Morfontaine (Grand Parcours)

Golf de Morfontaine dates back to October 1913 when the Duke of Guiche obtained permission from his father to transform an old polo pitch in the park of Vallière into a 6-hole golf course for the pleasure of the Duke and his friends. He liked Tom Simpson’s taste for natural landscapes and his sense of aesthetics so he was later commissioned to re-design the original 9-hole Vallière course. At the opening ceremony, professional James Braid teed it up with French champions Jean Gassiat and Arnaud Massy. After the First World War, the Duke decided to open the course more widely, and, in 1927, created the Golf Club Association that is still in existence today.

Tom Simpson designed a new 18-hole layout at Morfontaine (now called Le Grand Parcours) and the British Ladies Amateur Champion of 1927, Simone de la Chaume (later to become Mrs Lacoste), struck the first tee shot. Simpson’s design was immediately applauded and his work at Morfontaine is still highly regarded and bracketed alongside many of his other great achievements, including Royal Lytham & St Annes and Ballybunion.