Golf de Saint-Cloud (Vert)

Overview: The Vert, or Green, course at Golf de Saint-Cloud is a classic parkland layout spread across the rolling ground of Garches, Rueil-Malmaison, and Vaucresson west of Paris. Harry Shapland Colt used the natural relief rather than forcing a flat sequence of holes, creating varied lines and a steady need to think through the next shot. At par 71, the course uses the full bag: drives must find useful positions, approaches have to respect the slopes, and the changing elevation gives the round a distinctive rhythm.

History: The Vert course was inaugurated in 1913 and is the first of Golf de Saint-Cloud’s two 18-hole layouts. Colt’s design has endured because it works with the existing terrain, giving each hole a clear strategic purpose without relying on artificial spectacle. The club later added the Jaune, or Yellow, course between 1924 and 1930, but the Vert remains the original championship routing and the principal historical expression of the property.

Did You Know? The 8th hole provides a view of the Eiffel Tower, an unusual landmark moment in a course that otherwise feels embedded in wooded and rolling parkland. Saint-Cloud’s two courses also cross three neighbouring communes, so the facility is geographically broader than its single club address suggests. The Vert’s blend of city proximity, mature landscape, and Colt strategy is a defining part of its character.