Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club

After playing the East course in the morning, I settled into the clubhouse for a bit of food and to rest my legs for the early afternoon heat I was about to encounter. The West course is meant to be the second of the two courses but I was still really impressed with it.

The two courses at Royal Johannesburg fan out in two opposite directions and this one as the name suggests heads west which in my opinion offers much more scenic views of the surrounding area, despite still being in the middle of a bustling metropolis.

The course is no less interesting than the East course and I thought it was still in really good condition as well with some really good holes. It is maybe a touch wider and shorter than the East course making a slightly more playable 18 but I would definitely recommend playing this course as well if you’re considering playing at Royal Johannesburg. For R1,200 a round it is great value for money compared to European prices.

I played both courses on a day when there was a corporate day on one course and a Senior’s competition on the other and honestly had very little delay at all, they kept the parties moving and maintained a swift pace of play throughout, it was really impressive to watch and many clubs negate this aspect.

The courses are serviced by a lovely big clubhouse with huge dining area and I honestly thought they may have been a little old school with no sports shoes in the bar but couldn’t have been further from the truth, everyone was super welcoming and friendly.

The courses are also serviced by a driving range and Titleist fitting center although the range is undergoing a renovation so interested to come back and see what that looks like but it is neatly positioned between the two courses. A great day out at Royal Johannesburg and would definitely come back if I had the opportunity!

My second stop in Johannesburg and lucky to play both courses at Royal Johannesburg on the same day. Starting on the East course in the morning I teed off at the crack of dawn having learnt my lesson from the day before and layering up slightly more. Luckily my clubs had arrived by now! It is another relatively long course at 6,400 meters but again playing at altitude it doesn’t play as long as it would seem.

The East course is another really well manicured parkland course in very good condition once again coming out of a dry Jo’burg winter. I felt that where Glendower utilized their water features really well, the East course had more changes in elevation and really harnessed the natural landscape with sloping fairways and bunkers placed strategically to catch balls filtering in their direction.

The opening hole is a relatively gentle start with a downhill par 5 measuring at 450 meters which at high altitude isn’t long at all, a very generous start to the round followed by another downhill hole, this time a long par 3 but nothing too drastic. You continue to work your way down to the end of the property but what I found better about Royal Jo’burg than the day before was the course was more protected from the outside world in terms of tree lined perimeters taking away the immediate sight of an abundance of houses, giving you the feeling of being in nature whilst in the middle of a city.

The 11th was my favourite on the course. A par 4 with a lovely view down the hill, bending to the right with water short of the green. It is also coincidentally stroke index 1. Despite being wide open off the tee you need to be far enough right but not too far but also far enough to get past the trees on the right to give yourself a shot at the green in two. A wonderfully crafted hole!

It’s the small things that set these courses apart from the other parkland course in Johannesburg like the maintenance of the plants in front of the 7th tee box and the beautiful stone bridge. I also really enjoyed the flowering on the 16th, a short par 3 directly over a pond with great shrubbery all the way around.

Another really fun course to play, tough but not too challenging! The more expensive of the two courses but R1,600 for a round by European standards is still decent value for money. I’ll continue with my review of the facilities and club in my review of the West course.

OP de East course werd een internationale wedstrijd gespeeld waarbij onze coming man, Lars van der Vicht derde werd (-7). Wij speelden west. Het oogt wijd en eenvoudig. De praktijk is anders. Geraffineerde baan. Prachtig onderhouden en fraaie greens. Over de kleedlokalen en het clubhuis maar te zwijgen.

De West Course gespeeld, daarnaast is er ook een East Course. Wat een plezierige golfervaring deze prachtige baan. Gelegen in een bomenrijk parklandschap met veel natuur, diverse waterholes en licht geaccidenteerd. De fairways en greens bleken uitstekend en maakten het golfen tot een nog mooiere sport. Een waar genoegen om hier te spelen.

Het clubhuis is fantastisch en de kleedruimte voor de heren heel bijzonder.

Correcte ontvangst en TEE time snel aangepast door caddie master. Rental materiaal in prima staat en helemaal niet duur. Buggy uitgerust met top GPS systeem! Fraaie oefenfaciliteiten. Oefenputting green is perfect vergelijkbaar met greens op de baan, snel en correct te lezen. De variatie van holes is uitstekend en zeer afwisselend. Par 5’s redelijk makkelijk te halen in regulation. Paar pittige par 4’s qua lengte en redelijk wat waterhindernissen in het spel. Ook de par 3’ vragen perfecte club keuze en sommige zijn aan de lange kant maar heel rechtvaardig. De baan ligt er prima onderhouden bij. Na afloop genoten we van een overheerlijke cappuccino op het mooie terras. De bediening is hier bijzonder vriendelijk.