Le Touquet (La Forêt)

Overview: La Forêt is the older 18-hole routing at Le Touquet Golf Resort, running through a mature pine landscape between the resort and the dunes. Its character is quieter and more enclosed than La Mer: tree-lined fairways, sandy ground and carefully placed greens ask for accuracy and thoughtful positioning. The course still feels connected to the coast, but the forest changes the wind and makes the tee shot a negotiation with corridors rather than an open links test.

History: La Forêt was inaugurated on 24 May 1904, with the resort’s history crediting Horace Hutchinson and Nick Lane Jackson as the designers. Lord Balfour performed the inauguration, and the new course quickly became part of the British-founded resort’s sporting identity. Le Manoir was later inserted as a nine-hole course within the La Forêt property, while La Mer later became the separate tournament-oriented layout.

Did You Know? La Forêt hosted the French Open in 1914 and 1921, making Le Touquet one of the rare European clubs to stage its national open on two different courses. The current tourism description lists the forest course at par 72 and 5,915 metres, approximately 6,467 yards.