Golf in France
Golf really took off in France in the 1980s. The number of courses tripled to just over 300 in 1989. At the beginning of 2002 there were over 500 courses. It still remains, though, a regular sport for just a small minority, a long way behind tennis which over the last 30 years has become perhaps the most popular competitive sport played by people of all ages.
There are now approximately 300,000 golf club players, of which 30 per cent are women, while the UK boasts some 1.5 million and over 3,000 courses. Many of the UK courses (parcours) are of course pitch and-putt courses, almost unheard of in France where golf course fairways are nearly always full length.
The Féderation Française de Golf, 68, rue Anatole, 92300 Levallois Perret has a most informative website, www.ffg.org with golf course locations, description of the links and club facilities. If you are thinking of taking up golf for the first time the Decathlon national chain of sports shops stock a basic set of steel (acier) clubs for men comprising a driver, three irons, a wedge and putter for under 100€ and the same type of clubs for women, but with lighter graphite shafts, at around 150€. All are guaranteed for two years. Don't forget to buy a golf cap with a good sun visor. (Not all Decathlon stores display golf equipment.) Specialist golf shops also exist, notably the usgolf mega-stores with stores in Toulouse, Bordeaux, Cannes, Marseille, and two in the Paris area. Visit www.usgolf.fr.
Many lavish golf-courses have been created by foreign investors for the international deluxe tourist market and jet-setters, in the French Alps and on the Côte d'Azur, and annual membership fees to these prestigious courses are astronomical. You can, however, probably find a course and membership formula to suit your pocket if you only play during the week ie not at weekends when most working people want to play. Prices for annual semainier (weekdays) membership start around 900€. If you are not resident, but spend time regularly in a holiday home in France, ask the local or regional Office de Tourisme for details of short duration season tickets giving you access to a number of golf courses in the area. You can also pay just green fees, on a weekly or daily basis depending on the golf club, if you're an occasional player. Prices may vary depending on the time of the year. Around 30€ for a week's ticket just playing on weekdays and using your own clubs is reasonable.
English is the international language for golfing terms so you won't have to worry about French translations for 'tees', 'greens', 'birdies' etc. You should note, however, that mini-golf is crazy golf: nothing to do with pitch and putt. And property descriptions featuring 'golfe' and not 'golf' refer to sea gulfs or bays.
