golf, Malta, where to play, what to see, where to stay, information

Malta
Golfing in the Knights' headquarters

Where to play

Maltese story of golf begins in 1888 when Sir Henry Torrens, British Governor, founder of the Royal Cape Golf in South Africa created a 9-hole on the sandy ditches behind the La Valetta’s fortifications! In 1904, Royal military subjects found a piece of 30 ha of marshland on Marsa ‘s municipality at a few miles from La Valetta to create an 18-hole which was reserved to the British military officers till their departure in 1979.
Sole golf course in Malta, it is part of a private sport complex which is also open to visitors where golfers mix with horse riders and cricket or polo players on the nearby field without any possibility of extension. In fact the course is not a very long : 5477 yards (5020 m) par 68 with tree lined narrow fairways and small greens. An English player wrote in 2002:”The course was very rough. The greens very bare. Staff were very helpful.”
But 2004 will be the year of the golf renewal in Malta. The Royal Malta Golf Club and its partner the Corinthia Palace Hotel are convinced that Malta has a future in golf to attract a new niche of good tourist clientele by offering good golf in Mediterranean climate at more attractive prices than... Cyprus is doing it with new courses.

“But before having championship course on this island or in Gozo to attract the great golf customers, it was urgent to improve the actual Royal Malta Golf course to satisfy the tourist golfers already coming to Malta”, said Tony Bonello, the pragmatic manager of the Club. As parts of the course are prone to flooding by heavy rains, a new canal was constructed to drain excess water from the course. Then a new strain of Bermuda grass (TifEagle), better adapted to the local climate, was planted on all the greens and these have all been enlarged and redesigned with bunkers dug here and there to make the game more attractive. As an example, two circle bunkers with a palm tree in the middle now protect the entry of green #2 like a pair of glasses reminding a certain ‘Brigitte Bardot’ hole at the Royal Marrakech Golf course! Add to the above a computerized ‘wall to wall’ irrigation system and you have an all year round green golf course.

Out of these necessary improvements, players can still enjoy some scenic views like the one from tee n°8 with in the eye : a church, a mosque and a Turkish cemetery! And each hole has still its old name like the #6 “Maid’s Bedroom” near the old farm where they lived or #10 “the Ta Ceppuna Chapel” known as the smallest in the island. Even the old arch of the signature hole has been restored.
Green fees, trolley or clubs rental are available at fair price as drinks and food at the British “Putters Inn” adorned with trophies and all presidents and Captains names.
And Nicholas Borg, manager of the Corinthia Palace Hotels offers, included in the golf packages, the courtesy transportation hotel-golf which is a golden gift knowing the expensive local taxis’ fare and the difficulty to find the right road signals on the way to the golf course!

The Royal Malta Golf Club
Aldo Moro Street, Marsa, LQA 06 - Malta
Tel +356 2122 7019 / +356 2123 9302 - Fax +356 2122 7020
www.maltagolf.org - e-mail info@maltagolf.org

Tee n°1 at Royal Malta

New bunkers at hole 2

The dome at hole 3

Church and mosque at hole 8

Tony Bonello at the Chapel