La Boulie (La Forêt)

Overview: La Forêt is the flatter, tree-lined course at Racing Club de France La Boulie, laid through the Bois des Gonnards near Jouy-en-Josas. The fairways are narrower than the open corridors of some parkland courses, and the large greens are regularly protected by broad, deep bunkers. Long par 4s, doglegs, and a few water features make the course a test of placement and approach control. The setting changes with the seasons as the routing passes through a wide variety of trees, but the architecture is clearest in the relationship between the tee line and the next shot. At 18 holes and par 72, La Forêt is a substantial companion to La Vallée, with a different topography and a more level walking rhythm.

History: La Boulie began in 1901 when Pierre Deschamps and colleagues created the Société du Golf de Paris, with Willie Park Jr. designing the original La Vallée course. The Racing Club de France later acquired the site and expanded into the Bois des Gonnards. La Forêt was inaugurated in May 1968 as the second 18-hole course, designed by Jacques Roussel. That chronology matters: the target routing is not the 1901 Park Jr. course, but the later forest course created in 1968.

Did You Know? Three holes on La Forêt are identified by the club as doglegs, including the seventh, eighth, and fifteenth. They give the course a distinct visual rhythm because the fairway does not simply run from tee to green; the best line is often created by deciding how much of the corner to take on.