From the Ryder Cup to the Paris 2024 Olympics and the French Open, the three-course Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Paris, is a must for golf professionals and enthusiasts alike. Here are a few reasons to take to the fairways...
This is the site of the Paris 2024 Games
Le Golf National is one of 39 competition venues hosting events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 120 players - 60 women and 60 men - will attempt to tame the turf of one of the most prestigious courses in Europe at the end of 10 days of great entertainment.
It is an enormous challenge
It is one of the most difficult courses in Europe. The French player Mickaël Lorenzo-Veraeven even said that no amateur would be able to score under 100 on this Par 72, more than 6 kilometres long from the start of the pros, i.e. the black balls. Why not try to make a liar out of him?
It's a Ryder Cup course
It is the third most popular sport event in the world, after the World Cup for soccer and the Olympics. In this impressive tradition, the Golf National join in 2018 the exclusive club of European courses that have hosted the Ryder Cup. In short, you can play on a 18-hole course that is a remarkable part of golf history.
It is where the French Open is held
Le Golf National has been hosting a European Tour event since 1991. Prestigious winners have graced the greens of the Albatros - the name of one of the two 18-hole courses - including Retief Goosen, Colin Montgomerie, José Maria Olazabal and Guido Migliozzi in 2022. Another very good reason to test your putter.
You will play on a course like a pool table
Greenkeeper Lucas Pierré, a leading specialist in sports turf maintenance, and his team have turned the Albatros into one of the finest courses on the European continent with a view to the Ryder Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It has the feel of a links course, but without the sea, and perfectly chiselled fairways and greens. In short, a unique golfing and visual experience.
It has something for all players
The Golf National is home to another perfectly maintained course: l'Aigle (the Eagle). It's a perfect fit for intermediate players, especially those who don't want to lose a dozen balls or continually score double bogeys on the Albatros.
Click below to see what else the Eagle course has to offer.
Versailles is just next door
If Paris nearby, the Versailles Palace is the course's next-door-neighbor. Stroll through the famous gardens of Louis XIV and admire its fountains under the waft of baroque music. Just don't take your sand wedge, even if you're aching to tee off from Versailles' perfectly kept grass.
By Franck Crudo
Journalist
