Samanah Golf Club by Nicklaus

Samanah Golf Club sits fourteen kilometres from the city on the Route d'Amizmiz, and the expanse that opens as you leave Marrakech behind is part of its identity: nearly 100 hectares of terrain given over to a championship layout that positions the Atlas Mountains as a permanent southern frame. The 18-hole par-72 course was conceived as a test of intelligence and positioning over raw power, with wide rolling fairways leading into well-protected greens and risk-reward decisions recurring throughout the round. The design draws on the desert vernacular of the site: indigenous olive trees, palms, and cactus mark the corridors between fairways, their forms unclipped and dry, contrasting with the maintained grass of the playing surface. Water hazards appear consistently, positioned to make the aggressive line attractive and the safer route exacting. From the back tees the course extends to 6,735 metres, but five tee positions per hole give every level of golfer a version that makes sense. Greens are fast and well-protected, bunkers placed to catch the imprecise approach rather than penalise the wayward drive. The course was the first in Africa to host a leg of the PGA Champions Tour, a pedigree that sits lightly on the day-to-day experience of a round. What registers more immediately is the visual coherence: the Atlas range to the south, open terrain on either side, and the uncrowded quality that comes with a course built at scale on genuinely undeveloped land. The clubhouse terrace completes the experience, looking back toward the mountains.