I don’t remember ever seeing anything much on Golf du Médoc on this site, and it deserves some recognition. It is a must play for anyone in the area.
Golf du Médoc is a 36 hole club located about 45 minutes northwest of the French wine capitol of Bordeaux. The sandy site is fairly flat and open, and lends itself to heathland style golf, with ample heather, gorse, and, unfortunately, rabbits.
The two courses are contiguous, surrounded by natural landscape unperturbed by any intrusive development. There is a small resort hotel attached to the clubhouse and restaurant, and the pro-shop sells vintage bottles of wine.
The first 18 holes, Les Châteaux, was designed by Bill Coore and opened in 1989. Some sources credit Ben Crenshaw in the design as well, but the most reliable sources and people there during the construction assure me it was all Coore, who returned for some minor modifications in 2008. These included some extended back tees and a few added fairway bunkers.
The second 18, Les Vignes, was designed by Rod Whitman, and opened in 1991. He continued the same style as Coore, but it’s Les Châteaux course that is more highly regarded and receives the most attention.
According to the scorecard, the par 71 Les Châteaux plays 7230 yards from the tips. The standard scratch score is 74.1 and the slope rating is 133. Coore apparently had an affinity for long par 4’s, as all of them are 400 yards or more and six of them are over 450 yds. One of the few criticisms of he course is that it lacks a short and sporty par 4, but I suppose this could be accomplished by simply moving the tees up on one of the longer ones.
Not that I’ve seen all the fairways in the world, but these are the widest I have ever encountered anywhere. The greens are also generous in size with loads of interesting contours. This combines to create an impression of a large scale, and it would seem to suit long hitters who wouldn’t need to be overly concerned with direction, as long as they avoid the fairway bunkers.
The bunkers were created and are maintained in a rugged, natural, “blow-out” state, which Coore did here in the late ‘80’s before it became stylish, and maybe before anyone else in the modern era was doing it. The club has so far resisted calls from certain clientele to provide a more manicured look, a decision made easier by Coore’s opposition to any alterations and the lesser cost of maintaining the bunkers as they are.
The overall condition of the course was excellent, especially by European standards, even if recent rains made it a bit soft, and forgiving the numerous rabbit burrows.
I was there on October 29th, 2013. I only noticed the next day as I was uploading the photos that my lens was dirty throughout the day, so I beg forgiveness for the most annoying smudge in the upper right hand side of the images. Lesson learned; ABC - always be cleaning the lens.
Fairway bunkers protecting the right side of the first hole dogleg. The mock wine bottle is a 150 yd marker, the only tacky things I saw on the property.
The par 5 #2 green as seen from about the second landing area.
The third green, 400 yards dogleg left.
The fifth, 170 yds. This time with a forced carry.
The 450 yd. sixth as seen from the landing area.
View from the tee of the 400 yd 7th, one of the shorter par 4’s.
The 165 yd 8th. A little redundant, perhaps, with the par 3 fifth, the same distance and a carry over water.
The 480 yd par 4 9th, from the tee. The clubhouse and hotel in the background.
More to come.