The Best Golf Courses in the Loire Valley

Les Bordes, Old Course

One of the great courses of Europe, Robert von Hagge's Old Course carves a tree lined par 72 of just over 7,000 yards through the pine, oak and birch of the Sologne forest, threaded with a famous complex of lakes that swallow the timid shot. It has ranked among the top three courses on the continent for thirty years, a stern, beautiful and uncompromising test that is the reason serious golfers seek out the Loire. Access is through the private estate and its hotel rather than a public tee sheet. The finest round in the region by a distance.

Read the Les Bordes Old Course profile

Les Bordes, New Course

The modern companion to the Old, unveiled in 2021 and designed by Gil Hanse, who took inspiration from the great heathland courses around London and Paris and from Pine Valley. It winds through the heather, pine and birch of the same Sologne estate, firmer and more strategic than its older sibling, and instantly took its place among the best new courses in Europe. Together the two give Les Bordes a 36 hole offering that few estates in the world can match. A worthy modern classic and reason enough to stay on the estate.

Read the Les Bordes New Course profile

Golf du Chateau de Cheverny

The best of the public chateau courses, an Olivier Van der Vynckt design from 1988 laid out around the Rousselière pond on the wooded estate of the magnificent Château de Cheverny, fifteen minutes from Blois in the heart of chateau country. The par 71 runs through woods, meadow and water with the great house never far away, an enjoyable and scenic test that pairs perfectly with a day touring the chateaux. For visitors who cannot get on at Les Bordes, this is the round to build the trip around. Polished, accessible and beautifully set.

Golf de Touraine, Ballan-Mire

The oldest of the courses around Tours, a Michael Fenn design from 1973 set on the wooded estate of the Château de la Touche at Ballan-Miré, just south west of the city. It is a mature, classic parkland of tree lined fairways and small greens, a course that asks for placement over power and rewards local knowledge, with a handsome clubhouse and a settled members feel. Close to Tours and the western Loire chateaux, it anchors a southern base for the region. A traditional, well loved round in the garden of France.

Golf du Chateau des Sept Tours

A stay and play around a fifteenth century chateau at Courcelles-de-Touraine, north west of Tours, where the par 72 opened in 1993 and wraps over level, forested land beside the great house, now a hotel. The golf is gentle and good natured rather than severe, which makes it an ideal base for a relaxed group or a couples trip, with the rooms, the restaurant and the course all on one estate. Pair it with Touraine and Cheverny for a chateau golf week. An easy, atmospheric round with a bed on site.

Golf d'Orleans-Donnery

The pick of the courses at the eastern, Orléans end of the valley, a historic layout that dates to 1952, with one nine credited to the great Robert Trent Jones Sr and the other to Olivier Van der Vynckt. The par 71 runs through woodland and around water near Donnery, a varied and pleasant test with a real pedigree given its designer, and a natural first or last round on a trip touring east to west down the river. Mature, varied and quietly distinguished. A fine base for the upper Loire.

Golf de Sully-sur-Loire

A friendly 27 hole complex at the chateau town of Sully-sur-Loire, on the boundary between the river and the Sologne forest, offering three contrasting nines from open, links like ground to tighter, wooded holes. It is more a relaxed members and visitors course than a championship test, which makes it a good value, flexible stop for a touring group wanting plenty of golf without the pressure. Close to Orléans and the upper chateaux, it rounds out an eastern Loire itinerary. Sociable, varied and easy to enjoy.