Heritage Golf Club: Where links golf meets the sun

We all relish the test of links golf. It’s the truest form of the game with every shot required to master it. But there is one problem – the weather. On the British and Irish courses where it is played a rainy squall is never far away.

What if you could play links golf in a sub-tropical climate where the sun is never a stranger and temperatures rarely drop below 17°C?

A new course at the luxurious Heritage Golf Club in Mauritius provides exactly that. La Réserve Golf Links is a unique layout in a spectacular setting.

The only contemporary links in the Indian Ocean, it was co-designed by 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen. Working with acclaimed course architect Peter Matkovich, the smooth-swinging South African has crafted a course of rare beauty.

A links test for all skill levels

La Réserve Golf Links stretches out to 6,570m and is designed to challenge golfers of all skill levels. There are multiple tee positions to vary the challenge and, while the fairways are wide, strategically placed bunkers and undulating greens demand precise shot-making and strategic thinking.

Traditional links elements are to the fore with firm and fast fairways, long grasses, pot bunkers, run-off areas and natural hazards. Many of the bunkers are revetted in traditional Scottish style. Good play here will require imagination and creativity rather than power hitting.

That links feel was a huge part of what attracted Louis to the project.

He said: “Links golf challenges your mind, and your game. It requires precision, creativity and patience but above all else, it’s the purest form of golf with nature consistently shaping the course you play. That makes it very special to me. I love playing this type of golf and that is why La Réserve Golf Links is such a wonderful project to be at the heart of.”

Heritage Golf Club’s spectacular Indian Ocean setting

What perhaps stands out most about La Réserve Golf Links though is its breathtaking beauty. There’s a real drama to each hole with the Indian Ocean serving as a spectacular backdrop. Its elevated position and downhill routing mean you see the sea on every tee and every green. In total there is a 200m drop from the highest point on the course to the clubhouse.

Heritage Golf Club sits beneath lush, nature-rich hillsides and runs alongside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In addition, La Réserve Golf Links has been crafted from the landscape rather than shifting the ground to suit the design. No artificial mounds have been built, leading to what Peter and Louis have named ‘infinity greens’ which seem to fall off into the ocean.

Everywhere around you here there is a view to marvel at.

A focus on sustainability

When creating the course, Peter and Louis’ principled mantra was: “Nature shapes our design.”

La Réserve Golf Links is the first golf course in the African region to be awarded GEO Certified® Development Status. The award recognises developments that exemplify sustainability through fostering nature and enhancing local ecosystems, as well as conserving resources and supporting their communities.

The course is routed through an old sugarcane plantation with the natural flow of the land dictating its shape rather than diggers shifting earth to suit the design. The attention to detail also included the grasses.

Peter points out: “One of the important elements we have introduced is the wild, indigenous grasses which are obviously native to the island and blend perfectly into the links landscape and are completely natural.”

A true test for the world’s best

La Réserve Golf Links opened for play in November and has already played host to some of the world’s leading golfers. The DP World Tour visited in December with an elite field battling it out for the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. The winner? One Louis Oosthuizen, with a score of 17 under par.

If you want to experience the same test as a DP World Tour course, there are a set of Louis’ back’57 tees. You’re welcome to play from them, but maybe don’t expect your scorecard to be too similar to Louis’.

Golf in the lap of luxury

To play La Réserve Golf Links you must be either a member or staying at Heritage Resorts and Golf.

The complex is one of the world’s true must-visit destinations. In addition to La Réserve Golf Links, there is Le Château Golf Course, itself a DP World Tour venue, as well a nine-hole course. Guests at the resorts enjoy unlimited golf on Le Château.

Heritage Golf Club is also home to the Golfzon Leadbetter Academy with both group and private tuition available to hone your game for the test ahead.

Guests at the resort can stay at Heritage Le Telfair or Heritage Awali. Le Telfair offers understated luxury and comfort with the delights of fine dining. It defines indulgence with its authentic spa treatments and long stretches of pristine beaches. There are four separate restaurants offering a range of international cuisine, as well as a stylish lounge bar.

At Heritage Awali you can enjoy all-inclusive packages that make for a perfect family getaway. Its Seven Colours Spa is the perfect place to forget the stresses of the world and there are five restaurants, plus a poolside bar.

All this wrapped up in that idyllic Indian Ocean setting.

So if you want to enjoy a links test in one of the world’s most spectacular locations, why not visit Heritage Resorts and Golf?

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