Adam Ruck tees off at some of the finest courses close to the French capital
CHANTILLY
WHERE IS IT? 40km north of Paris.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? The original and most prestigious of many golf clubs in the area is close to the Château de Chantilly, the racecourse and the world’s most palatial stable block, Les Grandes Ecuries – fitting neighbours for a French classic.
Vineuil is the thoroughbred of the two courses and the best showcase for the work of Tom Simpson, who comprehensively redesigned the pre-existing course in the aftermath of the Great War.
After damage caused during the Second World War, Donald Steel created an additional full-length course, Longères, out of a mixture of new and old holes. The routing varies from one day to the next – make sure you go out with the right card.
Secluded, but not hemmed in, by forest, the Vineuil layout is spacious, immaculately presented with minimum clutter, and fair, with a close-cropped sward of generous breadth, furrowed by waves of grass-revetted bunkers. Chantilly’s rough is a hayfield of no return – don’t go there. The terrain is mostly flat but the going gets steeper when a deep trench, like a natural dry moat, comes into play for three exciting holes at (or near) the end.
CONTACT Golf de Chantilly, Allée de la Ménagerie; tel +33 344 570 443; golfdechantilly.comPRICE €100 Mon-Wed, €110 Fri; no visitors at weekends. Caddy available on advanced reservation; electric trolley €25; trolley €8.
CLUB HIRE €30.
CLUB HOURS 8.30am-6pm; closed Thursdays.
MAXIMUM HANDICAP Men 26, women 32.
FACILITIES Vineuil 4,957m par 73-6,405m par 71; Longères 4,711m-6,333m par 73; practice area, putting green.
AFTER THE GOLF Hats off in the clubhouse, please. Remember who and where you are: a humble postulant in a holy place. Nick Faldo, Roberto de Vicenzo and other big names are on the Champions board, among the winners of Chantilly’s ten French Opens.
SAINT-GERMAIN
WHERE IS IT? 25km west of Paris.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Disturbed only by the ripple of birdsong and the occasional crash of a rampaging boar, Saint-Germain-en-Laye’s forest is a great escape, only 25km from central Paris. All is calm, combed and understated at this elegant club, which was founded beside the Seine in 1902 before moving to its present, less flood-prone location in 1920. Here, HS Colt designed a subtle and satisfying woodland course with a series of short par fours to tempt, tease and frustrate.
It pays to play straight, but Seve Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle won the French Open at Saint-Germain, so swash and buckle may also prevail. Colt also made a nine-hole petit parcours in similar style, and serious members use it for sharpening le petit jeu. A disused railway line bisects the course, with grids and electric gates to keep the boar at bay.
CONTACT Route de Poissy, Saint-Germain-en-Laye; tel +33 139 103 030; golfsaintgermain.orgPRICE €120. No visitors at weekends. Golf scooter €25; trolley €5.
CLUB HIRE €35.
CLUB HOURS 8.40am-5pm; closed Mondays.
MAXIMUM HANDICAP Men 24, women 28.
FACILITIES Grand Parcours 5,223m-6,131m par 72; Petit Parcours 2,525m-2,775m par 33; putting green, practice ground.
AFTER THE GOLF Many noble Baudouins and Bertrands have their lockers in the old changing room, a period piece from the original club. In the clubhouse, the card tables are set for duplicate bridge, and a good lunch is served.
FONTAINEBLEAU
WHERE IS IT? 73km south-east of Paris.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? A work of art worthy of Fontainebleau forest, which spawned a famous school of landscape painters – one of whom, Paul Tavernier, created the three frescoes on the clubhouse walls.
A decade after its 1909 inauguration, Tom Simpson paid a visit, admired the sandy ground but found much to change in the layout. “If you take my advice you will have a first class and modern course and I would like to meet the man who could show me a better one in France,” he said.
It was no idle boast. Simpson’s course is a well-balanced tasting menu of treats, including grand perspectives and exciting drives from pulpit tees, resplendent autumn colours and specimen oaks of great antiquity. Rocky outcrops typical of this forest embellish many holes and make an unusual hazard at the 12th, a long two-shot hole or short par five where a rock garden defends the green. Take enough club, or risk a cruel ricochet.
CONTACT Route d’Orléans, Fontainebleau; tel +33 164 222 295; golfdefontainebleau.orgPRICE Weekdays €90; weekends (July-August only, otherwise closed to visitors) €110. Prices include trolley.
CLUB HIRE €20.
CLUB HOURS 8.30am-6.30pm; closed Tuesdays.
MAXIMUM HANDICAP 36.
FACILITIES 4,820m-6,169m par 72; putting green, practice ground.
AFTER THE GOLF The Norman chalet-style pavilion is a gem, with boars’ heads and murals of local hunting, golfing and skating scenes, old photos of visiting heroes, and a good bottle on the table. All you could ask, in fact, of a proper club.
FEUCHEROLLES
WHERE IS IT? 30km west of Paris.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? A US-designed course (JM Poellot, 1992) of many ups and downs, five lakes and never a dull hole, in the pleasant country setting of a vast bowl overlooked by church spires and villas. Look no further for an affordable, challenging and varied round at a friendly, modern club with a good restaurant that welcomes visitors all week long.
The fun of the game includes lake carries, beach bunkers, screens of trees, blind drives over brows, complex greens and an inviting downhill par-five water hole to bring each nine to a close.
Don’t complain if you are mixed in to a five-hour four-ball – concede a few putts and your reward may be the offer of a lift to the station afterwards.
CONTACT RD 307, Feucherolles; tel +33 130 549 494; ngf-golf.com/exclusivgolf-feucherollesPRICE Weekdays €64 (€47 nine holes). Weekends and public holidays €73 (€55 nine holes); buggy €32; electric trolley €18; trolley €5.
CLUB HIRE €25.
CLUB HOURS 7.30am-7.30pm in summer (7am-8pm weekends), 8.30am-5.30pm in winter (8am-6pm weekends).
MAXIMUM HANDICAP None.
FACILITIES 4,960m-6,348m par 72; driving range, putting green, pitching area.
AFTER THE GOLF While the clubhouse is not a building of great beauty, the atmosphere is friendly, the changing room has a Japanese bath and the Menu Golfeur hits the spot.
Adam Ruck stayed at Citadines Prestige Les Halles, a modern aparthotel in central Paris and an ideal location for golf excursions via the RER. 4 Rue des Innocents, citadines.com
