Golf d'Étretat

Overview: Golf d’Étretat occupies the high ground above Normandy’s Alabaster Coast, with holes set between coastal grassland, cultivated country and the famous cliffs. The course is shaped by exposed terrain rather than artificial drama: elevated tees, firm fairways and the coastal wind create changing angles from one round to the next. The visual setting is important, but the playing character is technical, with narrow targets and greens that reward a controlled approach.

History: The club was created in 1908, largely through the initiative of British summer visitors to Étretat. Julien Chantepie designed the original course in collaboration with Arnaud Massy, the French professional who later taught at the club and won the 1907 Open Championship. The early course had fewer than 18 independent holes; after the First World War it was expanded, and the layout was substantially modified in 1992 to create the longer course played today.

Did You Know? The club’s history records that sheep once helped keep the early fairways and surrounding grassland short. It also notes that Massy taught at Étretat and later died in the town, giving the course an unusually direct connection with one of France’s most important early professional golfers.