Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club, Mauritius: The Most Instagrammable Golf Course in the Indian Ocean

Gunnar Kobin
Mar 26
5 min read

I do not like Bernhard Langer design at Jameson Links in Dublin but I like Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club

Let's get the pictures out the of the way first. You've seen the aerial view of the course. The Indian Ocean in the background, a lagoon surrounding the course, and emerald green fairways. If you're planning a golf trip to Mauritius, this has probably become one of the more popular pictures from a golf trip to Mauritius.

It doesn't show how the fairways are very tight and how the jungle or mangroves are on either side. It doesn't show how many more holes there are to play without a good view of the ocean. Finally, it doesn't show how slow the course plays when it is busy.

I played it, and I am glad I did. I would probably do it again. However, I went in expecting one thing, and I got something else.

Getting There

You don’t drive to Île aux Cerfs. You take a boat. There’s a little jetty at Trou d’Eau Douce on the east coast and a shuttle that goes to the island – about ten minutes each way, included in the green fee. On a clear morning, this is truly beautiful. The water is that color they always promise in the brochures, the island is rising in front of you, and for ten minutes you feel like you are going somewhere really nice

The green fee is about €120 for visitors, which is the same as the other top-end courses on the island. There are four tee options – the Langer tees are over 7,000 yards, all the way down to a forward tee that makes the course a bit easier – and the starter will usually recommend which one fits your game. Take that advice seriously. The championship tees on this course are very demanding.

The Course Itself

In some sense, Bernhard Langer's layout may be described as brilliant yet maddening. Using the island's contour, he volcanic rock outcrops and lakes, and gullies with, and the jungle impinging from complete sides, he has created a course where accuracy is the most important quality in a player. Not distance, not strategic course management, but accuracy. Hit it straight or be pulverized.

This is especially so with the first nine. While there is a good distance from the tee to the pin, every shot becomes a blind marshland. Ancient and impenetrable tropical vegetation fills the sides of the fairway. And most of the holes are impenetrable jungles of more than 200 yards. To those who like to stiff the ball, and shape it both ways, there is a lot to consume and enjoy. To those who inadvertently one out of frame, there is a lot to consume and enjoy in the landscape, and bring more good balls than you may need, as in other landscapes, a lot to consume and enjoyThe slopes and rolls of the greens invite more thought and reading than simply a pure roll. Langer's greens are clearly his design and construction fingerprints — nothing is straightforward and nothing rewards the casual or unthoughtful approach. If you just aim for the surface of the green and fail to consider the location of the pin and the slopes controlling the flow of the ball, you are likely to easily three putt.

The use of the practice range (which is very tight, and flanked by forest) raises that particular question, I headed to the range, and a very small percentage of every practice swing is at the ball. I have no idea how the balls are retrieved from the forests, nor do I know how many of the balls are lost, but the number must be quite large. This is quite a small thing and is not an isolated incident. It tells you plenty about the island's golf ball problem.

Seaside Views

The last nine holes start to feel different. The next two holes run next to the sea. The jungle dips away, the wind shifts, the water views come alive. White sand becomes visible. The lagoon is turquoise, the water glistens, and the mainland is all covered in an almost shimmery look. Every view deserved the hype it received and more.

To be honest, I had a long debate to myself about continuing the golf challenge when I got to hole 11. The secluded beach looked incredibly inviting. The sand was whitish like you would see it in Mauritius. The water was uncomfortably calm for a golf ball but perfect for any other activity. On those holes your golf clubs feel a bit useless like the better option is to just put the clubs down, walk through the last of the trees, and lay on the sand for the rest of the day. 0

I thought about it. I just did not enjoy the golf challenge as much as it may seem.

It all comes to an end. The snake of a trail starts to angle back towards the center, and the walls of the winding passage close in yet again. Regardless, the little gaps do provide something different to the course, and it is why the course ends up on rankings it otherwise wouldn’t.

The Pace of Play Problem

The course is packed. It is almost always packed. Waiting, and then more waiting, and then more waiting. The fairways are difficult to navigate, the underbrush is thick and full of lost balls, and the balls you do find are the ones that take the longest to retrieve. It is not unusual to hear of rounds taking over six hours during peak hours. I know one guy who stopped playing entirely after nine holes.

If you want any hope of finishing the course, you’ve got to book it first.

The Clubhouse Terrace

The view out over the 18th and the practice area is the best on the course, and while the food is better than average, nothing is that impressive, and most of the course food you will have after a round will all be very average by most standards. I really wasn't ready to be so pleasantly surprised by an average course food when I got to the top.

I'm not sure how it can be described best, but it has an African safari lodge feel to it. The best part for me was certainly the elevated position. The open-sided structure, dense vegetation below it gave the impression of being somewhere wild. You expect a ranger to appear and tell you something has been spotted, and that is not isolated to this location. It is the kind of place you order a drink and literally do not leave. Considering this is located on Île aux Cerfs, that may be the highest compliment I can provide anything related to the experience.

From what I can tell, it seems Île aux Cerfs will not be regarded as the best golf course in Mauritius for quite some time. Belle Mare Links will continue to invite a more progressive approach, Avalon will offer more width, and for some players the tighter jungle layout will be frustrating at best. The aerial view of the course is quite frankly, quite a poor representation of the experience.

However, this course is not like any other golf course you have played. The experience begins with the boat ride, expands with the island setting, even more with the morning violence of the fairways, then the late afternoon beauty of the coast along with holes 11 and 12 - you will not just be playing a golf course, you will be experiencing something unique. A course with a personality, even if that personality can, on occasion, be something you would prefer not to encounter on a holiday.

Play from the appropriate tees. Take plenty of golf balls. Make a tee time well ahead of the day you'll be playing. Manage your expectations.