The Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club is a very pleasant, if unremarkable, parkland golf club that boasts two layouts ranked among the finest in the densely populated city of Johannesburg. Set high in the cities highveld, where the thin air carries balls further, the East Course is noted for having the longest consecutive par fours in the country, one measuring 470 meters, and the other 440 plus.

It was originally designed in 1935 by club professional Robert Grimsdell, but completely remodeled in 1998 by Mark Muller, the old native grasses removed and replaced with kikuyu, the greens were also rebuilt and the bunkers given a fresh appearance. The dams were also enlarged and a new pond added to the front of the par five 6th hole, which works quite well.

The strength of this particular course against most in the Gauteng area is the number of good holes it has. Few are outstanding, but the long par three 2nd is good, as is the new 6th, the long, downhill 11th, which heads right and then left over a pond, and the short 13th. The final few perhaps let it down a little, with some unnecessary use of water, but the East Course at Royal J’Berg is fun to play and rightly regarded as one of the best and most suitable tournament venues in South Africa. The club also deserves great credit for what appears an outstanding junior golf program.