Hermanus has twenty-seven holes rather than eighteen, arranged as three separate eighteen-hole courses. The club names the combinations by hole number: East is holes 1 to 18, North is 19 to 27 followed by 1 to 9, and South is 10 to 18 followed by 19 to 27. Each plays to a par of 72 and each has its own scorecard and handicap conversion table.
What the club does not publish is which combination is in play on a given day, so ask when you book. And between 15 December and 15 January bookings are strictly telephonic and must be made seven days in advance.
The course
Golf has been played here since 1907, originally on a Bob Grimsdell layout. The course was expanded from eighteen holes to twenty-seven in 2006 under Peter Matkovich, and the club describes the result as fully modernised, with expertly shaped fairways, grassy mounds, bunkers, trees and rocky water hazards.
Six tee sets are marked, black, yellow, white, blue, red and green, which the club frames as championship, members, seniors and ladies options. On the East course the men’s rating runs from 74.6 off the black markers down to 63.6 off the green, which is a wide spread for one course. The clubhouse and practice areas were upgraded in 2024.
Playing Hermanus Golf Club as a visitor
Green fees separate a golfer holding an official South African handicap from one who does not, with further affiliated and non-affiliated rates for scholars and students and a reciprocity rate for George Golf Club members.
Two age rules are published and both matter. Primary school children of twelve and under must be accompanied by an adult, a member or a club caddie. High school students of thirteen and over must hold a valid handicap to play.
Caddies, rental clubs, golf carts and pull carts are all published at visitor rates. The clubhouse code is smart casual: collared or plain shirts with dress pants, chinos or tailored shorts, and no flip-flops, tank tops or vests.
Where it is
Hermanus is a coastal town on the Cape South Coast that the club calls a picturesque fishing village, best known for the southern right whales that return to calve in its sheltered waters. The town’s population swells over the December and January holidays, which is why the club changes its booking rules for that window.
