Perhaps you are thinking “I brought my golf clubs all the way to this beautiful island but how do I choose the best golf courses in Mauritius at which I would like to play?” Let me give you some suggestions, including the way that I selected the three golf courses at which I played while on vacation in Mauritius.
I started off by reviewing various websites to identify the golf courses in Mauritius. At the time of the planning for my vacation, there was another golf course listed, namely the one at Saint Gerain but from what I can see, as of the date of this post (October 2022), the course seems to be closed. I discovered that there are 10 golf courses in Mauritius, listed and linked below.
- Anahita Golf and Spa Resort
- Avalon Golf Estate
- Constance Belle Mare Plage, Legends Course
- Constance Belle Mare Plage, Links Course
- Gymkhana Golf Course
- Heritage Golf Club, Le Telfair
- Ile Aux Cerfs Golf Club
- Mont Choisy
- Paradis Golf Club
- Tamarina, Championship Course
Since I was staying at Marguery Villas for the vacation, as detailed here, I wanted to find the best golf courses towards the south-west of the island. However, I also wanted to play the most popular and highly ranked golf courses in Mauritius, and the ones that offered the best and most interesting golfing experience.
I reviewed the golf courses as ranked by Leading Courses, TripAdvisor and where2golf and my summary is shown in the table below (sorry, that’s the accountant in me coming through).
Anyway, without further delay, let me present to you my Top 3 golf courses in Mauritius.
Number 3: Anahita Golf and Spa Resort
Anahita Golf Course is located in the north-east of Mauritius, and can be found on Google Maps here. Unfortunately, I got my date wrong and I arrived a day later than for which I had booked. Fortunately, the lovely people at Anahita managed to arrange a tee time for me as a single player. The starter then paired me with another single player for the first nine holes and a different single player for the second nine holes.
Upon arriving to Anahita you will need to inform the guard that you have a tee time booked and show him your booking details, although they were not inspected too closely. Making my way into the golf course, and realizing I had the wrong day, I was a little stressed. Fortunately, that was resolved quickly and I was able to relax and warm up for about 45 minutes before teeing off.
To be perfectly honest, I did not really enjoy my round at Anahita. Though the course was in stunning condition and the weather was lovely, I always felt like I was being rushed despite only playing as a two-ball. I constantly felt under pressure and that severely impacted my game. The first nine holes were better than the second nine, in that the second nine was even more rushed and stressful. Towards the end of the round I was not enjoying myself despite the lovely blue sea in the background and the great condition of the course.
If I was to play Anahita again I would insist on either playing alone or in a bigger group when you could at least take the time to play at a more comfortable pace instead of feeling rushed all the time. The restaurant has a lovely view over the 18th hole and out towards the sea so make sure that you stop by and reflect on your round.
Quite honestly, my day at Anahita was not wonderful but if I am ever back in Mauritius I would certainly give the course another chance.
Number 2: Ile Aux Cerfs Golf Club
What intrigued me about Ile Aux Cerfs Golf Club was the chance to take a ferry over to the island on which the golf course is located. Being on a private island, I expected the scenery to be amazing and I was not wrong. The views to the crystal sea from each hole on the course makes this a unique golfing experience, unlike any course that I have played before and certainly nothing like what I am used to in the United Arab Emirates where I live.
Ile Aux Cerfs Golf Club can be found on Google Maps here. What you should know, however, is that Google Maps directed me into the Anahita Golf Club so I had to turn around and find another route. What you should do is head towards the Shangri-La Le Touessrok Hotel. Set your GPS for the ‘Jetty to Ile aux Cerfs the Golf Course’, found on Google Maps here, and you should be fine.
What you will do is arrive at the jetty where you can park your car. You will then take the boat over to Ile Aux Cerfs Golf Club. After checking in, there is a lovely driving range that you can use and a practice putting green. Even my girl-friend was welcomed to join me as a passenger in the golf cart so she too enjoyed the day and the beautiful scenery.
Although my handicap index is high, I hit the ball a relatively long way. The starter asked me to play as a single from the yellow tees whereas I should have played from the ones slightly further back. As a result, I found the course relatively short and found myself constantly having to wait until the group in front of me had cleared. This actually suits my game in that I am quite happy to take my time, admire the scenery and take photos around the course, especially one as beautiful as Ile Aux Cerfs.
After the golf we took the shuttle down to the restaurant on the beach, usually only accessible to hotel guests. We enjoyed a lovely lunch on the beach before taking the shuttle back to the clubhouse and then caught the ferry back to the mainland.
All in all my round at Ile Aux Cerfs was fairly enjoyable, despite playing from the wrong tee boxes. If I was to play Ile Aux Cerfs again I would choose to play off the tee boxes slightly further back. I did not find the quality of the fairways as good as those at Anahita but from an overall experience point of view Ile Aux Cerfs ranks higher for me than does Anahita.
Number 1: Heritage Golf Club
I only booked Heritage Golf Club while I was in Mauritius, as opposed to having booked Anahita and Ile Aux Cerfs before I left Abu Dhabi. I wanted to make sure that I could arrange an extra golf cart so that my dad and stepmom could drive alongside in a separate golf cart, with my girl-friend riding in my cart. The service at Heritage Golf Club was quick and amazing, and the requested golf cart was arranged for no additional charge, an incredible gesture from the club.
Fortunately, Heritage Golf Club is in the south of Mauritius so the drive from Marguery Villas where we were staying was about 35 minutes on the beautiful coastal road. Upon arriving to the club reasonably early, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the remarkable clubhouse overlooking the 18th hole. I then had the chance to hit the practice range and the putting green before teeing off as a single player. Again the starter wanted to have me tee off on the forward tee boxes but this time, unlike at Ile Aux Cerfs, I chose to ignore the starter and selected the white tee boxes.
On the day that I visited, the greens were under repair with a layer of sand on them. This did not detract too much from a most enjoyable and peaceful round of golf, enjoyed not only by me but also by my dad, stepmom and girl-friend. Playing as a single, and with the course fairly quiet, I was able to enjoy the round, focus on the shots and take time to find my ball, on way too many occasions, in the rough.
Of the three golf courses that I played while in Mauritius, I have ranked Heritage Golf Club as Number 1 for the best overall experience. The only negative from the entire day was that they did not have my size in any of the shirts that I liked in the pro shop. There was a beautiful cream and light blue shirt with dodo impressions on it that would have been ideal as a golfing memory from my time in Mauritius, yet unfortunately it was not available.
I trust that you will enjoy your golf in Mauritius and hope that the tips I have shared in this blog post will come in useful in allowing you to decide which golf courses you would like to play when you are there.
Consider one of the accommodation options below with booking.com, otherwise some options with Agoda are available here.
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(Visited in May 2022)