Set amongst the beautiful hills of the Bel Ombre region on the south coast of Mauritius, Heritage Golf Club awaits both the avid golf traveller and the recreational golfer. It first opened for play in 2005 and since then the course has had the opportunity to develop and mature into the masterpiece it was designed to be.
photos : vlh/heritage resorts image bank
Heritage Golf Club offers the complete golfing experience. Players are greeted with friendly and efficient service on arrival, and can either head to the practice tee for some warm-up swings or spend some time on the large chipping and putting green complexes to refine their short game. If a hearty meal and a cuppa chino are more to their liking, then the restaurant with its variety of quality food and beverages is the right place to be. On the course, players are faced with generous fairways and quality green complexes, set in wonderful natural and landscaped surroundings. For the leisure golfer, there is always a safe way to get from tee to green, while having an opportunity to “smell the flowers” along the way, yet for the experienced and more skilful golfer, a variety of challenges, shots and rewards await, all depending on the amount of risk they are willing to take on.
An opening long par 4 immediately requires all you’ve got – warming up on the range is definitely recommended… From there, players are taken on a golfing roller coaster of fun and challenging holes – a great collection of short holes – some of the par 3s playing over water, others a bit more forgiving yet equally demanding. A variety of long, medium, and drivable par 4s, each hole with a different character and challenge, and of course some exciting par 5s. It’s hard to single out any particular hole, because every hole provides a different challenge, and all are set amongst beautiful surroundings, with great sea views from most parts of the course.
Golfers are required to hit a great variety of shots through the round, from short delicate little “up and downs” around the green complexes, to every club in the bag being called into action at some point or another. Another interesting aspect is how this course seems to have way more downhill holes than holes going uphill to gain the elevation. A very well designed routing plan allows players to walk the course and play some gentle uphill holes, almost without noticing they are going up. Yet the holes playing downhill are exhilarating and memorable, with dramatic views.
In the lower-lying areas, the high water table has been used as an opportunity to create some magnificent water features as part of the layout and strategy of the course. In particular the 9th, 11th, 13th and 18th holes all play along these man-made lakes, and the challenge a player will face at each hole is different. A different take on island water sport…
The low foothills provide the scene for some of the most dramatic holes, with great elevation changes. We all love to hit a ball from an elevated tee, and the holes playing downhill at Heritage Golf Club are world class. Players will also pass through a variety of landscapes – from the more open areas along the lakes, with waving grasses in the surrounding landscape, to the more tropical planting in and around river valleys, and of course some great specimen trees, which have been incorporated into the layout of the course, adding a sense of timelessness and history.
For a good time after a round or a great family outing, Heritage Golf Club also has a 9-hole par 3 course, with shots played between 50m and 150m. It provides a great test for one’s short game or just a fun outing with family or friends, and is the perfect opportunity to introduce some non-golfers into the sport.
A visit to Heritage Golf Club offers something for everyone. But, if you are a golfer, you are in for a special treat – the course will provide you with a top quality golfing experience, which will stay with you for a very long time. Whether you are looking for a relaxing break away, to catch up on some golf or looking for a golfing holiday, complete with top practice facilities and teaching, Heritage Golf Club has it all. It’s a world-class destination, with a world-class course. In essence, the course has been designed to test every player according to his or her skill level – and this is what makes golf, and particularly
golf at Heritage Golf Club, the best game on earth.
About Peter Matkovich
Peter and his family moved to South Africa from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and settled at the Circle Golf Club, Pinetown, in 1973. Soon thereafter they moved to the Umhlali Country Club where he fulfilled the roles of club professional, playing professional and course superintendent. Umhlali was then only a 9-hole course and Peter took on the job of designing and building the new holes and at the same time redesigning many of the existing ones. The new course opened in 1975 and was Peter’s first foray into golf course design and construction. A few years later he was appointed course architect of the Worcester Golf Course. In the early 1990s, long-time friend and leading golf professional, Dale Hayes, teamed up with Peter to form Matkovich & Hayes. Peter’s first appointment was for the San Lameer Estate in South Africa in 1990 and to date the Matkovich & Hayes Construction team have built 20 championship courses and one executive course, and done major redesign and renovation to another 20 in Africa and the Indian Ocean islands.
