Spérone

Those that make the trip to the lovely island of Corsica to play the famous Spérone course will have one of the most unforgettable golfing experiences of their lives. The course is routed across a most intriguing and beautiful parcel of golfing land. It’s the only 18-hole golf course on Corsica and we think that Spérone is the model that all potential golf estates should aspire to.

Opening for play in 1990, Spérone was designed by the great RTJ. “The tee from 12 is one of the most beautiful in the world”, said Robert Trent Jones Senior, “because of their beauty and variety, holes 12 to 16 at Spérone are comparable to the sea holes at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point.” We couldn’t agree more and Spérone is certainly a little piece of paradise and one of Europe’s most unique designs.

It’s not the longest course in the world, measuring 6,106 metres from the back tees, but the layout is up and down in the extreme. We recommend a buggy, unless you are feeling supremely fit.

Napoleon was born here on this glorious Mediterranean island and some Corsicans believe that Christopher Columbus was born here too. We can’t guarantee that Columbus is Corsican, but we can guarantee that Spérone is one of France's most beautiful courses. The following edited extract is from France’s Most Beautiful Courses by Jean-François Lefevre:

“The sequence beginning from the second stroke of the 11th hole, which ends on the 16th green is without equal in Europe. A geological oddity is that the white limestone coast which runs from Bonifacio changes to ochre granite on the 11th green, and the par three 12th is a gem of a hole nestling between huge wind-polished boulders.

Over the years Sperone has become one of Corsica’s most prized treasures. For France’s southernmost course is also one of maquis (scrubland), the symbol of Corsica. Searching for a ball off the fairways, one is plunged into the heady odours of shrubs, a cunning mixture of myrtle, lavender, rosemary and thyme, whose heat-liberated scents dizzy the senses.”