“Golfers have been eager to return. In just three days, we received over 800 tee time bookings." - Charles Debruyne, Golf Director at Le Touquet Golf Resort
As France reopens its borders, golfers at Golf d’Hardelot and Le Touquet Golf Resort on the country’s northern coast can now enjoy a number of course enhancements, practice area improvements and new routings.
The lockdown period has enabled greenkeeping staff at Golf d’Hardelot to complete project work on its carefully restored Tom Simpson design. Work on the Les Pins course had originally started in November 2019 and included reducing the elevation of the 3rd tee and softening landing areas on the 14th green to allow for more pin positions.
All changes have now been finalised and have rapidly bedded in, with recent course closures also allowing for levelling to take shape and renovated playing surfaces to fully recover.
Ludovic Hettinger, Head Greenkeeper at Golf d’Hardelot, who continued to manage the venue’s two 18-hole layouts throughout confinement, said: “Lockdown has helped the golf course changes bed in really well. We also used this period of closure to increase the size of the putting green at Les Pins by 25%, which, unintentionally, will now help with current social-distancing measures.”
At sister venue, Le Touquet Golf Resort, 12 miles (20km) further south, visitors can now experience more flexible playing options on the resort’s 18-hole La Forêt and 9-hole Le Manoir courses.
By re-routing two holes from each of the layouts and creating a new 18th green for La Forêt, players returning to the destination on France’s Opal Coast, now have the option of three loops of nine holes, which all return to the clubhouse. A full 18-hole round on La Forêt can still be played, if preferred.
Commenting on reopening, Charles Debruyne, Golf Director at Le Touquet Golf Resort, said: “Golfers have been eager to return. In just three days, we received over 800 tee time bookings. We hope the announcement by Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, which attested people would be able to take holidays within France this summer, will encourage visitors to come and play some of France’s best courses, including its no.1 links*.”
Occupying the dramatic terrain between the Côte d’Opale’s expansive duneland and swathes of pine forest, Le Touquet Golf Resort and Golf d’Hardelot sit just 12 miles apart in the southern region of France’s northernmost department, Pas-de-Calais, and are both managed Open Golf Club.
For more information about Le Touquet Golf Resort, visit www.letouquetgolfresort.com
and regarding Golf d’Hardelot, visit www.hardelotgolfclub.com
* According to Top100GolfCourses’ 2020-2021 Top 100 French and 2019-2020 Continental European course rankings.
ENDS
Picture captions
1: Le Touquet Golf Resort’s La Forêt (The Forest) that underwent re-routing work to present more flexible playing options.
2: Le Touquet Golf Resort’s La Mer (The Sea, hole 16) – recently ranked 8th in Golf Digest’s 2020 Best French Golf Courses and 9th in Top100GolfCourses’ 2020-2021 Top 100 French course ranking.
3: Golf d’Hardelot’s Les Pins (The Pines) – ranked 7th in Top100GolfCourses’ 2020-2021 Top 100 French course ranking.
4: Ludovic Hettinger, Head Greenkeeper at Golf d’Hardelot, who continued to manage the venue’s two 18-hole layouts throughout confinement.
Press release issued by Landmark, Golf Marketing & Communications
Manuela Whittaker
Tel: +44 (0)1780 752790
Email: manuela@landmark-media.com
About Le Touquet Golf Resort
Le Touquet Golf Resort is home of France’s #1 links course, La Mer. The classic 1931 Harry Colt and Charles Alison design with its ‘lost holes’ have now been exquisitely restored. La Mer secures a Top 20 ranking in Golf World magazine’s most recent listing of Continental European Golf Courses and 29th in Top100GolfCourses.com’s Continental European listing. Europe’s most fashionable resort of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ and 1930s, Le Touquet remains an iconic destination blending elegant style and architecture with wide, open sandy beaches, surrounded by pine forest. Today, with the contemporary comforts and hospitality of a new architect designed clubhouse and a boutique style hotel at Le Manoir, Le Touquet Golf Resort and its three courses is ushering in a new golden age of European golf travel.
www.letouquetgolfresort.com
About Golf d’Hardelot
Golf d’Hardelot is 10 minutes from the centre of Neufchâtel-Hardelot on the north east coast of Pas-de-Calais, France’s northernmost department. It boasts two superb 18-hole courses, Les Pins and Les Dunes. Meandering through dunes and forest, these two sand-based layouts offer great fun for all levels of player.
Les Pins was designed by Tom Simpson and opened in 1931. It features at no. 39 in Golf World magazine’s Top 100 Golf Courses of Continental Europe ranking and 22nd in Top100GolfCourses.com’s Continental European listing.
Les Dunes was opened in 1991. Designed by the late Paul Rolin and Jean Claude Cornillot, it has also undergone significant restoration work to offer a contrasting golfing challenge, while catering for the increasing demand from international golf visitors.
www.hardelotgolfclub.com
About Open Golf Club
Open Golf Club is a leading international golf management group, based in France. Founded in 1987, it now provides services to 50 golf clubs in six countries in Europe, including France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
www.opengolfclub.com