Golf by Train

South Africa has a wonderful array of golf courses for visitors to enjoy, and they are spread across the country.

However, its sheer size – South Africa is larger than France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Austria and Switzerland combined – and often mountainous terrain makes it a daunting prospect to visit courses in different areas on the same trip.

Unless you let the train take the strain and embark on a relaxing golf safari by rail. You don’t even have to worry about your clubs; they are stored on the train and taken to each golf course ready for you to tee off.

Rovos Rail, which styles itself as “the most luxurious train in the world”, operates two different golf itineraries on multi-day trips aboard its stylish, all-inclusive trains that let you stop off and play some of South Africa’s most iconic courses along the way.

Its nine-day Golf Safari journey starts and ends in Pretoria and includes golf at either the Lost City or Gary Player Country Club courses at Sun City, Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg mountains, Durban Country Club, Royal Swazi and Leopard Creek, alongside Kruger Park. Game drives in Kruger Park and other reserves, plus Zulu and Boer battlefields tours are options for non-golfers.

You can also choose its African Golf Collage, a nine-day tour (10 days from 2017) that winds from Pretoria to Cape Town, with rounds of golf at Leopard Creek, Durban Country Club, Humewood, Oubaai Golf Resort and Fancourt Golf Estate. Non-golfers can enjoy safaris and tours of Durban and an ostrich farm instead. The tour also operates in reverse.

The three-star Shongololo Express train has recently been bought by Rovos Rail and golf has been added to its Good Hope trip, now renamed Good Hope/Golf. Courses such as Arabella Golf Estate, Oubaai, Fancourt, Champagne Sports Resort, Durban Country Club, Zimbali, Royal Swazi and Leopard Creek are available for guests to play on the 15-day journey in either direction between Cape Town and Pretoria.

Although golf is not on the itinerary of South Africa’s famous, luxury Blue Train, golf side trips can be added to its journeys between Pretoria and Cape Town or Pretoria-Hoedspruit through some golf tour operators.

And if you have enough golfing buddies who want to accompany you on a South Africa golf and rail adventure, you can even charter the entire train and head where you want to tee off on your favourite courses.