Golf Barriere Deauville, fairways above the Normandy coast at Mont Canisy

Destination · France · Channel coast

Golf in Normandy

Normandy is the most atmospheric short haul golf trip in France: clifftop holes above the Etretat arch, a genuine Harry Colt links on the sand at Granville, 36 holes above the D Day coast at Omaha Beach, and the 1929 Tom Simpson course behind Deauville's belle epoque seafront. Green fees top out around 135 euros, the ferries land you among the courses, and the food and calvados need no introduction. Here is the complete guide.

The courses that matter Plan a Normandy trip

By the GolfForKings editorial desk · Editorial policy · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Golf Barriere Deauville, Normandy, via Google

Why golf here

Normandy was where golf in France grew up. British holidaymakers laid out courses along this coast before the First World War, at Etretat in 1908, Cabourg in 1907 and Granville in 1912, and the region still plays like a quieter, cheaper, more characterful cousin of the south of England. The golf divides into three personalities: true seaside golf on cliffs and dunes, polished resort golf behind Deauville, and parkland golf around chateaux and beech forests inland. Nothing here is a championship monster, and that is the point. You come for holes cut along 90 meter cliffs, greens framed by half timbered clubhouses, and a green fee that rarely passes 135 euros even in August.

The history runs deeper than the golf. The Omaha Beach club plays directly above Port-en-Bessin and the D Day landing coast, and most visiting groups fold the beaches, Bayeux and Mont Saint Michel into the itinerary between rounds. With ferries from the south of England landing at Caen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and Dieppe, and Paris around two hours away, Normandy is the rare golf destination that works as easily by car from London as it does as an add on to a French holiday.

The courses that matter

1 · Port-en-Bessin · clifftop, 36 holes

Golf d'Omaha Beach, La Mer

The only 36 hole complex in Normandy, opened in 1981 to an Yves Bureau design on the farmland above Port-en-Bessin. The seaside La Mer holes are the draw, running along the cliffs with the Channel below and the landing beaches in view; the wooded Le Manoir loop, par 71 at 5,863 meters, is the calmer counterpart. The club has recently reworked how its loops are named and combined, so confirm the routing when you book. High season green fees run to 135 euros, dropping to 95 for guests of partner hotels, and 80 euros in winter. As a base for golf plus D Day history, nothing else comes close.

2 · Breville-sur-Mer · links

Golf de Granville, Le Links

The connoisseur's pick, and the closest thing France has to a real links. Founded in 1912 in the dunes near Granville and redesigned by Harry Colt in 1921, it plays firm and fast over sand all year, with a 9 hole Les Dunes loop alongside the 18. The club trades on the Colt pedigree and deserves to: this is unforced, old fashioned seaside golf with Mont Saint Michel bay down the coast. High season fees are around 105 euros, with reduced Tuesday rates outside midsummer, and 65 euros in the low season. If you only play one course in Normandy for the golf alone, play this one.

3 · Etretat · clifftop

Golf d'Etretat

Founded in 1908 on the chalk cliffs directly above the Etretat needle and arch, the view Monet painted. The course, par 72 at just over 6,000 meters, tumbles along the clifftop with several holes hanging over the Channel, and on a breezy day it is as exhilarating as golf in France gets. Arnaud Massy, the 1907 Open champion, had a hand in the original design. Indicative 2026 fees run about 75 to 105 euros by season; the course closes Tuesdays in the low season. Pair it with Le Havre or Honfleur harbor lunches on a two day swing up the Alabaster Coast.

4 · Deauville · resort

Golf Barriere Deauville

The grande dame: 27 holes on Mont Canisy above Deauville, with the 18 hole Diane Barriere course laid out by Tom Simpson in 1929, about 5,900 meters at par 71, and a 9 hole Henry Cotton loop added in 1964. A 2019 renovation opened up new sea views, and the Ladies European Tour's French Open has been a recent fixture. It is polished, social golf attached to the Barriere resort machine of hotels, casino and racecourses, with hotel guests taking 30 percent off the green fee, which ran 69 to 125 euros in 2025. The 2026 card was unpublished at review, so treat those numbers as indicative.

5 · Le Vaudreuil · parkland

Golf du Vaudreuil

The serious test of the region. A Fred Hawtree design from 1962 on the Eure, par 72 and 6,383 meters, framed by a magnificent 17th century thatched barn of a clubhouse. It has hosted the Challenge Tour's Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge since 2013, with the 2026 edition set for July 2 to 5, so the conditioning and the back tees both run to tour standard. It sits an hour from the coast toward Paris, which makes it a natural first or last round of the trip.

6 · Le Neubourg · chateau parkland

Golf du Champ de Bataille

Golf in the grounds of the Chateau du Champ de Bataille, one of Normandy's grandest 17th century houses. The course, par 72 and 5,987 meters through the estate forest, was designed in the late 1980s by Robin Nelson with Thierry Huau and later reworked by Jean-Manuel Rossi. It is intimate, tree lined and quietly beautiful rather than long, and the sense of playing through an aristocratic backyard is unique in the region.

