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Andrew Bertram

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I was fortunate enough to be able to spend the month of July in England and Scotland doing some work in conjunction with The Open at Turnberry.

As a short side trip I headed to Paris and played Fontainebleau and Morfontaine and after spending some time in the WW1 battlefields i headed to Royal Zoute before back to England.
21 courses over the course of the month and my first experience of the London heathland has left a lasting impression on me.

I must thank Clayts who advised i should play Fontainebleau as well as Morfontaine. He told me i would have a lot of fun playing there and he was right.
It was wonderful and i am now keen to spend more time at Paris courses if they are close to the quality of these two.

The club itself was busier than i expected. The day was a hot Thursday at the start of July and the club house was full of members who had played in the morning. About 70 had started early followed by lunch. The rudimentary French i still had from school many years ago managed to get me past the obstacles of no staff member having more than a few words of French.

Excellent practice facilities, a pro shop the size of a large cupboard and a wonderful club house that served a beautiful lunch.  

I started at 2.00pm and i only saw 3 other golfers, as i said it was hot, about 34 degrees and humid. I hope you enjoy and i will add more holes in the coming days.


The clubhouse from towards the 18th green


1st hole from fairway


Approach to 1st green


View back down 1 from behind green


2nd hole


2nd green


Walk from 2nd green to 3rd tee


View from 3rd tee to 2nd green


3rd tee shot


3rd hole second shot view


3rd hole green approach


3rd hole approach


4th tee shot


4th hole approach


5th tee shot


5th green approach


5th green


6th tee shot


6th approach


6th green


6th green


7th hole from front of tee


7th green


8th hole tee shot


8th hole approach


9th tee shot


10th hole


10th green


10th green


10th green


11th green


11th green


11th green bunkers


12th hole tee shot


12th fairway view


12th hole approach


12th green


13th tee shot


13th hole bunker view


13th hole fairway view


13th view from behind green



Clubhouse from 13th tee


14th hole


14th hole


14th green


15th tee shot


15th approach


16th green


17th tee shot


17th hole


17th greenside


18th tee shot


18th approach



« Last Edit: August 30, 2009, 08:06:34 AM by Andrew Bertram »

Cristian

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 7
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2009, 03:37:59 AM »
Thanks for the beautiful pics!

I played this course about 5 years ago, but still kick myself for not bringing my camera. Would like to see the rest as well as I can't remember all the holes, although I do recall it was a fantastic course. How do you think it compares to the London Heathland courses?

Andrew Bertram

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2009, 08:11:35 AM »
Christian

The London Heathland courses have done a better job of keeping the tree line out of play. I hope the photos show that the line of play has been encroached on a number of holes and the overall course is very tight because of the encroachment of trees.

However thsi did not diminish the quality of the course. It was a lot of fun to play and wpuld be enjoyed by players of all standards.
A with the heathland courses i played the short par 4's and the par 3's are wonderful.

In comparison to Fontainbleau, Morfontaine has managed the trees far better and is currently removing many from the line of play with Kyle Phillips assisting.

Mike_Clayton

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2009, 11:05:07 AM »
Andrew,

I only played one round here - and my impresision of the trees was the same as yours.
The 18th, for example, would be so much better with the right side of the hole opened up.
None the less it is great fun and with Morfontaine a world-class 36 hole day of golf - even with the drive between the two.
And, it is one of the great clubhouses.

Jeff_Mingay

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2009, 11:07:10 AM »
Thanks for posting these photos, Andrew.

As I suspected, Fontainebleau appears to be "right up my alley". High on my "to see" list.

Thanks again,
jeffmingay.com

Tom MacWood

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2009, 11:40:20 AM »
Andrew
Thanks for sharing the pictures, it looks like a very interesting course even with the tree problems. A cross between heathland and the courses up in Westchester with their exposed rock. This is an example of an early Tom Simpson design - 1912 I believe.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2009, 11:43:18 AM by Tom MacWood »

Cristian

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2009, 07:56:39 PM »
Christian

The London Heathland courses have done a better job of keeping the tree line out of play. I hope the photos show that the line of play has been encroached on a number of holes and the overall course is very tight because of the encroachment of trees.

However thsi did not diminish the quality of the course. It was a lot of fun to play and wpuld be enjoyed by players of all standards.
A with the heathland courses i played the short par 4's and the par 3's are wonderful.

In comparison to Fontainbleau, Morfontaine has managed the trees far better and is currently removing many from the line of play with Kyle Phillips assisting.

I indeed remember the trees encroaching on some of the holes, especially 18 where you really have to hit a fade if you want to hit 3wood or driver off the tee. At Morfontaine I remember the holes around the turn to be very narrow indeed, especially 9 I think. Is that the area receiving the most of tree-clearing work? Are they trimming or removing? I remember the old photo's in the Morfontaine clubhouse showing how much more open the course was 50-60 years ago, even though most holes are still playing the same way as back then.

