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david h. carroll

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Golf de Morfontaine pics
« on: October 09, 2004, 05:01:38 PM »
I recently travelled to France and had the wonderful opportunity to play Simpson's Mortfontaine just north of Paris.  Below are photos of the holes and some commentary.  The terrrain was a wonderful mix of sandy soil with a great deal of rock and outcroppings.  A neat sort of mix between a Pine Valley and Black Rock in Hinghman MA feel.  Throughout the rest of France, I never saw such sand!  At any rate, here we go with the front 9!

#1- dogleg par 4 of 434 meters.  


#1 green complex -- Many here at GCA will love and notice the tight mowing line near the large bunker




#2 - par 3 of 201 meters.  Very well protected large green with great undulations



#3 short par 5 of 437 meteres with a gentle right bend from tee.  smallish green with no bunkering -- a very well used technique throughout a great deal of the course



The simple green at #3


#4 Great par 3 of 178 meters.  very well defended green with great contours and note the semi horseshoe bunker around the front right




#5 neat little par 4 of 330 meters which starts downhill and then bends left and uphill to the green.  You need to hit it 240yds off the tee to set up the proper approach.  Another non bunkered green which abuts the 7th green


#6 par 4 with blind tee shot of 370meters.  The green complex has a wonderful bowl feature in the middle of the green and notice again the cut lines around the bunkers.  The first photo shows the green and a short bunker form about 65yds





#7 sizeable par 4 dog leg left of 402 meters.  Tee shot is blind and slopes away from the corner of the dog leg.  The green has a wonderful false front with a single simple yet troublesome bunker left.  The tee shot:


The approach:


#8 another sizeable dog leg left par 4 of 400 meteres with another blind tee shot, but this one is uphill and then the approach narrows while tumbling downhill to a vast bowl green


The approach and the green:



#9  par 4 of 356 meters with a very elevated tee shot.  Wild green with large false front and contours which tumble into the bunkers

The green:

David_Tepper

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2004, 05:35:05 PM »
David-

Thanks for the pix. Can you comment on visitor access to this course - were you guest of a member or did you contact the club directly about playing there?  I am curious about how clubs on the continent treat visitor/guest play (and green fees) as compared to clubs in GB&I.  Thanks.

DT


Don Dinkmeyer

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2004, 09:29:10 PM »
Thanks for the pics and report.

I rarely think of France as a place to play; clearly you can find an interesting course!

david h. carroll

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2004, 10:31:27 AM »
As for "access", we have some family friends who had helped in the formation of the club, so, even though none of the friends are golfers, I was still able to play.  I played by myself, as there was next to nobody there on a beautiful Monday morning.

Now for the back nine.  The 10th is a 342 meter par 4 with a fairway that narrows quickly as it nears the green.  The green is another non-bunkered site with a huge false front.


#11 is a great short par three with a very small spit of green on the front left, reminiscent of the front left of #3 at PVGC.  It plays 130 to the front and 160 to the back and is very toughly defended.  The first photo depicts the simplicity of tee boxes at Morfontaine as there are five sets of tees on one simple box abutting the fence:

The 11th green:




#12 - a large par 5 of 477 meters with an uphill tee shot to a waste area of about320 yards.  The approach, if going for it in two, is semi blind as the green is sunken and huge (i think it was about 50-60 paces deep)
The landing area from the tee shot

The sunken green--my ball there in 2, but a dreaded 120 foot putt!


The vexing 13th!  A funky par three that can play between 125yds to the front and 170 yds to the back.  Overall the green slopes pretty severely from back to front, but there are numerous ledges which create nifty little areas for flat putts and pin placements.  The hole played about 135 to pin on the day I played and I had the wonderful feeling of seeing my ball pull back down the slope towards the pin and then disappear from site!!  I thought it was an ace, but alas the little ridge had merely hidden my ball from sight and I had a 4 footer for birdie...yes, I made the putt!
Notice the tree confronting the tee shot.  It appears to be old enough to be original, but wow!

