golf, France, where to play, what to see, where to stay, information

From Omaha Beach to Deauville : Greens in flower

The Last Stages : Deauville Saint Gatien, the Amirauté and the New Golf.

You have to take the road to Honfleur to get to Saint Gatien. Michel Peltier, the owner of the magnificent, 100 hectare Mont Saint Jean Estate, commissioned Olivier Brizon to produce a 27 hole golf links in 1988. This was divided into three. One third in a very hilly and wooded area with a view over the Seine estuary ; another third in a kind of heath on the edge of the Saint Gatien forest on the left of the road leading to the club house ; and the last third on the other side of the road bordering the fields.

The idea that Olivier Brizon had did not need any further ground movement and consists of the 'Rouge Bergère' course, 3,198 meters (par 36) with 18 holes ; the 'Blanc Vallée' course, 2,973 meters (par 36) in a small valley ; and the nine hole 'Jaune Chapelle' course, 2,969 meters (par36) in the country part. Obviously, the most spectacular holes are found in the 'Blanc Vallée', with the examples of the 11th (118 meters, par 3), the 13th (139 meters, par 3) and the 14th(370 meters, par 4). But the players attention is held even more on the technical difficulties that are found on the plain.

It is a great pleasure to return to the club house after a round consisting of uphill and down dale slopes, green with long holes set high up on a rigorous plateau, edged with hostile fields, but rewarded with the beautiful panoramic views of the Seine valley. You can open a bottle of Vallée d'Auge cider in the magnificent 18th century press-house, or have the 120 Franc lunch menu with a choice of an entrecôte au sel de Guérande or a pavé d'agneau en cocotte elaborated by the chef, Michel Roger. (This is what was on the menu when I was there on 24th April 2000.) The Saint Gatien golf links is affiliated to the 'Golfy' network that represents 57 courses in France, of which the Rachoz family's Clécy Canteloup in the Calvados is included.

L'Amirauté or Florida at the gateway of Deauville.

As you get closer to Deauville everything becomes even more luxurious and even more expensive. The restaurant, 'Les Chaumes', at the Amirauté golf course has the 'Golfer Menu' for 158 Francs and the 'Gourmet Menu' for 225 Francs, needless to say with foie gras and Trou Normand (a glass of spirits, usually Calvados, which is drunk between courses of a meal). Pierre Le Foll, a public works building contractor like Mr Razel at Saint Julien, has set out a sumptuous golf course in his property of 'Haras des Chaumes' which is on the edge of the River Touques at the foot of the Mont Canisy in the Tourgeville region.

Bill Baker, who drew up the plans, was the best traditional British architect. He was not obsessed with water obstacles, but if they were there naturally or the site insisted upon it, he knew how to do it brilliantly. He carried out the purest 25 hole, Florida style golf course of championship level (6,067 meters, par 72) at Tourgeville, in the Touques march area, and a smaller one there of seven holes. Average golfers can throw themselves into an 18 hole round without any excessive apprehension, even though a large part of it is surrounded by vast ponds, on condition that they are modest and do not want to play higher than their game and keep straight. Here is an example : 8th hole (163 meters, par 3) where you need to lob over the water practically from the beginning of the green. Difficult for a short player, but he can avoid the problem by placing the ball to the right and by respecting his handicap. Strikers who go far but not always straight should watch out as the fairways are not wide and half of them run along side strips of water. Jerome Saillard, the instructor, trains beginners and the new generation of future golfers on the seven hole course which helps them to familiarise themselves with the game.

Pierre Le Foll wanted this golf links to be some sort of place where he could receive his friends and guests on the lawns or in the luxurious lounges both during the day and at night. With this idea in mind, seven holes (3 from the small course and 4 from the big one) are lit by projectors, which are conjured away during the day in cases looking like little green painted obelisks. As in one of the reception rooms where works of art are exposed, monumental sculptures, signed by Arman, César, Volti, Georges Oudot and others, line the fairways. In short, reunions, receptions, galas and banquets are held in the appropriate setting of Haras des Chaumes.