I was lucky enough to play the course just before the Ryder
Cup – sampling the course set-up as designed for the most
skilled golfers in the world to do battle on.
– but it all provides you with a giddy sense of excitement.
The course is famous for its final four water-framed holes,
which will always provide drama and thrills. By the time
It was a severely punishing test at that time, with knee- you walk off the 18th green you will know you have done
high rough swallowing golf balls with a hearty, insatiable battle with a fearsome opponent. It’s quite breathtaking.
appetite.
The Aigle course offers a more benign challenge – but
The straightest hitters in the world often came a cropper that’s not to imply it’s easy. The same precise drives must
on the course during the big event, so you could only be strafed down the fairways, but wayward shots are
imagine how humbling it was for a mid-handicap golfer treated with a touch more forgiveness.
such as yours truly.
It’s remarkably similar in style to the Albatros, but in
The good news for the travelling golfer is that is not what playing both courses in the space of the day I never
you can normally expect, with the rough not nearly as once felt like I experienced (ahem) déjà vu, as the locals
fearsome as it was for golf’s marquee team event. might say. Every hole has something unique, something
Instead, they let the course’s natural design offer the
individually memorable about it.
challenge, and it is still quite intimidating – but it’s the The super-modern Novotel Saint-Quentin on site ticks all
type of intimidation that any golfer would surely eagerly the boxes for the travelling golfer – and with the courses
embrace. right on your doorstep you don’t need to worry about the
The greens are incredibly slick, as you would expect.
logistics of getting to the first tee. Just take a stroll.
However, it’s getting to them that often proves the trickiest The hotel boasts 131 rooms - all airy, bright and a la mode
part. The water hazards come into play often, and the – and some have views over the fabled final four holes of
undulations can play havoc with your course management the Albatros, which would have certainly have been in high
Volume 4 • Issue 47
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