With the continent home to more than 800 golf courses, Africa is fast becoming an attractive option for fans of this privileged sport.
This week, CNN Travel goes beyond the green in a special online feature that uncovers the very best golf courses the continent has to offer.
Here’s a peek at the top 10, listed in alphabetical order, by country:
- The Cascades course at Soma Bay, Hurghada, Egypt
- The Heritage Golf Club, Bel Ombre, Mauritius
- Le Touessrok golf course, Ile Aux Cerfs, Mauritius
- Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, El Jadida, Morocco
- Windhoek Golf & Country Club, Namibia
- Lemuria Resort golf course, Praslin Island, the Seychelles
- Fancourt Links golf course, George, Western Cape, South Africa
- The Gary Player Country Club course, Sun City, South Africa
- Flamingo golf course, Monastir, Tunisia
- Leopard Rock Golf Resort, Mutare, Zimbabwe
The Cascades at Soma Bay, Hurghada, Egypt
This 6,991-yard, par-72 Gary Player design is a spectacular desert links course with lush green fairways, extensive water hazards, including the Red Sea on five holes, and a series of potentially problematic man-made lakes on four other holes. Other hazards on this beautiful and challenging golf course include palm trees dotted around the fairways, strategically placed fairway bunkers on most holes, plenty of green-side bunkers, and, of course, the vast desert of sand that awaits you on every hole should you stray too far off line. Other golf facilities available at the Cascades include a nine-hole par three course (also designed by Player), a wide range of the latest golf clubs to rent and a Golf Academy with a 60-bay driving range, several putting and pitching practice greens and a team of PGA professionals always on hand to sort your swing out.
Heritage Golf Club, Bel Ombre, Mauritius
At present there are seven beautiful championship golf courses on Mauritius with another one scheduled to be built in the next two years. The best of them is the Peter Matkovich-designed Heritage Golf Club course, which measures more than 7,000 yards, par 72 from the back tees. Here, majestic views of the Indian Ocean shimmering in the sunshine are available from holes 1-5, 7-9 and 17-18, which rise up into the foothills of Bel Ombre in the south of the island. Beautiful lakes test golfers on the seventh, ninth, 11th, 13th and 18th holes. Strategically placed boulders and course signage on rocks also enhance the look of an already spectacular and challenging course, while a luxurious clubhouse awaits golfers after their rounds. By using a lot of the space available and keeping many of the holes separate from each other, Matkovich has created a tremendous sense of freedom for the golfer, though wayward shots can easily be swallowed up by the lush vetiver grass that surrounds many fairways, or the mango, papaya and palm tree jungle that lines some holes. The Heritage golf course also has some practice facilities including an excellent nine-hole, par-three course, a double-ended driving range and a superb short game area. There are two all-inclusive luxury hotels, the Heritage Awali Golf & Spa Resort and the Heritage Le Telfair Golf & Spa Resort, just across the road from the golf course.
Le Touessrok, Ile Aux Cerfs, Mauritius
Another beautiful course on Mauritius is Le Touessrok, situated on its own island at Ile Aux Cerfs on Mauritius’ east coast. Le Touessrok isn’t reachable by road, only by boat or helicopter. This Bernhard Langer-designed course measures 7,115 yards, par 72 (from the back tees) and is a layout that has to played to be believed. With several holes that run beside the white beaches and turquoise blue waters of the Indian Ocean, the whole course is a work of art, with a wide variety of exotic flora and fauna, including scarlet cardinals that flit around the golf course. It’s also an extremely tough course, with black volcanic rock outcroppings coming into play on several holes, mangrove swamps on many others, water hazards to test your accuracy on 13 holes and strategic bunkers on many more.
Mazagan Golf Club, El Jadida, Morocco
The course at the Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort was designed by South African legend Gary Player and, though opened in 2009, has already been voted number one in Morocco by “Golf Digest” magazine. Created as a links course by Player that stretches alongside the beach and dunes on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, the par-72 course can be stretched to 7,484 yards from the back tees. Fortunately for ordinary golfers several different sets of tees allow the course to be played at distances ranging from 6,142-6,647 yards. The course’s permanently magnificent condition is largely down to management company Troon Golf, also the course’s agronomy team. Much of the challenge here is created by the course’s complete exposure to winds blowing in off the Atlantic which can be strong. There are many deep green-side bunkers, sand dunes and typically nasty links-style rough. It’s a wonderful golf course, one that always tests you yet will give enough space to enjoy its beauty.
