79 The government of Benin hopes that Ouidah Golf Club will help attract international visitors while also appealing to a growing domestic middle class Photo: Afrikafun Production/ Stephane Brabant bringing economic and social benefits to the local community. “Ouidah was conceived as a strategic piece of infrastructure, combining tourism, sport, environmental stewardship and local development, while supporting the long-term growth of the destination through a sustainable approach,” says Fomi. The golf course has been created on a 100-hectare site near the Gulf of Guinea, which had some unique features, including several voodoo shrines and a 1.2-acre sacred grove, as referenced in our report in the April 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture. “The grove is dedicated to fish and members of the local fishing community,” says Pern. “My initial routing plan had the seventh and eighth playing through the grove but following some head scratching and changing par threes into fours, and vice versa, the accommodation of the fish spirits was satisfactorily accomplished. The now out-of-bounds grove stands intact… I hope far enough back from golfers, but should a stray ball find its way into this holy of holies, there it will remain, untouched, for eternity.” Gregori International’s Xavier Gregori says: “The site offered rare potential. Its sandy soil was a major advantage for golf course development, particularly in terms of drainage, shaping and playing quality. The relatively low-lying and open topography was ideally suited to the creation of a true links-style course: understated, natural and fully integrated into its surroundings.” Targeted clearing, selection and transplantation works allowed part
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