MARRAKECH, MOROCCO | When I first visited this North Africa kingdom in the fall of 1995, it was not much of a golf destination. The country possessed only a handful of tracks at the time, though two of those, the Red and Blue Courses at Royal Dar Es Salam in the capital city of Rabat, were quite good. And the main attraction was all that a person could do off the course, whether bargaining for Berber rugs in the ancient medina of this imperial city or tasting wines in Meknes, a nearly 1,000-year-old city that was once described as the Versailles of Morocco for the opulent palaces and lush gardens that long ago flourished there.
But over time, the game has become an equally enticing part of the Morocco experience, at least for those who enjoy following a round of golf with, say, a walk through the ancient Roman city of Volubilis or an overnight camel trek in the Sahara. Recent renovations of the Red and Blue have only added to the allure. So has the construction during the past decade or so of several dozen new layouts, including a Nicklaus Design gem at Ifrane in the Atlas Mountains and a Kyle Phillips creation called Tazegzout that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean just north of Agadir. That collective effort has brought the total number of courses in the country to 50, with tourists playing nearly 320,000 rounds on them annually. Moroccans add more than 100,000 additional rounds.
Tour professionals visit frequently, whether to compete in the Hassan II Trophy — which is named after the late Moroccan king of that same name and now a part of the PGA Tour Champions — or the Lalla Meryem Cup on the Ladies European Tour.
There also has been a concerted effort to develop Moroccan golfers, led by Prince Moulay Rachid, the youngest son of Hassan II and a fanatical player. That is evidenced by the establishment in recent years of five First Tee programs throughout the country, with a sixth due later in 2023, and the success of Ines Laklalech, who last month became the first Moroccan to become a member of the LPGA Tour. Today, Morocco boasts some 1,700 registered junior golfers, which comprise nearly a third of all players in that land.
In fact, Morocco has become such a hotbed for golf that it led me and two friends, former PGA club professional Charlie Schuyler and lobbyist Rick Smotkin, to create a golf tournament here. Called the Morocco-America Friendship Cup, it is something of a movable feast that features club professionals and amateur players from both nations and includes rounds at Dar Es Salam as well as Samanah Golf Club and Royal Golf Marrakech in this city. The enthusiastic chatter we heard as we said goodbye once our six-day expedition was over — in English, Arabic and French — indicated that our stateside golfers are now as taken with the kingdom as we have long been.
It is simply that kind of place.
The Friendship Cup is a very different affair, with ours having club professionals as opposed to tour players. But the objective is much the same: show people a good time as we show off one of the most interesting and enjoyable golf destinations in the world.
The first golf course opened in Morocco in 1914 in the city of Tangier, which is located in the northeast corner of the country, at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. But golf only started to take hold here half a century later when King Hassan II took up the game.
His Majesty played his first rounds in the early 1960s on the Tangier track and became smitten by the sport. He also developed a pretty fair swing, largely due to the guidance of golf professionals Claude Harmon and Billy Casper, who often traveled to Morocco for lessons and games with the late monarch. In time, the king created Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat. He hired American architect Robert Trent Jones to construct a pair of 18-hole layouts as well as a nine-holer named the Green inside the 120,000-acre Mamora Forest on the outskirts of town. It was an inspired decision, for the property featured gently undulating land with vast stands of cork trees.
Construction of the Red began in the fall of 1969, with the work crew consisting of some 1,000 members of the Moroccan military. The par-73 track opened for play in 1971, and perhaps its most eye-popping feature was its length. It measured more than 7,500 yards from the tips in the days of persimmon woods and wound golf balls.
The course also was notable for the set of marble columns from Volubilis that rose between the 11th and 12th holes. Hassan II had come up with the idea of moving them there after taking a series of long horseback rides on the property.
While the king wanted the Red to be of championship quality and able to test the best players in the world, he asked Trent Jones to make sure the Blue was more accessible for the recreational players. With regard to the Green, His Majesty envisioned that course primarily as a place for players who did not have time for a full 18 holes. Not surprisingly given his royal duties, the king tended to tee it most often on that track.
The same year that the Red came online, King Hassan II established the eponymous Trophy. Initially a silly season pro-am, it brought top professional golfers from the PGA and European PGA tours as well as adventurous amateurs to Morocco for some spirited if not relaxed competition and also a taste of all the kingdom had to offer as a tourist destination. Eventually, the event became part of the European Tour and then the PGA Tour Champions.
Later, the king added a second event, the Lalla Meryem Cup. Named after his eldest daughter, it boasted players from the LET and was staged on the Blue during the same week that the Trophy was contested on the Red.
The Friendship Cup is a very different affair, with ours having club professionals as opposed to tour players. But the objective is much the same: show people a good time as we show off one of the most interesting and enjoyable golf destinations in the world.
Presumptuous as it may seem, I like to think that King Hassan II would appreciate what we are doing. And I am sure His Majesty would relish all that has happened in his country golf-wise since his death in the summer of 1999 and how his dreams of Morocco becoming a truly great golf destination have come true.