One of the most satisfying experiences for the more adventurous golfer is to play 18 holes on an island. And I don’t mean just any island, but one minute enough in size that you feel something of a castaway. No golfer would mind being marooned on the Île aux Cerfs. An idyllic tropical atoll with white sandy beaches, palm trees and offshore coral reefs, the Île aux Cerfs adjoins the east coast of Mauritius, home to one of the world’s most attractive golf courses.

Robben Island hasn’t yet been targeted for a golf-course development, but South Africa will soon be getting its own island course on the broad Vaal River in Parys, where golfing legend Nick Price is designing an 18-hole layout. In the meantime, we’ll have to content ourselves with courses that are close enough to the ocean to provide a thrill of their own.

One&Only Le Touessrok, Mauritius
Mauritius is fast becoming a favourite golfing destination for South Africans, who are drawn to the sudden surge of 18-hole courses that have been built there in recent years. The number of courses hasn’t yet reached the double figure mark, but it’s steadily increasing.

The tropical aspect of Mauritius creates another interesting dimension for golfers, with leafy vegetation and gorgeous blue waters. The hot and humid climate means that new courses can not only be grown-in quickly, but also provide good playing conditions almost all year round — although cyclone season is from November to April.

What really got the rest of the world excited about golf in Mauritius was a course opened for play some four years ago. Designed by former Masters champion Bernhard Langer, this course is situated on an isle and forms part of the One & Only Le Touessrok resort.

Any course where you need a boat to reach the first tee makes for a refreshing change from the usual car park to golf cart scenario. From a jetty on the mainland, the golf club’s motor boat takes a five-minute, full-speed ride across a calm lagoon, through a wide channel to the open sea, to Île aux Cerfs. On this side of the island, where the golfing traffic comes and goes, tropical vegetation borders white beaches, off of which lies a coral reef. The backdrop is an ancient volcanic mountain.

Outcrops of volcanic rock, jungle-like foliage and several lakes form part of the course’s numerous hazards. And because the course takes up some 75 percent of the island, golfers never get the feeling of being on top of one another. Each hole has a distinctive character; they’re not as flat as one would expect — some have curious undulations. What’s great about the course is it can be played by beginners off the front tees, but is also a good challenge for the more experienced golfer. The back tees give an adrenaline rush; drives and approaches must carry substantial distances over water or jungle, requiring a series of heroic shots.

Nearly everyone uses a golf cart here, which helps to beat the summer heat. After a good round, the understated yet stylish clubhouse provides a sanctuary in which to reflect on an extraordinary experience.Visit www.letouessrokresort.com.

Pinnacle Point beach & Golf resort, Garden Route
Such is the glut of new courses being built today, that few attract any special attention. But Pinnacle Point Beach & Golf Resort is an exception. Since it opened for play a year ago, this Garden Route attraction, perched on a cliff above the ocean, has been the talk of golfers both in South Africa and abroad. It lives up to the hype; it’s an unbelievable golfing experience, and deserves its 2006 award as one of the 10 best new golf courses in the world.

Pinnacle Point occupies a spectacular site near Mossel Bay, overlooking the Indian Ocean. The course is poised precipitously along jagged cliffs. Several holes sit on the very edge of these sheer drops, which fall hundreds of feet to a rocky shoreline, pounded by massive waves. Golfers are entranced not only by the height of the cliffs, but also by whales and dolphins surfing the waves.

Playing on this Peter Matkovich-designed course makes for more than the average round of golf — it’s an enervating experience that will occupy all your senses for more than five hours. The course covers such undulating terrain that all but the fittest of golfers would manage to get from hole to hole without a golf cart.

Pinnacle Point has been compared to the great Pebble Beach course in California, but it’s really in a league of its own because Pinnacle has more cliff-hanging holes, where a wayward shot has only one place to go – into the ocean. There’s a short par-4, the eighth, where powerful strikers can hit their tee shots directly across a 200-metre wide chasm in the cliffside, and onto the green. This is the kind of golf that makes for a memorable round.

