Estimated to have cost around $11.5 million to build, the course at Ile aux Cerfs (formerly Le Touessrok) is a prestigious IMG design carrying the architectural signature of Bernhard Langer. Opening in 2003, it winds through the Ile aux Cerfs, a small island just off Trou d’Eau Douce in Mauritius’s largest lagoon, with its eighteen holes laid out across a former sugar plantation.

Langer himself has described his vision for the course: “What I have aspired to create with Le Touessrok golf course is a golfing experience that truly arouses all the senses. From the amazing natural setting to the challenges presented by the course I want it to be a game to remember for all who play.”

The setting is undeniably idyllic. Pristine white sandy beaches frame fairways around the outer edges of the property, yet Ile aux Cerfs has earned a reputation for offering considerably more than a gentle resort-style test, a view recently reinforced by new slope ratings issued by the French Golf Federation.

The natural topography is woven into the layout at every turn, with a routing that takes golfers on an exotic tropical journey through lush mangrove forests, past shimmering tidal pools and over craggy volcanic outcrops, brushing the spectacular sandy shoreline on several occasions along the way.

All four of the course’s short holes are visually arresting, but arguably the pick of them is the 125-yard 8th, where a pulpit green sits elevated above the fairway and is framed by dense tree cover. The 337-yard 14th is another standout on the back nine, a tempting short par four that plays to a long, narrow green at the top of a brief uphill approach.