Golf Club De Chamonix - France
Golf Club
de Chamonix in the Rhone Alpes region of France
offers breathtaking vistas of the Mont Blanc
range and the massif of the Aguilles Rouges.
Robert Trent Jones designed the course along the
fairly flat valley at the base of the Alps,
which is used for cross-country skiing in the
winter months, while rock-bound streams wind
through the fairways. Golf at Chamonix dates
back to 1935, when the original nine-hole course
was completed for the benefit of the
English guests at the hotel. Work
began on the expanded and redesigned 18-hole
layout by Jones in 1977, and the course opened
in 1982. Other Alpine courses in the region
include Aix les Bains, Les. Gets, Megeve, and
Annecy.
Golf De Fregate - France
The Fregate
course, which is part of the Dolce Fregate resort,
is located in the foothills of Provence on the
western edge of the Riviera, near the villages of
Saint Cyr sur Mer and Castellet on the road to
Bandol. Designed by American Ronald Fream and opened
in 1992, the course is laid out along the ridges of
a fan of land that runs through the Bandol vineyards
and olive groves on the hills overlooking the
Mediterranean. The par-three third is enclosed by
the walls of an old quarry with marmalade-colored
sandstone, rising to 50 feet high. The 10th hole at
the far end of the course offers the best view over
the sea and along the coastline with the westerly
wind playing a major factor. The final hole climbs
along a waterfall with five ponds. Much of the rock
excavated during construction was used in building
various hotel, clubhouse, and villa foundations,
walls, and garden terraces. Over 100,000 cubic yards
of topsoil was purchased from inland farmers to
cover the exposed rock and allow grass to grow on
the fairways. The stone clubhouse is adjacent to an
attractive Mediterranean-style four-star hotel with
a terra-cotta roof.
Golf Club De Chamonix and Golf
De Fregate, France
