Nimes Campagne

Situated between Montpellier and Avignon, near the old Roman town of Nîmes in the south of France, the Nîmes Campagne course was opened in June 1970, following an inaugural match involving Jean Garaialde, Martin Ado, Roger Cotton and Tito Lassalle.

Designed by Léonard Morandi and Donald Harradine – who is also credited with the construction or remodeling of other French courses like Chaumont-en-Vexin, Saint-Maxime and Divonne – the 18-hole layout measures 6,750 yards with a par of 72.

Routed through 130 acres of a heavily wooded estate, the course is laid out over a gently undulating landscape. One of the best holes on the outward half is the par five 3rd which doglegs to the right and features a large oak tree in the middle of the fairway. The pick of the holes on the back nine is the 400-yard, par four, 18th where a small pond has to be negotiated to the front right of the small green.

The clubhouse also deserves a mention as it is a magnificent stately home built by a former owner in 1902 as a miniature replica of the White House in Washington – quite some place to have as a 19th hole!

In 2024, the course reopened after a renovation carried out by Harradine Golf. Peter Harradine had worked at the club with his father Don in the late 1960s – designing the greens and supervising construction – so he was delighted to be asked to upgrade the layout in the modern era, bringing his son Michael in to redesign the greens he had originally fashioned!