Westlake Golf Club

Westlake Golf Club

Set against the amethyst slopes of the Silvermine mountains lies one of Cape Towns Premier Courses - Westlake. Westlake is an easy to walk, 18 hole Par 72 golf course which is characterised by the towering trees, which line many of its fairways. Westlake has a very interesting, yet user-friendly design and quite a few doglegs. If you manage to stay out of the trees, you will achieve a good score. From the first to the eighteenth hole, every step affords panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. The Westlake Golf Club which was established in 1932, welcomes visitors with its special blend of old world charm and modern amenities.

The club has the following facilities: A Bar, Board Room, Chipping Green, Driving Range, Function Facilities, Golf Carts, a Halfway House, Lobby, Locker Rooms, a Lounge, Pro Shop, Putting Green, Restaurant, Golf club hire and Pull trolleys.

Whilst Westlake does not insist on the production of handicap certificates, novice golfers cannot be accommodated, hence maximum handicaps will apply: Men 24, Ladies 36. Management requests that all bookings correspondence (especially cancellations) be conducted via e-mail.

The club is closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday.

Dress Code
Bar: Smart casual
Clubhouse: Smart casual
Course: Smart casual
Golf shoes (spikes): Soft

About Westlake Golf Club
When landlords Clovelly Estates went into liquidation during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, the members of the Clovelly Country Club tried to buy the course, which was situated alongside the Silvermine River in Fish Hoek Valley, from the executors of the insolvent estate. They were not successful. The majority of the original clubs members decided to move away and purchase their own golf club. An elderly dairyman, Mr. Hendricks, owned a farm, Raapkraal, at the foot of Silvermine Mountain near Lakeside and it was here that the members of the old Clovelly Golf Club moved to found their new course.

A meeting was held in the hall of the local Kalk Bay Anglican School on the 31st March 1932, at which the members agreed to accept the terms of Mr. Hendricks' lease and form a new golf club, which was named Westlake. A cottage on the farm was included in the lease and was altered to form the original Clubhouse. There were 112 founder members and they all contributed in some way or another towards the layout of the new course. The original layout of the course ran up and down the mountain slope, as opposed to the present layout, which runs along the gradient of the mountain.

The nine-hole course was opened for play on the 1st September 1932. The inaugural competition was won by Dennis Langton, who was later to become the Club Champion before he was tragically killed in action during World War II. At the first Annual General Meeting in March 1933, it was decided that every effort must be made to extend Westlake into an eighteen-hole course. Architect Dr. D.C. Murray was duly appointed and plans similar to todays layout were drawn up. Work began almost immediately after the members had approved these planes. Mr. Hendricks was now elderly and wished to sell the farm. He offered the course and Clubhouse to the members for the sum of £ 5 500. This offer was accepted in October 1935. This gave the members new impetus, as they were now the proud owners of their own golf course. It was not long thereafter that the new 18-hole layout was completed and the first competition was played on 14th April 1936 among much pomp and ceremony.

A new Clubhouse, designed along the traditional gabled Cape Dutch lines was built in 1939. The War Years (1939-45) took their toll on the Club finances, as well as the loss of three members who were killed in action. Membership dropped to fifty and it was only though the efforts of the elderly that Westlake was kept going through this tragic period. With the return of ex-servicemen after the war, Westlake received an injection of keen young members who joined the older founders of the Club. A tremendous immigration drive from the UK during the late 1940s added further numbers. Membership soared from 87 in 1945 to 255 in 1948. This new drive of members, spearheaded by "Mr. Westlake" - Rex Walker, ensured that Westlake remained on sound footing. It was Rex who negotiated with the Cape Town City Council for the sole use of the Silvermine Reservoir overflow, known as brown water. A pipeline was duly constructed and this was the main source of additional water supply, the lifeblood of any golf course, for near on fifty years. It was not until the recent linkage with Steenberg Estates effluent water system that brown water ceased to be the main source of alternate supply to augment the costly municipal white water. The Steenberg lining was an historic milestone in the history of Westlake, with a fully reticulated watering system, and was responsible for the rapid transformation of Westlake into one of the premier golf courses in the Western Cape.

Course and Clubhouse alterations and improvements have been very evident over the last twenty years. Well known golfers have praised the layout and condition of Westlake- among these were Bobby Locke in the 1950s and 60s and Gary Player in the 1980s.

Westlake has hosted the SA Intervarsity Golf Championships, the SA Under-23 Interprovincial, the Nomads Nationals, the SA Amateur, which was held in 1999 and the Western Province Amateur in 2011

Whether youre a tourist enjoying a Cape holiday, or a local golfer, visit them and see for yourself why Westlake is the Cape`s most popular course.

For more information, fees and bookings please contact:

Club/Admin
Tel: +27-21-7882020
Pro Shop
Tel: +27-21-7882011
Or email Bookings: bookings@westlakegolfclub.co.za
Or email Info: info@westlakegolfclub.co.za

Physical Address:
Main Road
Lakeside
Cape Town
7945