We have tested for you… Golfing at the Moorea Green Pearl

We begin with a guided tour of the course, with a golf cart, please! And it’s a good thing, because the domain is really big. The ride is very nice, we climb a little on the side of the mountain and dominate a good part of the course with the lagoon in the background, and it is beautiful. Then we go down towards the “signature hole”, the hole n ° 7 which ends a few meters from the beach and the lagoon. The ride continues, we walk along the lake, discovering each hole one after the other. The golf of Moorea has the privilege to have been designed by Jack Nicklaus, one of the best players and architect in the world of golfing, and we can confirm, the result is a success!

After an hour, we are back at the reception. We now head to the Practice to hit our first balls. Our experience, added up together, must be limited to 4 games of mini-golf 15 years ago, which obviously means we are a little anxious. The Practice consists of a series of ten striking stations facing directly a body of water. The idea is simple: hitting the balls without worrying about direction or distance yet. We just have to send the balls into the lake (it is located 5-6 meters away so it’s still a challenge!). Gregory shows us how to hold a golf club, how to position our feet, which position to adopt and finally how to hit.

The first attempts are not fantastic, to say the least! Between the strikes in the grass (fortunately synthetic at this specific place), the balls which roll painfully on 1m50, the strikes in the void and our eyes desperately in search of a ball over the lake which actually has not even moved, we realize that golfing is not so simple.

Fortunately, we learn quickly and we actually begin to touch the balls, which then take off and finally fly above the lake! What a satisfaction to hear the sound of a  ball struck properly and to see it go far away… A short-lived satisfaction, since the next ball falls 30 cm from its point of departure. Regardless, we are already preparing the next ball. Gregory brought us one bucket full of balls each and it took us half an hour to hit everything. In the end 3/4 of the balls ended up in the water and I think it’s a success!

Later, Gregory tells us about the open house days that are organized during the month of July and the first two weeks of September. The initiation is free, as well as the access to the equipment and the course. We decide to jump on the opportunity and come back and to discover more !

Here we are, back at the Green Pearl for a new introductory course. This time it is Laurent who takes care of us and we start with a lesson of ‘little game’ on the training green. 

 We are no longer using irons made for distance, but putters for more controlled strikes. Laurent teaches us to read the course (slopes, orientation …), to gauge our strikes, etc. It already looks a little more like the mini-golf games of my childhood memories! But just like with the Practice session earlier, after several failures, we realize that it is not like mini-golf (I take back what I said …). Again, as for the practice, we quickly take our marks and a hole that took us 12 strikes 10 minutes ago is now completed in 3 strikes! There is hope.

After 20 minutes working on our game, we head for the Practice. In addition to his advice, our teacher of the day takes the opportunity to remind us that even if our balls are now almost all hit the water, we still have much to learn. He, for instance, hits his balls on one foot and without with a disconcerting ease … Small game and strikes relatively under control, we are now headed towards our first real hole, the big league! We will play 3 against one; at each strike, the best one of our 3 balls will be taken into account.

It is 5 pm, the colors of the sunset mixed with the green of the lawn are outstanding !

Even today I cannot guarantee that Laurent did not let us win. Either way, history will remember that on that day, 3 great beginners have defeated the golf teacher! We come back proud and Laurent tells us about the codes of conduct on a golf course, how to respect other players, how not to disturb others … Knowing how to play golf is also knowing how to be. Moreover, you cannot access the course before knowing and applying these rules.

The initiation ends with a fruit juice on the terrace of the Club House with a beautiful sunset and a well-deserved moment of relaxation…