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RWC 2007 Home
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| FRENCH RUGBY |
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Le GolfGolf is a lot more restricted in France than it is in Australia. Perhaps it is the smaller surface area that makes land a premium and courses rarer.
Whatever the reason, golf courses are certainly not as common place in France as they are here. This in turn means that golf in France doesn’t share the popularity that it does here.
The Australian Golf Union boasts around 500,000 members compared to the Federation Français de Golf’s 360,000. These figures don’t however tell the full story.
Many Australians enjoy regular social golf without being affiliated to any particular club. Many play but don’t possess handicaps. These players aren’t counted among our 500,000 AGU members, thus, Australia’s count of golfers may well be double that figure.
The same logic does not apply in France, where someone is either a member of a club or they don’t play. Therefore, it is fair to assume that we possess nearly three times the amount of active golfers that France does. Considering our population is one third the size of France’s, we can clearly state that golf is significantly more popular here than la bas.
Having established where the popularity of golf in France stands, we can now look at courses. Australian courses outnumber French courses by nearly three to one. France has one course per 90,000 residents. We enjoy a ration of one course per 12,000 residents. Needless to say that it is much easier to find a game in Australia than it is in l’hexagon. 
This said, it is possible to access courses in France and there are some stunning layouts on which to challenge your game. From coastal links in Brittany, to the resort courses in Biarritz and the tranquil mountain courses in the Alpes, there is a track in France to appeal to even the most discerning wielder of the mashie niblick.
The last Frenchman to hold aloft a piece of silverware from a golfing major was Arnaud Massy and that was nearly a century ago at Royal Liverpool. He drank from the Claret Jug in 1907 and also lost in a playoff in 1911.
The likable Jean Van de Velde nearly ended the drought at the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie. However he will forever hold a place in golf folklore as he squandered a three shot lead on the 72nd hole of the Championship. He dealt with the devastating defeat with commendable humility and calmly stated that his maman still loved him.
The charismatic Frenchman Thomas Levet found himself in a four-way playoff for the British Open with the two Aussies, Stuart Appelby and Steve Elkington and the South African Ernie Els at Muirfield in 2002.
 Sadly for Aussie and French golf fans, the Big Easy triumphed. For the French, this is as close as they have come to recent Major Golf success. It has been an incredibly dry run which beckons the question – when it eventually rains, will it flood? Time will tell.
While l’académie de la langue française staunchly defends and upholds the traditions of the French language by denying the entry of English words into the French vocabulary, golf is one domain in which they have permitted exceptions. Mention any of the following words with a French accent and les locaux will take you to be one of their own;
Club, swing, tee, green, fairway, bunker, hook, slice, put, chip, rough (written ruff in French), clubhouse, mulligan, drop, stableford, score, matchplay, proshop, dogleg, backspin, fade, draw and playoff
Here’s a list of words for which they rely on their own vocabuarly:
French | Englsih | Le trou | The hole or the cup | Un bois | A wood | Un fer | An iron | Le drapeau | The flag | Une escalope | A divot (also means fillet) | Un gaucher | A left hander | Un droitier | A right hander | Une balle de golf | A golf ball | Le sable | The sand | Dans l’eau | In the water | Hors limite | Out of bounds | Bon parcours | Enjoy your round | C’est donné | It’s a gimme | Le dix neuvieme trou | The 19th hole | Le parcours | The course | Un chariot | A pull cart | Une voiture | A cart | La chance du debutant | Beginners luck | Taper dans le vide | Airswing | Club jeté | Club throw | La tricherie | Cheating | Un coup rate | A duff | Le tigre | The tiger | Un gant | A glove | Les chaussures de golf | Golf shoes | Un sac de golf | Golf bag | Ligne | Line | Un arbre | A tree | La droit de placer la balle | Preferred lie | Craquer | Choke | Faire un putt du ruff | Putt from the rough | BALLE!!!!! | FORE!!!! | Depechez-vous | Hurry up | Passez devant nous monsieur | Play through us mate | Ce n’est que du cul ca | That’s all arse | Frapper comme un malade | An aggressive swing | Bien joué | Well played | Belle balle | Well played | Ne pas trouver la balle | Can’t find the ball | Neuf d’aller | Front nine | Neuf de retour | Back nine |
Heres a list of courses and dates that we will be offering the golfers amongst us a chance to apply their trade to during the tours.
