Royal Durban

Durban - KwaZulu-Natal

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Golf manager: Mike Seligmann
Greenkeeper: Pierre van Rooyen (STM)
Club captains: Graeme Forbes & Melissa Savio
President: Les Orchard
Chairman: Johan Meyer

Course Summary

Four tees / Par 72

Yellow 6206 metres, CR72.7/124
White 5987 metres, CR71.6/119
Blue 5462 metres, CR68.7/116
Red 5134 metres, CR67.0/111
Women’s white, CR77.7/137
Women’s blue, CR75.0/130
Women’s red, CR72.7/123

Visitor Green Fee

R375 weekday
R400 Saturday & holidays
R330 Sunday
Early bird special before 8.15 Tuesday-Friday
R220 or R700 for two with cart
Golf cart R380
Course closed Monday morning

Course designer

George Fotheringham 1910,
Bob Grimsdell 1935

Contact

031 309 1530
www.royaldurban.co.za

Royal Durban occupies a unique place in South African golf history. Other than being the only course built inside a horse racing track (Greyville), the club still occupies the land where it was conceived in 1892. There are older clubs but none have remained on the site where the club was founded. However, this means that Royal Durban remains close to the old city centre which is no longer the city’s corporate and commercial hub, and its membership has declined as a result.

In its heyday it was one of the country’s premier championship layouts, hosting the SA Open, the last of those in 1985. Royal Durban has had a remarkable number of champions as members – men and women who have either represented South Africa or won national trophies. They include Frank Agg, Eric Dalton, Bradley Davison, Murray Grindrod, Derek and Neil James, Tony Johnstone, Bruce Keyter, Jannie le Roux, Douglas Proudfoot, David Suddards and Peter van der Riet, plus Rita Easton, Rae Hast, Jackie Mercer, Judith Paterson and Alison Sheard.

In breezy conditions Royal remains a challenging test. Its open and featureless expanse (there are few trees) belies an interesting design and artfully created greens. The course resembles a flattish links of the kind you find in the UK or Ireland, though without the run and bounce. It’s one of the few SA courses where out-of-bounds is a prominent hazard, notably on those holes bordering the race track. Another hazard is a deep sluit coursing through the middle of the property. It’s a shot-maker’s design, which explains the numerous fine golfers to have represented the club.

Royal is so compact and cleverly designed that the routing of holes can easily be switched around without disturbing the flow of play.

Royal has always had a reputation for excellent greens, and has its own indigenous cynodon grass known as Royal Blue.

It has an attractive colonial era clubhouse from the 1930s, located just a few metres away from the par-5 18th green. In the 1983 SA Amateur the clubhouse area was not out of bounds, and Mike Bradfield hit his approach shot into the lounge. He opened the doors and pitched back off the carpet on to the green.

Additional Course Facts

Course Record

64 by Clinton Whitelaw, 1992 SA Strokeplay Championship

Club Champions

2024 Dian Wilmot & Sonja Hopcroft
2023 Kushal Bugareth & Nomkosi Mthiyane
2022 G van Vuuren & Nomkosi Mthiyane
2021 Sebastian Terblanche & C Coetzer
2020 Sebastian Terblanche & Amanda Biyela
2019 Sadek Khader & Amanda Biyela

Practice Facility

A range between tenth and 18th holes is limited to irons only. Putting green in front of the clubhouse.

Tournaments

Englishman Tommy Horton became the first foreigner to win the SA Open in 1970 at Royal Durban with a score of 285, and Gavan Levenson won the 1985 SA Open with 280. The club also hosted the 1999 Vodacom Players Championship won by Chris Davison (275). Gary Player won three Natal Opens at Royal Durban in 1958, 1960 and 1966. Royal Durban first hosted the men’s SA Open and SA Amateur in 1911, and altogether hosted five men’s and six women’s SA Amateurs.

