GOLF CLUB CHAMONIX. LUSH!

 

Type of course	VERY EXPENSIVE		Slope	18 holes	Par 72
Course distance	Noir 6077m	Blanc 5802m	Jaune 5441m	Bleu 5005m	Rouge 4720m
Holes	18	5  x Par 3	8  x Par 4	5 x Par 5
Played	06/09/23
Claim to Fame:  even more expensive than the last one in France!

 

Lush is the adjective that best describes Golf Club Chamonix. Set in the valley, flanked by the Aguille Rouge on one side and the Mont Blanc massif on the other. Arrival time is a 15 minute journey from my camp site in Les Ballons. The following day I was due to travel into Italy via the Mont Blanc tunnel, thankfully a 3 month closure for repairs had been put back due to a land slide closing the Frejus tunnel, or I would have been circumnavigating the Alps to get to my next destination. The queue of lorry traffic along the A6 went way past my campsite and had not put me in the best frame of mind. The thought of sitting in a 4 hour traffic jam did not best please me.

Regardless, I was off to golf and determined to enjoy myself. If the golf was rubbish at least the views would make up for it.

The resort of Chamonix appears to be a young person’s mecca for adventure. Climbers, para gliders, walkers, runners, bikers and thrill seekers of any description, hug the streets, similar to the clothing they wear! Cafes and restaurants at every turn offer the delicacies that Chamonix has to offer, not least of all Tartiflette, a dauphinoise potato dish, mixed with jambon and reblochon cheese. Cheese meals are very much the dish of the day here as are the cow bells adorning the gift shops!

Arriving at the golf club, one is reminded of Swiss chalets high up in the Alps and I half expected men in lederhosen or even Heidi to be there to greet me. Parking is confusing as the golf shop is situated between restaurants and hotels all dressed in a similar vein.

As it was, two ladies were there to receive me in the Pro Shop, sadly neither was dressed in blue pinafore, with puffed sleeve top and pigtails but they were pleasant enough and offered me a tee time 20 minutes hence.

A request was made for my name and handicap which I duly obliged, although with a surname resembling an international German food store, they did have a little giggle at my expense.

Never mind, I am assured I can park my car in any of the surrounding spots and I casually prepare before a rather long walk round the back of the restaurant kitchens, to the first tee,. Not the best of places to pass by but the eco green roof of the Pro Shop made up for it.

Arriving at the first you are greeted by a 6 foot electronic board, with your name, handicap and tee time. It appears I had fallen into a morning of mixed doubles and in front of me several pairs had gone off and were about to go off. Now I’m not a snob when it comes to golf but looking at the handicaps of those in front, I had a feeling today was going to be slow.

As I watched and waited, first on the tee was Jean-Michelle Bellon handicap 35.8 quickly followed by Georges Alain Ribeyrolle with a WH of 21.1. Jean-Michelle duffed his to the right and quickly took another, as did Georges Alain. I wander what the French is for mulligan? Anne-Joelle Cottancin WH 35.2 and Muriel Ribeyrolles handicap 39.4 faired so much better.

It seemed a lengthy wait before I could take my tee shot and in the meantime up popped the another mixed foursome with Marie-Paule Montesuitt coming in with a hefty 52.3. I suppose one should be thankful for small mercies.

Eventually my turn and I blasted off, immediately followed by the universal language of golf “Fore Right”. Oh well at least I was off. The second was a gentle knock back under the treelined fairway and the 3^rd had to be a shot over a stream which could only be described as a raging torrent. Even Kryton and Zapatta wouldn’t dip their ball retrievers in this river as the fear of being dragged into the maelstrom and never being seen again would be too much even for these perennial pinchers.

The green was on a raised level and had a pond to the right. A par 4 at 336m SI 3, it’s not the easiest warm up, particularly if you’ve never played there before.

The 2^nd a par 4  SI 9 at 317m sees the drive go back across the Chamonix tumult, accomplished with some aplomb I might add.

At this point John and Georges having played the short par 3 3^rd and offer to let me through, which I accepted after bogeying the second hole in a row.

As they were all playing off the rouge, they waited patiently as I set up at the juane 4^th. Looking forward from the tee box one is immediately struck by the Gondolas passing overhead as they traverse the face of the Aguille Rouge.

