“Our strong point? We are very nice at the reception ”, laughs Véronique Briola, the director of the Vaucouleurs golf course, before adding: “We have two completely different courses with the River, which is an American golf course, and the Vallons, which looks like a Scottish links. And then there is no noise, we play in the middle of nature. " What strikes you at first, when you walk through the first holes of the River, is the tranquility of the place. The snap of your drive is hardly disturbed by the chirping of birds or the sprint of a stray hare.

Playing on the banks of the Vaucouleurs, a small tributary of the left bank of the Seine, is first and foremost the assurance of taking a beautiful walk in the heart of the Houdan region and of facing a course, designed by Michel Gayon , which offers a different challenge almost at each hole. "We also took advantage of the confinement to ventilate the fairways from the river », specifies Véronique Briola. The first hour, the rather flat holes (1, 2 and 4) contrast with the steep drops, where the choice of the club is predominant. Passage 3-4-5, which requires keeping a cool head, is a first “Amen Corner”. A VERY impressive par 3 (220 m from whites if the flag is at the back of the green) with a VERY lower green precedes a short par 4 as wide as rue du Chat-qui-Pêche in Paris, before going up the slide via a demanding par 5 on a slope that turns right.

Hole 4 of the River. @ A. Crudo

The other key passage of the River - a par 73 of 6138 m with no less than six par 5 on the program - is undoubtedly located between holes 9 and 13. Handicap 1, the 9 is a long par 4 in left dogleg, studded with bunkers, where it seems very difficult not to silt your ball. The 10, a par 5 whose second stroke is played blind, ends on a green defended by a heart-shaped bunker, with a thick forest in the background. The 11 is a pretty postcard: a short par 3 with a receptacle barely ten meters wide sees the slope bringing the balls back towards the water obstacle all the way to port. In case of a big "splash", you can always console yourself with the majestic weeping willow which watches the back of the green.

The long par 4 that follows, left dogleg with a formidable narrow and sloping fairway, is no picnic: the par here has almost the value of a birdie. Another signature hole of the course, the 13 is a short par 3 as bucolic as its predecessor which requires you to fly over a water obstacle. Here again, the green is watched over by a large weeping willow. A word of advice: play a club below. Finally, it is difficult not to mention the 15th, a difficult par 4 in right dogleg which requires climbing the Annapurna to plant the flag and which causes an acceleration of the heart rate, in every sense of the word. The walk ends with a pretty par 4 which, as is customary, leads back to the large clubhouse buildings, restored from an old farmhouse.

The hole n ° 13. @ A. Crudo

The Vaucouleurs golf course has a third course, a compact one way and 9 classic holes on the return, free for children and only 10 euros for adults. "We want to participate in the democratization of our sport and make families come to golf much like they come to bowling", confides Véronique Briola, who is also very proud that golf is a partner of the Gwennaruz * association, which enables underprivileged children to access the practice of sport. “The goal is to get these young people out of the cities, to teach them etiquette and the rules of respect related to golf, also to teach them the trades associated with it, such as cooking, gardening, etc. We welcome around 120 young people who benefit from lessons or courses at the golf school, we go to pick them up and bring them home… ” For them too, the River is enchanted.

Frank Crudo  

*Gwennaruz Association 

More information on Golf de la Vaucouleurs