Where is the Olympic Golf being played in Paris 2024? Everything you need to know about host course, Le Golf National

Le Golf National is the host to Olympic Golf for Paris 2024

This August, Le Golf National will become the first course to have hosted both the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and whoever tames the Albatros course will be a worthy golf medallist.

Four decades ago it was pan-flat cornfields, but now Le Golf National’s Albatros is a course built for strokeplay and its nerve-shredding, lake-strewn final four holes reflect that. Dubbed ‘The Gauntlet’, it was created to test a golfer’s mettle at the best – or perhaps the worst – possible moment.

Yet in September 2018, the spectacular 466-yard par-4 18th saw action in just six of the 28 Ryder Cup matches, while just under a quarter of the matches didn’t even reach the final four. It is fortunate, then, that in the rumble over the format of golf in the Olympics since it was readmitted in 2016, strokeplay has won out.

Right from the first tee – an iron for position with water left – the golfer is forced to think and strategize. Some consider it a second-shot course, others a test based around the tee game; certainly, errant driving cost the Americans dear in 2018. But one thing is for sure: against the relative mindlessness of the bomb-and-gouge era, the Albatros is a welcome antidote.

With weather conditions playing a major role in course set-up, we cannot yet know exactly how the course will differ between the men’s and women’s. But if Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 (played in 2021) were anything to go by, the goal will be to keep the scoring challenge consistent.

In 2021, the East Course at Japan’s Kasumigaseki Country Club measured 7,447 yards for the men and 6,648 yards for the women, with rough cut an inch shorter. It worked, with Nelly Korda’s -17 just a shot worse than Xander Schauffle’s -18 winning score. In Rio, in 2016, Justin Rose and Inbee Park won gold with identical -16 scores.

With five sets of tees, stretching the course from 5,434 to 7,189 yards, the Albatros is not short on options. Whatever they decide to do with tee and pin positions, there is one thing we already know: despite its humble beginnings and early controversy, the Albatros has matured into a genuinely supreme test of golf, capable of challenging the skill and character of the world’s best males and females in equal measure.

Boasting narrow fairways, gnarly rough, tricky green complexes, water on 10 holes and one of the scariest closing stretches in the world, Le Golf National is about as difficult as it gets. The Albatros Course has a hefty slope rating of 155, the highest a course can be given.

The average winning score across the past 10 French Opens is 10.7 under par, making it one of the toughest courses on the DP World Tour (not including Majors). Scoring at last year’s French Open was actually better than normal, but don’t get carried away… the field still averaged 1.5 shots over par per 18 holes., while only four players managed four under-par rounds.

Le Golf National’s signature holes

15th | Par 4 | 405 yards (Men) / 377 yards (Women)
How it plays: ‘Le Juge’ may not be the longest, but precision is a must. A lake snakes around the fairway before wrapping itself around an island green. Opting for a long iron off the tee is the sensible play and will leave a mid-iron to a green measuring 39 yards front to back. As its name suggests, judgement will be swift.

16th | Par 3 | 168 yards (Men) / 150 yards (Women)
Modified for the Ryder Cup, ‘L’Appel’ is the shortest par 3 on the course and plays downhill to a green framed by bunkers, mounds and water. The biggest danger lurks to the right, where the undulations drag balls towards the lake. Miss the green and it will take a minor miracle to keep a bogey or worse off your card.

17th | Par 4 | 480 yards (Men) / 393 yards (Women)
Twinned with the 18th, which plays in the opposite direction, ‘Le Verdict’ appears fairly innocuous at first, with no bunkers or water in sight. The tee shot, though straightforward, plays uphill to a fairway filled with humps and bumps. The undulations are just as pronounced on the green, which cambers dramatically from right to left.

18th | Par 4 (Men) / Par 5 (Women) | 471 yards (Men) / 447 yards (Women)
Not for those of a nervous disposition. ‘La Foule’ was ranked as the hardest at the 2017 French Open and is as dramatic as it is devilish. The design takes inspiration from the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, with the green floating on its own island. Getting the tee shot away is no easy feat, with water on the left and four pot bunkers on the right. Good luck – you will need it!

Play the Olympic golf course for under £250

Who wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of 120 Olympians and 24 Ryder Cup stars? From as little as €235 per person, you can pit your wits against the Albatros Course and enjoy a one-night B&B stay at the four-star Novotel Saint Quentin en Yvelines. The price is based on two sharing a double room and includes complimentary range balls and a push trolley. It’s available from Fridays to Sundays in August, September or October – except during the weeks of the Olympic Games, unsurprisingly.
For more information, visit golf-national.com/special-offers

About the author

Michael Catling – Features Editor

Michael Catling is Today’s Golfer‘s Features Editor and an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.

Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with dozens of Major champions, including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Greg Norman, Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas.

Get in touch with Michael via email and follow him on Twitter.