Despite its proximity to the coast the La Mer course is very much park land in character, some holes on the front 9 have some pretty sea views but for the most part the sea breeze is only clue of its coastal location. It felt to me a tale of two contrasting nines, the opening half which runs close to the cliffs above the village of Port en Bessin uses the terrain superbly to provide plenty of drama for the visiting golfer, it’s a serious hike especially if carrying. As my calves and back were stealing themselves for another assault on the back 9 the course turns inland and the tempo drops considerably, a much flatter and less engaging collection of holes awaited, not to say they were bad but something of an anticlimax.

The opening hole is a solid par 5 taking you towards the sea, if the wind is blowing from the NE it’s a tough start, then a cracking 145 yard downhill par 3 overlooking the sea, wind into the face on the day so even my sweetly struck 7 iron came up short of the front bunker. The real fun begins on 3 with blind drive over crest which if you get the line right feeds you down to the green. That pretty much sets the template for the rest of the outgoing holes, lots of elevation change, definitely an advantage if you can shape shots with your driver making some the approach shots considerably easier. No hole on the front 9 was standout mainly because they all hung together well and challenged in different ways.

Not much to add about the back 9, solid parkland layout and mainly decent condition. One element which lets the course down are the tee boxes, rare to find a flat lie and often very scruffy, I could see on one hole the tee was being replaced so guessing that might part of a longer term upgrade, certainly needed. They also need to trim some of the overhanging trees which block some shot shapes, twice I caught a tree with a tee shot I was trying to shape which felt unnecessary.

To me a solid course, would a level higher if the back 9 reached the highs earlier on, certainly worth playing if on a golfing trip to the region.