With well over 500 golf courses scattered throughout France it's somewhat surprising that the country's reputation as a golfing mecca amongst Brits keen to test out the fairways on offer in foreign countries isn't considerably higher than it already is. Traditionally, Brits have largely tended to ignore France as a golfing destination, choosing instead to pack their clubs and head to the tees in overseas locations such as the Costa del Sol in Spain, the Algarve in Portugal or Florida in the USA.

As a result of this long-standing British interest, property located on and around golf courses in these countries have long been popular with property-seeking, golf-loving Brits.
But while France may not enjoy the same kind of reputation amongst British golf enthusiasts as, say, Spain or Portugal, don't be fooled into thinking that this is because the sport is not established in France, or even that the golf course quality across the Channel is inferior to those found in the more popular golfing locations.

In fact, the Billere Golf Club in Pau, Aquitaine, is the oldest in continental Europe, having been founded by the British Army way back in 1856. Indeed, in the early 1900s golfers in France were among the world's elite, and in 1905 the Biarritz-born Arnaud Massy became the first non-British player to win the British Open. As for course quality, in a 2004 poll conducted by Golf World Magazine to find the best 100 golf courses in Europe – excluding those in the UK and Ireland – France occupied three of the the top ten places, with Golf Les Bordes in the Loire Valley, along with the Morfontaine Golf Club and Chantilly Golf Club (both in Ile de France) finishing second, fourth and fifth in the list respectively. So with all this in mind, why is it that France has tended to struggle more than other countries to attract the attention of the large number of British golfers who travel abroad each year to spend time on the green?

To put it simply, up until the last five or ten years a majority of golf clubs in France were far more elitist than those found in many other golf playing nations throughout the world. It was not unheard of for non-members – both foreign and French – playing a round of golf on certain courses in France to be made to feel unwelcome on the fairways, and this in turn led many Brits to seek out what they perceived to be the more friendly environments of courses on offer in other countries.

The turning point
It wasn't until the spectacular and infamous failure of French golfer Jean Van de Velde to win the British Open in 1999 that attitudes in France towards golf started to change. Despite taking a three-shot lead into the final hole of the tournament, Van de Velde somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, recording a triple-bogey on the 18th hole to hand the tournament to Paul Laurie. The image of Van de Velde standing in the Barry Burn at the Carnoustie Golf Course in Scotland trying to hit his ball, minus his shoes and socks, has since gone down in golf folklore.

However, the Frenchman's achievement at finishing second in a tournament he wouldn't normally have even been expected to make the cut in had done enough to reignite French interest in the sport and encourage more people onto the fairways. This interest was further increased in 2001 when Thomas Levet won the British Masters, becoming the first Frenchman since Massy in 1907 to win a tournament in the UK. "Golf is a sport growing in popularity throughout Europe and especially in France", confirms Joost Barnas of The Start Living Group. "New courses are currently being developed throughout the country, while many existing courses are being upgraded into championship-standard courses", he adds.

Golf membership statistics back up Barnas's claim of a resurgence in the sport's popularity across the Channel in France. In 1990 there were just under 180,000 registered golfers belonging to golf clubs in France. By 2002 this figure had risen to 325,229. However, when you consider that in the UK there are close to 1.8 million registered golf club members, then Brits who do get on the fairways in France may just find the courses to be a little quieter than they would on some of the more popular courses in Britain – although it should also be taken into account there are more courses in the UK.

Property on course
As golf clubs in France have become more welcoming towards those either looking to take up the game or just enjoy the occasional round in different surroundings, so too has France slowly started to become more popular with golfing Brits. And, perhaps somewhat inevitably, as British interest in playing golf in France has risen, resorts which offer property within a nine-iron's drive from the first tee have started to become a far more common sight in France.

The Souillac Country Club in the Lot department of Aquitaine is just one of many such property developments to be appearing in the country. "The Souillac Country Club is the only 18-hole golf course in the department of Lot and has its own golfers' association (L'association des golfeurs du Mas del Teil) with 250 local members who enjoy playing competitions here on a regular basis", says Christina von Koettlitz, sales and marketing manager of the club. "The course here is stunningly beautiful and suitable for players of all levels. Although it's not a championship course it does provide a serious challenge for experienced players and a nice challenge for beginners", she adds.

