The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Where Gallic grandeur is par for the course
Our golf experts list their favourite places to play in France, all offering sophistication, accessibility and that relaxed holiday feel
Flamboyant bon vivanteur and early 20th-century golfing supremo Walter Hagen may not have had French golf specifically in mind when he said of life and the game, “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry, and be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” But it perfectly fits the philosophy of much of what French golf has to offer. The courses here are renowned for their sophistication. Not all are easily accessible or affordable – long-established Morfontaine and Eighties newcomer Les Bordes spring to mind – but the vast majority are, including many that exude a number of other typically French characteristics guaranteed to go down well with British golfers.
The fairways are usually uncluttered and the mood so relaxed and informal that it’s almost horizontal. Dress codes are often significantly less strict than in the UK, and just as a great meal in France is never to be hurried, neither is a great round of French golf – but if you’re on holiday, what’s the hurry? Here is a seven-course menu to savour.
Golf d’Hardelot, Pas-de-Calais
There is an embarrassment of very fine courses within a short drive of Calais. However, just north of Le Touquet, Golf d’Hardelot’s two contrasting courses, Les Pins and Les Dunes, rank among the best, offering a wonderful mix of links and parkland golf. Les Pins is the pick of the two for me – a stunning layout weaving through pine forests close to the dunes.
Rough-edged bunkering is a prominent feature throughout, with the fiendishly narrow long 13th and the classic risk-reward short par-4 15th among the standout holes, the latter featuring a central stand of pines that must be safely bypassed to give you a clear view of the green.
“If you’re looking to visit the Côte D’Opale, then Hardelot should top your must-play list,” says renowned golf course photographer Kevin Murray. “Both courses are photogenic French classics.”
Away from the fairways, vast expanses of golden sand make this beach country of the highest order, with a seafood lunch by the lapping waves at Brasserie L’Ocean (0033 3 2183 1798) highly recommended. Inland are some interesting historic sights within easy reach, including the battlefield at Agincourt and the medieval town of Montreuil, one of the settings for Victor Hugo’s
Les Misérables.
More information: opengolfclub.com
Champ de Bataille, Normandy
A parkland layout beneath the beetling turrets of a noble château is an attractive template for golf à la française, but too often the reality is let down by amateurish course design and corners cut in the greenkeeping department. No such complaints at Champ de Bataille, a beautiful forest layout in the grounds of a Louis XIII château near Evreux, with production values that put many more famous French courses to shame: greens well kept and not in the least flat; bunkers almost a pleasure to visit. After an agonisingly tight start the course opens out, closes in again, twists, turns, climbs and descends in the most enchanting way, with birdsong and beautiful trees to enjoy, preferably from a distance. At the right time of