Belle Mare Plage (Links)

The Links course at Belle Mare Plage on the east coast of Mauritius is the more accessible of two 18-hole layouts that are in play at this upmarket resort. The Legend course, which is exclusively the preserve of hotel residents, appeared first in 1994 with the Links course following eight years later.

The rather unique design partnership of Rodney Wright and Peter Alliss laid out the Links course and it’s used annually for the MCB Tour Championship pro-am and for an MCB invitational tournament that precedes the season-ending European Senior Tour event on the Legends course.

Extending to 6,498 yards from the back tees, the Links plays considerably shorter than its older sibling, with water coming into play at six of the holes. Short par fours at the 4th and 17th catch the eye here but the best is kept until last at the right doglegged par four 18th where the approach shot must carry a pond en route to the greensite.

Architect Rodney Wright kindly supplied us with the following exclusive quote:

I first met Peter Alliss when I was a young designer working with Kirby, Player & Associates in Atlanta in the 1970s. Peter was in town for the US Open at the Atlanta Athletic Club and he attended a social function at our office. Gary Player was there, too. My Boss, Ron Kirby, was a friend of Peter.

Fast Forward to the year 2000 and my client in Mauritius, Constance Hotels, was planning to build their second course, which was to become the Links. Peter was a long-time friend of the chairman of Constance and the company asked if they could team Peter and me up for the design, to which I said “with pleasure”.

Peter was quite a gentleman as well as a real legend in the game of golf. I miss his voice and persona in the Open broadcasts. It was a pleasure collaborating with him on this project.