Ryder Cup Paris 2018

Paris is playing host to the one of the greatest golf matches in the world in September 2018. The Ryder Cup, a contest between between the top golfers of Europe and the visiting team from the United States will be hosted at Le Golf National course, at Guyancourt, near Paris.

Ryder Cup Paris 2018

From September 25-30 2018, golf history will be made at the spectacular Le Golf National course. At just 30 kilometres from the city centre it is easy to get to for spectators. This course is also where the golf competition in the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place.

The Ryder Cup origins

First played in 1927, the match is named in honour of a British entrepreneur and business man, Samuel Ryder. He took up golf at the age of 49 and established the Ryder Cup as a contest to challenge American golfers who had the reputation of being well-backed. Since then, the drama, tension and sportsmanship of the Ryder Cup has become legendary. It is now among the most eagerly-anticipated and fiercely-contested events in world sport.

Going to the Ryder Cup Paris

It is estimated that around 200,000 spectators will visit Paris to watch the three days of match play in which the European team, led by Thomas Bjørn, will battle to win back the Cup from an American team, captained by Jim Furyk. It is only the second occasion that Europe has hosted the event outside the UK.

It will be the first time, the Ryder Cup takes place on the fringe of a capital city, and with Paris’s network of international airports, train stations and motorways, it will probably make this the most easily accessed Ryder Cup in history. Both teams will be based at the renowned and luxurious Hotel Trianon, in nearby Versailles, which with the beautiful palace and gardens of Versailles a stroll away, is one of Europe’s most compelling tourist destinations.

With its world famous and iconic landmarks from the Eiffel Tower, the Arc du Triomphe and the Champs Elysees as well as many other architectural to the architectural splendours of Versailles, Paris will provide the perfect backdrop to the excitement of the 2018 Ryder Cup.

Golf in France

France has more golf courses than Spain and Portugal combined with a rich and varied terrain for great golf in magnificent and welcoming surroundings. French golf is relaxed, affordable, friendly and fun. A vast range of courses is available across the whole of France including spectacular seaside golf and dramatic mountain courses.

Informality doesn’t mean undemanding, and the appetite for the game across France and across age groups and genders just keeps on growing. There are more than 600 courses around France to choose from, with 150 listed among Europe’s most beautiful courses, and 22 of them ranked in the 1000 best courses in the world.

If you’re taking your golf clubs to France, you won’t be disappointed, there’s loads of choice for a game.

Golf in the north

Within easy reach of the Channel ferry ports are great golfing regions such as Hauts de France, Brittany, Normandy, and of course, Paris, with Le Golf National and nearby Golf de Rochefort, as well as several others.

France’s northern coast is within easy reach of the UK and is rich in great seaside golf courses. Less than an hour from Calais, Le Touquet, Hardelot and Wimereux offer some of the most demanding and highly rated courses in Europe

Further round the coast and close to the ferry ports at St Malo, Roscoff, Caen and Cherbourg are classic coastal courses such as Granville, Pen Guen and St Malo itself.

But the south-west and Atlantic coast, the Alps and Provence-Alpes Cote d’Azur also host many great courses.

Golf in the south

Wine lovers can indulge in a long weekend in legendary wine capital Bordeaux with great golf close at hand, for example at Golf du Medoc and the beautiful Arcachon lagoon.

Provence and the Cote d’Azur offers perhaps the ideal location for combining a family holiday with golf. Long, sunny days, fine wines, inventive cuisine and the proximity of the Mediterranean’s coastline all make this region one of the world’s best holiday destinations. From the Severiano Ballesteros designed Pont Royal, in the valley of the beautiful Luberon hills of Provence, to the stunning course at Servanes in the shadow of the Alpilles, or, further along the Cote d’Azur, the run of courses, including those at Sainte Baume, Golf du Chateau de Taulane, Terre Blanche, and Roquebrune, are all within easy reach of the perfectly blue waters of the Mediterranean.

The oldest course in France is Pau Golf Club 1856, which is also the oldest course outside Great Britain. Dinard in Brittany also has a long history, founded in 1887, it has a beautiful and characterful clubhouse plus stunning sea views.

If it’s the high life you’re after, then there are plenty of golf courses in mountain settings, surrounded by the most spectacular vistas. Chamonix, Megeve and Morzine all have courses above 1,000 metres in altitude, while the course at Tignes, the highest in Europe, tops out at a breath-taking 2,100 metres among the towering peaks of the Val d’Isere.

Find out more here: uk.france.fr/en/golf-1; www.europeantour.com/rydercup