Heritage Golf Club (Le Château)

Peter Matkovich, one of the most productive modern golf course designers in South Africa, was the architect who fashioned the Château course at the Heritage Golf Club (formerly known as Golf du Château) within the enormous Domaine de Bel Ombre estate on the southwest coast of Mauritius.

Unveiled in 2004, the course is characterised by mainly wide fairways and sizeable putting surfaces, a number of which are guarded by water. There are a few elevation changes along the way which force a blind approach to greens and the rivers Citronniers and St Martin come into play on occasion.

Holes are routed in two returning nines around a 9-hole par three course that’s ideal for beginners or for practice. The championship layout is meant to challenge experienced golfers, of course, but with five tee positions on every hole, casual golfers can enjoy a round here too without getting beaten up.

Most memorable holes on the Château course include a couple of short par fours at holes 5 and 9 whilst, on the back nine, the left doglegged 18th is a fine finishing par five that’s played from a wonderfully elevated tee position.

In May 2015 the Heritage Golf Club hosted the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, the first tri-sanctioned golf tournament endorsed by the Sunshine, European and Asian Tours. George Coetzee overcame Thorbjørn Olesen in a play-off to win the inaugural title.

In 2016 Anahita hosted the Mauritius Open but the event returned to the Heritage in November 2017. Dylan Frittelli won that edition after a playoff with Arjun Atwal then the event moved back to Anahita before returning to Heritage in 2019, with Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgarrd winning a 3-man playoff after he eagled the third extra hole.