952) merged with Mowbray Golf Club (founded in 1910). It’s a shame King David’s pleasant parkland course next to Cape Town airport has been lost for another, non-golfing development as many felt it was one of Bob Grimsdell’s best designs.

The original Mowbray course – host to the South African Open on seven occasions – lies six miles to the east of the old King David property, just off the main road into Cape Town city centre, where golfers are afforded wonderful views of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak from many positions on the layout.

It’s not known who first laid out the Mowbray course but a number of architects – including S. V. Hotchkin in 1929 – have made alterations to the layout down the years, with the last major changes occurring in 1993, when the old Mowbray clubhouse unfortunately burned to the ground. The structure was quickly rebuilt and the opportunity taken to carry out course improvements at the same time.

The par threes on today’s card are all terrific short holes, especially the first of these, the 181-metre 4th, which is the only one of the four where the green is not protected by a water hazard. The 383-metre 15th is regarded as the signature hole on the course, with a par best achieved by playing a semi-blind approach shot to the green from the right hand side of the fairway.