Golf De La Bretesche - France

Golf de la Bretesche is located in the little village of Missilac, on the road from Vannes to Nantes in western France. The course cuts through the woodlands and encircles the 14th-century La Bretesche castle. The castle with its crenellated ramparts sits on an island in a lake, its entrance guarded by a drawbridge over the moat. The golf course was developed by Gerard Metairie, one of the tenants living in the castle, which had been turned into flats. He consulted three-time British Open winner Henry Cotton about designing the course, but Cotton's fee estimate proved too expensive. Instead, another Englishman, Bill Baker, was chosen to design the course, which opened in 1969. The stone outbuildings and stables of the castle have been converted into a hotel.

Golf De Chantilly - France

There are a passel of superb parkland courses in the environs of Paris, the first of which was La Boulie, opened in 1901, followed by Fontainebleau in 1908, and Chantilly a year later. These clubs, which also include Morfontaine and St. Germain, are frequently compared to the splendid and better-known courses around London, because they share similar terrain and several were also designed by the leading old-school English architects. In the early 1920s, the English architect Tom Simpson was engaged to redesign the existing holes at Chantilly to create the championship course known as Le Vineuil. The course is set in the great forest of the Ile de France, 25 miles north of Paris, and there is a serene spaciousness to many of the holes despite the dense woodlands. Near the course are the famous stables that make this the French thoroughbred country. Chantilly opened on September 28, 1909, with an exhibition match between French champions Arnaud Massy and Jean Gassiat, and five years later it hosted what was to be the first of many French Opens. Over the years, Henry Cotton, Roberto de Vicenzo, Peter Oosterhuis, and Nick Faldo all have won the French Open at Chantilly.