Golf Trip Planner logo
Golf Trip PlannerPrivate Concierge
Golf guide • France • Occitanie (Hérault)

Golf in Montpellier: garrigue by day, the old town and the sea by night

Montpellier offers three 18-hole courses within thirty minutes of the centre: Fontcaude, laid out in the garrigue at Juvignac; Massane at Baillargues, designed by Ronald Fream; and Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Les Flamants Roses at La Grande-Motte, on the Mediterranean shore. Golfers come for golf in the morning and the old town in the evening, ideally from March to June and from September to November.

Plan this tripUpdated

Montpellier does not have the golfing reputation of the Riviera, and that is an advantage: courses that are easy to book, a lively university city and the sea twenty minutes away. You stay in the Écusson, the pedestrianised historic centre, or among the pines of a resort, and head out in three directions. To the west, Fontcaude climbs into the garrigue at Juvignac; to the east, Massane stretches along the Cadoule; to the south-east, La Grande-Motte plays at the level of the lagoons.

The three courses have quite distinct characters. Fontcaude is hilly and technical, with blind tee shots and raised greens. Massane, flatter, is a championship course where water often comes into play. Les Flamants Roses, finally, is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design with many lakes and white sand bunkers, where the sea breeze matters as much as the club you choose. In the morning, the scent of thyme and sun-warmed pine rises from the rough.

Three to five nights are enough: a course each morning, a shellfish lunch in the shade, then the city on foot once the heat eases. Between the Place de la Comédie, the Promenade du Peyrou and the Musée Fabre, the centre is easily explored without a car, and the Pourcel brothers' Jardin des Sens lets you end the trip with a proper dinner. The oysters of the Étang de Thau and the wines of the Pic Saint-Loup are only half an hour away.

The courses

White sand bunker beside a reed-fringed pond, a row of umbrella pines and a lagoon on the horizon

Golf Resort Montpellier Fontcaude

  • Architect: Chris Pittman
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

At Juvignac, a quarter of an hour west of the centre, the New Zealander Chris Pittman designed a par 72 of 6,104 metres in 1991 on an 80-hectare estate of garrigue. The first seven holes are the most demanding stretch: pronounced slopes, blind tee shots and raised, well-defended greens. From the 8th to the 13th the game opens up, before a technical finish with sharp doglegs. The fast greens, known for their quality, call for precise putting. A nine-hole compact course and an on-site hotel complete the estate. A course for regular golfers who like to think before reaching for the driver.

Official website

Golf de Massane (Horizon Resort)

  • Architect: Ronald Fream
  • Opened 1988
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

At Baillargues, twenty minutes east of the city and a quarter of an hour from the airport, Massane was designed by the American Ronald Fream and opened in 1988 on a 70-hectare estate. This par 72 of just over 6,100 metres is the most "championship" of the three: flat terrain, tree-lined fairways, water hazards and the little River Cadoule running through the course. The whole estate now goes by the name Horizon Resort, with a hotel and spa, a nine-hole compact course and a two-tier driving range equipped with TrackMan, handy for a serious warm-up before your round.

Signature hole. The Cadoule comes into play on the 8th, 9th and 18th: on the final hole, the stream forces you to pick your approach shot carefully rather than force it.

Official website

Golf de La Grande-Motte, parcours Les Flamants Roses

  • Architect: Robert Trent Jones Sr.
  • Opened 1987
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

At La Grande-Motte, half an hour south-east of Montpellier, Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed a 42-hole complex across 90 hectares, a few hundred metres from the beach. Les Flamants Roses is its main course, a par 72 of 6,045 metres opened in 1987: gentle contours, numerous lakes, large white sand bunkers and fast greens, with umbrella pines and the sea breeze for company. It hosted the AGF Open on the European Tour in 1989 and 1990. A handicap of 35 is required; the Goélands course welcomes other players.

Signature hole. The 5th, a par 3 whose green is surrounded by water on three sides, sums up the course: a precise shot, and a wind to read before choosing your iron.

Official website

Where to stay

Hôtel Richer de Belleval

On Place de la Canourgue, in the heart of the Écusson, this 17th-century townhouse belonged to Pierre Richer de Belleval, physician to Henri IV and founder of the Jardin des Plantes, before serving as the town hall from 1816 to 1975. A Relais & Châteaux hotel of twenty rooms and suites since 2021. Have a drink at the L'Élytre bar, under a vault lined with beetle wings, then dine at the bistro, on the terrace beneath the square's hackberry trees. Fontcaude is a quarter of an hour away.

Mas de Lafeuillade

At the end of a listed park laid out as an Italian garden, a stone's throw from Antigone, the former home of the Grasset family is surrounded by box-lined paths, fountains, busts and contemporary sculpture. Just five rooms, spacious, furnished with 1920s pieces and hung with street art. The private car park saves crossing the centre with golf bags; reception is not staffed round the clock, so give your arrival time. The bistro, open Tuesday to Saturday, has a table d'hôtes facing the kitchen.