The Pinnacle Point Clubhouse, overlooking the finishing holes on each nine, is a circular three-storey building with an outside deck. The Garden Route Hotel & Casino is situated at the entrance to Pinnacle Point. Find out more at www.pinnaclepoint.co.za

Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa
Staying overnight at the Arabella resort isn’t obligatory for anyone wanting to play golf on its scenic championship course, but a room in the six-star Western Cape Hotel & Spa will certainly add to the experience. The impressively large hotel overlooks the Bot River Lagoon as it meets the sea. The closing holes of the golf course are directly below the hotel, right next to the lagoon.

Arabella is an hour’s drive from Cape Town, and this German-owned resort and golf estate has attracted numerous tourists to South Africa since it was opened nearly eight years ago. Arabella has just one course – a remarkable Peter Matkovich design that has been called the number one layout in the Western Cape. But a second course, intended to cater for the many members and visitors who flock to the estate in summer, has been in the planning stage for several years, and will be built as soon as it receives approval from the provincial government.

It’s the peace and quiet and beautiful surroundings, combined with the comfort of the hotel (which also offers fabulous spa facilities) that makes Arabella an attractive destination. But golf is the main attraction, and Arabella has a course that combines inland and coastal holes.

The opening holes on each nine climb away from the lagoon, and you return to the water for some of the more spectacular closing holes, such as the short par-4 ninth, where you drive over a corner of the lagoon, and the par-three seventeenth, hard against the shoreline. www.westerncapehotelandspa.co.za.

Wild Coast Sun, KwaZulu-Natal
The spectacular Wild Coast Sun golf course covers some of the most rugged terrain in SA, crisscrossing ravines and tropical bush next to the Indian Ocean. The course is part of a Sun International complex on KwaZulu-Natal’s lower South Coast, which is still popular nearly 25 years after it first opened.

Golf and gambling are a natural fit, long reinforced by Sun International’s Wild Coast and Sun City. Both pro and amateur golf tournaments are held at these two courses throughout the year, and continue to attract the punters.

Playing the Wild Coast course is something of a gamble in itself, because you’re continually required to play risky shots. You either strike it lucky, or blow out completely — it’s a bit like playing the roulette wheel later the same night. The layout, designed by the American Robert Trent Jones Junior, has its fair share of dramatic holes — among the most exciting you’ll find in SA.

They don’t come more thrilling, for example, than the par-5 12th, where the tee has been built on a high ridge. Far below is a narrow fairway, guarded on the left by an overgrown and marshy swampland. Hit the fairway or bust – that’s the basic equation.

A golf cart is essential to negotiate the hilly Wild Coast layout, and fore-caddies are also necessary. Women from local villages do an excellent job of spotting balls that have gone astray in the bush. Most golfers wouldn’t dare venture into that tropical jungle for a ball, but they happily go after it, and are incredibly successful. More info at www.suninternational.com.

Zimbali Lodge & Forest Suites, KwaZulu-Natal
The KZN North Coast has become a happening place for tourists to this diverse region, and Zimbali is forging ahead as one of the top resort-cum-golf estates in SA. Massive development is taking place to build new hotels and a second golf course by Gary Player.

Even though Zimbali is located next to the bustling holiday town of Ballito, which triples its capacity during the holiday season, the resort is something of an exclusive hideaway, tucked into a sub-tropical coastal forest. Most of the prime homes are within the forest, overlooking a long stretch of white beach.

The golf course at Zimbali is a rich mix of experiences. It was designed by the American Tom Weiskopf 10 years ago, and its front nine traverses an open area of undulating land outside the forest which was previously part of a sugarcane farm. This is another course designed to be played in a golf cart — distances between holes can be lengthy.

The course covers a vast stretch of land, from one end of the property to the other. It enters the forest for the first time at the par-five 12th, and these final holes of the back nine are a particularly enchanting section, with exciting elevation changes and attractive vistas over the estate. More info at www.suninternational.com.

Article courtesy of Horizons, BA/Comair's in-flight magazine published by Touchline Media