Golf de Fontainebleau - Modernized Tom Simpson design in France

The castle of Fontainebleau is the only castle in which all French kings and emperors of the twelfth to nineteenth centuries resided - and even today, the castle with its opulent interior attracts many visitors every year to the town located around an hour's drive south-east of Paris. Golfers can look forward to a course that is as historic as it is successful: Golf de Fontainebleau is one of the largest golf clubs in France, but unlike many other top courses in the country, it is also open to guest players. Founded in 1909, the club's course was originally designed by Frenchman Julien Chantepie, but was extensively redesigned by Tom Simpson in 1920. This makes Fontainebleau a classic of the so-called Golden Age design.

Golf de Fontainebleau - a sporty and challenging feast for the eyes

in 2025, the club completed the first phase of a further modernization and renovation, which was carried out by Clayton, DeVries & Pont with the renowned German golf course architect Dr. Hendrik Hilgert. The main aim of the current overhaul was to restore the original bunker shapes and the frayed bunker edges typical of Simpson. Other measures included uncovering even more of the rocks typical of Fontainebleau and regenerating and extending the heathland areas. As a result, the club is now even more challenging and modern, but a round on this magnificent course integrated into the Fontainebleau forest is not only a feast for the eyes, but also a sporting challenge. As the round involves some differences in altitude, golf carts are also available, but most golfers complete the course on foot.

More than 90 bunkers on the golf course

The very first fairway of the maximum 6,200-metre Par 72 course gives a foretaste of the course's features. A chain of three bunkers lurks on the Fairway, and sand also lurks to the left and right of the clearly undulating green - no wonder with more than 90 bunkers in total. Behind the green, the course climbs uphill, where you can already see numerous Fontainebleau-typical rocks protruding from the ground. The first Par-3 on hole 2 has been freshly renovated and looks like it was carved out of a forest aisle. Behind the green, a wall slows down balls that are played too far and the green bunker on the left has the frayed bunker edges typical of Simpson. The first Par-5 starts from clearly elevated tees, and the Fairway is also very undulating. The first nine holes offer a varied, top-class design - for example, an entire bunker landscape has to be taken out of play before the green of hole 5. The second Par-3 on hole 7 is no "gimmie" either, as the green slopes down on almost all sides and is framed by numerous bunkers. Hole 9, a par-4 dogleg towards the clubhouse, also underlines the fact that the challenge on this course lies less in length than in precision, otherwise you will quickly become acquainted with difficult Rough and the numerous Bunkers.

Golf de Fontainebleau - a challenging course

The level of design and maintenance also remains very high on the back nine. A long Par-3 at the start is followed by a 528-meter long Par-5 as a dogleg left. The twelfth hole, a par-5 with a maximum length of only 416 meters, is also magnificent, but its challenges lie in the first part in the bunkers crossing the Fairway and then in the numerous boulders on the way to the elevated green. This is followed by another significantly elevated tee shot - here it is worth going to the far tee box for the view alone. A Par-3 to be played over a hollow with bunkers sloping forward lurks in front of the green, the subsequent long Par 4, dogleg left, is characterized by hills and a very undulating Fairway. The short par-4 on the 17th offers a good scoring opportunity, provided you avoid the green bunkers. With a final long Par-4 and a significantly elevated tee shot, which has to be played through a narrow aisle, it's back to the clubhouse - of course not without another challenging bunker on the Fairway and in front of the green.

Golf de Fontainebleau is one of the most challenging golf courses in Europe. The recently completed first phase of modernization and renovation underlines the fact that the members' club is doing everything it can to maintain this high standard in the future. It's great that a course like this is also open to guest players.