Forgo the tour of the medieval castle at Carcassonne and play here:
GOLF CLUB SEILH TOULOUSE
Route de Grenade - 31840 SEILH
Tél. : 05 62 13 14 14 Fax. : 05 61 42 34 17
email: toulouse.golf@pierre-vacances.fr
A 14km au nord-ouest de Toulouse
Terrain : Rouge
Terrain : Jaune
Forgo the tour of the airbus site or perhaps the free morning of the following day and play here:
GOLF CLUB DE CARCASSONNE
Route de Saint Hilaire - 11000 CARCASSONNE
Tél. : 06 13 20 85 43 Fax. : 04 68 72 57 30
email: carca.golf@wanadoo.fr
web: www.golf-de-carcassonne.com
A 6km au sud de Carcassonne
Terrain : Les Pins
Trade les boules pour les balles for a day in Marseille and play here:
GOLF DE MARSEILLE LA SALETTE
65, impasse des Vaudrans La Valentine - 13011 MARSEILLE
Tél. : 04 91 27 12 16 Fax. : 04 91 27 21 33
email: lasalette@opengolfclub.com
web: www.opengolfclub.com/lasalette
Proche de Marseille
Terrain : La Salette
Terrain : Marseille Salette Compact
Stay off the vino in Bordeaux and play here:
GOLF BORDELAIS
Allée François Arago - 33200 BORDEAUX-CAUDERAN
Tél. : 05 56 28 56 04 Fax. : 05 56 28 59 71
email: golfbordelais@wanadoo.fr
A 10km au sud de Bordeaux
Terrain : Bordelais
Join a few basque swingers and play here:
GOLF DE BIARRITZ
2 avenue Edith Cavell - 64200 BIARRITZ
Tél. : 05 59 03 71 80 Fax. : 05 59 03 26 74
email: info@golfbiarritz.com
web: www.golfbiarritz.com
Proche de Biarritz
Terrain : Biarritz
Swing from the hip in Nice and play here:
GOLF COUNTRY CLUB DE ST DONAT
270 route de Cannes - 06130 PLAN DE GRASSE
Tél. : 04 93 09 76 60 Fax. : 04 93 09 76 63
email: golf.st.donat.secretariat@wanadoo.fr
web: www.golfsaintdonat.com
A 5km au sud de Grasse
Terrain : Saint Donat
Terrain : Pitch&Putt
Play some champagne golf in Reims and play here:
GOLF DE CHAMPAGNE
02130 VILLERS AGRON AIGUIZY
Tél. : 03 23 71 62 08 Fax. : 03 23 71 62 08
email: GOLF.DE.CHAMPAGNE@wanadoo.fr
web: golf-de-champagne.com
A 26km au sud-ouest de Reims
Terrain : Champagne
Be gai and racy in Versaille and play here:
RACING CLUB DE FRANCE
Golf de la Boulie - 78000 VERSAILLES
Tél. : 01 39 50 59 41 Fax. : 01 39 49 04 16
email: golfdelaboulie@rcf.asso.fr
web: www.racingclubdefrance.org
A 1km à l'est de Versailles
Terrain : La Vallée
Terrain : Le Coteau Compact
Terrain : La Forêt
Cream the ball at Normandy and play here:
GOLF DE CAEN
Le Vallon - 14112 BIEVILLE BEUVILLE
Tél. : 02 31 94 72 09 Fax. : 02 31 47 45 30
email: golf.caen@wanadoo.fr
web: www.golfdecaen.com
A 5km au sud de Caen
Terrain : Bois-Vallon
Terrain : La Plaine
Profitez de l’air de la montagne a lyon and play here:
GOLF DE LYON VERGER
1350 chemin de l'Allemande - 69360 SAINT SYMPHORIEN D'OZON
Tél. : 04 78 02 84 20 Fax. : 04 78 02 08 12
email: info@golf-lyonverger.com
web: www.golf-lyonverger.com
A 15km au sud de Lyon
Terrain : Lyon Verger
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