Played by NCG: Mont Choisy
Reason for a Mont Choisy Golf Club review
I was on a press trip organised by Beachcomber Tours and Mont Choisy was the final course on our three-day golfing tour.
Where is Mont Choisy Golf Club?
Mont Choisy Golf Club is located on the north west coast of the African island of Mauritius, which in turn can be found in the Indian Ocean 700 miles from Madagascar.
Mont Choisy is the newest course on the island having only opened its doors in November 2017. I played it just a couple weeks after the opening day.
What to expect
Wide and generous fairways, black volcanic soil, undulating fairways and greens, long, wispy rough – I could go on and on listing all of Mont Choisy’s impressive features.
Although it’s a new course, I wasn’t thinking that Mont Choisy needed time to bed in, as is often the case when you play a layout that is still in its infancy.
It felt mature and packed full of character.
It is the quirky little nods to the land’s history that stuck most firmly in my mind. The course has been built on land which was formerly occupied by an old sugar cane plantation.
One such quirky nod can be found on the par-4 13th – a wonderfully dramatic hole. The raised green is perched on jagged rocks and an old water tank from the plantation is an eye-catching distraction.
Favourite hole
However, the best nod to the land’s past can be found on the par-3 15th.
The island green is surrounded by little dabs of water here and there nestled among the rocks, while the chimney of the old sugar factory rises above the trees in the distance. It’s a hole that makes you feel giddy when you walk up to the tee.
It was a real privilege to play the recently opened Mont Choisy in Mauritius today. Magnificent inland links-style course and the par-3 15th (pictured) is pure theatre. #PlayedbyNCG #Mauritius #golf #golfcourse pic.twitter.com/r9z3s9c0n3
— James Broadhurst (@jbroadhurstNCG) November 15, 2017
My best bit
Scrambling for a bogey on the par-3 4th (stop sniggering and hear me out). I went way left off the tee and, after almost giving up, one of my playing partners managed to find my ball nestled among the rocks close to the 5th tee.
Unsighted but with a vague idea of where the pin was located, I dinked a delicate chip towards the green while avoiding scraping my wedge on the rocks.
Two strokes of the putter later and I was walking away with a respectable number on my scorecard after being prepared to write the hole off.
What to look for
If you’re wayward off the tee then the long links-like rough and patches of rocky scrubland will certainly punish you.
Generally, the fairways are generous, but if the wind is up then you can quite easily see your ball drift into trouble.
Designer Peter Matkovich should be applauded for creating a course that asks fair and difficult questions in equal measure.
When I go back
I’ll hope for better weather. Although close to 30 degrees Celsius, the heavy rain had me soaked through – and with me packing my bags in the hope of sunshine and sand, I stupidly hadn’t bothered with any waterproofs.
I will also give more thought to what I hit off the tee. I more often than not hit my driver but was regularly finding myself in trouble because of the swirling winds.
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