The ‘Carte de Score’ rule number 7 clearly states:

‘If a ball hits the cables or the gondolas at holes 4,5 and 6, the shot must be cancelled and replayed, without penalty.’

That’s all well and good for us golfers but I’d hate to see the shocked expressions on the nervous gondola passengers as a Titleist Super Soft pings off the Gondola window. I bet you don’t see that local rule very often either.

Arriving at the 5^th tee the mixed couples of Berge and Schmitt are the next to experience my golfing prowess. A wave from down the 5^th fairway offers me the opportunity to tee off. I acknowledge and with a swing of the club hit the trees on the left. No matter, they move on as I venture into the undergrowth. At this point I should note the condition of the course. The fairways were exemplary, well cut and lush, the greens likewise. The rough however was just deep enough for your ball to settle below the grass height and become very difficult to find. The views from any position on any hole were out of this world. It must be the most luxurious setting for a relatively flat course and you would have to search far and wide to find one better.

While looking for my ball the mixed couple of Peter and Jean Hoggard are traversing the 6^th, I enquire of Peter if the ball I have come to, is mine or his, a grunt indicates it’s his. Don’t you just love the arrogant English abroad.

Please note none of the couples I have encountered are the thrill seekers of Chamonix, they are more the sedate and dare I say it sedentary. Chamonix caters for us all!

Once again at the 6^th I am provided with the opportunity to go through and once again bury the ball into the trees on the left.

The 7^th then, par 4 SI 1, 353m, a dog leg right, with a heavily sloping fairway left to right. My third opportunity to go though. I make the excuse of too many trees earlier, they laugh politely. The jungen have already teed off from the rouge and hit the middle of the fairway. I travel back to the yellow and take a moment. A sterling drive flies past the German’s, reminiscent of a Spitfire against a Messerschmitt. No competition! The second is short of the green and I bogey but I’m a proud Brit! That’s one in the eye for the Huns! Ha!

I move on to the 8^th. A raised tee 126m, SI 17, stream right, safety left. My ball chooses right, once again I am undone. As I move towards my ball the Hoggard’s are teeing off at the 9^th and Peter gives me a look of disdain. He probably couldn’t understand how I had caught them up so quickly but then again, he had only ever seen me in the trees, trying to claim his ball off the fairway!

We move on to the 10^th and I’m hot on their heels but I am distracted by the best club house ever known to man. A raised dais of Swiss design adorned with flowers of the region. It overlooks most of the back nine and yes, it is lush. Heidi must be hiding in there but would I get a chance to meet her, sadly not, maybe next time, if there is ever is one!

The 10^th a par 4 dog leg left at 306m, SI 6, not only crosses the torrent once again but also has a low level cycle and walking path protected by huge netting. It would be awful if your second bounced off the noggin of one of the young athletic elite. No matter another bogey in the bag.

The 11^th is the biggest hike up the relatively flat valley course. A quick check of the board indicates its only 105m to the flag, which I inadvertently read as 150m. Club of choice in hand I pant up the hill to the tee box, the oxygen debt clearly settling in and my confusion abounds. 150m par 3 SI 16, no problem, easy as. Tee off and the ball sails way over the green, the trees and back into, you’ve guessed it, the raging torrent. Whoops, I check the Garmin S40, realise my mistake but there is no way I’m trekking back down the mountain side, to change my club. Take a bit off, would be the mantra from the boys back home, which I did and yet again I watch the ball, become one with the torrent. Enough, let’s move on.

I am now hunting down the horrible Hoggard’s and watch as Peter swings and shanks into the trees, that’ll teach him to be such a grumpy git. Jean however fairs very well. I’m thinking their lack of information on the electronic board is down to Peter’s hangups. The Mrs is by far the better player!

The 16^th fairway is the wettest I have come across, it’s has drains underfoot and I have it on good authority from our homely local Bandit, that underground springs run below this fairway. No wander its wet. As I move up the 17^th Ejlif Schmitt is traversing the 15^th via the undergrowth, looking up he sees me and says in perfect English “Too many trees”. Touche Ejlif!

The 18^th brings you into the full face of the best Club house known to man and its game over.

3 hours 30 minutes, not bad after all, hopefully longer than it would take me to traverse the Mont Blanc tunnel!