Aerial view of Cape Town, Table Mountain & Lion’s Head

Start in, or rather near, the Mother City of Cape Town for three nights for some golf and sightseeing. A two-day sightseeing, one day of golf split would be ideal but it can easily be reversed. Steenberg Farm, about a 45 minute drive from central Cape Town, is the oldest farm in South Africa and has a rich Cape Dutch heritage dating back almost 340 years. The hotel is opulent but in a unpretentious way, the food beautifully cooked and presented and the wine grown, pressed and bottled on site. The golf course will ease you into the way South Africans do things – at a pace that is all their own. For your days out pop into Cape Town to experience the vibrant V&A Waterfront, catch the cable car up Table Mountain or see where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated – just go for the morning sailing to Robben Island; it tends to get a bit choppy by the afternoon.

Next head to the oldest wine growing regions in the Cape, the quaint Hugenot town of Franschhoek (‘French Corner’). You can stay in the town, well large village really, or head up Franschhoek Pass to La Petite Ferme for the most incredible view down the full length of the wine valley. The accommodation is of an exceptionally high quality, the food delicious and the wine, again produced on site. Again three nights is a good length of time to get to know the area. Do try to visit Cafe BonBon for lunch but leave room for the lemon meringue pie!

As far as golf is concerned an easy 30 minute drive in the direction of Stellenbosch takes you to Pearl Valley Estate, home to a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course that will be every bit the challenge that you imagine it to be given the designer. The Par 3, 13this but one hole that will have you thinking, ‘how and where’’. The latter is simple on the green and nowhere else. Next door to Pearl Valley is Paarl Golf Club, an equally beautiful but less challenging golf course – a 36 hole day perhaps?

Leaving Franschhoek, take the pass road and drop down to the N2 – the road that runs along the southern coast of Africa – stopping for an early coffee at Peregrines Farm Shop or lunch at Tredici‘s in Swellendam. This is the longest drive of the trip (about 5 – 6 hours) but the end location makes it worthwhile as Fancourt, situated in the small town of George is your location for the next three, perhaps four nights. Fancourt is the premier golfing estate in the country with three courses on site – Montagu, Outeniqua and The Links, the latter being (at the time of writing) the No. 2 ranked course in South Africa. You can only play The Links if you stay at Fancourt or know one of the very few members of this highly exclusive private club.

Whilst at Fancourt either drive back to Mossel Bay to play Pinnacle Point – they sell balls at the half-way house ......... for a reason. Or a little further east to Knysna where the courses of Simola and Pezula await. Both are about a 45-minute drive. The local George Golf is too often overlooked, which is a shame as it’s ranked at No. 12. This is the golfing heart of your trip.

Driving further east to Port Elizabeth, you could chance your golfing luck at St Francis Links and have a night in Port Elizabeth, or drive straight through and drop your car at the airport in time for your short transfer to Amakhala Game Reserve to stay at one of its private lodges. Hlosi Game Lodge is recommended.

Hlosi is a small intimate four star lodge with just six suites and eight luxury tents, all set on a gentle slope overlooking a river valley; all the accommodation is en-suite and air-conditioned – even the tents. For families, or golfing buddies one of the tents has two bedrooms. A three-night stay is ideal with two being the absolute minimum recommended. Activities include fully guided day and night safaris, where you stand a good chance of sighting all the major ‘bucket list’ species as well as cheetah, zebra, waterbuck and giraffe. Hlosi also offers boat trips on the Bushman’s River for a more genteel way to spot the birdlife and whatever else may have come down to the river to drink as you glide past.

The safari bug will by now have bitten and your transfer back to Port Elizabeth gives you sufficient time to work out where to go next – perhaps another golf and safari combination in KwaZulu Natal or maybe Botswana?

Cape Town & Garden Route

Improve your golf

Pro V1 /V1X Golf Balls £59