Above: Looking back down the 1st hole and out to sea
After a wonderful lunch I am standing on the first tee of the Sea course and obviously excited as I have played this course before and really enjoyed it, especially as you can imagine the sea holes. The opening hole like the holes on the Panorama course are lined with palm and olive trees and plays slightly uphill; the par 5 weighs in at 492 yards and to be honest it’s the perfect hole after a rather large lunch accompanied by a few alcoholic beverages!
You certainly need to have sobered up by the 2nd as there’s a fence and road on your left and palm trees and villas to your right. For the longer hitters its definitely in range at 284 yards and even I was just short of the green, so you could easily start eagle, eagle on this course and if you’re here on a golf tour that should earn you a nice bit of money.
Left to right: 3rd, 6th and 9th holes
I love the dogleg right 3rd hole with its raised green. The first par 3 arrives at the 4th and if the pin is on the right like it is today, you can’t really see it from the back tees. There is another driveable par 4 for the longer hitters at the 5th that measures 302 yards and I start to wonder if anyone has actually eagled three of the first five holes.
Now the 6th is another short par 4, but with the position of the trees it’s difficult but not impossible to drive at 301 yards and with the par 5 7th my mind starts to boggle at what kind of dream start you could really pull off here!
Don’t get me wrong, these are all great holes and it’s far from a smash and grab course. If you go wayward you will have some tough lies and the trunks of these palm trees aren’t slim if you get stuck behind one.
The 9th is played around water on the left and brings you back to the clubhouse while the 10th goes back out with the same body of water again on your left. The par 5 11th is followed by the sea holes which are accessed through another tunnel that brings you out to the 12th that takes you towards the sea. This is followed by the first of the par 3s on the back nine.
The 14th tee basically sits on the beach and the only thing separating you from the sunbathers is a fence. It’s April so the beaches are pretty quiet, but the last time I was here it felt like I was playing in a tournament as people were standing and watching on the other side of the fence, all that was missing was the shouts of “Get in the hole” and “Mash potato”!
Left to right: The 10th, 13th and 14th holes
At 405 yards from a slightly elevated tee, the hole bends away from the beach and then your second shot is played back towards the beach to a raised green that is guarded by two tall palm trees. It’s a great hole and of course those sea views and the wind coming in make the hole. The 15th tee also sits by that same fence, again slightly elevated, but this time you are heading back inland, with some tall pines lining the fairway either side of the landing area, with the hole doglegging to the left and measuring 570 yards.
You then head back through the tunnel to the last par 3, then the 17th goes up the hill, with the 18th coming back down and weighing in at 434 yards with water just short of the green. It’s a really tough finishing hole as there is no bail out; you have to decide if you can carry the water with your second shot or lay up.
Port El Kantaoui offers two great courses. The sea course is in better condition than the Panorama course and I do understand why that gets more attention. But if you have time you should definitely play the Panorama course – you may be hard pushed to decided which is the better design.
Above: Palm trees protecting the 14th green
Above: The 7th is a tight driving hole played to a slightly raised green
