The new greens on the par-5 third (front right) and the par-3 fourth (centre).
T he reopening of durban Country Club following its major upgrade has been delayed until the end of February. DCC members were originally told they would be playing the course in December, but drone images show that while it might be playable, the upgrade is far from complete in terms of its grow-in. “We believe that waiting another couple of months is the sensible thing to do,” said DCC general manager Don Gammon. “It’s a great disappointment for the members, yet they thankfully understand that this is something that cannot be rushed. We’ve been plagued by wet weather that has slowed down the work, and we would like to present a quality finished product on re-opening rather than one that receives criticism.” The course was closed in May 2023 and Golf Data, the company responsible for the redesign and rebuild of the iconic layout, had been given seven months to have it ready for play. That was a tight schedule, considering 18 new greens had to be shaped and planted, plus new bunkers and tees, and other earthworks. An additional project was the building of a Scottish links-type burn around several holes to mitigate against future flooding of the course. The R30-million upgrade was precipitated by the devasting floods of
That is a shallow burn, the one at DCC is deeper and resembles a proper water hazard in places, notably around the front of the par-5 tenth green. No 10 and No 13, a short par 4s, are the holes where playability and challenge are most directly affected by the burn. No 13 is now all about risk- reward. Longer hitters must carry the burn to reach the green with their tee shot, a carry of some 280 metres, while a layup needs to be accurate as the burn encroaches the left side of the fairway. The burn is also in play at four other holes, Nos 7-9-11-14. Another feature of the upgrade is the planting of bent grass on the greens for the first time in preference to either paspalum or cynodon used previously, and which were considered best to cope with the intense Durban heat and humidity from January to March. Length has been added here and there to the course, although only 150 metres extra to the overall distance, taking it to 6 300 metres from the championship tees, most of that going on two par-5s, Nos 8 and 14, which will now play 540 metres to a new green site. The par-4 sixth has been shortened from 322 to 295 metres. Green shapes are radically different. In another bow to the Old Course the design of the new par-3 15th green copies elements of its famous 11th.
April 2022 which left Durban CC in a right old mess. It was a distressing time for the club in what was their centenary year. It is estimated that more than 200 million litres of water drowned DCC over a 10-day period of heavy rainfall from April 10 to 20, something like 300 millimetres on April 11 alone, wreaking catastrophic damage. Some holes were submerged for months, and the irrigation system was destroyed. Golf Data’s vision proposal for the renovation was to refine and enhance the course to a standard that will enable the club to maintain its status as one of the world’s leading courses. To respect and accentuate iconic features of the 100-year-old layout. Golf Digest ranked it No 97 in the 2022-23 World Top 100 outside the United States. A new strategic dimension to Country Club has come in the form of the burn winding through the lower-lying holes at the far end of the course from the clubhouse. An attenuation dam was dug on the site of the club’s rubbish dump between the fifth and seventh holes to provide the water for the burn. However, the extent of the burn is possibly far greater than members envisaged, as the image on the previous pages illustrates. It’s not a narrow burn which golfers could leap over, but something akin in width to the Swilcan Burn on the Old Course at St Andrews.
20 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
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