The Goat Track

Welcome to Royal Durban Golf Club, one of the most unique golfing canvases in South Africa! Established in 1892, this historic gem sits entirely within the infield of the Greyville Racecourse right in the heart of Durban.

It’s completely flat, entirely exposed to the coastal wind, and features thick, penalizing Kikuyu rough that will test every single club in your bag. No trees, no elevation changes—just pure, raw golfing character and a deep sense of history.

But whether you beat the course or it beats you, the real magic happens after the final putt. Royal Durban’s 19th hole is legendary for its warm KwaZulu-Natal hospitality, rich tradition, and the perfect cold pint to cap off a memorable day on the fairways.

Hit save for your next KZN golf trip itinerary!

Have you ever braved the Greyville wind at Royal Durban?

In this episode, we sit down with Golf Digest editor and the mastermind behind the South African Top 100 courses ranking system, Stuart McLean.

We pull back the curtain on the entire ranking process to discover exactly who assesses the courses, how the scoring categories are structured, and how panelists separate a great overall experience from a course’s true architectural ranking.

Stuart also opens up about the future of the evaluation system, the complex reasons why some clubs choose to opt out of the rankings entirely, and wraps up by sharing a few of his absolute favorite golf destinations across South Africa.

This week we talk all things SA TOP 100 with editor Stuart Maclean including:

- Stuart’s background in playing and assessing some of the world’s greatest courses.

- How are courses actually rated? Panels, categories and criteria

- Courses which opt out of the ranking.

- The public review options on SA TOP 100 (including rating the hot chips 🔥).

A very curious sighting yesterday at

The full story is that sadly a local resident had been washed down the river a few days before and police suspected he had been taken by a croc.

Police divers and conservationists identified a very bloated croc - shot it and then airlifted to flat ground where they undertook an autopsy.

The residents remains were discovered inside.

RIP

Augusta National is a masterclass in deception. But the blueprints for the world’s most famous course were not born in Georgia. They were born in the South African Veld.

Before he was a legendary architect, Dr Alister MacKenzie was a British Army surgeon stationed right here during the Boer War. He watched an outnumbered force vanish into the landscape using what they called natural concealment. It changed the way he saw the earth.

By World War One, he had traded his scalpel for a spade. Serving as a military Camoufleur, he mastered the art of imitating nature to hide trenches and artillery in plain sight.

When you watch the world’s best struggle with the invisible breaks and deceptive sightlines of Amen Corner this week, look beyond the azaleas. They are not just fighting the grass. They are fighting a century of military strategy designed by a man who learned to lie with the land in our own backyard.

Augusta is not a garden. It is a battlefield.

Corner

Comment below who won our 2026 players draft - categories were Top 10, Past Champion, Southern Hemisphere, Lefty and > 50 rank on GolfChamps.

Team:
Bobby Mac - LH
Hideki - PC
Adam Scott - SH
Tommy - Top 10
Cam Smith - >50

team:
Scottie - PC
Akshay - LH
Woodland - >50
Casey Jarvis - SH
Rory - T10

TBag .elliott
Rahm - PC
Bryson - Top 10
Jason Day - SH
Brooks - >50
Matt McCarty - LH