Photo of East London Golf Club

East London Golf Club

22 Gleneagles Rd, Bunkers Hill,

East London, Eastern Cape 5210

  • Office

    +27 (0)43 735 1356
  • Pro shop

    +27 (0)43 735 1357
  • Fax

    +27 (0)43 735 1390
  • Golf pro

    AJ Steyn (Golf Director).

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Undulating terrain - several slopes to climb.

  • Surroundings:

    Fynbos (coastal shrubland/woodland).

  • Designer:

    Current design by English course architect Col. Stafford Vere Hotchkin (1928).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Metres
6191
6038
5284
Par
73
73
73
SSS or slope
72
72
72

Location

Latitude:

-32.996174

Longitude:

27.936033

How to get there:

3 km N of East London

From East London airport and/or town centre, follow the R72 (North-East expressway), and take the Gleneagles Road turn-off. Continue along Gleneagles Road to golf.

East London Golf Club

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.

Est. 1893

East London Golf Club: Although a long drive into the Eastern Cape, the reward for making the journey is one of South Africa's oldest and most challenging oceanside golf courses. Located between the city and the sea, East London Golf Club meanders through the continually undulating (sometimes roller-coaster) terrain of the coastal dunes. Your golfing journey here will bring you through dense coastal fynbos, and alternately into slightly more open areas.

The opening par-5 hole does an excellent job in setting the scene, taking you from more open terrain towards a green surrounded on three sides by the small trees and bushes of the fynbos. The excellent par-3 2nd, known as "the Drop", for obvious reasons, is played to a green menacingly encircled by six good-sized bunkers.

The Indian Ocean is revealed on a few occasions from the course's higher elevations, but for much of the time you will probably be thankful that the fynbos-lined holes are getting some protection from the wind, which is often in attendance. There are several attractive and gently sweeping dog-leg holes, usually of sufficient width to encourage the use of the driver from the tee.

With an absence of water to worry about, your main objective will be to keep it straight, avoid the bushes, and hit the relatively small and well-bunkered greens. Although not on everyone's Cape golfing itinerary, East London is home to a rather special golf course, that's well worth a visit.

List of courses: South Africa
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club
  • Photo of East London Golf Club

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.

Must book in advance. Handicap required

Green fees

Visitor fee, 18-holes: R510 (non-affiliated); R430 (SA-affiliated). Golf cart R335.

Credit cards accepted. Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2022].

Other information

Walking permitted and caddies available at all times.

Practice facilities

Good

Did you know?

East London GC has hosted many top-level tournaments including the South African Open and Africa Open (see our Tournaments section >by Venue >East London). Among the impressive list of SA Open winners here, you will find the names of such golfing greats as Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Mark McNulty and Sid Brews.

Although no longer on the SA Open roster (due to its distance from South Africa's largest population centres), the course still hosts South African Sunshine Tour events (often co-sanctioned with the European Tour) and major national amateur events.

Published ranking

12th best course in South Africa (SA Top 100 website, 2022).

Where2Stay

  • Quarry Lake Inn4-star

    Quartzite Drive, off Pearce Street, The Quarry, East London

    +27 (0)43 707 5400

    Visit website

    Located in a quiet suburb of East London, Quarry Lake Inn is a 4-star graded guest house overlooking a rehabilitated quarry. Indigenous trees and plants were introduced to maintain a natural environment that supports an abundance of bird and animal life.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 10 km:

      East London

    • Golf within 30 km:

      No

  • 14th Green Guest Lodge

    15 Turnberry Avenue, Bunker's Hill, East London 5241

    +27 (0)43 704 1400

    Visit website

    Located alongside the 14th green of the East London Golf Club, this upmarket 10-room guest house is an ideal place to stay for your golfing or business visit to East London.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      East London (next door)

    • Golf within 10 km:

      No

    • Golf within 30 km:

      No

Find a course

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Italian Open: the 80th playing of this prestigious European event will see many 2023 Ryder Cup hopefuls build their “local knowledge” of the Marco Simone course in Rome. (May 4-7). Ryder Cup (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Who's Who

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Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

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