I had heard a lot about La Cigale Tabarka Golf from the owners and MDs of other courses in Tunisia, and calling this the Pebble Beach of Tunisia. Tabarka is a two-and-a-half hour drive north of Tunis and sits on the Mediterranean Sea. A hearty breakfast at the wonderful hotel that we are staying in – read Milly’s review on page 28 – and then a five-minute drive brings us to the amazing clubhouse with its cathedral-like high ceilings.
After a warm up on the range and the fantastic chipping green I am again starting on the back nine, with the 382-yard par 4 playing uphill. But you have to be perfect with your tee shot here as two very tall umbrella-type trees protect each side of the fairway so the shot is a slight fade through the gap down the left which I manage to pull off. The second shot is played downhill to the green that has trees again to the left and bunkers left and right, but the backdrop of the hills and trees lining the fairway really frames the hole beautifully.
Left to right: 2nd, 7th and 9th holes
You can tell the weather in this region of Tunisia gets more rain with the lush green fairways, but what I am not getting is the feeling of Pebble Beach! The 11th is played slightly downhill and looks like one of those holes you see on the PGA Tour when they play those tree-lined courses, with bunkers surrounding the green.
Standing on the tee of the 14th was when I could sort of see the Pebble Beach connection with the tall umbrella-type pine on the left as you play your tee shot up the hill and it’s when you get to the top of that hill you can see the sea and the town as the backdrop to the green. It’s a great hole and so too is the 15th, which is played back up that hill with more umbrella pines. The run of holes to the 18th has water featuring on all of them, with risk and reward on both the 16th and 18th holes and the par-3 17th is played over water and has two bunkers at the back. The 18th really is a stunning hole played over a rise and then downhill and catching the slope is important as you have that water to carry if you’re going for the green.
I’m sill waiting for that Pebble Beach feeling as I make my way to the 1st tee, which is tree lined and doglegs left. So too does the 2nd, but plays downhill this time with the sea again as a backdrop. I cross the road to get to the 3rd hole and I realise that this is one of the holes I could see from my hotel window. But it’s on reaching my drive that the Pebble Beach connection starts to take shape. The green sits below me and looks like an infinity green the way it disappears into the sea, even though we are above it and the right side of the fairway has a couple of those Torrey Pines that you see at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Above: Looking down on the 4th green and 5th and 6th holes
The par-3 4th hole is a stunner with the sea as a backdrop and is another one of those Pines holes; you really need to concentrate here as there are not only bunkers left and right, but there is also a cliff if you go too far left. Just pray your ball lands in the grass before you get to the cliff edge if you see your ball start to draw/hook!
The 5th runs along the top of the cliff, which is played down a slight hill and back up to a raised green, but it’s all about those views on the left. Yes, this is definitely Tunisia’s Pebble Beach. The par-5 6th brings me back up the hill with those views now to your right and played to a raised green. The 7th is a tough par 3 with a very skinny green that has three tiers, but is only 12 paces wide.
The front nine comes to a close with a wonderful golf hole played from an elevated tee that I have to thread my ball through the trees from the tee. Length means nothing on this hole; it will only bring you a lot of woe. Placement is all important, so I would play it as a three-shot hole and a nice 7 iron leaves me a nice eight-foot birdie putt that I make.
It really is a wonderful golf club and a fitting finale to my trip. I would recommend that they swap the nines round on this course. I can also see the reasons to keep it this way, but I think the way I played it with the “Pebble Beach” holes as the back nine was the perfect finish to what has been a wonderful week’s golf.
Left to right: The 10th, 15th and 17th holes
Above: The stunning architecture of the clubshouse
