Durbanville

Durbanville - Western Cape

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General manager: Charl Coetzee
Greenkeeper: David Kroukamp
Club captain: Florence Harding
President: Keith Pinn
CRITERIA SUMMARY: Total points 61.6 out of 100
Conditioning13.4 / 20
Playability13.0 / 20
Aesthetics9.8 / 15
Design Variety8.8 / 15
Shot Values8.0 / 15
Memorability8.6 / 15

Course Summary

Three tees / Par 72

White 5957 metres, CR71.3/129
Blue 5541 metres, CR69.4/128
Red 5042 metres, CR66.6/117
Women’s blue, CR75.6/128
Women’s red, CR72.1/120

Visitor green fee

R477 affiliated
R687 non-affiliated
R370 Monday-Tuesday
R400 golf cart

Course designer

Ken Elkin 1971

Contact

021 976 8120
www.durbanvillegolfclub.co.za

Previous national ranking

97 (2020)

Durbanville Golf Club is one of the biggest and busiest member clubs in the Western Cape, with rounds averaging around 50 000 a year. It is a social hub for the local community, and the club has come a long way since its humble beginnings nearly 50 years ago.

Durbanville itself, 30 kilometres from the Cape Town CBD, has grown from a rural community into an ever-expanding urban area in the Northern Suburbs. 

The course has improved markedly in quality in the new millennium, and entered the Top 100 rankings for the first time in 2018 largely due to its consistently good conditioning. The club has seen the benefit of instituting 10-year plans to upgrade the course, plant 750 trees and build a large dam and driving range, ahead of clubhouse renovations.

The course took nearly four years to build on an undulating site covered in dense bush, full of alien species, and infested with cobras. Mowbray GC club pro Ken Elkin provided a routing plan. Foundation members spent weekends planting grass, trees and shaping the greens and tees. It is one of few Top 100 courses built by the physical labour of members and their families. At the opening day in July 1971 members brought their own lawnmowers to prepare the greens and fairways. The first clubhouse was only completed in 1972; the current one opened in 2002. 

Additional Course Facts

Course Record

63 by Wayne Westner in 1990;
Saulo Ilari (Finland) in 2015 Curro Junior International

Feature Holes

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 3s, particularly 12 and 17, and the uphill 16th is one of the region’s toughest par 4s. The par-5 11th is stroke one, largely through having a long narrow fairway framed by tall trees leading to an elevated green.

Practice Facility

Narrow range close to clubhouse with mat tees, plus short-game area. It is home to the Pure Motion Golf Academy which has the most advanced junior section in the Western Cape.

Club Champions

2022 Sean Cronje & Kelly Erasmus
2021 Adrian Ford & Jordan Rothman
2020 Sean Cronje & Kelly Erasmus
2019 Christian Steenkamp & Kelly Erasmus

Did You Know

1/ Durbanville junior member and club champion Jordan Rothman became one of the youngest winners of the SA Women’s Amateur at age 15 in 2018 at Umhlali CC.

2/ Nine club members have represented SA golf teams in the new millennium – Nicol van Wyk, Jean-Paul Strydom, Adrian Ford, Ian Snyman, Ayden Senger, Tyran Snyders, Kaylah Williams, Jordan Rothman and Kelly Erasmus.

3/ Durbanville is the home club of Springbok rugby star Duane Vermeulen.

4/ 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.

5/ 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.

6/ Dylan Frittelli won the 2008 SA Junior Strokeplay at Durbanville on 273.

7/ The club is home to Durbanville Running Club whose members use the property for runs in the evenings.

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Course Reviews
The summer heat is taking a toll on the overall conditioning of Durbanville. It's a pleasant course with a mix of challenging holes. Some years ago the club embarked on changes to holes like 6 and 10, bringing in banking and extra trees which frame these holes so well. Wish they would do more of this. The club is a hub of activity, a drawcard being the facilities and hospitality.
Warren Minster
22 February 2024
The hot and windy Cape Town summer has punished this northern suburbs course and many greens and tee boxes are poor. Specifically the 12th green and 13th tee box. The bunkers were good and fairways firm and fast. The 19th hole experience was the highlight of the day.
Lihan van der Merwe
29 January 2024
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Durbanville is always a treat to play as the hospitality extends beyond the golf course. The clubhouse is spacious -- it's a busy club with a high number of rounds played each year -- and flows well. The halfway house has a pizza oven. The course has some memorable holes, notably the 16th, a long uphill par 4 threaded between an avenue of trees. The four par 3s are a challenge to anyone no matter what level of skill. The club is currently upgrading bunkers. .
Warren Minster
25 June 2023
Impressively good conditioning can be expected at Durbanville, a club which prides itself on its smart appearance. The greens and surrounds are immaculately groomed, the fairways lush and smooth. It's a course with a pleasant mix of holes that seems longer than its 5957 metres off the back tees, perhaps because several strong uphill par 4s increase the challenge. The 405m 16th is one to respect, the fairway threading between trees and deceptively rising towards one of the best greens on the course. The par 3s are a solid quartet, notably No 12 adjoining a large dam and No 17 at 192 off the back. Durbanville offers an excellent experience, having an attractively renovated clubhouse (open plan downstairs that combines pro shop, halfway house and 19th hole) and a public range close to the first tee.
Stuart McLean
19 December 2022
There's a premium on hitting fairways at Durbanville at this time of year. The heat and wind of a typical Cape summer has taken its toll on the course by the end of January. The fairways remain excellent, but miss them and you're on dry, hard pan with not the best of lies. It's a well-maintained course and an interesting challenge, notably on the more difficult back nine. The 355-metre 14th is a tiger of a hole. Most unusual, too. Off the tee, water on the left, a forest on the right. The tee shot has to be perfectly placed, as the hole doglegs slightly right, and only the top of the flag can be seen on a green perched high on a hill.
Thomas Souness
01 February 2021
With summer upon us the course has dried out and the fairways are short and fast. The greens are great and allround a nice golfing experience.
Anton Bezuidenhout
21 October 2020
Playing early morning in winter is a definite advantage as the Durbanville greens are still true. Later in the day in winter they become bumpy. It's not one of the better winter courses to play in the Cape.
Anton Bezuidenhout
25 August 2020
In recent years this has become one of the most improved courses in terms of condition. I like the improvements. The new downstairs 19th hole has added to the club's attraction for visitors.
Eve Starke
29 February 2020
Durbanville's new downstairs area has transformed the look of the clubhouse and the vibe on a busy day is excellent. I like the wall-sized aerial photo of the property near the bar, although it should be updated. So much improvements at this club in the last decade.
Stuart McLean
01 February 2020

Durbanville have upgraded the ground floor of the clubhouse with a spacious new bar, halfway house, pro shop and men's locker room. Changes on the course include new tees and water hazards, while hundreds of trees have been planted. Bunkers on 9, 17 and 18 were moved away from the greens. The greens are small and the bunkers suffer from over use and too much water from the irrigation system.

Anton Bezuidenhout
31 January 2020
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