Hossegor - South West France - France

They close the club at Hossegor every Wednesday, allowing only juniors to play, so I was very fortunate to be allowed on after fronting up here in the middle of the working week, thanks to the intervention of my friend, journalist and author Roland Machenaud, who accompanied me for the front nine before heading off to a golf show in Paris.

I say the front nine, but there are actually ten holes playing away then returning to the clubhouse, leaving eight to complete the requisite eighteen holes. I don’t know if it’s always been like that but it struck me as a bit odd at the time.

Having had time to reflect on my round, what appears even stranger now is the manner in which the holes are laid out: mainly straight on holes 1-10 but nearly all doglegging right to left between holes 11 and 18. They’re also a good bit flatter on the early holes, probably because they’re laid out on the flood plain of the narrow river Bouret, which runs alongside the opening five holes.

There’s no denying this is a charming course, with mature trees bounding every fairway, though they’re set at a fair distance from the line of play so there’s never a feeling that they’re intruding. Bunkers are deep and plentiful, with just the right degree of semi-ragged edging, though the greens were a bit of a disappointment, with contouring that could best be described as subtle.

I loved the way the tee for the short par four 3rd is set on one bank of the river with the fairway on the other side and the par three 5th into the most easterly part of the property was an absolute delight, featuring an eye-catching plantation of heathers in front of the tee box. The other short hole on this stretch, the 185-metre 8th, also plays over a patch of heather to a heavily sand-protected volcano green.

By far the best holes on the layout are played back-to-back at the par three 14th and par five 15th: the former sits in a narrow little dale, requiring a slightly uphill tee shot to a green that’s benched into the hillside at the back; and the latter starts with an intimidating blind tee shot over bushes to a fairway that then heads down and left to a terrific offset green.

In reality, you must combine a visit to Hossegor with an outing at Seignosse –they’re less than ten kilometres from one another – giving you a great 36-hole day of golf that will live long in the memory.

Jim McCann

Hossegor GC is a wonderful members course that has long been rated as one of the top ten courses in France.

Although it is sited near the sea, Golf d'Hossegor is essentially a heathland course with a sandy base, heather and gorse skirting the playing surfaces which are framed by dense tracts of pine forest.

A par 71, Hossegor is tight off the tee, but offers decent variation in lengths off different teeing grounds- thus catering for all. The course will suit the player who is reasonably straight, but not necessarily long.

The bunkering is attractive and strategic, and the more difficult rated holes require good control of line and flight to avoid hitting the sand on both tee shot and approach.

With large mature trees overhanging both sides of the fairway on all holes, the course is both protected, and a bit of a golfing sanctuary. It really is a lovely golfing experience and a really wonderful members course.

Favourite holes include the lovely uphill par 3 14th in its own little valley, the downhill turning par 5 15th, the classic par 3 second hole, and a number of dogleg

par 4 holes that required an accurate tee shot to give a clear shot at the classically styled greens.

The look and feel is very much London Heathland, and while I would not classify Hossegor as a championship course I cannot think of many courses that would be more enjoyable to play on a regular basis.

My only criticisms are minor. A lot of the par 4's were right to left dog legs requiring a mid iron second shot – I constantly hit 6 iron approaches.

Peter Wood is the founder of The Travelling Golfer – click the link to read his full review.

What a gem of a course. Sheer class, simply stunning. Should in my opinion be ranked higher, and clearly above St Emilion in the SW corner. It really is on par with the top UK heathland tracks. Tough to pick a favorite hole as they are all good. Quite narrow and a real test. Loved it !

Quite liked this course but the pace of play is so so slow especially if you play in the afternoon. Very tight.....

In my opinion, Hossegor is by far the best course in the area. While I was very disappointed with Moliets and Seignosse, Hossegor was surprisingly good. The course has undergone quite a lot of changes, but the character is still there. There was not really a weak hole and from an architectural point of view I have to rank the Par-5 15th among the best holes that I've played. The drive is blind an over a ridge and the well struck and slightly drawed tee shot will get extra bounce that makes the green reachable in two. The green itself is shaped like a horseshoe and you have to lay up smartly to gain the best angle into the day's hole location. Morrisson cleverly routed this hole near the end of the round

JIM Morrison?? That' the bloke from The Doors Don't you mean John Morrison, Harry Colt's partner. Shame that yet another classic European course gets changed by a modern designed.

This is a lovely old fashioned course set in a heavily wooded area. Most of the holes are tree lined, many are quite tight but it has lovely golf holes and is a real pleasure to play. The course has a very British feel and has been around since the 1930s.