Packing up a car before setting off on a holiday in France, as many will testify, is a physical and mental exercise all of its own. To then somehow include a full set of golf clubs along with the essential needs and paraphernalia of a family is the supreme of a committed golfer. Of course, as a Scot, journeying in France, golf is not top of my agenda as good food, wine and a bit of culture tend to balance things out. But, if like me, you have an interest in the game and long for fair-weather golf, then France has much to offer.
It is said that there are more new golf courses presently being created in France than anywhere else in the world, and whilst we in Scotland are spoilt rotten with great courses, there is on closer inspection a real depth of quality and history on offer. Indeed it is not surprising that with the Auld Alliance there are so many historic courses in France.
Pau in the Southwest corner in France can boast the oldest course on the continent of Europe. Scottish officers of Wellington’s army, convalescing after the Pennisula War (1811- 1814), found the attractive area on the foothills of the Pyranees an ideal setting for the game – amazing local inhabitants with their extraordinary dress and curious sporting activities. Returning later as tourists to the nearby town of Biarritz, which was fast becoming a fashionable British holiday colony, the Pau Golf Club was duly opened in 1856. Founders the Duke of Hamilton, Col Hutchison, Major Pontifex, Col Anstruther and Archdeacon Sapte saw it as the ideal haven to spend their winters away from the icy winds of the north. To this day the bridge room at the club is furnished in the Edwardian style replete with British furniture and interior walls lined with pictures of past club competitors and champions, most of them British. The past has been carried forward as even the tee areas are still signposted in English.
Further east, on the Cote d’Azur, the city of Cannes can also boast a historic and aristocratic past. When Grand Duke Michael of Russia married his love, the Countess Sophie against the wishes of the Czar and was henceforth banished from his homeland, he settled in the south of France. Travelling to Britain, he found himself eventually on the links of St Andrews, awakening his great obsession with the game of golf. In 1890, with the Grand Duke’s patronage, and with the support of the rich and noble grandees of Cannes, the Cannes Golf Club was established and was soon to become the toast of the region. When in 1899 the Prince of Wales came specifically to play there, the credentials of the club were truly established.
Indeed the British connection is still never very far away. One of the greatest golf courses in France is “The Green Course”, St Cloud at Seine-et-Oise. Well-known for both its quality and its association with international golfing events, the course is laid out on high ground to the southwest of Paris - the wooded parklands formerly part of the royal property of the Chataignerie de Buzenval. The area is also of historic interest as it marks the most westerly point of the German advance during the Franco Prussian War of 1871 - the Battle of Buzenval. The course was laid out by the leading golf course architect of the day, an Englishman Harry Colt, who was also responsible for such treasures as Royal Portrush, Moor Park, Denham, Rye and Wentworth (with Alison & Morrison).
Another British architect, Tom Simpson, was responsible for the stunning parkland course of Chantilly, founded in 1906. The lush area, best known now for horseracing, is some 20 miles from Paris, and is itself a superb test of golf. Closer to the capital is another Tom Simpson course, Monfontaine – probably the best loved course in the area. Not long enough however to host the French Open, as it is only 6,450 yards (par 72), but nevertheless less a considerable test of golfing prowess. One of the many characteristics of the course is that there are few bunkers, however the natural hazards of exceptionally narrow fairways with heathery rough, plus countless pine trees and boulders dotted across the course, presents the less that proficient golfer problems aplenty.
However, France holds a treasure trove of undiscovered courses off the beaten track. A couple of years ago, travelling with friends, we skirted Paris and headed south for a cultural break in the Loire valley. The cluster of chateaux and gardens in the region presented fabulous viewing both in terms of history and architecture. We started our pilgrimage at Azay-le-Rideau, the petit fairy land chateau anchored on its own reflected island, then onto the grand Chenonceau, spanning the river Cher, where Diane de Poitier entertained the young Henry II, and finally to Amboise, on the south bank of the Loire, where Leonardo da Vinci lived and worked until his death in 1519. Later that week at our farmhouse in the charming village of Le Grand Pressigny, and “cultured out”, we took notice of a red flag indicating good things on our Michelin map near the spa town of La Roche Posey. Our hopes were soon realized when we discovered a magnificent challenge of narrow fairways set amidst a forest of great pines and oaks. However, the fairway appeared to be under heavy excavation and we had to believe that “ground under repair” rules would surely have to apply. When asked, the nonchalant green keeper, with Gauloise on the lip, duly informed us that the most natural hazard of the course, the feral pigs, were in the area searching for their beloved truffles. A reminder that you can never separate culture from pleasure for too long - such are the quixotic joys of golfing in France.
For more information see: www.golf-in-france.com www.ecs.net/golf/france www.golfenfrance.com
