Terre Blanche (Le Riou)

Sean Connery, whose wife is from the area, originally owned the 800-acre property – the Scottish actor is said to have won the estate in a game of cards – but he sold the land to a firm with big plans to develop it into a luxury resort.

In 1999, when that company found itself unable to realise the full potential of the site, Dietmar Hopp, the German billionaire software entrepreneur, who obviously had the funds required to turn the dream of a luxury resort into reality, acquired the site.

Dave Thomas was called in to design two championship golf courses to complement the other on-site amenities and so, to great critical acclaim, the Château and Le Riou 18-hole layouts opened for play at the start of the new millennium.

Both courses were originally intended for private use, though casual visitors are now welcome to tackle the 18 holes on the Château layout which means the Riou is exclusively available to members and resort guests only.

Measuring 6,005 metres from the back tees, the Riou course is considerably shorter than its sibling, but no less challenging, with tree-lined fairways laid out in the higher reaches of the hilly landscape.

Each of the returning nines conclude with rather similar holes, as the par four 9th and par five 18th both dogleg downhill to the right, past sizeable water hazards on their way to the green.

The Riou has also been used as a venue on the Ladies European Tour Access Series, hosting the Terre Blanche Ladies Open since 2010.

Terre Blanche Hotel Spa & Golf Resort is one of our Top 100 Golf Resorts of the World