Above: The stunning par 5, 4th hole with the Indian Ocean as a backdrop
Standing on the tee, I can already see from the design that holiday golfers are going to love this course. The fairway is wide and while the two bunkers you can see hint that the green should be up there somewhere, the hole actually doglegs to the left with the green sitting slightly below you, with run-offs and a false front. But it is a gentle introduction to the course and a birdie opportunity is duly taken.
The first par 5 arrives at the 2nd hole, which weighs in at 582 yards and has a stone wall and a hedgerow pinching the fairway in from the left in the landing zone. But with only one bunker protecting the green, it is definitely another birdie opportunity.
Two guys let me through on the 3rd hole. I had a quick chat with them and they were having a great time. They loved the course as it gave them a chance to enjoy it, as they hadn’t played that many rounds of golf, having taken up the game post-Covid.
I am sure that like me they were even more impressed when they stood on the 4th tee, as the turquoise Indian Ocean sits as a backdrop, with palm trees and bunkers just adding to the aesthetic beauty of this par 5. On reaching the green with its stunning ocean views, it is a moment to savour no matter what you’re holing out for score-wise. Having said that I have now had four birdies on the bounce!
Left to right: 6th, 8th and 10th holes
The first par 3 arrives at the 5th and is played over water, with what turns out to be quite a steep run-off into the water at the front of the green, which I unfortunately find out to my cost and my birdie run comes to a watery ending as I see my ball hit the top of the bank and roll back down.
If that par 3 wasn’t tough enough from the back tees – there are actually five teeing options so there is a lot of choice – as I step onto the next par 3 at the 8th, which weighs in at 255 yards and today is playing straight into the wind – I am having to hit driver! But it is another wonderful golf hole played from an elevated tee and, like the 4th, it has that beautiful ocean backdrop.
Above: Stone walls at the 14th hole
The back nine opens up with an aesthetically beautifully designed hole. Like all the holes here the fairways are very generous, but this time it is flanked by palm trees that give it a totally different feel to most of the earlier holes.
Standing on the tee at the 14th, course designer Ernie Els starts to entice you with more glimpses of that turquoise blue of the Indian Ocean. But don’t take your eye off the fact there are stone walls to contend with. They split the fairway and will affect your shot into the green if you get too close to them, so you need to decide which side of the fairway you want to play your shot into the green from.
Above: The par 3, 17th hole is probably the courses signature hole
Palm trees appear once again at the 15th, as does the more tropical vegetation on this tough dogleg-right par 4, where the green sits slightly below you and has run-offs and three bunkers protecting it.
I am now on the final stretch of holes and glimpses of the water are now more enticing, with the 16th and 17th greens both having the ocean as their backdrops. The par-3 17th has the wind blowing from the ocean into my face, and is playing a lot longer than its 157 yard length.
I have some wonderful memories of walking down the 18th when the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open was played here back in 2018 and after a solid drive and those wonderful ocean views on my left, I send a solid 3-wood towards the green. I know I am not going to reach the green in two on this 560 yard, par 5, but I know I can get it pretty close as long as I miss any of the six bunkers that protect this green from around 70 yards out.
Reflecting in the bar looking out to the course, it has been another great day and another beautifully designed golf course. It certainly will suit the holiday golfer with it’s wide fairways and wonderful vistas, but it also tests good golfers as well. And pulling that off is no easy trick. Above: Looking back down the 18th and out to the Indian Ocean
