Going for Golf

Brittany - Vive la difference

Pleneuf-Val-Andre

At the foot of another jutting cliff, about a quarter of a mile away, I can just make out a flag fluttering in the stiff sea breeze. If I’m lucky, I’ll be removing that flag, and the putter from my bag, three shots from now - because this is a genuine par-five. If the wind’s against, more like a six. First, though, I must clear the bright yellow gorse, just waiting to gobble up another unsuspecting hacker’s topped drive. The best line is over a derelict cottage down by the beach. I take a deep breath, waggle my usually reliable three wood, and trust in my swing ...

I’ve played Val-André three times over the past few years, and each time I’ve managed to find this particular fairway. It’s one of those shots that looks intimidating, but is really quite achievable. Just take a deep breath of that invigorating sea air and go for it. Go left with your second, and you could be lost in the rough separating the wide, usually empty beach from the course. Come up short with your third - which is easy to do if you misjudge the strength of the wind - and you may find yourself in a devilish sand trap. Stray off line, and you’ll probably be in yet more rough. Get it all right, however, and there’s still the danger of three-putting.

Welcome to golf in Brittany, one of the finest venues for the sport not just in France, but surely anywhere in the world. I don’t want to make it sound too forbidding, though, because it’s not. Most golfers have a handicap somewhere in the teens or low 20s, and Val-Andre is eminently playable. It’s also hugely enjoyable.

The 11th is quite rightly the signature hole at Val-André - but I also love those either side of it. Number 10, where you tee off beneath the interested (and I dare say, sympathetic) gaze of diners enjoying the fabulous views from the clubhouse, is a short downhill par-four. It’s definitely reachable, as you can land your ball short and it will roll down towards the green. But the fairway is narrow, and the tee shot is blind. Push your drive right, and you’re in trouble; go left, and your ball’s sea-bound.

Twelve, on the other hand, is a relatively long par-four to an elevated green. Unlike the 10th, it’s all there before you. What you see is what you get - and what you get is another stunning golf hole. Fire off a good tee shot, then choose your club to the green ... and add two more for luck. But it’s not just around the turn where Val-Andre gets going - it’s a treat from start to finish.

On north-western Brittany’s Emerald Coast, about 35 miles west of the historic walled ferry port of Saint-Malo, Pléneuf-Val-André is one of the best and prettiest golf courses in a province blessed with more than its fair share of them. Coming up to 20 years old, it’s a beguiling mix of links-style holes and parkland, with a whiff of brine and the tang of scented broom. England’s Sam Walker won the Allianz Open Côtes d’Armor Bretagne here in 2010, and compared this superb course to some of the best in Scotland. Continuing with the Celtic theme, as in Cornwall (and Bretons have much in common with the Cornish, including a strong sense of cultural identity and similar black-and-white flags), you’re never far from the coast - and the region’s golf courses reflect this.