Above: Par 3, 17th played over the inlet, with the sea to your left
Today I am playing in the Mauritius MCB Legends ProAm with Scotsman David Drysdale. We are actually teeing off on the 10th hole, but I am going to review the course from the 1st. The good news for our team is that we get to choose our best drive from our fourball and then play our own ball from there.
At 332 yards, the 1st hole eases you into the round and gives you a great opening birdie chance. There is water down the right, but as you will be hitting iron or 3 wood it really shouldn’t come into play. There is a risk and reward element to the 2nd tee shot, which is played from an elevated tee with the hole doglegging to the right. You can play left of the trees and have a very longer shot in or go over the trees with water on the right and then have a shorter shot into the green.
The first of the par 3s arrives at the 3rd and, at 171 yards, it is a great little hole with water on the right, which again shouldn’t come into play. This is followed by the first par 5, which weighs in at 553 yards and has water down the right, but your best bet is to go over or as close to the trees on the left as the hole gently doglegs left. I love the way the trees frame the green beautifully, without intruding.
This is followed by the hardest hole on the course. From the back tees there is water to carry, which then frames the fairway on the left and then cuts across the fairway, but that part doesn’t come into play from the tee shot. Thankfully I am playing David’s tee shot as I have put mine into the water!
Left to right: 2nd, 4th and 8th holes
I am loving the way the fairways are framed by the trees and that again is the case on the par-5 6th, which is followed by the second par 3 on this nine. At 194 yards, it may look relativity benign but it can certainly put a dent in your scorecard if you’re not careful of the water and bunkers framing the green.
The back nine comes to a close just as it began, with a gentle finish at 377 yards. But it holds a subtle little trap if you go long with your second shot to the green, with a bunker and then water just laying in wait ready to pounce.
Above: Bunkering and water at the 9th hole
There is another gentle opener to this nine with a dogleg right, which is followed by the first of the par 3s on the back nine that has a dried pond and reeds short protecting the front of the green. This is followed by another strategic hole where you need to make sure you are far enough left to not get blocked out by the trees and give yourself a better angle to carry the water protecting the green.
The 14th is a beautiful driving hole with the way the fairway funnels through the trees, and so too is the 16th with more trees framing the hole. But it is the par-3 17th tee that is the most photographed hole here. As I arrive on the tee with the green perched some 166 yards away on the other side of a sea inlet, there are water skiers to my left enjoying the warm clear waters of the Indian Ocean. It is all carry from the back tee over the water and then those black rocks to the right and bunkers front and back; it really is a stunning golf hole.
Above: Aerial view of the Constance Golf Legends course
The 18th is a fitting finale to the course and at 501 yards with water down the right and then encircling the green, it’s risk and reward time once more. I have had a wonderful day playing with David and my team on yet another fantastically designed golf course. South African professional golfer Hugh Baiocchi was the original designer back in 1994, but Rodney Wright made some updates in 2016, with water featuring on every hole on the course.
It will be interesting to know which one of the two courses is your number one; it’s certainly a tough choice picking between the Links and Legends courses. Above: The deer hunter restaurant and clubhouse
