EAST
This part of Mauritius has the highest
concentration of golf, with four courses
that are part of three golf resorts.
Constance Belle Mare Plage
(www.constancehotels.com) offers two golf
courses built to PGA specifications with free
green fees for guests staying in the resort and
sister hotel Constance Prince Maurice. The
Legend is a design by Hugh Baiocchi that features
water hazards on every hole and thick natural
vegetation, as it is set in the heart of indigenous
forest once used for deer breeding. Golfers
might even come across the Java deer that still
live in the forest and sometimes wander onto the
course. It also lies alongside one of the island’s
most beautiful white-sand beaches.
The Legend is challenging for every standard of
golfer and hosts the season-ending MCB Tour
Championship event on the Staysure Tour, as the
European Senior Tour is now known.
The Links is a joint design by Rodney
Wright and Peter Alliss that has
undulating fairways and greens dotted
with volcanic rocks and thick vegetation
and surrounded by forest. There is less
water than on The Legend, although
natural pools on several back nine holes
provide a stern test, notably the par-4
13th and par-3 14th. Golfers can enjoy
spectacular sunsets from the clubhouse
over post-round drinks.
Ile aux Cerfs (www.ileauxcerfsgolfclub.com)
is a beautiful but devilishly difficult design by
Germany’s Bernhard Langer that takes up the
southern half of an island just offshore from
Shangri-La’s Le Touessrok Resort & Spa reached
by a five-minute ferry ride. Take plenty of golf
balls as the fairways are narrow and the copious
water hazards and mangrove swamps, not to
mention the thick tropical jungle vegetation
and volcanic rock outcrops, will gobble up any
wayward shots. The ocean is visible through palm
trees from several holes, some of which go right
up to the beach.
There is even a dedicated beach for golfers and
you can now stay on the island in special Bubble
Lodges with glass roofs and butler service.
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