After the tree and notice the stair step bunkers on the left

My little 4 footer

BCrosby

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2004, 10:40:15 AM »
Dave -

Terrific pictures. Thanks. I played Morfontaine a couple times about 30 years ago. Your pictures jogged my memories of a very good, under-appreciated course.

Bob

 

david h. carroll

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2004, 11:00:11 AM »
The 14th is a 350 meter par 4 that narrows considerably as you climb the hill and slopes to the right, again feeling like #15 at PVGC.  It features another bunkerless green, this time crowned with a severe fall off to the right ontothe access road and gunge!
The approach

The green


#15 a long 90 degree dogleg par 4 that plays much more downhill than it looks.  I blew my tee shot well through the corner and through the fairway.  Again notice the mowing around the bunkers and green
The tee shot

The approach

The green with a very deep left bunker and fairway cut that funnels into it


The 16th is a big par 4 of 434 meters featuring a big uphill approach shot after a tee shot of 300 to a waste area.
The approach from in front of the waste area with a big bunker looming on the left of the green

The 16th green looking down towards the 17th


The par 3 17th with it's beautiful horseshoe bunker plays anywhere from 150 yds to 190 yds.  Needless to say, the green is huge and set against a steep hill behind.  It serves as either a great little breather before the 18th and after the bearish 16th or as a good test when the pin is deep.


#18 is a left bending shortish par 5 of 463 meters.  If you can fade your tee shot and hug the right side, you will have a great chance to get home in two and have a good look at eagle.
The tee shot

The approach

The well bunkered green



And last but not least, the understated clubhouse


 


Mark_Rowlinson

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2004, 11:06:31 AM »
Very many thanks for the chance to see the whole course - it's been a no-go area so far for me.  In fact they were very rude when I suggested that they might like to be included in the World Atlas of Golf!  

Jim Franklin

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2004, 02:22:13 PM »
DC -

Awesome pics! Who helped you post them? :)

How far is the tree in front of the 13th green? That looks like a cool hole. Nice shot. Would that have counted as a hole-in-one if you had no witnesses?

Mr Hurricane

david h. carroll

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2004, 03:25:25 PM »
Jimmy--I took them and then on another thread Briuan Gracely showed me how to post them...it's rather easy.  The tree you ask about on 13 is about 100 yds off the tee...I walked up to that tee and laughed at the thought of heartburn it would give some people...perhaps I should start a thread just on that hole alone!

Paul_Turner

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2004, 10:09:21 PM »
Brilliant, it looks like a longer/stronger version of De Pan.  No wonder it has a strong following with those lucky enough to play it.  What a set of greens!
can't get to heaven with a three chord song

RJ_Daley

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2004, 11:39:35 PM »
David, now that I see the context of the course in addition to the picture of just the par 3 with the "cop" tree, I think they ought to leave that tree on the par 3 and just thin the rest of the course a wee bit. ;) ;D

Can you tell us a bit of the history, the architect and year it was built, etc...?
No actual golf rounds were ruined or delayed, nor golf rules broken, in the taking of any photographs that may be displayed by the above forum user.

Keith Durrant

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #11 on: October 16, 2004, 09:48:11 AM »
David, wonderful pictures, thanks.

Did you play the other two Simpson courses Chantilly and Fontainebleau while you were there? Has anyone played these courses and how do they compare with Morfontaine?

I noticed Kyle Phillips counts Morfontaine as a client. Those bunkers do have a "fresh" look.

Keith

Steve Okula

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2004, 05:03:13 PM »
Keith,

I've seen all three courses, Morfontaine, Fontainebleau, and Chantilly, and here's my opinion.

Any one of them is worth going out of your way for, but I would choose Morfontaine, Fontainebleau, and Chantilly, in that order.

