Golf has always been more popular in the British Isles and Ireland than in mainland Europe, but when it comes to elite layouts the continent has plenty of great layouts to choose from.
France has often produced stunning parkland and links style layouts that are made in the image of traditional British courses. But other areas have stepped up as golf became more popular on the continent through the 20th and 21st centuries.
Here are 10 of the best courses on the continent and what makes them special.
Hamburger Falkenstein – Germany
Hamburger Falkenstein, or Hamburg Golf Club, has its routes in a club established in 1906, but that original course was significantly altered in the 1960s and more recent renovations have ensured that it has remained among Europe’s finest.
Falkenstein is a stunningly beautiful course, which is routed towards all points of the compass. Golfers enjoy a peaceful haven in the woodland area, away from the bustle of Hamburg’s downtown.
While tree-lined courses can be dull with highway-like holes, at Hamburg only the 2nd and 11th are relatively straight and that is just the right amount of diversion on a course full of doglegs and tactical intrigue created by creatiev hazards.
Every hole presents a unique challenge, the bunkers let you know that this is a Harry Colt masterpiece and the green complexes provide great entertainment without going overboard, we’re looking at you Pinehurst No 2.
Real Sotogrande – Spain
The Real Sotogrande course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. It was his first European course, but it is a credit to the man and his design that the par 72, 6,224-metre layout is still enthralling players after all these years.
It is a private members’ club, maintaining an air-restrained sophistication but providing a warm welcome to visitors. The green fees for visitors are not slight, but this is a destination course worth making your way to Sotogrande.
The clubhouse is as elegant as any other on the continent and its support facilities and course condition are second to none.
Fontainebleau – France
Fontainebleau is not the longest course in the world, measuring a modest 6,153 yards from the back tees, but the greens are compact and well guarded, bolstering the challenge rating of this French woodland stunner.
With small targets to aim at, a good short game is a plus, but this is a course where the tactical golfer should excel.
There is more than a hint of English parkland course at Fontainebleau, with the fairways winding their way through a rich forest of beech, oak and pine. The sharp-eyed golfer might even catch sight of a deer or two on a round.
Fontainebleau is built on soil that is sandy and well drained, with the many sandstone rocks that are part of the area’s natural geology cleverly integrated into the course layout.
The presence of the thick pine forest means that there is little rough but the dense trees lining each fairway provide a significant hazard on their own.
Chantilly (Vineuil) – France
The 6,399-yard Vineuil course at Chantilly is an exacting test of a golfer’s shotmaking if not stretching too many when it comes to power.
The forest and bunkers ensure the hit-and-hope golfer is given plenty to think about.
The Chantilly clubhouse which serves the 36 holes of Le Vineuil and Les Longère is notable for its marked similarity to Sunningdale and once again evokes a distinctly English feel to the course and facilities.
There is much more to the club and the Vineuil course than pure aesthetics as the layout draws in players of varying skill levels just as much as it is a great walk through a stunning setting.
Les Bordes (New)
The 1,400-acre Les Bordes estate is located in the Loire Valley’s vast Sologne Forest in a wonderfully secluded locale.
Originally built with an 18-hole layout by the colourful Texan architect known for his creative flare, Robert von Hagge, the property was founded in 1987 by Baron Marcel Bich. His course, which is now called the Old, quickly gained recognition as one of the greatest in all of Europe.
For the first thirty years of the estate’s existence, it was owned by a number of different people. However, in 2018, an affiliate of RoundShield Partners assumed control of the property with the intention of creating a second 18-hole course to supplement the highly regarded golf layout that already existed.
Some of the erstwhile corridors of play from the old course have been integrated into the new design, albeit in a significantly widened format. Each hole flows seamlessly from one to the next, with some of the tees built as an extension of the fairway cut next to the previous green such is the precision.
What is essentially a heathland-style layout that’s highlighted by large waste areas, formidable bunkering and captivating green complexes, calls for a more links-style approach to the game.
Firm and fast playing conditions usually maintained year-round ensure it plays shorter than the official yardage might suggest.
Real Valderrama – Spain
Just about everyone has heard about “the Augusta of Europe” Valderrama but the great success story of the course is really down to Jaime Ortiz-Patino and a few of his golfing mates.
The industrialist billionaire bought and took over what was then a fairly average course in 1985. After he poured a fortune into its development it is now one of the best courses in the world, let alone Europe.
Valderrama may be an elite private members club, but visitors can still obtain the key to the first tee and while it isn’t cheapest green fee in Europe the course is never overplayed and is always in tip-top condition.
Valderrama is also completely in tune with nature and its environs and is a great way to see some of the beauty of Spain.
Lofoten Links – Norway
The magnificent 18-hole Lofoten Links course debuted in the summer of 2015 and is located in a secluded area on the untamed shore of the island of Gimsøya in northern Norway. In June and July, golf is played there 24 hours a day and draws visitors for a unique experience.
The course is shaped by the sea, with sandy beaches acting as natural bunkers on certain holes and the ocean acting as a water hazard on others. The 140-meter 2nd hole is the first to catch the eye. It is a hallmark hole with a two-tiered green situated on a small rocky outcrop with a lone pot bunker in front of it.
Utrecht de Pan – The Netherlands
The second oldest club in the Netherlands Utrechtse Golf Club de Pan commissioned Harry Colt to design the layout in 1929 and the result was a course is set in delightful wooded seclusion.
The course is inspired by the classic English heathland style, doglegging through stands of pine, birch, oak and chestnut trees.
Golfers are frequently surprised to find the terrain rises and falls as much as it does. With no water in play, the main hazards to be avoided are the trees and the few well-positioned bunkers, but the first time around this layout can be a nervy experience.
Recent renovations have refined the layout without robbing the course of its charm as a course built in the late 1920s.
Koninklijke Haagsche – The Netherlands
Earning the royal seal of approval isn’t something too many courses around Holland can lay claim to, but Haagsche certainly put in the legwork.
The exacting layout pitches and rolls across undulating land and players can be forgiven for feeling afflicted by a lack of balance at Haagsche because of the many uneven lies across the dimpled terrain.
Haagsche is a course that will impress links traditionalists and anyone who likes a certain degree of challenge and a traditional ground game course.
Morfontaine (Grand Parcours) – France
A few layouts might contest that Grand Parcours at Morfontaine is not the best golf course on the continent, but those disputes usually stem from matters of personal taste and can be expected with these type of lists.
At 5985 yards from the back tees the par 70, Morfontaine is not the longest course in France but its challenge rating puts it up between a 71 and 72.
Sparse fairway bunkers sometimes challenge your club selection on the tee, but what the course lacks in difficulty in that respect, it more than makes up for with its strategic approach shots and tricky putting surfaces.
Most of the big and undulating greens are well-defended by bunkers ready to gather balls if the wrong club has been selected. While the trees on the course offer some protection from the elements they can be a hazard in and of themselves.
The stunning aesthetic creates a walk that is without peer when it comes to having your breath snatched over 18 holes.
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