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Golf guide • France • Hauts-de-France (Somme)

Golf in the Bay of Somme: Marquenterre dunes and the swans of the Authie

The Bay of Somme, on the Picardy coast, brings together two 18-hole courses within half an hour of Le Crotoy: Belle Dune, laid out by Jean-Manuel Rossi in the Marquenterre dunes at Fort-Mahon-Plage, and Les Cygnes at Nampont-Saint-Martin, set around a 15th-century fortified manor on the banks of the Authie. The links of La Mer at Le Touquet, three quarters of an hour away, completes the trip. Golfers come from May to September for the golf, the seals and restaurants built on the bay's produce.

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The Bay of Somme is the largest bay on the Picardy coast: at low tide the sea retreats for kilometres, leaving sandbanks, channels and salt meadows where sheep graze. Le Crotoy to the north and Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to the south face each other across the estuary, and the light changes by the hour. It is a destination for a long weekend rather than an extended stay, two and a half hours from Paris and just over an hour from the Channel Tunnel.

The golf is played north of the bay, in the Marquenterre. Belle Dune, at Fort-Mahon-Plage, is one of the few courses in France laid out in genuine dunes, among marram grass and maritime pines. A few kilometres away, at Nampont-Saint-Martin, Les Cygnes unrolls its fairways along the Authie, around a 15th-century fortified manor. Two courses that could hardly be more different, twenty minutes apart.

For a third day of golf, Le Touquet is only half an hour from Fort-Mahon, and its La Mer course, designed by Harry Colt, is a benchmark for links golf in France. The rest of the time belongs to the bay: the seals at the Pointe du Hourdel, the birds of the Parc du Marquenterre, the little steam train between Le Crotoy and Saint-Valery and, in the evening, a plate of samphire and salt-meadow lamb.

The courses

Tee beside a river lined with reeds and weeping willows, two white swans on the water

Golf de Belle Dune

  • Architect: Jean-Manuel Rossi
  • Opened 1992
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Designed by Jean-Manuel Rossi and opened in 1992, Belle Dune covers some thirty hectares in the heart of the Marquenterre dune system at Fort-Mahon-Plage. This par 72, 6,081 metres from the white tees with a slope rating of 139, starts and finishes among maritime pines, where precision comes first, then climbs into the dunes from the 5th: rolling fairways, marram grass, sea buckthorn and sea wind. The greens are quick and a lost ball is never far away. It is the course people come to the Bay of Somme for, best suited to players with a handicap.

Signature hole. The 15th, a par 5 of 605 metres from the white tees, is so long that the club counts it as a par 6 in friendly games.

Official website

Golf de Nampont-Saint-Martin, parcours Les Cygnes

  • Opened 1994
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

At Nampont-Saint-Martin, the estate of a 15th-century fortified manor, where François I was received in 1517, is home to two 18-hole courses. Les Cygnes, the more highly rated, opened with nine holes in 1994 before being extended to 18 in 2002: a 5,850-metre par 72 in the Authie valley, where water comes into play on the great majority of holes. The fairways are wide and the greens generous, and swans, herons and ducks keep you company on the round. Le Belvédère, shorter, is played through woodland on the plateau.

Official website

Le Touquet Golf Resort, parcours La Mer

  • Architect: Harry Colt
  • Opened 1931
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

Half an hour north of Fort-Mahon and about three quarters of an hour from Le Crotoy, the La Mer course was designed by Harry Colt and opened in 1931. It is one of the few true links in France: 6,368 metres, par 71, in the dunes beside the Channel, with subtle, wind-exposed holes. It has hosted several French Opens. A handicap is required, and the resort's Manoir Hôtel, a stone's throw away, makes for an easy overnight stop.

Signature hole. The 16th, a par 3 set among the dunes, is the hole the club itself singles out.

Official website

Where to stay

Hôtel & Restaurant du Cap Hornu

Just outside Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, facing the bay, the Cap Hornu is a three-star hotel with 90 rooms set in a natural estate, with a pool, a bar and a bistronomic restaurant. It is run by the same public body as Belle Dune, and a booking at the golf course entitles you to a discount on the room. A practical base for a group, half an hour from the course.

