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Golf guide • France • Normandy

Golf in Granville: Harry Colt's links facing the Chausey Islands

Granville, on the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula, is home to the Golf de Granville, one of the few true links in France: Le Links, an 18-hole par 72 designed by Harry Colt in the dunes of Bréville-sur-Mer, complemented by the nine-hole Les Dunes. With the Coutainville course half an hour to the north, it makes for a short seaside golf trip, between seafood, a fortified upper town and the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. The season runs from April to October.

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Granville sits on a granite spur at the northern entrance to the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. The upper town, enclosed by ramparts since the Englishman Thomas de Scales fortified it in 1439, overlooks a fishing port that is still active and beaches that the tide uncovers for hundreds of metres: the bay's tidal range is among the greatest in Europe. Offshore, an hour away by boat, the Chausey archipelago appears and disappears with the tides.

The golf course is five kilometres to the north, at Bréville-sur-Mer. Founded in 1912 by a group of local enthusiasts, it owes its design to Harry Colt, the architect of Wentworth and Royal Portrush, who reworked it after the First World War. Sandy soil, fescue, low dunes and sea wind: it is one of the very few authentic links in France, and since 2006 the club has set about recovering its original character.

The town is also that of Christian Dior, born here in 1905; his childhood home, the Villa Les Rhumbs, has become a museum, and the club has played a Dior Cup every year since 1973. Two or three nights are enough: two rounds on Le Links, a detour to Coutainville, low tide on Chausey and a seafood platter by the harbour.

The courses

Links fairway winding between dunes of russet fescue towards a green, bunkers and sea under a stormy sky

Golf de Granville, Le Links

  • Architect: Harry Colt
  • Opened 1912
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Le Links is played over dune land beside the Channel: rumpled fairways where the ball takes unpredictable bounces, fescue rough, deep bunkers and quick greens, especially demanding when the wind blows. A par 72 of 6,132 metres from the back tees, it keeps the spirit of Harry Colt, patiently restored by Martin Hawtree and then Stuart Hallett: fairways and greens reseeded with fescue, conifers felled, forward tees added. From the high ground, the view takes in Granville and its rock, the Chausey Islands and, on a clear day, the Channel Islands. Ranked among the best courses in France.

Signature hole. The 13th, a long par 4 of more than 440 metres from the back tees, is the hardest hole on the card (stroke index 1): for a high-handicapper, it is best played as a par 5.

Official website

Golf de Granville, Les Dunes

  • Architect: Martin Hawtree
  • Opened 1986
  • 9 holes
  • Par 33

Created in 1986 and designed by Martin Hawtree, Les Dunes is a nine-hole par 33 of 2,216 metres, made up of six par 4s and three par 3s, on the same sandy ground as Le Links. Shorter but just as true to the seaside spirit, it suits a warm-up on arrival day, a quick round late in the afternoon or players discovering links golf. Its greens, known to be tricky, give a good idea of what awaits on the main course.

Official website

Golf de Coutainville

  • Opened 1925
  • 18 holes
  • Par 68

Half an hour to the north, in the seaside resort of Agon-Coutainville, this course opened in 1925 is an 18-hole par 68 of 4,924 metres. It blends two landscapes: a links-style section a few steps from the sea, and a section in the bocage, among meadows and hedgerows. Short but technical, it calls for precision rather than power and pairs perfectly with lunch at Le Mascaret, in neighbouring Blainville-sur-Mer.

Official website

Where to stay

Hôtel de la Baie - Thalasso Prévithal

At Donville-les-Bains, between Granville and the golf course, this four-star hotel with 76 rooms adjoins the Prévithal thalassotherapy centre, in business since 1988. Ask for a seafront room with a terrace: it looks straight out to Chausey and the sun setting over the Channel. A seawater pool, hammam and sauna to recover after eighteen holes in the wind, and Le Links five minutes' drive away.

