Akenza Golf Resort

Akenza Golf Resort is Kyle Phillips' first design in Morocco - the American architect behind Kingsbarns in Scotland and Yas Links in Abu Dhabi. No other course in Marrakech routes eight consecutive holes across natural canyon terrain, making it architecturally distinct from the parkland and palm-lined layouts that otherwise define the city's golf offering.

History of Akenza Golf Resort

Akenza Golf Resort is a development by Alliances Créations, the Moroccan real estate and infrastructure group, on a 300-hectare site in the Sidi Youssef Ben Ali district on the southern edge of Marrakech. The project was planned for some years before construction reached completion, with the course opening to play in the summer of 2025.

Kyle Phillips was appointed as course architect, bringing a portfolio that includes Kingsbarns Golf Links in Scotland, Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, and renovation work at Morfontaine in France and Valderrama in Spain. Phillips founded his own design firm in 1997 after 16 years as vice president at Robert Trent Jones II, where he led the firm's European operations.

At Akenza, Phillips drew on the site's natural topography — a landscape of rocky wadis, dry riverbeds, and canyon formations — and shaped a routing inspired by the desert terrain of Arizona. The course opened at a point when clubhouse and hospitality facilities were still being completed, with full resort amenities scheduled to follow as the wider residential development matures.

Course Layout & Playing Experience

Akenza Golf Resort measures 7,150 yards (6,536 metres) from the championship tees across a par-72 layout. The defining structural element of the routing is an eight-hole sequence in which carries over open canyon and wadi terrain are a consistent requirement, placing a premium on both distance control and shot selection off the tee.

Between the canyon holes, the fairways are framed by desert scrub and nascent palm plantings, with the High Atlas Mountains visible throughout. The par-5 18th plays as a sweeping dogleg with water running the full length of the right side — a closing hole that combines length with a lateral water hazard requiring precise angle management from tee to green.

Multiple tee options and alternative angles into the greens reflect Phillips' characteristic approach to strategic routing, whereby risk-reward decisions are embedded at each hole rather than confined to a handful of signature moments. The greens were reported to be in strong condition at opening, benefiting from early play on relatively undisturbed surfaces.

Verdict

Akenza Golf Resort is Marrakech's most recent major course addition, and the only layout in the region to incorporate sustained canyon and wadi carries as a central design feature.

For a course that opened in 2025, it arrives with serious architectural credentials. As the surrounding resort infrastructure matures and the course vegetation establishes, Akenza has the foundations to become a significant destination on the African circuit.

Golfers planning a Marrakech holiday now have a genuine alternative to the established parkland options.