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Course Reviews
The SA Woman Golfer Team jetted off to Mauritius in October to find out what this Iland Paradise has to offer golfers. Sugar Beach Located right next door to Sugar Beach is another Sun Resort property, La Pirogue and all facilities including restaurants are open to residents of either hotel, giving you even more choice! Tamarina Golf Course The Tamarina Golf Club is open to all visitors staying at Sun Resort Hotels, including Sugar Beach and La Pirogue. Playing 6886 metres from the Professional tees, the course undulates over 206 hectares of old hunting grounds, which prominently features the natural hazards and landscapes. Each hole offers five different teeing options, catering for all golfers: Professional, Championship, Club, Senior/Ladies Championship and Ladies tees. A fantastic 300-metre practice range is also provided with large putting greens and chipping and bunker facilities. Long Beach Beyond the beach, the tropical lagoon with its crystal clear blue waters and rare coral formations is a snorkelling paradise. The architecture of the resort brings tropical interpretations to contemporary urban themes, softened by natural forms, local detailing and materials. Buildings integrate with the resorts lush tropical gardens, which will further mature as time goes on. A unique architectural feature is the adjustable “wind breaks” that modulate the offshore breezes. Le Touessrok Designed by Bernhard Langer, what has been created here is an 18 hole championship golf course of extraordinary concept and flawless execution that has been described as a “wonder of the game” and rated as a “Top 10 Golf Course in the World” by Golf World Magazine. Playing at over 6432 meters, the course covers 38 hectares and winds its way up and down the length of the island. All 18 holes have glimpses of the ocean, some through the foliage, but others running alongside the shoreline. There are also natural water hazards inland and at least three holes require a tee shot across ocean inlets to the fairways. Bernhard Langer has designed the course to be challenging to the more advanced players and yet is still exciting and playable for the recreational golfer. The fairways are generous and with four different tee box options for each hole, the angles of attack and approach vary widely. The greens are all fairly small and undulated, so your approach shot needs to be accurate to secure your birdie or par. The volcanic rocky outcrops and luscious natural tropical vegetation add to the beauty of the environment, but also make for some interesting hazards should your shot be wayward. Download the full course review.
Arabella Hotel & Spa: and a magnificent 18 hole golf course When I was invited to the Arabella Hotel and Spa to do a course review and spend some time in the luxurious hotel, with a visit to the Spa, I couldn’t book my air ticket fast enough - writes SA Woman Golfer editor, Shelley Galliver. I was lucky to have stayed in the hotel once before, but it was just over four years ago. But I had never had the opportunity to review the course before - which makes you consider so much more during your round than you would ordinarily. In fact, do yourself a favour and next time you play a course try and imagine having to relay your experience to numerous people afterwards – and not about how you played but about the course. Consider the layout, the scenery and surrounds, the course condition, the flow and the location of tee-boxes to assess whether it is a lady friendly design. If it is a great course, you leave with a new found respect for the designer and the green keeper and no matter the score, it will be a firm favourite forever more. Arabella is just such a course. Even if you are only there to play golf, walk through the hotel and catch the lift down to the ground floor. The architectural design gives you the most amazing views with glass frontage on both sides of the building. Get your copy of the June/July/August issue of SA Woman Golfer for a hole-by-hole review of the course. Or click here to download the article.
