Le Touquet

The north-western coastline of France boasts a wealth of scenic and enjoyable golf

- Rob Smith

Le Touquet is a famous holiday town that was already attracting visitors from London and Paris by the late 19th century. Golf was growing in popularity and it was decided to create the first course here, La Foret. Horace Hutchinson was a very successful golfer who won the Amateur Championship twice and had three top-ten finishes in The Open, but he never turned professional. He designed the course in 1904, with the nine-holer Le Manoir added soon after. Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, was a frequent player.

As demand grew, Harry Colt was engaged to design La Mer. This runs over land closer to the shore and it opened for play in 1931. The course is surprisingly different from La Foret, with trees rarely coming into play but instead serving as a backdrop or to separate the holes. The landscape is rumpled and so easy-walking, but with sufficient changes in elevation to test club selection and create even better views.