Those who are familiar with the work of Tom Simpson know that the eccentric architect built most of his best courses in France. That includes of course Morfontaine, Chantilly and Fontainebleau but also Hardelot, Chiberta, Lys Chantilly and Deauville.
That being said, I have always been eager to see pictures of his lost French designs, especially the private courses he built for wealthy aristocrats like Comte de Rougemont, Comte de Fels, Barons Edouard de Rothschild and Henri de Rothschild etc.
Browsing a French geographical website, I have found these two 1933 pictures of a 9 hole course in Ferrière-en-Brie, about 50km East of Paris.
Located in the estate attached to Edouard de Rothschild’s castle, there is little doubt that this one of the lost courses attributed to Simpson.
It looks like a very regular par 36 with 2 par 3s and 2 par 5s.
What I find puzzling is the bunkering.
Simpson clearly advocated for limited usage of bunkers, preferring to use folds and natural contours as hazards. But he also wrote that heavy bunkering was acceptable on flat sites. Knowing how flat the Brie region can be, let’s assume that’s what he found in Ferrière. With 69 bunkers in 9 holes he made a strong case out of it.
More surprising is the repeated use of cross bunkers forcing either to carry or to lay-up, pretty much like in the penal age against which Simpson spoke so loudly. This might have been a request of his client but Simpson was not the kind of architect who would sacrifice his style to please his clients.
Could this course be falsely attributed to Simpson? Could it be the work of one of his design partners? We may never know for sure but I think it’s a fun subject to discuss.