Hyatt Regency Oubaai Golf Resort SA Woman Golfer editor, Shelley Galliver, recently played 18 holes with Sally Little at the Oubaai Golf Resort. She had no idea of the challenges that lay ahead. To say I was out-classed would be an understatement of gargantuan proportion. It was as early as the putting competition, as Too many amateurs, me included, feel that we have to always take the biggest club off the tee and try to hit the ball as far as possible. Oubaai is the type of course where your club selection is key and often the smart play is not the big play. Ernie Els has designed this course with a Links layout but with generously wide fairways. Taking into account that the wind does blow at the coast, this way, even in the wind, you have a fair chance of playing against the elements. The challenge of the course is definitely around the greens with many greenside bunkers appropriately positioned to lure you into making the right shot but leaving you little room for error in your approach. However, and I know this ‘cause I was in them often, the bunkers are extremely playable and up-and-downs from greenside bunkers are possible. The greens are also designed to reward you for a great approach shot and penalise you for a wayward one. Most of the greens have a ‘run off’ effect. Hit the shot into the correct area and the green will assist you to take the ball towards the cup; hit it into the wrong area and the same run off can work to your detriment. T
Riverdale Golf Club, The Royal Gems, Siam Country Club, St Andrews 2000 and The Rose Garden - Bangkok and Pattaya: Thailand When Tourism Authority of Thailand invited me to visit the country and experience their golf courses, there was not even a question about trying to make time. We started our trip in Bangkok, where we visited Riverdale Golf Club (a brand new course that was only 4 months old when we played it) and The Royal Gem. Close to Bangkok, these courses were both beautiful and impressive. After Bangkok we headed to Pattaya, a busy coastal town, where we played another three courses. Siam Country Club, a top rated golf course, gave me the feeling of what it would be like to play on the Pro-circuit; St Andrews 2000 is best known for the fact that it is a Par 74 course, with two Par 6 holes; and The Rose Garden. This course is literally set amongst the rose gardens, away from the hustle and bustle of Pattayaand boasts an amazing Spa as well as superb food.
Legend Golf & Safari Resort, Waterberg area, Limpopo This is one of the most exciting courses I have played in a while. It is quite long, so if you drive the ball a fair distance, you will enjoy having to hit your 4-wood into some of the Par 4s –not a common occurrence off ladies tees. I played the round with a higher handicap player, who also thoroughly enjoyed her round, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t hit a long ball, you will still enjoy a round of golf at Legend Golf & Safari Resort. A Par 72, which begins with a hole designed by South African Trevor Immelman, the Signature Course boasts amazingly wide fairways and immaculate USGA standard greens. With game meandering across those lush fairways and the enigmatic Hanglip Mountain overlooking the course, the Legend Golf & Safari Resort Signature Course is making a name for itself as Africa’s most exciting new golf development. Click here for the full hole-by-hole review of the course.
Seldom do you visit a resort that literally caters for everyone and everything. Drakensberg Gardens Golf & Spa Resort is one such place. From hiking, to bowls, tennis, squash, badminton, horse riding, a game of giant chess, relaxing at the pool, trout fishing or rowing a boat around Lake Kwanyoni, an adventure golf course, to playing darts and board games; this is just some of the entertainment to be found within the boundaries of this incredible resort. The golf course at the GlenGarry Country Club is surrounded by the beautiful Drakensberg mountains, and while playing a round in these exquisite surroundings, you can be forgiven for And make no mistake, you can’t afford to “take your eye off the ball” so to speak, as this 18 hole NGU affiliated golf course is a challenge for any level of golfer. Click here for the full hole-by-hole review of the course.
Situated just off the N14 and nestled in the emerging suburb of Thatchfield is the immaculately manicured Thatchfield Golf Academy. The range caters for every level of golfing fanatic, with 20 target greens of various distances to challenge any club selection. The hitting area consists of both artificial mats and the much sought-after grass bays. For the short game enthusiast there is a large world standard putting green, a dedicated chipping No expense has been spared in building the challenging 9-hole par 3 Course. The layout incorporates the Rietspruit river that winds through the Academy and along with various water features adds some interesting dimensions to each hole. Click here for a full hole-by-hole review of the course.
The magnificent 18th hole at Champagne Sports Resort Champagne Sports Resort The opening hole at Champagne Sports Resort tees off below the magnificent gorges alive with birdlife, dassies and the very rare Bald Ibis. A beautiful river runs alongside these cliffs upon which is perched the spectacularly positioned Champagne Sports Resort Clubhouse from which 14 of the Click here for a hole-by-hole review of this stunning course.
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