Royal Marrakech (Vert & Rouge)
Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi
- Address31°36'52. 7°56'58.3"W, N8, Marrakech, Morocco
El Haj T'hami el Mezouari el Glaoui – better known as “Lord of the Atlas” or “Pasha of Marrakesh” from 1912 to 1956 – decided to have a golf course constructed near the city of Marrakech and so he called in French professional Gustave Golias to set up a small 4-hole course for his personal use in 1927. This was expanded to a 9-hole layout the following year.
The Pasha obtained land cheaply during droughts and one such parcel of property was irrigated and fashioned into a private 18-hole course, much to the dismay of the French colonial rulers at the time. Their protests were quickly placated of course as soon as playing rights were granted to their top government officials!
French professional Arnaud Massy, the first non-British winner of the Open in 1907, is credited with remodeling the course at Royal Marrakech in 1933, along with Gustav Golias (who was by then the Pasha's personal pro) and Bouchaib Stitou. Today, the cypress, eucalyptus, palm, and olive tree-lined fairways are largely unchanged from those distant days.
A raft of new courses have appeared around Marrakech in recent years but many still rate the charming old layout here (extended to 27 holes by Thierry Sprecher in 2007) as the best of all. And why shouldn’t many golfers prefer to stride these fairways, following in the footsteps of Churchill, Lloyd George and Eisenhower, all of whom were eminent golfing guests of the Pasha?
The club is fortunate to have its own water supply, provided by the authorities, and this flows through the property at certain times of the week in special channels, allowing the trees flanking many of the fairways to remain in prime condition. In recent years, floodlights were added to the Menara nine-hole circuit and this rather extravagant facility now lets the club host evening golf competitions on special occasions.
In 2018, it was announced that architects Stuart Hallett and Jonathan Davison were overseeing a 2-year renovation of the three nines at Royal Marrakech, with work to include the redesign of all the bunkers and the installation of a new irrigation system.
El Haj T'hami el Mezouari el Glaoui – better known as “Lord of the Atlas” or “Pasha of Marrakesh” from 1912 to 1956 – decided to have a golf course constructed near the city of Marrakech and so he called in French professional Gustave Golias to set up a small 4-hole course for his personal use in 1927. This was expanded to a 9-hole layout the following year.
The Pasha obtained land cheaply during droughts and one such parcel of property was irrigated and fashioned into a private 18-hole course, much to the dismay of the French colonial rulers at the time. Their protests were quickly placated of course as soon as playing rights were granted to their top government officials!
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