Windhoek Golf & Country Club, Namibia
Namibia may not be top of mind for golf in Africa, but this southern African nation has 15 courses and “Golf Digest” recently voted the 18 holes at Windhoek Golf & Country Club the best of them. Laid out on 72 hectares of natural Namibian bushveld and vegetation on the outskirts of the capital city, Windhoek measures 6,675 yards, par 71 with lush fairways that wind their way through the trees. In addition to the trees and rough, wetlands come into play on three holes and plenty of deep bunkers surround most greens. Well worth a visit for golfers who find themselves in Namibia, with a luxury four-star resort hotel attached to the club.
Lemuria Golf Course, Praslin Island, Seychelles
The 5,827-yard, par-70 course at the Lemuria Resort on Praslin Island in the Seychelles is the only 18-hole course in this Indian Ocean archipelago. But what a golf course! What it lacks in length this beautiful layout more than makes up for in the challenge it presents. Designed by Rodney Wright and Marc Farry, and opened in 2000, the first 12 holes play through narrow palm-lined fairways beside the resort itself with plenty of water and sand waiting for wayward shots. The remaining six holes rise up into the island’s hills providing panoramic views across the course, the island and other islands in the distance, while the fairways get narrower and the challenge harder. Apparently the record for number of lost balls in one round stands at 40, so take plenty of ammo with you. But if you ever get the chance to play here grab it because this is truly one of the most beautiful golf courses I’ve ever played anywhere in the world.
Fancourt Links, George, Western Cape, South Africa
One of three great courses at what is Africa’s premier golf resort, the Fancourt Links course was voted number one in South Africa by “Golf Digest” earlier this year, while Fancourt’s other two courses, the Montagu and the Outeniqua, made the top 20 in the “Golf Digest” list of the best courses in South Africa. All three were designed by Gary Player. The latter two courses opened in the early 1990s, while the Links opened in 2000. Measuring 6,919 yards, par 72 from the club tees, the Links course can be stretched to 7,535 yards from the very back tees to accommodate the world’s best players, which it’s done on several occasions. In 2003 it hosted the Presidents Cup, which ended in an historic tie after a dramatic playoff between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. Other major championships to be held here include the 2005 Women’s World Cup of Golf, the 2006 South African Open and 2012 Volvo Golf Champions tournament on the European Tour.
Gary Player Golf Course, Sun City, South Africa
One of two courses designed by Player at Sun City, the Gary Player Country Club (GPCC) course is the better of the two. It’s staged the Nedbank Golf Challenge every December for the last 32 years since its inception in 1981 as The Million Dollar Challenge, a 12-golfer invitational event. This prestigious tournament has featured Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Lee Westwood, Jack Nicklaus, Player and Seve Ballesteros, so when you play a round here you’re following some famous golf shoes. The top guys play the course from a staggering 8,000 yards, par 72, though mortals can play from a variety of other tees at between 5,881-6535 yards. It’s definitely worth playing, with Augusta-fast putting surfaces, frequent elevation changes, five water hazards and plenty of large and small bunkers to test every part of your game. Its kikuyu fairways and bent-grass greens provide perfect playing surfaces.
Flamingo Golf Course, Monastir, Tunisia
This 6,698-yard, par-72 Ronald Fream design, located just more than five kilometers inland from Monastir on the Mediterranean, plays over crests and hills and is located on a plateau with fairways that run between olive trees. Some long holes, like the 447-yard, par-four third and the 578-yard, par-five sixth, test strength as well as ability, especially when playing into the prevailing wind which is exceptionally strong on top of the plateau. Fortunately a variety of tees allow you to “play it forward” and many holes, including the sixth, can be reduced by up to 50 yards if you choose the right tees. Enjoying commanding views from the clubhouse all the way to the Mediterranean, Flamingo is always in first-class condition and has excellent greens and fairways.
Leopard Rock Golf Resort, Mutare, Zimbabwe
One of 30 courses in Zimbabwe, this 1993 Peter Matkovich design is regularly voted number one in the country by “Golf Digest.” Measuring 6,724 yards, par 72 Leopard Rock is located in lush subtropical surroundings about 180 miles southeast of the Zimbabwean capital Harare and has superb bent grass USGA-standard greens. The course has been carved out of dense woodland in the shadow of the Leopard Rock mountain, though many of the trees still line the fairways. As befits a course lying in the foothills there are some serious elevation changes on many holes. Other hazards include picturesque water features that protect several greens, rocks lining some fairways and ravines that must be carried if you’re to finish a hole. All over the course wild orchids, tree ferns and other flora species indigenous to the area thrive, while the bush teems with bird life.
Photo caption: Le Touessrok, Ile Aux Cerfs, Mauritius.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
