Western Cape
The Western Cape province in the south west of South Africa covers an area of 50,000 square miles and its population amounts to around five and a quarter million people. It shares two land borders with Northern Cape and Eastern Cape whilst its southern and western boundaries are formed by the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Cape Town, the provincial capital, occupies a stunning location at the foot of Table Mountain and it’s easy to see why this vibrant city ranks as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
Amateur golf in the Western Cape is governed by three different bodies: Western Province Golf Union (14,000 golfers in 21 clubs), Southern Cape Golf Union (6,000 members in 21 clubs) and Boland Golf Union, which has around 12,000 members in 42 clubs. Each of these independent authorities is in turn affiliated to the South African Golf Association in Johannesburg.
Peter Matkovich is South Africa’s most prolific modern golf course architect and a number of his designs feature prominently in the regional rankings for Western Cape: Arabella made a stunning debut at the end of the 1990s and a couple of new millennium tracks – Pinnacle Point and De Zalze – have also attracted high praise. Gary Player’s 54-hole complex at Fancourt is easily the best golf resort in the country with the Links, Montagu and Outeniqua courses consistently ranked in the upper echelons of the national golf course ratings.