Tony_Muldoon

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #7 on: August 31, 2009, 05:44:15 AM »
With access to the courses of GB&I not really an issue the trip to Paris remains intriguing.  Does it take a letter from your club secretary to play and will even that guarantee access?  It seems strangely American to be so selective.  ;)  The relative unfamiliarity of them and the wonderful high standard makes it a dream trip. Oh yes and Paris nearby...

Thanks for taking the time to share the pics.
Let's make GCA grate again!

Cristian

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #8 on: August 31, 2009, 06:05:52 AM »
With access to the courses of GB&I not really an issue the trip to Paris remains intriguing.  Does it take a letter from your club secretary to play and will even that guarantee access?  It seems strangely American to be so selective.  ;)  The relative unfamiliarity of them and the wonderful high standard makes it a dream trip. Oh yes and Paris nearby...

Thanks for taking the time to share the pics.


St Germain, Chantilly, Fontainebleau are open for greenfee play on weekdays with a phone call to the club; Morfontaine is a different matter. I gained access by writing a letter to the club director. I understand that St Cloud is also hard to get on without introduction.


Andrew Bertram

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #9 on: August 31, 2009, 07:56:40 AM »
Christian

I will post the photos for mofontaine shortly.
Moefontaine have combined excellent tree trimming as well as selected removal.

After experiencing Fontainebleau and Morfontaine i will make time in teh futuire to visit St Germain, Chantilly and others.
I am keen to take a group of Club Members to allow them to experience these gems.

Tony

As a Club Pro from Melbourne's Sandbelt i have not had an issue with access, however i did need some assistance with the Paris courses. I was looking at St Germain as a back up and they were wonderful. For Fontainebleau, MIke Clayton assisted with an intro as did Martin Hawtree. At Morfortaine i got an introi to the manager through a fellow GCAer from Melbourne. Chantilly, i also had a fellow pro arrange access but the timimng did not work with an event they were running.
I also played Royal Zoute and the secretary was extremely helpful.

I see no better place to take keen "mixed" groups of golfers, the joys of Paris with some wonderful golf.



Andrew

Adam_Messix

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #10 on: August 31, 2009, 09:18:46 AM »
I'm sure Steve Okula or someone with more knowledge can interject, but the issue at Fontainbleau is that it is located in a National Forest and they cannot remove any of the trees without government permission which is difficult to impossible. 

It's a shame that you didn't get to St. Germain, one of Colt's best efforts.

Andrew Bertram

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #11 on: August 31, 2009, 09:36:20 AM »
Adam

That is the impression i got from the limited discussion i could make with the clubs assistant manager, my limited french and huis limited english


Wayne_Kozun

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #12 on: August 31, 2009, 12:15:00 PM »
I attended a conference at INSEAD a few years ago which is in Fontainebleau but, unfortunately, I didn't have time to hit the golf course.  It looks like an excellent course which could be quite improved with a bit of a lumberjacking.

Steve Okula

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Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #13 on: August 31, 2009, 04:00:37 PM »
Fontainebleau is the poster child for courses in desperate need of chainsaw intervention. It should be the most outstanding golf course in France. I haven't been down there for a few years now, but one of their members told me last week that they had done a great deal of clearing. However, from the photos posted here, it hasn't changed a bit in the past four years.

I have heard that tree removal is an issue due to the bureaucracy involved with the national forestry office, which apparently has jurisdiction there, but I don't know that for sure.

St. Germain (Colt) is the most overlooked of the Parisian courses, and with Morfontaine and Fontainebleau, forms an outstanding threesome.

I find Chantilly (Simpson) to be less interesting. I though the holes were redundant, I remember lots and lots of cross bunkers, and the terrain flat, but I only played it once years ago, and it may have changed, or I may not have appreciated its subtlety.

St. Cloud, originally another Colt, is the closest to Paris. It's overgrown with trees, too, but at least some of them are magnificent hard wood specimens that add to the atmosphere. It is the only course that affordsl a view of the Eiffel tower on certain holes. They have begun cutting out some of the rubbish trees, and the maintenance is steadily improving. There are still recognizable pieces of Colt in there. It's worth a look, if you have a day to kill and can't get on to the big three Morfontaine, Fontenbleau., or St. Germain.
The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

Jason McNamara

Re: Golf de Fontainebleau - Photo Tour Holes 1 to 18 now included
« Reply #14 on: August 31, 2009, 04:43:19 PM »
Steve, thanks for the overview.  Are Le Golf National and St.-Nom-la-Breteche slightly farther behind in your estimation, or not even within shouting distance?