Tunisia is a country that loves the sun. In Hammamet, there is also really good golf, making Tunisia well worth a visit.

Tunisia is not the first country that most golfers think about when the darkness and cold of winter descend. But it's not a bad option, if at all. Few places abroad, if any, can compete price-wise with Tunisia when it comes to accommodation and golf.

This is truly "The country that loves the sun" as they say in the adverts. We arrived in late November – and the advert was correct. When a temperature of just over 20 degrees centigrade and a brilliant sun caress your body, your entire being breathes a "oh, how nice."

We pitched camp a couple of nights in Sousse in Hammamet, above all a summer resort but still in late November / December a pleasant experience in shorts and polo shirt on the golf course. Within five minutes drive from the excellent Hotel Phenicia where we enjoyed our morning coffee outdoors is Citrus Golf with 45 holes, next door to the 18-hole Yasmine. The visit to Citrus in the autumn of 1998 did not make us give thumbs up, but this time it did.
The facility with two courses, La Forêt, the more difficult of the two, and Les Oliviers, with wider fairways lined by trees, was in excellent condition, especially La Forêt.
“I don’t think I’ve putt better greens this year, "exclaimed pro Marlene Hedblom.
Fans of up-and-down golf will get their fill here, especially at Les Oliviers. You stand tall when teeing off, hit down, hit up and then down again on the par-5 holes. There’s no question that walking is strengthening ...

A visit to the medina, the old city, is of course a must in Hammamet. The medina is not big but big enough for an afternoon stroll in the old North Africa. The shopping centre with narrow alley is from the sixteenth century. It’s very inexpensive. The sellers are of course in great form, it’s off-season.

CITRUS GOLF
Two 18-hole courses and a 9-hole course

La Forêt
Playable: September 1992.
Number of holes: 18
Par: 72
Length: 6,128 m (white tees), 5,763 (yellow tees), 5,384 m (blue tees), 4,988 (red tees).
Designer: Ronald Fream

Les Oliviers
Playable: September 1992
Number of holes: 18
Par: 72
Course designer: Ronald Fream
Length: 6,144 m (white tees), 5,742 (yellow tees), 5,364 m (blue tees), 4,946 (red tees).
9-hole course: 1,221 metres

Address: Golf Citrus Hammamet Bp 132 8050 Hammamet, Tunisia
Phone: +216 72.226 500
Fax: +216 72.226 400
E-mail: golf.citrus@planet.tn
www.golfcitrus.com

Text: Göran Söderlund
Photo: Ulf Berglund