Chantilly is the flattest, and for that reason I believe the least interesting. It relies too much on cross bunkers for strategy, which gets repetitive after a while. Also, it is not built on the depths of natural sand that the other two courses have, so it is a little softer and slower. I played it in wet weather, and the greens were slick as you get in France, but the fairways were so muddy with earthworm casts that they were unplayable in some areas.

Fontainebleau has a magnificent piece of ground, and the most ingenious routing to take advantage of the natural terrain, but I believe it is being mis-managed. Not in the day-to-day maintenace, but in the long-range, strategic sense. Trees are overgrown and encroaching the fairways, so if you miss the short grass at all you have some over-hanging branches to deal with. I don't think it's what Simpson had in mind when he laid it out. It reduces the route to the hole to one. There is the pre-requisite sandy soil, strewn with boulders, and the broom and heather is naturally invading the unmaintained areas. You need to carry the vegetation to reach the fairway in on a number of holes, but not enough is done to encourage these plants to take their rightful place in the lines of play and to influence strategy, not to mention appearance. There are a few absolutely brilliant green complexes. I think it was #14, a par 3 with the most effective false front I've ever seen, that comes to mind.

Morfontaine was truest to architects intent, I believe. It is built over 9 meters of pure sand, so it's got enviable drainage, and Simpson could get away with murder putting in things like punch-bowl greens and fairways that wouldn't work elsewhere. The heather is carefully maitained in its rightful place, forcing you to think about carries and shot placement. The trees are encroaching, but it's still open enough to offer some interesting choices. The green complexes are spectacular, some of the most severe undulations on this earth. The pine forest all around ensures an atmoisphere of serenity and solitude, especially as it is only lightly played. The day I was there, I saw one other group of players.

All three courses are maintained to the highest French standard, which is to say middle-of-the-road for people who are used to States-side conditions.

I was politely welcomed, generously accommodated, and treated with the utmost respect by the management at all three courses. People whose experience does not match this reception may be approaching these clubs in the wrong way.
The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

david h. carroll

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #13 on: January 05, 2005, 04:14:50 PM »
thought I'd bring this back up for comparison with the other Gourmet Items!!

david h. carroll

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #14 on: May 26, 2005, 10:35:06 AM »
Just to give y'all some context of NAFFER's descriptions of Golf de Morfontaine....I thought I'd bring back the pics from my trip there last fall

NAF

Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #15 on: May 26, 2005, 10:44:55 AM »
Dave- Paul should sometime put up his pictures.. we had a fabulous day for pictures.

I'd have to say my favorite hole was the 8th.. I loved the tumbling nature of the 2nd shot and that green complex was sublime!

Mike_Clayton

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Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #16 on: May 26, 2005, 05:05:15 PM »
David

Great pictures.
This is one of my favorite courses. We played the French Amateur in 1980 at Chantilly and then a match against the French at Morfontaine.
In the late eighties the French Open was at Chantilly and I went over to Morfontaine one afternoon with a few Australian players and a couple of caddies.
They couldn't have been nicer.We played that day and pretty much every day after our rounds for the next three years.

The golf trip from Paris up to Royal Zoute in Belgium then through Holland is one of the best in the world for playing old elegant courses.

NAF

Re:Golf de Morfontaine pics
« Reply #17 on: May 27, 2005, 07:00:02 AM »
Mike Clayton-

I found Royal Zoute to be an outstanding course.  Did you see all the old pictures in the clubhouse when it was sans the scrub/trees.  To my eyes, it was very much a course with the same terrain/look to Royal Lytham.. The par 64 course at Zoute also looks like a great place to tune up one's game with some excellent Colt greens.

But you are right the lowlands + France is a terrific trip.  I'm sorry I missed Ravenstein, Royal Sart Tilman, Chantilly and Fontainebleau on this trip.  I would say it is a connesieur's trip though (i.e. one should play the great courses of Britain first) and then it makes the continental appreciation even more..