La Grenouillère

At La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, on the banks of the Canche, twenty minutes from Nampont, La Grenouillère is the home of Alexandre Gauthier, a member of Relais & Châteaux with two Michelin stars. The rooms and the wooden huts set in the garden open onto nature, with bathtubs facing the forest. A stop for a final evening.

Red-brick seaside villa with white wooden balconies, hydrangeas in the garden, facing an estuary at low tide

Where to dine

Schorre

On Quai Lejoille in Saint-Valery, Schorre occupies the top floor of a restored 18th-century salt warehouse, with a view over the bay. Chef François-Xavier Sailly offers creative, generous cooking that changes often, which the Michelin Guide singles out as a favourite. Book a table by the windows for the sunset.

La Clé des Champs

At Favières, between Le Crotoy and Rue, this restaurant run by a professional couple holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Modern, carefully executed cooking that showcases Picardy produce, ten minutes from the Marquenterre courses. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Auberge de la Marine

In Le Crotoy, a short walk from the bay front, the Auberge de la Marine serves well-crafted regional cooking praised by the Michelin Guide: sea bass tartare with celeriac, wild boar carbonade with abbey beer. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Beyond golf

Seals and birds of the bay

The bay is home to the largest colony of harbour seals in France, which can be watched on the sandbanks from the Pointe du Hourdel, at low tide and from a respectful distance. To the north, the Parc du Marquenterre at Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont is a major stopover for migrating birds: spoonbills, egrets and storks can be watched from its hides.

Saint-Valery and the little train

Saint-Valery-sur-Somme keeps its fortified upper town and the memory of William the Conqueror, whose fleet set sail from here in 1066. The Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme links Le Crotoy, Noyelles, Saint-Valery and Cayeux by steam train, on a line that runs alongside the salt meadows: the prettiest way to cross the bay.

Amiens, the cathedral and the hortillonnages

About an hour's drive away, Amiens deserves a day. Its Notre-Dame cathedral, the largest in France, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1981. Below it, the hortillonnages form a maze of floating gardens explored by traditional flat-bottomed boat. The house of Jules Verne, who lived in Amiens, is also open to visitors.

Salt meadows and channels at low tide with sheep, a village and church spire on a distant hill

When to go

From May to September the days are long, at around 18 to 23°C, and the courses are in their best condition; July and August draw crowds to the coast. April and October are playable, cooler and windier, and autumn brings the finest light over the bay and the passage of migrating birds. Winter is damp and windy.

Getting there

From Paris, allow two and a half hours by car on the A16. Trains link the Gare du Nord with Abbeville or Noyelles-sur-Mer in about two hours, but a car remains essential between the courses. Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is about two and a half hours' drive away; from the United Kingdom, the Channel Tunnel at Calais is just over an hour from Fort-Mahon.

Frequently asked questions

What golf courses are there in the Bay of Somme?

Belle Dune at Fort-Mahon-Plage and the golf club at Nampont-Saint-Martin, with its two courses, Les Cygnes and Le Belvédère, all within half an hour of Le Crotoy. Le Touquet, about three quarters of an hour away, completes the trip.

What is the best golf course in the Bay of Somme?

Belle Dune, designed by Jean-Manuel Rossi in 1992 in the Marquenterre dunes. It is one of the few dune courses in France and regularly appears in rankings of the country's best courses.

When is the best time to play golf in the Bay of Somme?

From May to September, for the mild weather and long days. April and October remain pleasant but windier.

How many days do you need for a golf trip to the Bay of Somme?

Three to five nights: Belle Dune, Les Cygnes and Le Touquet, a seal-watching outing at the Pointe du Hourdel and a day in Saint-Valery or Amiens.

How do you get to the Bay of Somme for a golf trip?

By car, two and a half hours from Paris on the A16, or by train to Abbeville or Noyelles-sur-Mer, then a hire car. From the United Kingdom, Calais is just over an hour away.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Bay of Somme

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