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The Emerald Coast

Being the tip of the Brittany littoraland geographically situated between Dinard and the Frehel Point, this coast owes its name to the chromatic symbiosis which occurs every spring when the sea seems to lengthen the sky with its verdant reflections.

Dinart, May 2001
From the peaceful, voluntarily Bourgeois bathing stations to the shelter of pines and camellias, it boasts of the benefits of the Gulf Stream with a quiet road that runs the length of the jagged coastline, which sleeps, during the off-peak season, behind the closed shutters of holiday homes.

Even if Dinard and Saint-Malo are only ten minutes or so apart, a gulf however separates the first-born Brittany bathing stations from the privateering town. Both snubbing each other. Dinard, elegant right to the end of the pier, is the exact opposite of the austerity of the Saint-Malo inhabitants. Ending abruptly with the Décollée Point, Saint-Lunaire wants even posher than Dinard, with its large family properties facing the small islands in the bay.

19th Century Golf Link swept by the winds of time.

Landscaped between 1887 and its inauguration year of 1890, the Dinard Golf Course is one that moulds in with the shore. One day, hitting with a number 7 iron, only to have to use a number 5 wood the next because of the wind ! Even if the first five holes are not very exciting, the other thirteen present a real challenge.

For example, the impressive 6th hole. Driving from the tee on to a bumpy fairway, which runs along the side of the beach.

The last ten years of the century have given a new look to the golf course with automatic watering (which is so pleasant in the summer) and the restoration of the club-house. The British Amateur Medal won by the French club member Philippe Ploujoux, can be seen in one of the showcases in this 'very' British Club House.

When you leave Saint Briac for your next golfing stage on the Armor Coast, take the road to Saint-Cast.

The history of this golf link goes back to 1924, when the English set up an 18 hole course on this wild and sandy land. It was abandoned during the Second World War, to be reopened in 1958 in the form of 9 holes, and later extended to 18 holes in 1995.

Pen Guen is a short link (4,900 meters) but very technical, where each drive demands a great deal of precision. You will remember the 18th hole, par 3 on 145 meters, where your ball will pitch on the green as a dangerous hedge proves to be a big good-card swallower. Moreover, this course is well-known for its very selective four par 3s

After Dinard, Pen Guen is an indispensable stage before playing Pléneuf Val André (subject of a future report) or going to the Saint-Malo Golf Course. Drainage works, cleaning up the fairways and repairing the greens had transformed this link which originally did not come up tostandards. This American-style course, proposed by the Emerald Coast, makes up the three other courses marvellously : the Dinard and Pen Guen links, a historical trip to The Ormes.