Played: Friday 28th February 2014 Website www.kdgc.co.za
There is a difference between the sweet 9 hole Simonstown Golf Course which Mike and I love, but which is the nursery of golf courses and the big 18 hole golf courses of which Cape Town has many.
King David Golf Course is an unexpected treed, landscaped oasis amidst the concrete jungle of the airport industria.
Founded in 1956, it is beautiful parkland just round the corner from the airport. It’s most attractive feature has to be the hundreds of trees that line the fairways, producing both beauty and hazard!
After parking, follow the path…
And pay for your golf at the golf shop…
The golf shop is small and not very well stocked, but you’ll find the basics. On my way to the golf today, I realised I’d forgotten my shoes and was only wearing sandals. We chose to stop at a shoe shop on the way and buy a new pair instead of relying on the golf shop. Just as well we did, as they didn’t have my size! We had booked our tee time online at www.golfteetimes.co.za which was brilliant. For 18 holes, today was a reasonable R175.
We teed off at Tee 1 and Mike hit a brilliant drive right down the centre of the fairway. The starter was watching and exclaimed, “Wow! What a swing!” which was hilarious considering we are real beginners! Mike’s golfing journey to this point has been mottled. He played golf 20 years ago and pretty much gave up to raise the family. Then in 2013, he picked up his clubs again and started playing, firstly hitting balls at the driving range. He did this for about 6 months before getting on the course. It shows. We didn’t lose a ball! That’s always a good thing!
One of the pleasures of playing at KD is that it is close to the airport and I so enjoyed admiring the planes taking off…
We played with a couple visiting South Africa from Germany. They have played all over South Africa and many parts of Europe. They were very unimpressed with the fairways, many of which seemed ‘under construction’ with many bare patches…
When the fairways are fixed, it will be magnificent…
Mike played well! He had some flashes of brilliance…on this hole, he teed off aiming for the red marker…this is how close he got…
Half way house is nothing out of the ordinary, as far as Golf Club restaurants go. They have a small menu of light options as well as hot and cold drinks. Then it was onto the rest of the course…
As we approached the end of the course, Mike landed up in a thicket of trees. To get out, he declared that some people say that 80% of trees are air anyway, and he hit the ball as if the trees weren’t there. Guess what happened? It found the bark and bounced back to just a few yards further on! 🙂 That was a good laugh. Our German companion was extremely impressed with Mike’s new clubs & used his driver for most of the game…
Mike went round out in 51 and back in at 45, total 96
We walked 10.42km & to complete the course took us just under 4 and a half hours plus the time at Halfway House. We showered in spacious locker rooms that are well supplied with soap, shampoo and towels.
All in all it was a great day’s golf!