Moliets Golf Club

Challenging little gem near Bayonne which has a more tree-lined front nine and then heads out to the coast, and the dunes, for the closing stretch. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr. When taken together with Hossegor and fast-rising Seignosse, provides a first-class weekend break in France’s extreme south west. A front nine carved through mature woodland gives way to holes set in duneland after the turn.

Respected US magazine Golf Digest named Moliets as one of the best 100 courses outside the States in 2009/10. That’s quite a claim, and as you play the front nine you do slightly wonder where the pyrotechnics are. It is very enjoyable, but feels a little out of place in such illustrious company.

These woodland holes – set within a sprawling holiday park – weave between tall pines and over distinctive mounds, circumnavigating ‘proper’ bunkers along the way. There are some really good holes early on, not least the 2nd which begins with a blind drive and ends on a narrow green with a steep drop off to the left.

The 4th is another stellar two-shotter, played along an undulating fairway between avenues of pines. A blind, short four ends the opening half before you make your way along a rabbit warren of paths between holiday homes to get to the 10th, avoiding the children, the cyclists and the surfers as you travel. 

On the back nine, the green of the uphill 11th is set between two bunkers, giving the impression it is smiling back at you. The next is another strong downhill par 3 enclosed by trees. Then you emerge onto a scene very rare in Continental Europe – genuine linksland. And it is spectacular stuff, a huge bank of pure white sand stretching up the left edged by a carpet of rolling, vibrant-green fairway, the distinct colours providing a jagged contrast.

The funky, North Berwick-style green concludes one of the finest holes in France. Close to ‘Perfection’. The next two run in opposite directions to each other, both being whipped by the wind in equal measure. The latter is the pick, sitting tight to the beach à la 13. The sound of Atlantic waves crashing in the background makes this run of holes one of the most thrilling and scenic on the Continent.

It is a Valderrama tone for the last three, when conversation in every visiting group must surely centre around the memorable beach-side holes at Moliets that make Golf Digest’s mark of approval understandable.

Click here to find out where Moliets Golf Club ranks in Golf World's Top 100 Courses Europe

Situated in acres of French woodland, Moliets Golf Club offers an 18 hole course designed in 1989 by Robert Trent Jones. With views over the Bay of Biscay, this scenic course, surrounded by pine, is built on sandy, fast-draining soil, meaning it is playable throughout the year.

• Course does not have: Bar
• Course does not have: Buggy Hire
• Course does not have: Driving Range
• Course does not have: Practice Green
• Course does not have: Pro Shop
• Course does not have: Restaurant
• Course does not have: Trolley Hire
• Course does not have: Dress Code
• Course does not have: Club Hire
• Course does not have: Handicap