Royal Deception

Royal Durban’s layout, uniquely situated in the middle of the well-known Greyville racecourse, is never going to strike fear into the heart of the first-time visitor. Looking out across the layout, bordered by the railings of the track where the famous Durban July Handicap is run, one could be forgiven for believing that this course is a pushover.

Forget it – this beauty will bring you down to earth in a hurry. Hitting fairways, crucial to putting together a reasonable score here, never seems to be as easy as it looks, and although the greens are only gently contoured, the subtle breaks are not easy to read.

When one plays this meticulously groomed course, it is difficult to imagine what this landscape must have been like a century ago. We are told that the layout was engaged in a constant battle against nature – the fairways, then merely areas of indigenous veld grasses, were maintained by coaxing a team of oxen pulling a primitive reaper.

The putting surfaces then consisted of scuffed, clay areas that would have been compacted, and on these ‘greens’, holing a putt of any length must have been more about sheer luck than skill. The swampy ground was also prone to flooding, but when the original golfers in Durban opened the first course in the city, it was not without a sense of pride.

It had been local bank manager John Watt who was the ‘founding father’ of this club – Watt had approached the council and obtained permission to use the land within the Greyville racecourse for the construction of a golf course.

Horse racing was already well established at the time and it is fitting that the first home of the ‘sport of kings’ would also be where the royal and ancient game took root in Durban.

The clubhouse

The modest clubhouse, fashioned from wood and corrugated iron, was little more than a shanty, but we can be sure that the golfers of Victorian Durban must have considered their 19th hole to be rather special, and it was.

The city of Durban, with its important port, grew rapidly during the early part of the 20th century, and with its mild sub-tropical climate and spectacular coastline with sandy beaches, it had become a favoured holiday destination. The demand for another golf course had been created, but it was not until 1920 that serious consideration was given to this idea.

Royal had hosted the SA Championships (and other important events), but flooding rendered the course almost unplayable, and it was feared that Durban may not be asked to host the event as planned for 1924.

This had two important consequences: firstly the construction of Durban Country Club was planned, and secondly, once the Country Club had been completed, Royal completely reconstructed its course and built a grand new clubhouse, completed in 1932.

This was the same year that the club was granted permission to use the prefix ‘Royal’ – the Prince of Wales had visited the club in 1925, and curiously it took the best part of seven years before the honour was bestowed on the club. Perhaps His Royal Highness was waiting until the club had spruced up the course and built a clubhouse worthy of the moniker?

Robert Grimsdell fashioned a new layout that was a vast improvement on the original design. At the same time, a canal and drainage system was constructed, which meant that the excess water was managed, and the course was no longer subjected to regular flooding.

Grimsdell was limited in what he could do, because it was important that the view of the racetrack would not be obscured by mounding or trees. (The relationship between the Turf Club and the Golf Club has not always been a harmonious one, but the two bodies have learned to live with each other over years.)

Still, the new course was immediately recognised as a serious test, and much to Grimsdell’s credit, this benign-looking track still presents a serious examination of a player’s skills. Much like many of the older coastal courses, it relies on the wind to really spice it up, but even in calm conditions, missing fairways will result in a player facing some difficult recoveries from the wiry rough.

It is well said that great courses produce great champions. Among many fine golfers that have been members of Royal is David Suddards, now a member and past captain of Durban Country Club. Suddards, the most capped Springbok golfer, has fond memories of this course, where he was also club champion.

“I have often heard it said that the course does appear to have few defences, but it is notoriously difficult to shoot low scores here – for a long time nobody ever broke 280 in major events here; I think the first was Mark McNulty who posted four 69s here once,” he says. Indeed, when Tommy Horton won the SA Open here in 1970, it was with a score of 285, when many of the country’s best professionals bemoaned the fact that the course was too tough.

Suddards also recalls that when the greens at Royal were at their firmest, it was extremely difficult to hit the ball close to the flag – attempting to run or bounce the ball onto the putting surfaces would see it pull up short in the kikuyu fringes, and attempts at carrying the ball to the target would mostly result in the ball running through the greens.

Since then the greens have become much more receptive, and the handicap player, when the course is set up for normal play, is likely to thoroughly enjoy this easily walked layout. A chronic slicer (or hooker) is going to be heavily penalised here, as will the slugger who hopes to overpower this short layout. Think your way around without trying to be too clever and the course will grudgingly give up a few birdies.

Feel at home

One thing is for certain, this is one of the friendliest clubs that one could ever hope to visit, and the 19th hole is renowned for welcoming visitors with open arms.
The profusion of golf clubs that have sprung up along Durban’s north and south coasts may have seen membership numbers at Royal drop over the last few years, but this has done nothing to diminish the spirit that has existed here for more than a century.

When you visit this club, and we strongly suggest that you do, do not expect to enter via those elaborate gates much favoured by modern estate courses, where liveried security guards will click their heels and salute. Do not go looking for the sushi bar or the wellness centre and massage parlour, because the club has no need for those facilities. This is a golf club, pure and simple, and long may it remain so.

Picture 1

The short 11th may be Royal’s stroke 18, but it is never as easy as it looks. Only 140 metres at full stretch, the target has the habit of shrinking, and the four greenside bunkers see plenty of traffic.

Picture 2

The 7th hole is the most difficult par four on the course. It plays every inch of its 428 metres, and the tall palm trees can spell disaster for the sliced or blocked tee shot.

Picture 3

The 18th, a 442-metre par five, is normally well within reach of the second shot after a good drive, but the canal and a huge fig tree can come into play, as can three well-placed fairway bunkers. A fine finishing hole to what is always an enjoyable round.

Picture 4: The clubhouse

The Royal Durban clubhouse was built back in the 1930s, but you can expect modern levels of service from the pro shop through to the dining and function rooms.

Likes...

• The clubhouse – which has a pleasing, well-used patina about it, and an old-school drinking hole where everyone is treated like a friend.
• The course – devoid of trickery and gimmicks; a good, honest test of shot-making that is consistently kept in excellent condition.

... and dislikes

• There are a few routing issues and having to cross a road is not ideal.
• The fact that one can be so deceived by the design – it seems so simple, yet always leaves the player wondering how they made such a hash of it.

Fact File

Getting there: From Durban beachfront, follow Argyle Road. Cross over Umgeni Road, proceed until Windemere. Turn left, and turn into Mitchell Crescent.

Course Par 73, 6 129 metres, cynodon fairways and greens, with areas of kikuyu.

Designer Robert Grimsdell

Manager Pam Maybury

Club Captain Frans Kempen

Head professional/Director of Golf Garth Pearson

Course Superintendent Kevin Searle

Greenfees Affiliated – R235 Non-affiliated – R350