Saint Nom la Breteche

The verdict

Saint-Nom-la-Breteche is the grand private club of Paris, the place the city's golf has revolved around since the courses opened at the turn of the 1960s. Fred Hawtree routed the Rouge and the Bleu across gently rolling farmland on the edge of the Forest of Marly, with a converted seventeenth century farm as the clubhouse and the towers of Versailles on the horizon. It is parkland golf of real quality: broad, tree framed corridors, water in play on the closing stretch, and greens that have tested the best players in the world.

The history is the draw. The 1963 Canada Cup, won here by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, put the club on the map, and for 34 years the Trophee Lancome brought the game's biggest names to the autumn parkland. More recently the club has staged the Open de France, the oldest national open in continental Europe. For a visiting golfer it is a chance to play a piece of French golf history a short drive from central Paris, though access takes planning.

The holes worth the trip

The Rouge is the headline course and the one used most for championships. Hawtree set it across the open, rolling ground above the clubhouse, where the wind has more say than the modest yardage suggests and the par 4s ask for position over power. The fairways are generous off the tee, but the greens are well guarded and the approach is where scores are made or lost.

Water becomes the theme on the run for home. The closing holes bring a series of ponds and a stream into play, and the par 5 finish past the lake in front of the old farmhouse clubhouse is one of the most photographed scenes in French golf. It has settled many a Trophee Lancome and rewards a player brave enough to take it on in two and accurate enough to hold the green.

The Bleu, the companion eighteen, is a touch shorter and more sheltered, weaving among mature trees with its own strong set of two shotters. Played together the two courses make a complete 36 hole day, a proper test of parkland golf that looks gentle from the first tee and proves anything but by the time you sign the card.

Where to stay nearby

Most visitors base themselves in Versailles or central Paris and drive out for the round, with the club an easy half hour from the city and minutes from the chateau. Versailles puts grand hotels and fine dining within reach of the first tee, while a Paris base pairs the golf with everything the capital offers off the course.

For a golf focused stay it is the natural anchor of a Paris parkland tour, sitting among the great courses of the Ile-de-France. Build a few days around it and you can pair Saint-Nom with the other classics west and north of the city without a long transfer between rounds.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Saint-Nom-la-Breteche.