7 · Varaville · heritage seaside

Golf de Cabourg Le Home

One of the oldest clubs in Normandy, inaugurated in 1907 between Cabourg and the sea, with Harry Colt later adding five links holes to the original Lane Jackson layout. It is short, charming and steeped in Proust era seaside atmosphere, an easy half day from Deauville and a fine warm up round. Inland, Golf de Saint-Saens, 18 holes in the Eawy beech forest between Rouen and Dieppe, fills the same easygoing role for groups landing at Dieppe.

Our ranking, based on course quality, setting and visitor experience. Fees verified June 2026 from club sources where published; Deauville and Etretat figures are indicative. Always confirm directly before booking. Check tee times.

When to go

Normandy golf season at a glance, 2026. High season windows are taken from the clubs' own published rate calendars.
Window	What to expect	Fees
November to mid March	Mild, wet Channel winter; courses stay open and Granville's sandy links drains best; Etretat closes Tuesdays	Low season, roughly 65 to 80 euros
Mid March to May	High season pricing begins (Etretat from March 14, Granville March 16, Omaha Beach April 1); fresh, breezy, quiet tee sheets	High season, roughly 105 to 135 euros
June to September	The prime window: long evenings, warm days, every course in full trim; Deauville at its social peak in August	High season; book ahead for weekends
October to mid November	Soft light, emptying fairways; high season rates run to October 15 at Omaha Beach, October 31 at Etretat, November 15 at Granville	High to shoulder

Indicative 2026 rates from club published calendars; Deauville shows 2025 rates pending its 2026 card. Always confirm directly before booking.

Costs, getting there and where to stay

What a trip costs

Normandy is honest value by northern European standards. Budget 65 to 135 euros per round at the headline courses, with meaningful discounts for hotel partnerships: Omaha Beach charges its partner hotel guests 95 euros against the 135 rack rate in high season, and after 5 pm summer golf drops to about 67. A comfortable four night, four round trip with a good hotel, ferry crossing and dinners typically lands well under what the equivalent week costs in Scotland or Ireland. Fees are indicative for 2026 and always worth confirming directly before booking.

Getting there

The ferries are the classic route from Britain: Portsmouth to Caen in six to seven hours lands you 30 minutes from Omaha Beach, Portsmouth to Le Havre serves Etretat, Poole to Cherbourg runs seasonally in about four and a half hours for the Cotentin and Granville, and Newhaven to Dieppe takes about four hours year round. From Paris, Deauville is around two hours by car on the A13 or about 2 hours 15 minutes by direct train from Saint-Lazare to Trouville-Deauville. Distances within the region are short: most pairings of courses sit within an hour of each other.

Where to stay

Deauville is the natural luxury base, with the Barriere trio of Le Normandy, Le Royal and the golf side Hotel du Golf on Mont Canisy, the latter selling golf break packages and the 30 percent guest discount on the course below. On the D Day coast, the Mercure sits beside the Omaha Beach fairways with partner green fees, and Bayeux makes a fine historic base 15 minutes inland. For Granville and the west, stay in Granville town or push on to the Mont Saint Michel bay hotels. See our recommended Normandy hotels for current rates.

Plan your Normandy golf trip

Tell us your dates and your mix of golf and history, and one concierge builds the route: the right ferry, the clifftop rounds at Etretat and Omaha Beach, the Colt links at Granville, the Deauville nights and the D Day day. Costed to the head, no obligation.

Normandy golf questions

What is the best golf course in Normandy?

For pure golf, Golf de Granville, the 1921 Harry Colt links in the dunes near Granville, is our pick: it is the most authentic seaside course in the region and plays firm year round. For the full Normandy experience, Golf d'Omaha Beach's La Mer holes above the landing coast and the clifftop course at Etretat run it close, and Golf Barriere Deauville is the best appointed resort round. They sit close enough together that a four day trip can take in all of them.

How much are green fees in Normandy?

Indicative 2026 high season fees: Omaha Beach 135 euros (95 for partner hotel guests), Granville around 105, Etretat around 105, and Deauville 125 on its 2025 card pending 2026 publication. Low season rates fall to roughly 65 to 80 euros, and Omaha Beach sells summer evening golf after 5 pm for about 67. All fees move with season and demand, so always confirm directly before booking.

When is the best time to play golf in Normandy?

June to September is the prime window, with long evenings and every course in full trim; September is our pick for warm days and quiet tee sheets. The clubs' own high season calendars run roughly from mid March or April to mid October or November. Winter golf is realistic too, especially at Granville, whose sandy links drains beautifully, with low season fees from about 65 euros. Note Etretat closes on Tuesdays outside high season.

How do you get to Normandy with golf clubs?

Drive on a ferry. Portsmouth to Caen lands 30 minutes from Omaha Beach, Poole to Cherbourg serves the west and Granville, and Newhaven to Dieppe is about four hours for the eastern courses. With your own car there are no club hire worries and the courses sit 30 to 60 minutes apart. From further afield, fly to Paris and drive about two hours on the A13, or take the direct train from Paris Saint-Lazare to Trouville-Deauville in about 2 hours 15 minutes and base in Deauville.

The Tee Sheet

Tee time windows, course access changes and the trips worth taking. Every other week.

Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and fees verified June 2026 from club published sources. Last reviewed June 2026.