The iconic Durban Country Club was officially opened on 9 December 1922 and boasts a rich and proud history.
Towards the end of the First World War serious consideration was first given to the establishment of a Country Club in Durban. Country clubs were beginning to proliferate in other parts of South Africa and as Durban was already achieving a reputation as the leading seaside resort, it seemed imperative that such an amenity be attained – for residents and visitors alike.
The Durban Golf Club situated on a low-lying swamp at Greyville, with the race track running around it, was repeatedly subject to flooding, which often cancelled out all golf. A final straw was when floods made this course virtually unplayable for the 1920 South African Golf Championships and it was feared that Durban would not be asked to host the event again in 1924.
George Waterman accepted the challenge of building the course and was assisted in this endeavour by fellow professional golfer Laurie Waters – a four times winner of the South African Open. The difficulties these men faced were immense. All earth-moving had to be done manually. Giant sand dunes were flattened, dense bush and trees chopped down and carted away.