The property for sale at the Souillac Country Club is located at different points around the golf course, some adjacent to it, others slightly further away. The cost of the property depends on its size and location. "The prices for property on the resort start at 235,000 euros for a two-bedroom lodge, and rise up to 395,000 euros for a luxury three-bedroom property with extended covered balcony and breathtaking views", says von Koettlitz. Although these prices don't include VAT, von Koettilitz does point out that "VAT on the property and furniture can be reclaimed under the para-hôtellerie scheme initiated by the authorities in France to encourage tourism."

Also in the south-west of France, the Domaines Les Forges Golf and Country club, situated 35 kilometres from Poitiers in Poitou-Charentes, offers a similar combination of golf and property. "The Domaines Les Forges Golf and Country Club boasts a 27-hole golf course which is ideal for a good amateur", says Barnas. "The first phase of property developments being offered by The Start Living Group will include properties around 450 yards away from the course, while phases two and three will include properties even closer to the green", Barnas continues. "The prices for a two or three bedroom freehold property at this resort start from 160,000 euros", he adds.

Of course, being able to walk out of your front door and onto the green isn't the only advantage to owning a property on a golf resort in France. There are also the huge rental advantages to consider. "What you can expect to earn for a week's rental, depends on the type of property you own," explains von Koettlitz. "Under para-hôtellerie, the rental is taken care of by an established management company, and a commission is taken from the rental income to cover marketing, cleaning and administrative costs. "At Souillac rental prices vary from 800 euros a week for a two-bedroom lodge in off-season, to 2,100 euros per week for a prestige three-bedroom property in peak season."

Property at Domaines Les Forges can also be let through a scheme designed to encourage rental. "Owners who enter into our property rental agreement may claim back 19.6 per cent of the purchase price of their property", says Barnas. "We offer a gross rental return of five per cent on investment. After costs this works out a net return of around three per cent, excluding, of course, any capital growth on the property." Rental potential aside, there may also be course membership benefits associated with purchasing property on a golf resort. Both the Souillac Country Club and the Domaines Les Forges Golf and Country Club offer course concessions to property owners. At the Souillac owners benefit from reduced membership fees – 465 euros per year as opposed to 760 euros per annum, and 1,450 per annum for family membership – while at Domaines an owner will receive a free three-year membership for two.

Property off course
If you'd rather not tie yourself down to playing on only one course while enjoying your property in France, then it could be that owning a home on a golf resort is not the best option for you. However, when you take into account that France actually boasts the largest number of golf courses on the continent, it's fair to say that you won't necessarily have to buy a villa or lodge in a golf resort in order to be close to a course, anyway. "In France you are unlikely to be more than an hour's drive away from a golf course no matter where you own a property", explains Nick Stallwood of French Property Shop. "Although in the past there have been a few Brits who have asked for property close to a golf course, until recently they didn't tend to feel that the quality of the courses in France were always up to that much", he adds.

However, with many existing golf courses across France currently undergoing major improvements and many new ones being developed to a high standard, it is likely that there will be a property close enough to a fairly decent course to be of interest to any golf fanatic, no matter what region they are interested in purchasing in. For example, there are already around 120 courses dotted throughout the Brittany, Normandy and the Loire regions alone. Due to their close proximity to the UK, these three regions have already established themselves among the favoured French golf destinations for the growing number of Brits visiting France for a golfing holiday, and some of the country's best and most popular courses can be found in and around these regions.

Not that the northwest corner in France is the only area of the country where a considerable number of golf courses can be found. The Paris and Ile de France region boasts more golf courses than any other single region in France and also has more members belonging to its clubs than anywhere else in the country. It is also in this region where many of the country's Championship courses are found and where the standard of the greens and fairways tend to be at their highest. Of course, prices for property around this region are among the highest in the country, especially in Paris where according to the Chambre des Notaries de Paris you should expect to pay as much as 9,000 euros per square metre for an apartment. The south-eastern corner of France also offers golf-lovers a wide choice of courses – approximately 128.

Those in Rhone-Alpes are likely to be of particular interest to property purchasers – especially those with half an eye on rental income – as they can be viewed as dual purpose
property: ski in the winter, golf in the summer. That said, the VEF statistics do show that the average price of property in this region does currently tend to be higher than any other in France – 425,610 euros. And as you have probably already gathered from where the Souillac and Domaines Les Forges golf courses are situated, south-west France is also fairly well represented with golf clubs, with those courses accounting for just two of the 98 dotted throughout the region.

So, while France may not be overly famous for its golf property market there is no doubt that it is a sport fast growing in popularity, and quality, across the Channel. Who knows, it may not be too long before the interest in golf property in the country rivals that of the Costa del Sol or the Algarve.

Now, where did I put my clubs?

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