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About

Welcome to Royal Durban Golf Club, one of the very few golf courses to be sited in the middle of a horse racing track and has hosted some renowned golfing tournaments in the last 100 years.

Royal Durban Golf Club was first established in 1892 as the Durban Golf Club, after Mr John Watt (a local bank manager) approached the town council about creating a golf club in Durban and was granted permission to lay out a links design course on the grounds within Greyville Racecourse.

The first course was a far cry from the professionally landscaped grounds of today. There were no actual greens – only scuffed ground with hard clay surfaces – and the fairways were not planted, the grass was merely cut by a reaper drawn by oxen.

In 1932, the Durban Golf Club was rebuilt. A brand new clubhouse was built, replacing the original wood and iron shanty, and a new course layout was designed by Bob Grimsdell, who qualified as a course architect at Colt & Allison of London, Paris & New York.

The course became known for its punishing rough, which is the only defense it has (apart from the prevailing winds). Large or bulky trees and bushes were not allowed in the design of the course, for the simple reason that they would obscure the view of the racetrack.

Designed by

Year opened

Holes

Bob Grimsdell

1892

18

Length

Type

Par

5977m

Parklands

72

Weather

Royal Durban Golf Club

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