Golf Club du Domaine Imperial

Villa Prangins,

Gland, nr Nyon, Vaud CH-1196

  • Office

    +41 (0)22 999 06 00
  • Pro shop

    +41 (0)22 999 06 80
  • Fax

    +44 (0)22 999 06 06
  • Golf pro

    Tim Huyton / Graham Kaye

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Tree-lined parkland. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland. The course is adjacent to Lake Geneva, but without direct lakeside holes; the clubhouse lawn is directly lakeside.

  • Designer:

    Pete Dye

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Metres
6339
5913
5023
Par
72
72
72
SSS or slope
73.4
70.8
71.4

Location

Latitude:

46.397912

Longitude:

6.281256

How to get there:

26 km N of Geneve

From Hwy 1 between Geneva and Lausanne, take exit 12 (Gland) and head south-east on Ave Mont Blanc, direction Gland. After 2 km (passing through Gland) turn right at T-junction onto Rte 1, direction Nyon. After o.6 km turn left into golf entrance, and follow road to Clubhouse.

Golf Club du Domaine Imperial

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.

Est. 1988

Golf Club du Domaine Imperial is usually rated Switzerland's best golf course, its prestigious reputation based on strong credentials. Located on the shoreline of Lake Geneva, the palatial clubhouse was originally built for a Bonaparte Prince. Laid out behind the Villa Prangins, the excellently maintained course signals one of legendary designer Pete Dye's rare excursions into Europe.

Although the 18th green and the clubhouse provide the only real opportunity to view Lake Geneva, the layout offers two contrasting nines and an abundance of thoroughly absorbing golf. For many, the front-nine is the most challenging and scenic, played through a charming woodland of towering, mature trees. The variety of flora is stunning, with several pleasing green-to-tee strolls through the woodland.

At the par-4 9th the layout transforms to a more open and modern parkland style, where earthmounding and smaller trees define the holes. Big hitters will feel more at home on the inward nine.

Although an attractive stream meanders through parts of the front-nine, threatening water hazards are largely absent. The exception is a large pond that protects the par-5 16th. The two mid-length front-nine par-3s are complemented by two short par-3s on the back-nine: the 12th played to a heavily bunkered plateau green, the downhill 15th to a slender putting surface.

In trademark Dye fashion the bunkers here are many and varied, often mischievously concealed by grassy bunker walls. Long ribbon-like sand traps line several fairways. Around the greens a mix of pot bunkers, coffin-style traps and deep conventional bunkers are joined by grassy mounds and hollows, as well as slick run-off areas.

List of courses: Switzerland

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on Tues thru' Friday (8:30 to noon). Only members and their invited guests on weekends and weekday afternoons. Closed Mondays. Course open all year.

Must book in advance. Maximum handicap: 30. Proof of handicap required.

Green fees

Contact club for green fee details.

Other information

Soft spikes only (April thru' Oct). Players generally walk this course. Golf carts available for hire if pre-booked.

Practice facilities

Good

Did you know?

Domaine Imperial's impressive lakefront clubhouse was built in 1860 as the "Villa Prangins" for Prince Napolean (1822-1891), son of Jerome Bonaparte and nephew of Napolean Bonaparte.

The golf course was built in 1986/87, during which time excavations revealed the signs of some earlier golf holes, possibly created by Charles Lucas, an Englishman who bought the Domaine in 1876.

Published ranking

Switzerland's No.1 course (Golf Digest, 2022).
Continental Europe's 84th best course (Golf World, 2023).

Where2Stay

  • Hotel Le Rive, Nyon4-star

    Rue de Rive 15, CH-1260 Nyon.

    +41 22 552 2080

    Visit website

    Sharing the same service vision under the Hotels de Rive flag, and adjacent to each other on the banks of Lake Geneva in Nyon, Le Rive and Le Beau Rivage hotels offer wonderful lake views and panoramic vistas of the Mont Blanc range of the Alps. Extensively renovated, the two hotels offer 80 individual rooms, suites and apartments, as well as a wide selection of dining, lounges, bar and brasserie options.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 10 km:

      Domaine Imperial; Bonmont; Divonne

    • Golf within 30 km:

      Maison Blanche; Geneve

  • Hôtel La Barcarolle4-star

    Route de Promenthoux, 1197 Prangins, Switzerland

    +41 22 365 78 78

    Visit website

    Receiving guests since 1999, the 4-star La Barcarolle is located a stone’s throw from the Roman town of Nyon, facing the Alps. The hotel stands in a splendid property on the shores of Lake Geneva, ready to submerge its guests in a world of top-quality service, peace and relaxation.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 10 km:

      Domaine Imperial; Bonmont

    • Golf within 30 km:

      Divonne; Maison Blanche

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