Barbaroux

Barbaroux is set close to the French Riviera. It’s the prime location for golfers who want the warm Mediterranean sunshine on their backs. The Riviera has not only attracted golfers, but also some of the greatest modern architects have left their mark here, including Seve Ballesteros, Gary Player, Robert Trent Jones and the Dyes.

Pete and P.B. Dye (Paul Burke) – the father and son team – designed Barbaroux, and it’s the first Dye creation in France, opening for play in 1989. This is the course that created a stir and it’s still causing some controversy today. The reason for this is simple, the Dyes did some serious earth moving and the Barbaroux course is a potpourri of styles, which range from links-like holes with blind shots to US-styled target golf holes protected by water.

The amazing thing about Barbaroux is, despite all this variation, the course as a whole hangs together rather well and will certainly charm the extrovert in any golfer.

Although the course only measures 6,069 metres, Barbaroux is no pushover. Each hole requires thought and you can’t simply rely on good play to score well here. The contoured fairways can throw the best drives off line and into the rough, into water or into one of the many bunkers. Talking of which, the bunkers are numerous and some are cruelly deep and extremely punishing.

So, if you like variation, entertainment and interesting holes, Barbaroux is the course for you. Nobody could ever accuse Barbaroux of being boring.