Royal Port Alfred

Royal Port Alfred is the most old-fashioned course you will find in South Africa, a scenic layout built on the dunes and hilly slopes of this Eastern Cape town with glorious views of the Indian Ocean. It has quirky holes and rugged natural features you would more likely encounter in a remote corner of the British Isles. The course has remained largely untouched for more than 100 years, and its diversity of holes will surprise the modern golfer.

Between the two world wars it was a premier club, hosting the men’s SA Championships (SA Open & Amateur) in 1922, the SA Amateur in 1932, and the SA Ladies Champs in 1927 and 1931. The PGA of South Africa was constituted at the club during the 1922 championships, and the PGA held their centenary celebrations at Royal Port Alfred in April 2022.

The clubhouse disappears from view once you crest the hilly second fairway, and you don’t return to it until the par-3 13th, at which point many older golfers end their rounds rather than tackle the rolling terrain of the five closing holes. The halfway house is a shed in the bush at the par-3 eighth green, only open on busy days.

The holes each have their own individual names, a seldom occurrence today, although a more common practice in an earlier era. Several names honour famous members, others the sea and sky – Thalassa and Southern Cross – while some simply describe the character of a hole. The uphill tenth with its sloping fairway is Whale’s Back, while a hollow in front of the second green is Hippo’s Bath. The par-3 11th, Punch Bowl, has a sunken green. 

Whale’s Back is a controversial and difficult par 4 on the side of a hill, a preserved relic which many years back was a fearsome downhill par 3. The fairway slopes steeply left to right, and the approach semi-blind to a well-guarded green.