Golf Courses around Paris

You plan to visit  Paris, in Ile de France and you want to play Golf courses around Paris during your stay.

Driver & Driver make you discover 6 top rated golf courses around Paris, you must play. They are incredibles, and can be played by visitors under conditions for some of them , although they are private-clubs with limited access.

Since 1896 !

The development of golf started rapidly at the same time as on the sea coast where the English came to vacation to practice the sea baths. As early as 1896, at Mesnil Le Roi *, near Saint Germain en Laye, a course was opened. Then the same year, for  Olympic Games of 1900 event, a golf course was inaugurated in Compiègne (1896) *. They both disappeared.

Golf at Olympic games in 1900.

And the development of the courses around Paris realized with the opening of La Boulie Golf Course in 1901. So it is the oldest of the golf courses remaining in Ile de France. Then several courses were inaugurated in Chantilly (1906), Fontainebleau (1909), Saint Cloud (1912) Mortefontaine (1913) or Saint-Germain en Laye (1922), The Lys Club in Lamorlaye (1929). They all remain active today. They have become very famous golf courses in Europe because of the international reputation of their designer.
Despite a real difficulty to move in the past time, these designers were great travelers. They worked in Western Europe, in the United States and in the English colonies, and of course in France.

by the greatest english architects !

The design of these golf courses around Paris appealed to the most famous designers of the last century.  The most famous of them are Tom Simpson, Harry Colt and Willie Park.
English man, Willie Park Junior, came back to France to design the second of his 3 courses in France. He did it at La Boulie near Versailles (after Dieppe-Pourville in 1897). La Boulie golf course is now the oldest golf course in Ile de France. The Racing Club de France is the owner. Thereafter, Willie Park Jr  completed, near Monaco,  Mont-Agel golf course (in 1911).

Tom Simpson and  Harry Colt

Tom Simpson traveled several times to France. He designed 8 exceptional courses. 4 of them are located around Paris: Chantilly Vineuil Saint-Firmin, Fontainebleau, Morfontaine and Lamorlaye near Chantilly. The others are (Reims, Chiberta, Deauville and Hardelot).
Finally, the third great architect of the early 20th century is Harry Colt. Among his 11 creations in France, two courses are in Ile de France, Saint-Cloud and Saint-Germain en Laye. These 2 internationally renowned courses are also “Must” to play.
More recently, in 1959, Fred Hawtree completed the 2 courses of Saint-Nom la Bretèche. The duo Hubert Chesneau / Robert Van Hagge designed, in 1990, Le Golf National golf Course, host of the last great edition of the Ryder Cup 2018 and French Open since 1991.