The Areas Golf Courses.An Extract from www.expatica.com Golfing enthusiasts have a treat waiting for them in the Côte d'Opale, a little-explored region along France's north-east channel coast. This stretch of windswept beaches between Dunkerque and Berck-Sur-Mer merges milky sea and sky in an interplay of opalescent colours, giving the region it's name, the Opal Coast. Close to the cliffs of chalk and clay, appropriately named Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez, the pines and dunes inland make a perfect backdrop for golf, harkening back to the sport’s birthplace in Scotland, where the earliest links were by the sea.It’s not just the environment that make this Côte a golfing Mecca, it’s economics and tranquility too. The golf courses are sparsely populated and are open to the general public. The courses offer a range of types, difficulties and landscapes – a magnet for any golf enthusiast, whatever the ability. The region makes for an easy weekend destination from Paris or London. |
 |
 |
|
Le Touquet Golf ClubLe Touquet Golf Club could be called the grande dame of the six. It’s the oldest and most elegant too. Set in an Edwardian sea-resort, it still tempts you to the high life with the town’s casinos and the thalassotherapy beauty centre down by the sea-front.Its three courses date from different eras, allowing the golfer to explore the ways in which golfing layout and styles have changed. There’s La Forêt (5659m – par 71), which was designed in 1904, the ’30s La Mer (6275 m – par 72), and the modern Le Manoir (2817m – par 35), which is equipped with a driving range, plus a pitching and putting green. Le Touquet Golf Club is the oldest and most elegant of all six. It's also clever to have a combination of difficulties too, so a weaker golfer can potter around the easier par 35 course, whilst the stronger sportsman can battle on the two more difficult ones at par 71 and 72. Where: Avenue du Golf, BP 41, 62520 Le Touquet, France Weekend rates: 18 holes EUR 69 high season and EUR 55 during the low season. |
 Tel: 03 21 06 28 00 Web site: www.opengolfclub.com |
|
|
Hardelot Golf ClubSleek, technical and challenging describes the two courses at Hardelot Golf Club. The Golf des Pins (5870 m – par 72) was designed by Tom Simpson, known as 'the Jaguar' among golf-designers, and so it’s no surprise that the course has hosted the French National Championships. The Golf des Dunes, (6095 m – par 73) is difficult too, with blind shots to negotiate. Of the six Opal coast courses, it is probably the toughest to play. Run by an expat, a Scottish golfing professional, it is strong on detail too: because golfers get frustrated if they have to stop their game for lunch, lunch is available throughout the afternoon – until 5pm. The clubhouse is sleek and distinctly upmarket, and when I visited there were Porsches in the car park and golfers leisurely sipping champagne in the bar.Where: 3, Avenue du Golf, 62152 Hardelot, France Weekend (includes Fridays) rates: 18 holes for EUR 69 during high season and EUR 55 low season. |
 Tel: 03 21 83 73 10 Web-site: www.opengolfclub.com |
|
|
Nampont-Saint-MartinA trip inland takes you to the quirky, rural village charm of the Nampont-Saint-Martin Golf Club. Not every golf club has a course which starts at a XVth century Château and then snakes past a river with – as one golfer commented – "swans and frogs watching you as you play." Le Grand Parcours des Cygnes (6051 m – par 72) and Le Belvédère (5145 m – par 72) are set in the rustic tranquillity of some really beautiful woods.But its idiosyncratic nature is a case of love or loathe it. Some golfers like the fact that there are so many water features built into the park, like rivers and ponds, because that gives the player some intriguing hurdles to negotiate. Others, however, moan – maybe because its far easier to lose your balls when they drop into water. Weekend rates: 18 holes EUR 40 high season and EUR 35 low season |
 Tel: 03 22 29 92 90 |
|
|
Wimereux Golf ClubWimereux Golf Club’s advantage is its spectacular setting, amidst the wilderness of the Parc Nationale des Caps. Here you are right down by the sea, with the full panorama of coastal and Channel life.Designed in 1907, it’s the most Scottish of them all in layout and style, styled to fit in with the natural lay of the land. The down side is that this proximity to the water means there can be hazardous coastal winds making ball control a tad tricky. People speak fondly of the place, saying it's handy to have two options – an 18-hole and 9-hole course if you don’t have much time on your hand (the 18 hole course is 6,150 m – par 72). They also think the club is distinctive because of the informal clubhouse atmosphere – the stewards, unusually, live on site. Weekend rates: 18 holes for EUR 56 high season , EUR 52 middle season and EUR 40 from November to February. |
 Tel: 03 21 32 43 20 |
|
|
Aa-Saint-Omer Golf ClubThe receptionist at Aa-Saint-Omer Golf Club says that "80% of the golfers here are from the UK – because of the rolling hills reminiscent of the British countryside." The number of British number plates in the drive would seem to prove her right.The Côte d'Opale offers a wide range of courses, difficulties and landscapes. Like the Le Touquet course, its got a choice of difficulties: the Haute Drève Course (2015 m – par 31) is a 9-hole course and the Val Course (6400 m – par 72) is an 18-hole one. The name is a bit of a red herring, because it's actually several kilometres from the town of St. Omer. Weekend rates: 18 holes for EUR 63 high season and EUR 47 low season. |
 Tel: 03 21 38 59 90 Web site: www.aa-st-omer-golfclub.com |
|
|
Dunkerque Golf Club"One of the best kept public golf houses in France" is how the Dunkerque Golf Club is described by the general manager of the Hardelot club. It is truly in pristine condition and has very modern clubhouse facilities.The most recently designed of the six on offer, it has an 18-hole course (5710 m – par 71), with some tricky technical points built into the course, and several water obstacles as well as fast greens. Where : Route du Golf, 59380 Coudekerque Village. |
 Tel: 03 28 61 07 43 Web site: www.golf-dk.com |
 weather in the Le Touquet area of France
|
Tel: 01782 857421 Mobile: 0774 021 3956 click here to email us |