The Course....(more pics)

[Philip Gawith]

This is the main course - rated by some as the best in France. I really enjoyed it, but it is true that this championship 18, especially the green sites, lack some of the drama of the older nine.



The approach to one....



The green on the short second, with nice diagonal set of protective bunkers



The short fourth



fourth green



Uphill approach to the fifth...



Approach to six -



Bunkers short of six which confuse judgement when playing the approach



View from behind six



approach to seven



Another blind drive - on eight> You need to get it up to the top of the brow...



Then you face this approach - if you carry the bunkers on the right the ball should release down to the hole. Probably the best hole on the course.



Tee shot on nine



The green on ten



Approach to ten



The short eleventh



The three shotter 12th - now over 600 yards after extension by Kyle Phillips



The short 13th - the tree causes a lot of controversy!



Approach to 14



The tough 16th - a very demanding two-shotter, following hard on the heels of the tough 15th - probably the best two holes on the back nine, just like 7 and 8 are a similar pair on the first nine.



View of 16th green from the bunker left, about 40 yards short.



View across to green of the short 17th



The bunker left of the 18th, a closing three shotter.

[Steve Okula]

Morfontaine.

There, I said it.

[Peter Ferlicca]

The course looks fantastic as it always does in pictures.

BUT PLEASE, SOMEONE TAKE A CHAINSHAW TO THAT TREE ON #13!!!!!!

More than half of the golfers that play there can probably even get their tee ball above that tree.  So stupid IMO.  What are you supposed to do, hit a low snap hook around it. 

[Mac Plumart]

Thanks, Philip.

[Thomas Dai]

Pretty tastie to say the least. Appears to be mostly nice and clear of scrub under the trees, which is nice IMO.

How long is the par-3 13th - just wondering what club will get a shot over the tree?!

Curious also about a sandy heathland site but with big rocks - eg left of 2nd, right of 6th fairway, centre of 14th fairway.

Many thanks for sharing.

atb

[jeffwarne]

The course looks fantastic as it always does in pictures.

BUT PLEASE, SOMEONE TAKE A CHAINSHAW TO THAT TREE ON #13!!!!!!

More than half of the golfers that play there can probably even get their tee ball above that tree.  So stupid IMO.  What are you supposed to do, hit a low snap hook around it.  

The ladies have to love it.
Options galore
left between trees with a fade skirting the bunkers
Full on driver and hope it misses the trees
low hook 7 wood
putter down the path

I would argue the tree on the left is more attractive and would be more noticeable with the silly one gone

great pics-wonderful texture thanks for posting

[Greg Taylor]

Thank you for posting the pics - a little slice of Surrey in France...!

I would have said the conventional wisdom on here would be that ALL of the trees should come down...?!

For me I would prolly take out the 13th - absurd is the right word.

That all being said, what a wonderful looking course.

[Adam Lawrence]

Thank you for posting the pics - a little slice of Surrey in France...!

I would have said the conventional wisdom on here would be that ALL of the trees should come down...?!

You would be at it a long time - it is in the middle of a very large and very dense forest.

[Thomas Dai]

I love courses where the majority of the trees are evergreen - much prefer the bold / dark look to the deciduous varieties.

And less pesky leaves in the Autumn.
atb

[Kyle Casella]

Every time someone brings up this place I scramble through all my European contacts to see if anyone knows anyone who can get on there. The answer is always laughter + mon oeil! One can dream...

[Peter Pallotta]

Despite the historical tensions/incidents between the English and the French, the fact that the Island was once connected to the Continent (now separated by the Channel) ties certain parts of these two great nations together, topographically at least. (I saw a programme recently about how England is starting to making Champagne - by a different name, of course -- because the climate and soil there in the south near Dover is very much the same as it is in the north of France.) Which is to say, if Walton Heath got an additional 18 hole course, THIS 18 hole course would seem to fit right in.

Peter

[Adam Lawrence]

Peter - imo if Morfontaine had an English cousin it would be Swinley. Both in thick forest, both tiny membership, both very quiet. Walton is a big, busy club on a huge stretch of wide open heath - a very different vibe imo.

[Michael Felton]

Interesting - I get more of a Sunningdale vibe to it. You could pick up most any of those holes and drop them into either the Old or the New at Sunningdale and you'd be hard pressed to say it was out of place. Walton is quite different I think. Much more heathland than this which looks to me more like parkland with heather on it.

That tree on 13 is ridiculous. I don't mind trees on a golf course too much, but that takes the cake. Dealing with a shot like that should require having previously hit a dreadful shot, not sticking a tee in the ground.

[Peter Pallotta]

Adam - thanks, I defer to you of course, and just meant to note how 'English' the course looked to me; and whenever I think of English inland courses Walton Heath is always the first one that pops into my mind. (My next thought is always to say something flattering about Sean Arble, but I think all my praise is going to his head - you can't even get the guy on the phone anymore!  )

Peter

[Steve Okula]

Interesting - I get more of a Sunningdale vibe to it. You could pick up most any of those holes and drop them into either the Old or the New at Sunningdale and you'd be hard pressed to say it was out of place. Walton is quite different I think. Much more heathland than this which looks to me more like parkland with heather on it.

Except that Sunningdale spends about four times as much on maintenance as Morfontaine does and is more refined in that respect.

[Sean_A]

I definitely get more of Swinley vibe than a Sunny vibe. Either way, I would like to see Morf one day.

AA - thanks for the pix.

Ciao

[Niall C]

Thank you for posting the pics - a little slice of Surrey in France...!

I would have said the conventional wisdom on here would be that ALL of the trees should come down...?!

For me I would prolly take out the 13th - absurd is the right word.

That all being said, what a wonderful looking course.

Greg

The tree might be absurd but what would the hole be like without it ? Would it require a complete redesign ?

Niall

[Matt Bradley]

Phillip,

Great pictures, I think Morfontaine is fantastic. I agree with you that the 8th is the best hole on the course and I think there are other really good holes as well. I really liked the 6th and 7th, as well. I think that while not as wild as the Valliere, the greens are really good with lots of interesting contour. Its a special place and a great day of golf.

Matt

[Joey Chase]

It is a fantastic place and quite unique.  As for the tree on the 13th, it is a bit absurd but a one-off quirk.  It is a bit further off of the tee and the hole only plays about 129m.  I had a 8 iron in my hand and it wasn't even really a bother.  There are many other quirky things at Morfontaine that add to the charm and interest of the place.  I added a pick with my shot, you can see that the tree truly isn't really in play for anyone that can get the ball in the air.