GRANDE BASTIDE ***
Cabell Robinson, the architect behind Grande Bastide, has a reputation for producing high-quality layouts that demand golfers to think their way round the course. La Grande Bastide is no exception. While the property could have produced a bland, run-of-the-mill layout, Robinson instead created a testing 18-holer that punishes those who adopt a rash approach to the game. The tee shot at the par 4fifteenth, for instance, is all about positioning rather than power – the two lakes on either side of the zig-zagging fairway takes care of that.
The final hole is another example of how Robinson squeezed every ounce of difficulty out of the land. The downhill tee shot to a left-handed dog-leg teases you into taking a 'tiger' line but, once again, position off the tee is the way to go. The folly of an aggressive line becomes all too apparent when the 386-metre (422-yard) hole concludes at an undulating green that slopes dangerously towards one the course’s eight lakes. Scoring is possible, but only with care.
As well as testing your golfing metal, the course also provides wonderful views over the rustic French countryside. Indeed, being located at the foothills of the Niçoise hinterland, Grande Bastide has a marvellous backdrop of Grasse, Opio and Châteauneuf de Grasse.
With so much going for it, it is a shame the course isn’t presented to a standard befitting of its layout. The truth is, Grande Bastide is a fine course blighted by some poor finishing touches. This becomes most apparent on the tees and even more so on the greens which are almost unmanageably fast. Thankfully plans are afoot to rectify these issues through an extensive renovation project that has been planned but has yet to start. The sooner it does, the better.
Golf de la Grande Bastide
Yardage: 6,484 Par: 72
Designed by Cabell Robinson
Contact: opengolfclub.com
