Milnerton Golf Club

The clubhouse occupies a dramatic site on the Atlantic Ocean. Table Mountain and the Cape Town skyline form an impressive backdrop. The links-style course runs out-and-back on a narrow strip of land between the ocean and an inland waterway. Six holes border the beach, so close that a wayward shot could end up in the surf. The beach used to be in play, but is now an environmentally sensitive area. Golf has been played here for close on a century, but the original layout was mostly bulldozed away in the mid-1990s when part of the property became a residential estate. A new design by Golf Data opened in 1997. However, several holes near the clubhouse were retained. Teeing off at No 1 it looks like pristine links land, but the estate appears at the fourth. It goes straight out for 9 holes, where there is a halfway house. Golfers can drive there by car or golf cart so there are always two starting tees. It’s a breezy coastline, particularly in summer, with one nine downwind and the other nine into wind. For social rounds, Milnerton is par 71, with the par-5 sixth reduced to a short par 4.