Golf de Fontcaude - Montpellier Resort Est. 1991

At Golf de Fontcaude in the Montpellier Resort, you can pit your golfing skills against an "International" 18-hole championship course or a 9-hole "Executive" short course. Located on undulating terrain above Montpellier, the capital of France's Languedoc-Roussillon region, a variety of environments and vistas greet the visiting golfer. Around the course the views both near and far contain a mix of woodland, villas, apartment blocks (large and small) and even a football stadium, while the course itself roams across predominantly open terrain, occasionally venturing into something a little more wooded. The uphill par-3 2nd and par-4 3rd are part of a steady ascent that brings you to the highest part of the course - the tee-box of the downhill dog-legging par-5 5th. Good-width fairways and lightish rough give license to use the big timber from the tee, but beware of several small trees and bushes that provide definition to some holes, while also penalising any drives that are too wayward. An excellent collection of par-3s, which includes the memorable 6th and 12th, culminate at the 17th, the longest of the "shorts". Your tee-shot must carry a wooded ravine before landing on the relatively small and sloping green, which, like many others, is fiendishly defended by an array of deep pot bunkers. Although not a "grand design", with a few holes lacking clear definition, Fontcaude is nevertheless a testing layout, which benefits from its predominantly open, undulating terrain, and the varied views and scenery beyond the course.