Sea Cliff Golf Resort & Spa Zanzibar

There are just 9 holes to play at Sea Cliff Golf Resort & Spa in Zanzibar. Situated about 40 mins from the main airport the resort offers more than golf, but it certainly satisfies the golfers amongst us who might not be able to take multiple holidays and want to combine their golf break with a family or couples holiday.

This might not be the place for the avid golfer, but it certainly is a good one for golfers to think about when they want a bit more than their golf

Being a tropical course does mean it has its challenges; when it rains it really does rain, equally when it is sunny the greens are a challenge to manage, but in fairness for a nine hole golf course it was certainly in decent condition on the date I visited at the end of their wet season (November 2019)

I used their on site hire clubs, it has to be said they were not the most high tech, but were OK for a resort offering and all seemed to be branded clubs.

Obviously with all of the rain brings lush green grass, couple this with the views over the Indian Ocean, one should be able to just kick back and relax with a Kilimanjaro beer in the lovely club house overlooking the private beach and ocean beyond as the sun goes down

If you want to watch a visual, please check out my youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSdGpxFnd1rPsfuoO5ivEOg

Echt een leuke baan. Goed onderhouden in een land waar het continu tussen de 28 en 35 graden is. Erg gastvrij personeel. Niets is teveel en alles kan geregeld worden. Hakuna Matata (no problem) is de lijfspreuk. Zeer gevarieerde holes met prachtig uitzicht op de Indische Oceaan.

Right on the sea, with a fabulous 9th hole, by the water. Nice experience!

Sea Cliff Golf Course lies in the North Western side of the island of Zanzibar. The course is part of the Sea Cliff resort, a fairly large hotel and spa endeavour. The course is only a few years old now, designed by Pete Matkovich. Currently the course exists of 9 holes with double teeboxes. There are plans to extend the course to a full 18 holes over time.

The quality of the fairways overall is pretty good, even though it did have some rough patches here and there. Off the fairway and into the typical Matkovich mounds, you are very likely to loose your ball in the high and dense grass covering them. It would be advisable to trim the grass on thoses mounds to a maximum height of about 5-8 cm.

I was very impressed with the quality, speed and foremost consistency of the putting greens. The roll of the ball was very smooth and the speed was very high. Having played at the end of the hot afternoon might have added to this awesome speed.

The length of the par 5's were short on average, but were compensated by longer par 4's. If it is not the length then it could be the strong seawind making any short hole a long one. Of the par 3's there are 2 out of 3 that qualify as very long. Only the gorgeous finishing signature hole 9 calls for a wedge or an iron 8 or 9, depending your own preference.

Being first time players here, it was sometimes difficult finding your next tee. Luckily security staff were on hand to provide directions. Later on I was told that all the signage was taken away that day to be painted and varnished.

Practice facilities were very good and on a level that most other African clubs should aspire to. The same applies to the quality of the rental clubs.

The adjacent hotel was ok, apart for the food that evening - take the buffet option, not a la carte. It seems the typical guest is attracted by discount packages.

Overall it is a really nice course, a tad difficult to play for the first time. Minor improvements would make it even better. Sea Cliff is a proud sponsor of the Tanzania Golf Open 2017.

Jonge maar uitdagende baan, gras moet nog aansterken, prima onderhouden. 9 holes die je de tweede ronde vanaf andere teeboxen speelt.

Buggy uitgerust met GPS via Ipad.