Côte d'Opale
Playing golf on the Opal Coast
Links courses in the dunes, inherited from the English, three hours from Paris
The essentials
- Where
- Côte d'Opale
- How long
- Half a day per course
- Price
- Green fee varies by season and course
- Links in the dunes
- Three estates
- Year-round
- Green fee
Golf arrived here with the English, alongside the seaside resorts, and never really left. Three estates share this coastline: Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, with three courses between dunes and forest, Hardelot and Wimereux.
These aren't municipal park courses: they're links, laid on the dune with no trees to break the wind. You never play the same shot twice depending on wind direction, and that's exactly the appeal.
What a links course changes about your game
The ground is sandy, so fast and dry: the ball runs much more than on a parkland course, and running approach shots are often better than aerial ones, which the wind carries off.
The rough is marram grass and gorse. A ball that lands in it is usually a lost ball: on this kind of course, caution pays better than length.
When to play
Year-round, as the oceanic climate rarely freezes the greens. Spring and early autumn are the best periods: the light is low, the wind more consistent, and the courses less crowded than in August.
Book your tee time ahead at weekends and during school holidays, especially at Le Touquet, which draws a Parisian and British clientele.
Coming for a golf break
The three estates are within forty minutes of each other: a weekend is enough to play two, a week to tour all five courses on the coast. It's a format worth planning ahead, usually by booking accommodation and green fees together.
Nearby
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