Golf on the doorstep

Mauritius has more than a dozen golf courses, some of them designed by Ernie Els and Bernhard Langer, and most are linked to a hotel. For a golfer, then, the question is not where to play but on what terms. From one address to the next, green fees are free without limit, once a day, once a night or once per stay; the buggy is included or charged; the transfer is provided or left to the guest. Over a week, these details weigh more heavily than a course’s reputation.

At Belle Mare, the Constance Belle Mare Plage has two eighteen-hole championship courses spread over a hundred and forty hectares: The Legend, par 72 over 6,018 metres, and The Links, par 71 over 5,942 metres. Green fees are free for hotel guests; the buggy is charged. Guests at the Constance Prince Maurice, at Poste de Flacq, reach them in five minutes on a free shuttle that runs from 7:00 to 19:00. Those staying at C Mauritius, at Palmar, play there by paying green fees, transfer not included.

A little further south, the Four Seasons Resort at Anahita, at Beau Champ, makes a rare gesture: one round included per person per night. The choice lies between two championship courses: Anahita’s own, designed by Ernie Els to USGA standards with six holes along the ocean, and the Île aux Cerfs course, by Bernhard Langer, which covers thirty-eight hectares of the island. The first is five minutes away by free road shuttle; the second is reached by boat, free of charge from 9:00 to 17:00. Tee times must be booked in advance, and both the buggy and the driving range are charged. Ambre, at Palmar, also includes golf on Île aux Cerfs in its stays, and the Shangri-La Le Touessrok opens both courses to its guests through a partnership with their clubs.

On the south coast, the two Heritage hotels share the Domaine de Bel Ombre and its two courses. The Château Golf Course is an eighteen-hole championship course laid out in the gardens of a nineteenth-century château. La Réserve Golf Links is a contemporary links-style course that hosts a stage of the DP World Tour. The all-inclusive package at the Heritage Awali includes unlimited green fees at the Château and one round per stay at La Réserve.

At the Heritage Le Telfair, the rates valid until 31 January 2028 are €50 per person per round at the Château and €210 at La Réserve, shared buggy included; in its most comprehensive packages, one round per golfer is included on each of the two, for a stay of at least seven nights. The neighbours benefit too: the Château is next to the Outrigger and five minutes from the SO/ Sofitel, whose guests play for a fee.

On the Le Morne peninsula, Beachcomber built its course within the grounds of one of its two resorts. It is an eighteen-hole championship course, par 72 over 5,924 metres, with an academy, set between the mountain and the lagoon. Tee-off is twenty metres from reception, the back nine run along the coast, and five water hazards punctuate the course. The Dinarobin, its neighbour on the same peninsula, gives its guests privileged access, and delivers the buggy to the room before they tee off.

In the north, the benchmark course is Mont Choisy Le Golf, an eighteen-hole, par-72 course of 6,245 metres designed by the South African architect Peter Matkovich. The Royal Palm Beachcomber, in Grand Baie, makes the most generous offer: one green fee per person per day, with shared buggy and transfers included, ten minutes away by road. At the Trou aux Biches Beachcomber, the green fee, buggy and transfer are free each day only on the all-inclusive package. The Canonnier Beachcomber has its own mini golf course, also designed by Peter Matkovich, a miniature replica of the back nine at Mont Choisy, floodlit in the evening.

For those who want to hit a few balls between swims, several hotels have a short course. The Maritim, at Balaclava, has a par-29 nine-hole course within its grounds, free of charge, with green fees, driving range and putting green included; the longest hole measures 340 metres. The Shandrani, at Blue Bay, has a nine-hole pitch and putt on its peninsula, 776 metres and par 29, with no green fee for residents and a half set of clubs on loan. The Radisson Blu Azuri, at Roches Noires, offers one round a day on Azuri Golf, a nine-hole par-3 course that can be played as nine or eighteen holes; the course may close for up to three days in a row for maintenance. On the west coast, finally, the Tamarina Golf & Spa Boutique Hotel gives its guests free green fees at the Tamarina Golf Club, subject to conditions.

The sensible calculation, then, is made over a week. An unlimited course near the hotel is often worth more than a prestigious one an hour’s drive away, paid for at every round.