Roncemay

Designed by Jeremy Pern in consultation with the famous French player Jean Garaïalde, the course at Le Domaine du Roncemay was unveiled in 1989, offering a mix of parkland and woodland holes within a tranquil estate which is anchored by a newly refurbished boutique hotel.

Measuring 6,219 metres from the tips and playing to a par of 72, the course is laid out as two returning nines, with most of the fairways carved through woodland – though several holes (2-4 on the outward half and 14-17 on the inward half) occupy open terrain in the southern portion of the estate.

Highlight holes include the signature par three 5th which plays across a lovely lake to a green that’s back-dropped by the hotel. The hardest hole on the card is kept until last at the 422-metre 18th. After a forced carry over a couple of small ponds, the hole heads slightly right, with another lake nudging into the left side of the fairway, around 75 metres from the front of the home green.

The Peugeot Golf Guide describes the course as follows in this edited extract:

“This course is basically laid out through a forest of oak, beech and birch trees over flattish terrain. The layout is varied enough to demand every shot in the book. Water hazards are few and far between and not too dangerous, the greens are large and sharply contoured so watch out for three putts.”