Royal Johannesburg and Kensington courses were over 100 years old when they merged in 1998 and was renamed Royal Johannesburg and Kensington. Due to the two courses coming together there is now the East and West golf course.

The East golf course has hosted no less than seven South African Opens (1946 and 1986) and has played host to a large number of important national and international events.

The East was originally designed in 1935 by club professional Robert Grimsdell but completely remodelled in 1998 by Mark Muller, the bunkers gave a new fresh appearance. The dams were also enlarged, and a new pond was added to the front of the Par 5, 6^th hole.

In January 2018 after an upgrade by Gold Data, overseen by Robbie Marshall, the course opened to the use of the public. The bunker placements and quality of sand in the bunkers was the top priority in this rebuild. Improvements on drainage were also implemented during this time.

It is famed for its fearsome start to the inward holes, with back-to-back Par 4’s over 430 meters each at the 10^th and 11^th holes. The 11^th is considered the more challenging hole between the two. Teeing off downhill, the fairway doglegs to the right where the approach has to carry the water before making it to the green.