Le Golf du Gouverneur (Montaplan course)

Le Golf du Gouverneur (Montaplan course): Located in the heart of France's Dombes region, Le Golf du Gouverneur (Governor's Golf in English) is a full-facility golf destination. With two 18-hole courses (Le Breuil and Montaplan), a 9-hole course, golf academy and on-site accommodation, there is plenty in this quiet, rural idyll to keep the golfer busily occupied. Taking its name from one of two farms, on which the golf complex was created, the Montaplan course measures just under 5900 metres (6430 yds) from the tips, 700 metres shorter than Le Breuil, its more demanding and higher-rated companion course. In keeping with the region's vast number of ponds, water plays its part on several of Montaplan's holes, especially from the par-4 11th through to the short par-4 15th. Two good sized ponds ensure water lurks alongside the fairways and around the greens throughout this stretch. Like Le Breuil, there is a very natural feel to this layout, with no housing for miles around, and a pleasant interplay between the ponds, open rural countryside and some tree-lined sections, which come early in the round. The greens here are never overly large, and generally defended by large, shallow bunkers. Although Montaplan's par-34 back-nine is the shortest of all the Governor's nine-hole loops, with no par-5s and six shortish par-4s, many locals will tell you that it is the most attractive loop, and therefore not to be overlooked.