Horizon Resort Massane

Beside the fairways of Massane at Baillargues, this four-star resort brings together 84 rooms, a residence of apartments, the Zephyr spa and the Azalée restaurant. For a view of the course, ask for a suite: its terrace overlooks the green. After the round, lunch is at Le Birdie clubhouse. The most practical base for a golf-focused stay: walk to the first tee, the airport a quarter of an hour away, the Écusson twenty minutes.

Courtyard of a pale-stone townhouse, balustraded staircase and potted lemon trees in the evening sun

Where to dine

Jardin des Sens

The twins Jacques and Laurent Pourcel, who took the Jardin des Sens to three stars in the late 1990s, have reinstalled it in the three vaulted rooms of the Hôtel Richer de Belleval, beneath the plasterwork and paintings of Jean de Roy. One Michelin star, Languedoc cooking poised between sea and garrigue. Dinner is served Tuesday to Saturday; gentlemen are asked to wear long trousers and closed shoes.

Le Grand Bleu

The Bénezech family have farmed oysters at Bouzigues since 1925, and their restaurant looks out over the Étang de Thau towards Sète. Start with the house oysters and a glass of Picpoul de Pinet, then the grilled octopus or the line-caught hake Spanish-style; the bouillabaisse must be ordered in advance. Closed Monday and Tuesday. The obvious lunch after a round at Fontcaude, half an hour's drive away.

Beyond golf

The Écusson and the Musée Fabre

The historic centre is best explored on foot, from the Place de la Comédie and its opera house to the Promenade du Peyrou, where the water tower and the Saint-Clément aqueduct overlook the city. At the end of the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle, the Musée Fabre brings together Flemish masters, Courbet and a large gallery devoted to Pierre Soulages. The Jardin des Plantes, founded in 1593, is the oldest in France.

The oysters of the Étang de Thau

Half an hour to the west, the oyster beds of Bouzigues and Mèze line up their tables on the Étang de Thau. Lunch at an oyster and mussel farm with a glass of picpoul-de-pinet, the dry white from the neighbouring slopes, then head on to Sète for its canals, its fishing port and the seaside cemetery where Paul Valéry lies.

Pic Saint-Loup and Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert

To the north, the silhouette of the Pic Saint-Loup watches over a vineyard known for its reds, which can be explored estate by estate. Further west, three-quarters of an hour away, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert keeps its Gellone Abbey deep in the gorges of the Hérault; the abbey and the nearby Pont du Diable are UNESCO World Heritage sites as part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela.

Pedestrian street lined with golden stone façades, wrought-iron balconies, wooden shutters and a café terrace

When to go

Spring is the best season: from April to June, temperatures range between 18 and 28 °C, the garrigue is in flower and the greens are at their best. September and October extend the summer without the heat, despite a few heavy autumn downpours, the épisodes cévenols. Summer often exceeds 30 °C: play at dawn. Winter is mild and sunny, with days around 13 °C, but the tramontane or the mistral can blow hard.

Getting there

Montpellier-Méditerranée airport (MPL) is about twenty minutes from the centre and a quarter of an hour from Massane. By rail, Saint-Roch station is linked to Paris by TGV in a little over three hours, and the Écusson is within walking distance. A car remains essential for the courses; Nîmes airport is an alternative depending on flights.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course near Montpellier?

Massane, designed by Ronald Fream and opened in 1988 at Baillargues, is the most complete. Fontcaude, more technical, and Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Les Flamants Roses at La Grande-Motte complete the trio.

How many golf courses are there around Montpellier?

Three 18-hole courses open to visitors lie within thirty minutes of the centre: Fontcaude at Juvignac, Massane at Baillargues and La Grande-Motte, which has 42 holes in total.

When is the best time to play golf in Montpellier?

From March to June and from September to November. Summer is hot and best played early in the morning; winter stays mild but can be windy.

Where to stay for a golf trip to Montpellier?

In the Écusson to enjoy the city in the evening, for example at the Hôtel Richer de Belleval, or at Horizon Resort Massane to play straight from your room, twenty minutes from the centre.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Montpellier?

Montpellier-Méditerranée airport (MPL), twenty minutes from the centre and a quarter of an hour from Massane. Saint-Roch station, linked to Paris by TGV, is a good alternative.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Montpellier

Tee times, suites, transfers and tables: your concierge replies within 24 hours with a proposal shaped around you.

Hillside green above a turquoise lake beneath limestone cliffs, a village and chalets on the shore, late-afternoon light
Haute-Savoie

Annecy

3 courses
Rolling fairway lined with oaks, fields of sunflowers and wheat on the hills, snow-capped peaks on the horizon at dusk
Gers, Occitanie

Auch

3 courses
Flat fairway lined with rows of cypresses, a reed-fringed pond in the foreground and a limestone mountain on the horizon
Provence (Vaucluse)

Avignon

3 courses
Explore: France →