Did You Know

1/ Royal Durban were unlucky with the timing of their only European Tour event, the Nelson Mandela Championship in December 2012. A thunderstorm flooded the course and prevented play the first two days. When it did start the course was so wet it had to be shortened to 5594 metres, par 65. Scott Jamieson had 66-57 and won in a playoff. Jaco van Zyl also had a 57, but these scores were considered unofficial.

2/ Home club member Bradley Davison won the 1992 SA Amateur celebrating the club centenary, beating Tim Clark in the final. The SA Amateur returned in 2008, won by Jacques Blaauw, who had triumphed in the SA Strokeplay at Pearl Valley a month earlier. Sally Little won her only SA Women’s Amateur at Royal Durban in 1971.

3/ The November 1975 Commonwealth Tournament at Royal was the first golf event televised in South Africa.

4/ The club has produced many outstanding golfers. The late Jackie Mercer was one of Royal’s finest, winning the women’s championship 28 times between 1947 and 1981. SA international, 4-time SA Amateur champion and 12-time Natal champion. Rory Sabbatini went on to win 7 times on the US PGA Tour.

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Course Reviews
Any sort of wind at Royal Durban makes this course a real challenge, and good to see it coming back into prime condition.
Brink Rautenbach
07 July 2024
Royal's strengths are a well-conditioned course with a great bar in the clubhouse.
Frans Kemper
03 July 2024
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Great semi-links course where wind is always a factor. Fairways generous but rough punishing.
Andy Goodman
23 June 2024
I have been a member for over 30 years and the course has never been in such good condition from tee to green. Greens perfect, running true. Fairways good, if only players would fill their divots. STM, represented by Pierre van Rooyen and his team, are doing an excellent job.
Mike Seligmann
19 June 2024
Course is playable for all levels of golfers and has improved significantly the last year. Very interesting memorabilia collected over 132 years of Royal's history. One of the best 19th holes of any golf club.
Lynton Beckett
16 June 2024
Royal Durban has progressed into a world-class course over the last 18 months for which credit must be given to the new Southern Turf Management greenkeeper and their maintenance work. The greens are rolling as true as they were years ago. The pro shop, bar and members are known for their warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Cyril Frank
14 June 2024
Greens in the best condition I've experienced as a Royal Durban member. Rough is almost back to what it used to be in defence of the course.
Graeme Forbes
10 June 2024
Course is much improved. Greenkeeper has done a brilliant job.
Nithendra Manickchund
06 June 2024
Royal Durban has undergone a brilliant transformation this year and was in excellent condition for the senior society national tournament. With its firm fairways, thickish rough, smallish greens (often sloped with tricky front pins) and open terrain this is a good old-fashioned coastal challenge, a handful for anyone if the wind gets up. The front nine (par 35) is especially good, with six strong par 4s to contemplate (three with out-of-bounds right, Greyville racetrack coming into play), plus an unusually shaped par 5 and a "killer" par 3 (No 6) into the wind. The back nine is easier with three par 5s, although again you have a couple of tough 4s (15 & 17) and another par 3 (14) where a long narrow green presents a tricky target. And No 18 is a characterful par 5 finishing hole, with its large green right up against the clubhouse. Drinks in a classic 19th hole cannot be missed.
Stuart McLean
12 May 2024
Good value club where you always feel welcome.
Cyril Frank
29 April 2023
The course has improved tenfold since Southern Turf Management took over the maintenance.
Keith Williamson
29 April 2023
Course playing and looking extremely well.
Graeme Forbes
27 April 2023
Royal's greens would be the envy of many Top 100 courses. They are creatively designed and the putting surfaces are superb. The course itself though lacks something in definition between fairway and rough. I stood on the tee of the short par-4 11th and there was no way a visitor would know what line to take, straight at the green or at a lone bunker on the left. It was all a sea of green grass, but what was fairway and what was rough? The clubhouse has a fabulous bar area, one of the best 19th holes in terms of the old traditional style. I was also impressed by the large putting green in front of the clubhouse.
Stuart McLean
29 November 2020
The Royal greens are always in excellent condition.
Trevor King
08 March 2020
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