The Albatros course at Le Golf National

Why it is on the list

Hubert Chesneau and Robert von Hagge designed the Albatros with Pierre Thevenin, and it opened on 5 October 1990.¹ It has held the Open de France almost every year since 1991, was France's first Ryder Cup course in 2018, when Europe won 17½ to 10½, and staged the golf of the 2024 Olympic Games.¹² Close to two years of work have just ended: holes 4, 5 and 6 were rebuilt, six greens and the bunkers of four holes reshaped and a new back tee set on the 15th, and the Open de France returns to it in September 2026.³ Any golfer can book a tee time, with or without a French federation licence.⁴

It is the wrong choice for a player whose handicap is above 28, who will not be let onto it, and for a day of palaces rather than sport: for that, take the King's private apartments at Versailles.⁵

How to get it

Book a tee time through the course's reservation page, by telephone on +33 1 30 43 36 00, or at the reception desk.⁶⁷⁵ Without a ffgolf licence a round on the Albatros is €160 from November to March and €290 from April to October; a buggy is €50 and a set of clubs €50.⁴ A handicap of 28 or better is required.⁵ Check in at reception even when the round was paid online, and be there five minutes before the tee time or it can be given to someone else; cancel at least an hour ahead, or it counts as a no-show.⁵ Reception is open 07:00 to 20:00 from April to October and 08:00 to 17:00 from November to March, and the course closes on 25 December and 1 January.⁵ A professional caddie from Private Caddie is €165 for one player or €125 for two over 18 holes, by reservation only, on +33 6 15 72 35 42 or contact@privatecaddie.com.⁸ The course closes to visitors for the Open de France, held this year from 24 to 27 September.⁹³

Discretion

Groups are four players at most, and when the course is busy the staff may add players to make up a four, so book all four places to play alone.⁵ Outside competitions the course asks a player's consent before using photographs of them; players in a competition can be photographed and named in its results.⁵ A round of four is expected to take 4 hours 40 minutes, and a slow group must let the one behind play through.⁵