Avalon Golf Estate

The verdict

Avalon opened in 2015 to a design by the South African architect Peter Matkovich, and it is the most distinctive golf in Mauritius precisely because it turns its back on the beach. Set in the highlands of the Savanne district near the Bois Cheri tea plantation, it is an inland, almost links like layout: wide, treeless fairways, firm rolling ground, and a constant breeze that makes club selection the real test. On a clear morning you can see the surf to the south and the volcanic ridges above Grand Bassin to the north on the same hole.

For the traveling golfer it is the change of pace that makes a Mauritius itinerary complete. The coastal resort courses at Heritage, Anahita and Ile aux Cerfs give you the postcard; Avalon gives you the altitude, the cooler air and the sense of space. It plays as a genuine championship test from the back pegs and a generous holiday round from the forward tees, which is exactly what a mixed group wants. Pair it with a day on the south coast and it earns its place on the trip.

The holes worth the trip

The signature hole is the par 4 fourth, a risk and reward drive from an elevated tee with a river cutting across the front of the fairway below and a small pot bunker on the left. At about 238 meters the green is reachable for the bold, but so is most of the trouble that surrounds it, with thick natural vegetation down the left and a steep hill on the right. It is the hole that distills what Matkovich was after at Avalon: tempt the long hitter, punish the greedy.

The set of par 3s is the other reason to come. Played across the contours of the estate with the wind switching direction hole to hole, they reward a player who reads the breeze and accepts that the stock yardage is rarely the real yardage. Linger on those tees; the panoramas of the tea country and the distant coast are part of the round. The par 5s are balanced, with a couple reachable when the wind helps, and the wide fairways give honest forgiveness to the loose drive.

Because the routing rises and falls across the hillside, no two holes feel alike and the closing stretch plays back toward the clubhouse with the mountains as a backdrop. The greens run quick and true even when the fairways have taken a beating in a dry summer, so a sound short game travels well here. Play it in the morning before the highland cloud builds and Avalon is one of the most memorable rounds in the Indian Ocean.

Where to stay nearby

Avalon has no lodging of its own, so most visiting golfers base on the south coast around Bel Ombre, where the Heritage resorts put you within a short transfer of the highlands and on the doorstep of the coastal Heritage course. The west coast around Flic en Flac and Tamarin is a slightly longer drive but pairs Avalon with Tamarina and the resort beaches.

Build a Mauritius tour and Avalon is the inland counterpoint to the island's coastal courses: a round here, a round at Anahita on the east, and a day on the dramatic Ile aux Cerfs island course makes a varied long weekend. With more time, add the south coast links at La Reserve for a contrast of styles.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Avalon and the Mauritius south coast.