Samanah

Nicklaus Design’s first course in Morocco opened to something of a fanfare in 2009, with developers Alain Crenn and Richard Hennessy receiving an award for International Golf Development of the Year. Samanah was to be the first of three Moroccan projects for the Golden Bear’s design team but only Michlifen Golf & Country Club ever saw the light of day.

Samanah’s located to the south of Marrakech, next door to the Royal Palm golf course and, like its near neighbour, the course is part of an enormous residential estate that features a variety of luxury riads, dars, douirias and villas. Consequently, the fairways weave around clusters of housing units, though the domaine is so spacious, the elements of real estate are always kept at a discreet distance from the spacious playing corridors.

The course can play as long as 6,735 metres from the back markers, though there are five tees at every hole to cater for golfers of all abilities. Fairways are generally wide and rough is kept to a minimum, which helps the pace of play when players are not spending a lot of time looking for lost balls. Factor in large and sensibly contoured greens and it’s easy to see why Samanah’s a favourite winter practice venue for a number of visiting national elite squads.

Stand out holes include the short par four 6th, which offers a decent birdie opportunity, despite the proximity of water to the right hand side of the green. The par three 8th is another terrific hole on the outward half, playing across an area of scrub and sandy waste to a green that gently tilts from back left to front right. The 403-metre 15th is easily the best hole on the back nine, where the approach shot has to carry a wide gully (called an oued) that’s located a hundred yards short of the green.