Five courses carry most Cape golf trips, and they fall into three groups. Royal Cape and Steenberg sit in the southern suburbs of the city, about 15 minutes apart: one is Africa’s oldest club on flat, wind-blown parkland, the other a Matkovich layout threaded through a working vineyard below Silvermine. Inland, De Zalze on the edge of Stellenbosch and Pearl Valley near Paarl give you the Winelands, with island tees at one and a Nicklaus course that staged three South African Opens at the other. Arabella, out on the Overberg coast by the Bot River Lagoon, is the day trip. All five take visitors online, but each sets its own rules on caddies, payment and how far ahead you can book. Only Royal Cape and Arabella print a fixed rate, so this page sets the five side by side.
Tap a pin for photos, prices and a booking link.
| Course | Green fee from | What’s included | Getting there | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1Pearl Valley Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf CourseCourse & hotel | R3,500Checked October 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 2Arabella Golf ClubCourse & hotel | R2,365Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 3Steenberg Golf ClubCourse & hotel | Rates on request · how to book | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 4Royal Cape Golf ClubHistoric club | R1,950Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 5De Zalze Golf ClubCourse & lodges | Rates on request · how to book | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide |
Prices are the lowest published or listed visitor rates we found, with their source and date on each guide. Partner links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
Pearl Valley, where Jack Nicklaus opened his signature course in 2003 and the South African Open came three years running from 2007. Book up to two months out and plan on a caddie for a four-ball.
Green fees & bookingArabella, routed by Peter Matkovich around the Bot River Lagoon. The par-five 8th and the closing pair run along the water, and the hotel on the estate turns the long drive into an overnight stay.
Green fees & bookingRoyal Cape, founded in 1885 and host of ten South African Opens. At R1,950 for a non-affiliated visitor it is the cheapest published round here, and it is only about 20 minutes from the airport.
Green fees & bookingEach package names its rounds, nights and hotels, so you can see which of the courses above it includes before you ask for a quote.
8 nights, 4 rounds plus safari
Rounds: Steenberg · Royal Cape · Pearl Valley · Leopard Creek
Stay: 5 nights B&B at the Queen Victoria Hotel, Cape Town; 3 full board at Jock Safari Lodge, Kruger
Three Cape Town rounds with a hire car, then three nights on safari with daily game drives and a round at Leopard Creek.
10 nights, 5 rounds plus safari
Rounds: Steenberg · Royal Cape · Arabella · Pearl Valley · Leopard Creek
Stay: Queen Victoria Hotel, Arabella Hotel & Spa, Lanzerac Wine Estate and Jock Safari Lodge
Cape Town, Hermanus and the Winelands before Kruger: five rounds, transfers included, and daily game drives at Jock Safari Lodge.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
All Cape Town golf packages on Golfbreaks
Only two of the five give you a figure before you search. Royal Cape charges a non-affiliated visitor R1,950 for 18 holes until 31 August 2027, and Arabella R2,365, with a shared cart adding R375 a head. SAGA-affiliated golfers pay less at both, so check your status. Pearl Valley and Steenberg price by demand: Pearl Valley’s October 2026 sheet showed R3,500 to R4,200, and both make a four-ball take a caddie, at R400 a group at Pearl Valley. A Steenberg cart costs R800. De Zalze reveals its fee only at the time you choose. Pearl Valley, Steenberg, Arabella and De Zalze confirm a booking only once it is paid.
Cape Town International (CPT) is the only airport you need, and a hire car is the sensible way to link the courses. Royal Cape is the quickest from the terminal at about 20 minutes, with Steenberg roughly half an hour away and De Zalze about the same in the other direction. Pearl Valley takes 45 to 60 minutes up the N1 and R301, and sits about half an hour north of De Zalze. Arabella is the outlier, around 90 minutes east over Sir Lowry’s Pass. A city or Constantia base suits the suburban pair; a Stellenbosch base covers both Winelands rounds.
October to April is the dry, warm season and the main golf window at all five. The trade-off is wind: the south-easter blows hardest from about September to March, especially in the afternoon, so book mornings at exposed Royal Cape. Inland Stellenbosch often passes 30°C in January and February. Most rain falls from May to August, when Pearl Valley starts later and its shop shuts on Mondays. Check closures: Arabella hollow-tines on 3–7 May and 27 September–1 October 2027, De Zalze shuts on Good Friday, on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day, and Royal Cape hosts the Cape Town Open.
Pearl Valley and Steenberg both make a four-ball take a caddie, and at Steenberg the rule applies whenever no member is playing. Pearl Valley charges R400 per group. Royal Cape and Arabella list carts and hire clubs but say nothing about caddies, and De Zalze uses only its own registered caddies, with fees posted at the club.
Royal Cape publishes the lowest visitor fee: R1,950 a round, or R1,250 over nine holes, for a non-affiliated visitor until 31 August 2027. SAGA-affiliated visitors pay R1,550, and full-time students under 25 pay R375.
Steenberg’s online sheet opens three months ahead and Pearl Valley’s two months. Arabella shows about 30 days online, though its golf office takes requests up to a year out and confirms them 14 days before. Royal Cape releases visitor times as it chooses, so email reception if none appear.
Yes. De Zalze is about 30 minutes from the airport and Pearl Valley 45 to 60 minutes, so either works from a city hotel. Playing both on one trip is easier from Stellenbosch, since they are about half an hour apart. Each estate has its own hotel or lodges if you want to stay on the course.
They are strict. Arabella charges the full amount for cancelling within 48 hours, and counts skipping a round on an open course as a cancellation. De Zalze refunds in full beyond seven days, half from seven days to 48 hours, and nothing after that unless weather closes the course.