Golf: from the first swing to the championship course

A golf holiday in Mauritius looks quite different depending on whether you are holding a club for the first time or playing off a single-figure handicap. The beginner needs a teacher, a short course and borrowed clubs; the accomplished player wants a championship eighteen holes, a tee time every day and as little transfer as possible. The island’s hotels divide fairly clearly between these two needs.

The nine addresses that follow are arranged from the first to the second: first the schools and short courses, where you learn without losing the day, then the par-3 nine-hole courses, and finally the hotels that open championship courses to their guests. For each, what counts is what the stay includes.

At the Club Med village at Albion, on the west coast, golf begins with a school. It is run on site, from beginner to advanced level, and takes players from the age of eight, which makes it a way in for a whole family. Course fees, on the other hand, are booked in advance and charged as an extra.

The rest of the stay follows the same school logic: sailing from six, tennis and the flying trapeze from four, archery from six. A beginner golfer can thus learn in the morning while the rest of the family follows its own lesson.

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Shandrani Beachcomber Resort & Spa

★★★★Blue BaySee the hotelBook on Booking.com →

On its peninsula at Blue Bay, in the south-east, the Shandrani keeps a nine-hole pitch and putt within its grounds: 776 metres, par 29, the shortest hole at 65 metres, the longest at 107. Residents pay no green fee, a half set of clubs is lent to them at no extra cost, and only balls and tees are charged.

A coach is on hand, and group lessons are free for adults and children alike; private lessons are charged. For anyone who then wants to move on to a full course, the hotel offers privileged access, at a cost, to the eighteen holes of Avalon Golf Estate.

At Balaclava, the Maritim has a nine-hole course, par 29, within its own twenty-five-hectare estate, and it is free to use: green fees, driving range and putting green included. The longest hole measures 340 metres, and a mini-golf completes the set.

The short course is played with no transfer to book and no budget to work out, which makes it a ground for daily practice. The estate also holds the ruins of Balaclava, an eighteenth-century national monument.

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Radisson Blu Azuri Resort & Spa

★★★★Roches NoiresSee the hotelBook on Booking.com →

At Roches Noires, on the north-east coast, the Radisson Blu Azuri belongs to the Azuri Ocean & Golf village, whose course, Azuri Golf, is a signature nine-hole par-3 layout. Playing rights are free for guests, once a day, over nine or eighteen holes.

A par-3 course suits a player who is improving, without the long holes of a championship course. The course can close for up to three days in a row for maintenance, which is worth knowing before a short stay.

On Tamarin Bay, on the west coast, the Tamarina has only fifty rooms, and one of its restaurants, Le Dix-Neuf, stands on the course of the Tamarina Golf Club. Playing rights there are free for guests, subject to conditions, which should be clarified before booking; tee times are booked at reception, and buggies and equipment can be hired on site.

The stay also includes one entry to Casela park per guest, for stays of two nights or more, shuttle included, and free access to the SPARC sports complex.

The Royal Palm, at Grand Baie, has no course within its grounds, but it makes Mont Choisy Le Golf its own: a championship eighteen holes, par 72, designed by Peter Matkovich, ten minutes away. One green fee per person per day is included, with a shared buggy and return transfers, and the hotel keeps a golf bag store.

Access may be restricted during competitions or in bad weather. For an accomplished player who wants a round every day, the arrangement has the merit of simplicity.

At Bel Ombre, on the south coast, the Awali runs on an all-inclusive basis, and golf is included too: unlimited green fees per person per day at the Château Golf Course, a championship eighteen holes, and one green fee per stay at La Réserve Golf Links, the course that hosts the Mauritius Open.

To work on your game between rounds, the hotel has a Leadbetter Golfzon academy on site. The address thus brings learning and the full course together.

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Constance Belle Mare Plage

★★★★★Belle MareSee the hotelBook on Booking.com →

On the east coast, Constance Belle Mare Plage owns two championship eighteen-hole courses across one hundred and forty hectares: The Legend, par 72 over 6,018 metres, and The Links, par 71 over 5,942 metres. Playing rights on both are included for hotel guests, and the buggy is charged but not compulsory.

Each course has its own clubhouse, with restaurant, bar, driving range, pro shop and equipment hire, and The Legend also houses an academy. Two of the hotel’s six restaurants are in these clubhouses.

At Beau Champ, the Four Seasons includes one round per person, per villa and per night, on either of two championship courses: Anahita, designed by Ernie Els to USGA standards, with six holes along the ocean, five minutes away by free road shuttle, and Île aux Cerfs, by Bernhard Langer, across thirty-eight hectares, served by a free boat shuttle from 9:00 to 17:00.

Tee times must be booked ahead, any change within twenty-four hours is charged, and both the buggy and the driving range are extra. An academy and one-hour lessons with a professional complete the offer.

In the end, the choice is made in two stages. First check whether the included golf suits your own game, school, nine holes or championship, and only then what it costs on top: buggy, transfer, driving range.