Hôtel du Fort et des Îles

On the Grande Île of Chausey, an hour by boat from Granville, the hotel grew in 1884 out of a quarryman-fisherman's drinks shack; its flat roof, required by the army to keep the fort's line of fire clear, is still waiting for its first cannon shot. The descendants of Captain Lucien Ernouf, who bought it in 1928, run its eight cabin-style rooms on a half-board basis. Ask for one of the four sea-view rooms, and the blue lobster, weighed live. Open only from mid-April to mid-September: a night on the archipelago between two rounds.

Where to dine

Le Mascaret

One Michelin star for Philippe Hardy, who once cooked at the French ambassador's residence in Sofia, and his wife Nadia, in a former girls' boarding school in Blainville-sur-Mer, with a garden and a kitchen garden grown from heirloom seeds. Wild fish and shellfish; ask for the tea and wine pairing, or the gong fu cha tea ceremony. Five minutes from Coutainville, it is the ideal lunch after your round, except on Mondays and Wednesdays.

La Citadelle

At 34 rue du Port, facing the fishing harbour, La Citadelle has served the region's fish and shellfish since 1987. Anne Doraphé runs the dining rooms, Cyrille the kitchen, and the fish comes from a Granville fish merchant. Three rooms and a terrace. Order the grilled Chausey lobster or the seafood choucroute, the dish regulars keep praising in their reviews. The Links is ten minutes away.

Sème

Holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand, this small bistro on the market square of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer, five minutes south of Granville, is run by a chef from the north of the Cotentin. The menu changes every week with the neighbouring growers and farmers, whom the house happily names. Butter and cream reign here: the kitchen cannot cater for vegan or dairy-free diets. Open Wednesday to Saturday: book ahead.

Platter of oysters, whelks and langoustines on ice, a glass of white wine, a fishing harbour beyond the window

Beyond golf

The upper town and the Christian Dior museum

Enter the upper town through the Grand'Porte and walk the ramparts: the view sweeps over the harbour, the bay and Chausey. To the north, the Villa Les Rhumbs, Christian Dior's childhood home, hosts an exhibition of dresses and archives each year from April to early November; its clifftop garden is open all year.

The Chausey Islands

Jolie France boats link Granville's ferry terminal with the Grande Île in about an hour, with timetables that depend on the tides. On the island: paths around the shore, white-sand coves, granite fishermen's cottages and, at low tide, a landscape of rocks and sandbanks stretching as far as the eye can see.

Mont-Saint-Michel

About fifty minutes' drive to the south, Mont-Saint-Michel is best visited early in the morning or late in the day, once the coaches have left. From the Bec d'Andaine at Genêts, you can also cross the bay on foot with an approved guide, the most memorable experience in the region.

Granite old town and church tower on a fortified headland, fishing boats grounded at low tide

When to go

The best season runs from April to October. The climate is oceanic: mild summers, rarely above 25°C, and an almost constant wind, which is what makes the links so interesting. May, June and September offer long days and quieter courses than July and August, when the resort fills up. The sandy soil drains well and Le Links is playable all year, but winter is windy and damp.

Getting there

The direct train from Paris-Montparnasse reaches Granville in just over three hours. By car, allow about four hours from Paris on the A13 and then the A84. The most convenient airport is Rennes, about an hour and a quarter away on the A84; Caen is an hour and a half away. The golf course is ten minutes from the centre.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Granville?

Le Links at the Golf de Granville, Bréville-sur-Mer: an 18-hole par 72 designed by Harry Colt in the dunes, regarded as one of the few authentic links in France.

Are there any true links courses in France?

Yes, the Golf de Granville is the most often cited example: founded in 1912 and designed by Harry Colt, it is played on sandy dune soil, with fescue, facing the sea.

How many golf courses are there around Granville?

The Golf de Granville has 27 holes (Le Links and Les Dunes). The Golf de Coutainville, an 18-hole par 68, is half an hour to the north.

When is the best time to play golf in Granville?

From April to October, with May, June and September the best months. Le Links remains playable all year thanks to its sandy soil, but winter is windy.

How do you get to Granville for a golf trip?

By direct train from Paris-Montparnasse in just over three hours, or by air to Rennes, about an hour and a quarter's drive away.

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