Frankrike, Paris, Dolce Chantilly - Golfweekend

In Paris’ 20 different boroughs, there is most of the best, but for you who want to enjoy golf beyond the fruits of life, it can be time to broaden your horizons and search a bit outside of Napoleon's old city limits.

With 9,558 holes scattered over 550 clubs, France is a veritable tasting menu for golf gourmets.

We then increase the information that there are only around 380,000 moderately intense golfers in the entire country, you imagine a picture of a loaded - and available - dinner table even clearer.

Where else will you find the same combination of a large number of high-quality golf courses, charming accommodation and life-affirming culture? I really do not know. Then as Bond said, the taste might be different but still just as good. Sure, but once you have acquired a taste for golf and after golf in France, you will probably agree that there it is something very special.

A magnificent hotel, fresh rooms and a true "driving lake"- what more can you ask for? The course is no masterpiece, but quite adequate for a weekend.

To follow in the footsteps of Mr. Bond once again, we aim at the country's blood red and pulsating heart - Paris.

It is really strange that golf trips to Paris are not discussed more. Firstly, it is very easy to get here; most airlines arrive in shuttle service. Secondly, there are a number of very nice golf courses within easy reach. Hire a car and you reach nearly 70 courses within an hour! Thirdly, the facilities often have a classic French style, which at best is a combination of elegance and a relaxed pleasant atmosphere.

A good example is the golf resort Dolce Chantilly, with a hotel which is really adapted for conferences and major events. As it happens there is also a very pleasant and easy-going golf course available for guests, and then of course we are interested.

The course begins in what can seem like a classic French garden of Versailles character. Pang boom, straight ahead over a scalpel-carved water hazard and a similar one across the fairway in front of the green, parallel to the first one. The first and last holes on both the first and last nine are adjacent to each other through this park-like setting; a little weird, but very charming and definitely French.

The rest of the course alternates between moor and classic park design and all the splendour is surrounded by a beautiful deciduous forest. In the fall, when we were there, the colours and smells were quite lovely.

A fun detail is the driving range, where you who have poor balance should wear a lifejacket.

The hotel as mentioned is to a great extent adapted for conferences, which means that social spaces are scanty. The rooms are newly renovated and fully modern equipped with flat-screen TVs, iPod connections, a wireless network and much more.

The clubhouse is located in the same building, so you can easily jog lightly back and forth between the golf shop and breakfast room if you feel like it.

In addition to delicious breakfasts, lunch and dinner of excellent quality are served. If you want to lose weight, you're completely in the wrong place. The restaurants large buffets invite gluttony.

Evenings end favourably in the bar, where a varied collection of people make everything very pleasant - in short, very French.
Next door to Dolce Chantilly is the "real" Chantilly, but since the course is exceedingly private, it is just as well that we stop dreaming. If you are looking for variety, I recommend instead Apremont, just a few minutes drive from Dolce.

Here is the more classically modern golf club atmosphere and as icing on the cake – the course, that to a certain extent runs into a magnificent mixed forest environment with mighty oaks, chestnuts and other beautiful trees. The condition is magnificent and on the whole the course is almost a must if you are nearby.

Speaking of musts, while we are in France, a little culture is the proper thing to do, and luckily we can choose between a number of nice elements.

The beautiful castle Chantilly has a gigantic art collection and an interesting story, well worth an afternoon. If you are totally uninterested in art, perhaps we can tempt you with the fact that the castle also had an important role in the Bond movie View to a Kill. In the movie, the castle was the arch-villain Zorin’s elegant residence, and much of the film was shot right here. By all means see it before you travel here, for a little chic 80's nostalgia in your luggage.

In the unlikely event that you feel bored, you can also quite easily make your way to central Paris. The train trip doesn’t take many minutes, but honestly - what are you going into the city to do when you're here to play golf for a weekend? Not even Bond can be in several places simultaneously, and for us more ordinary people it can sometimes be nice to enjoy a bit of Paris from a distance.

Text: Mikael Andersson.
Photo: Magnus Bremefors and Dolce Chantilly.

DOLCE CHANTILLY GOLF
Number of holes: 18
Par: 72
Handicap limit: 36
Length: 6,201 / 5,793 / 5,306 / 4,740 metres
Course type: Park / moorland
Playable: 1991
Green fees: weekdays 30-35 euros, 45-50 euros weekends, depending on the season.
Architects: Thiery Huau & Robin Nelson
Golf packages: From Euro 170 per night including shared double room, green fees, lunch, breakfast and dinner.
More info: Click here for a golf travel guide on the Paris region and more information on courses, golf packages, restaurants, etc.

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