Prince's Grant Golf Estate: A Guide to Playing and Staying on the KZN North Coast

Most golfers on the KZN North Coast head to Zimbali and stop there. Prince's Grant is twenty-five minutes further north on the N2 and has been ranked inside the SA Top 50 for thirty years. The two are not the same course. Zimbali is forest and elevation. Prince's Grant is duneland and ocean. The fifteenth hole alone, dropping 560 yards down to the Indian Ocean, is the reason a lot of regulars drive past Zimbali to play here instead.

What the course actually plays like

Prince's Grant is a links and parkland layout designed by Peter Matkovich, opened for play in June 1994 and reconstructed in November 2020. It plays to par 72 over 6,260 yards on dune terrain, the only properly seaside-influenced layout this far north on the KZN coast. The front nine plays more inland with a few water hazards. The back nine opens toward the ocean, the bush thins out, and the links character takes over as the course climbs toward the higher ground near the clubhouse.

The defining hole is the 15th, named Umvoti. A 560-yard par 5 from an elevated tee, dropping the full distance to a green set down beside the Indian Ocean. Bush left, out of bounds right, the wind almost always involved. The SA Top 100 Courses panel has called it one of the best 18 holes in South Africa. The view back up the hill from the green is the single image most visitors come away with.

The 16th, Paddyfield, sits on what was once rice fields planted by Babu Bodasing, one of the estate's early owners. The name has stayed for over a century. It also opens the closing run that any regular here will warn you about. The 16th, 17th and 18th are short par 4, tough par 3, and demanding par 5 in sequence. Wind exposed. Balls easily lost left off the tee on all three. A round can come apart over the last forty minutes if you are not paying attention.

Wind is part of the course. So is the paspalum grass on the greens, which rolls true but slower than bent or bermuda. Some visitors love it. Some take a couple of holes to read the speed. Either way, the conditioning is regularly described by reviewers as the best in KwaZulu-Natal, with fairways "like a carpet" from tee to green.

A note the brochure leaves out. The estate is genuine coastal bush. Black mambas and forest cobras live in it, and the rough is exactly the habitat they prefer. Sightings on the course are not rare. Nobody who plays here regularly is fazed by them. Nobody who plays here regularly puts a hand into long grass to retrieve a ball either. Take a club, have a look first, and if it is more than a metre off the fairway, take a drop.

The walks between some greens and the next tees are long. Carts are recommended and most golfers use them. The terrain is hilly enough that walking the full eighteen in KZN summer heat is a serious undertaking.

What it is not

Prince's Grant is not a flawless layout. The serious reviewers do not pretend otherwise, and pretending it is a perfect course does not help anyone planning a visit. The pond on the approach to the 6th green requires an all-or-nothing carry that some find out of context for the dunes around it. There is a hidden pond off the 2nd that catches second shots that did not need to be punished. The housing on ridge tops is visible from many of the lower fairways, which is what happens on a residential estate.

None of this stops it being one of the dozen or so best courses in the country. It does mean that anyone arriving expecting a flawless American resort experience should adjust expectations. This is South African dune golf with character and weather, on land that wants to be played.

A history worth knowing before you play

The land was originally granted to George Wilson Prince by Queen Victoria on 20 October 1856. Three thousand three hundred and fifty-four acres in exchange for two pounds, five shillings and four pence sterling. It later passed to Babu Bodasing, an Indian cane cutter who built a substantial Natal property portfolio.

When the estate was developed into a golf course in the 1990s, the design team made a decision rare among residential developments: the golf course got first pick of the land. The 15th hole sits on prime coastal real estate that any normal developer would have allocated to housing plots at premium rates. Peter Matkovich took it for golf instead. That single call is most of why the course is what it is.

The course opened for play in June 1994. The clubhouse was officially opened in November 1994 by Hugh Baiocchi, the first director of golf, who arrived to find the pro shop was a wooden wendy house perched on top of the 10th tee. Baiocchi had previously worked at Gleneagles and Turnberry. The transition was, by all accounts, an adjustment.

The colonial-style double-storey clubhouse that stands now bears a striking resemblance to Shinnecock Hills in New York. Once you have noticed it you cannot unnotice it.

Green fees and visitor access

Prince's Grant is open to visitors on weekdays and weekends. At the time of writing, green fees are R570 per person with a golf cart at R420. Two-golfer specials are available on Monday and Tuesday at R950 with cart, and a four-golfer special with two carts at R2,000 on Thursdays. Overnight guests at the lodge receive a reduced rate.

Rates change. Confirm current green fees and tee time availability directly with the club before making the trip.

The lodge and the estate

The 4-star Lodge at Prince's Grant has 15 rooms with views over either the course or the ocean, accommodating a maximum of 30 guests. Mulligans Bar and the Bunkers à la carte restaurant are in the clubhouse. The estate runs to two kilometres of private beach with three access gates and ablution blocks, swimming pools, tennis and squash courts, canoeing on a freshwater lagoon, and conference facilities for up to a hundred guests. Twenty-four-hour manned security with biometric access and electric fencing throughout.

For golfers who want to be on-site and not drive anywhere, the lodge is the obvious choice. For larger groups, families, or anyone who wants more space and self-catering, there are alternatives close by.

Where to stay near Prince's Grant

Zinkwazi Beach is twenty-five minutes north of Prince's Grant on the N2. Close enough to make an early tee time without difficulty, and considerably more to do for a non-playing partner or a family with the round being the day's main event rather than its entirety.

The Zinkwazi Lagoon runs for eight kilometres of warm calm water. The village has its own beach, indigenous milkwood forest with marked trails, the Zinkwazi Ski Boat Club, a small handful of local restaurants. Self-catering houses sleep groups of six to fourteen with private pools and braai facilities, often at rates that compare well against the lodge tariff.

For a closer look at accommodation options nearest the course, where to stay near Prince's Grant Golf Estate covers them in detail. For the wider picture of Zinkwazi as a base, what is actually worth doing in Zinkwazi between rounds is worth a read.

"Prince's Grant is the reason to come to this stretch of coast. Zinkwazi is the reason to stay for the week."

Getting there

From Durban or King Shaka International (about 30 minutes), head north on the N2 and take the Stanger / Blythedale Beach exit. Turn left toward Stanger. At the first set of traffic lights, turn right. After 2km, turn right toward the Golf Estate. Follow the road for 5km to the course entrance.

From Zinkwazi, head south on the N2 toward Durban and follow the same exit. The drive takes approximately twenty-five minutes.

If you are planning a golf trip, Zinkwazi has many self-catering options including lagoon-side cottages, beach houses, pet-friendly places, and the houses set back in the milkwood forest. SeaClusion is on one level with no stairs, which suits a group walking eighteen holes in the morning.