Biarritz and Chiberta golf courses

Any player returning from a stay in the Basque Country will rank the iconic Biarritz-le-Phare course among their favorites. The course was inaugurated on March 13, 1888 in the presence of Princess Frederika of Hanover, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of George V of Hanover, who attended the first competition played on the Biarritz links, which pitted...ladies against each other.

A little history

Tom and Willie Dunn, well-known architects in England, were approached in 1887 to design the course. At the time, the land was leased to various owners and to Société Foncière Lyonnaise. On April 27, 1890, in an editorial about the Biarritz golf course, "The Field" newspaper reported that the Dunn brothers' course was improving day by day, but that the main difficulty, called "The Chasm", was a par 3, with the tee on a rock and the green on another rock, the fairway being an inlet of the sea.

The Biarritz golf course remained open during the First World War. In 1920, the committee managing the course called on British architect H.S. Colt to remodel the Biarritz course. In his report, Harry Colt stated that the course, designed on sandy ground, offered a valuable advantage and was suitable for all-weather, all-season golf. He found the length of the course inadequate, with a large number of holes playable only with a wood and a pitching wedge. Renovation work began in 1923 and the "remodelled" course opened on February 4, 1924. Following these modifications, the hole "The Chasm", so dear to the English, was removed and the clubhouse, which had become too small, was refurbished in 1926. At the time, the main teachers were Eugène Fafitte, Pierre Hirigoyen, Albert and Claude Gassiat...

At the end of the Second World War, the holes along the Chambre d'Amour were abandoned as they had been too badly damaged by the occupation. The 12 holes were then extended by means of landscaped transformations, and a vast reforestation plan was undertaken in the late 1970s.

The current course

In 2012, it was decided to restore the numerous bunkers that line the Biarritz course, and the Société des Golfs de Biarritz called on British architect Stuart Halett. More than an aesthetic facelift, this delicate operation is as much about respecting the spirit of Harry Colt as it is about adapting to contemporary and environmental requirements. Of course, the shadow of Colt's architecture still hangs over the Lighthouse golf course, and his ghost prevents any outrageous attitude. So what is Stuart Halett to do, if not remain in the spirit of the creator by making the specifications evolve, i.e. to be able to respond to equipment (balls and clubs) that has evolved enormously since 1920?

This 5402-metre, par 69 course is a little jewel...The 370-metre hole no. 4 (from my white balls) is always the most difficult, as its second shot is always hard to apprehend because its green, very rolling with difficult-to-read lines, is well defended by judiciously placed bunkers.

The 325-meter par 4 11th, one of the most beautiful holes on the course, isn't exceptionally long, but this typically Coltian hole has two magnificent bunkers that wait wisely for second shots and often prevent you from being in two on the green. As for 14, a 114-meter par 3 with an elevated green, it is defended by four bunkers, including a new one that has been returned to its original position...

Beyond its majestic setting and its 15,000 annual visitors, the Golf de Biarritz is also part of an eco-responsible approach, in line with the overall environmental initiative undertaken by the city of Biarritz. Optimized water management and rainwater recovery, electric gardening equipment, selection of suitable plants, waste management... the means implemented by the Golf de Biarritz to implement sustainable and responsible maintenance are numerous and are developed every year.

Biarritz Golf Club

2 Avenue Edith Cavell. 64200 Biarritz

Tel 05 59 03 71 80

www.golfbiarritz.com

Green-fee: €65

Chiberta

In the Basque Country, between Biarritz and Bayonne, on the beaches of Anglet, the Chiberta golf course is enjoying a new lease of life thanks to the renovation work carried out since 2011, while preserving the family spirit that has marked it for almost a century...

**A LITTLE HISTORY.

It all began in 1924, when the "Biarritz Anglet la Forêt" company acquired 150 hectares of forest and dunes to build a golf course.
In 1927, the famous architect Tom Simpson set down his pencils facing the Atlantic for the pleasure of the Duke of Windsor, who was behind this playful project. The architect's contract stipulated that Simpson was to create the most beautiful golf course in the world! From 1928, the year of the first French professional championships, to 1938, Chiberta became one of the Basque Coast's leading venues for sport and refined elegance, and the Clubhouse was the scene of events that brought together all the Gotha of the day...
For the past 95 years, the success of the Chiberta golf course, combined with the assaults of the salty gusts of the nearby ocean, have prompted the club's management to embark on what they felt was a necessary operation: rethinking the course. British architect Stuart Halett was called in, with the aim of restoring the Chiberta course to its former glory, while incorporating today's expectations.

"This led to a rethinking of the distribution of surface sprinklers, as well as the planting of trees and the re-instatement of bunkers," emphasizes Stuart Halett. Around a hundred maritime pines, tamarisk and cypress trees were planted. Of course, the course had to remain in the spirit of Tom Simpson, while at the same time evolving to meet the specifications of a modern golf course. "I like this type of project because I have the deepest respect for our great architectural masters Colt, Mc Kenzie and Simpson, but at the same time I'm lucid and realistic. The environment today is not what it was in 1927, as deforestation and urbanization have turned the landscape upside down," adds Stuart.

FOUR SEASIDE HOLES HAVE BEEN RESTORED TO THEIR ORIGINAL BEAUTY.

These are holes 11, 12, 13 and 14.

The 11th is not exceptionally long - 362 meters - but this typically Scottish hole boasts two magnificent bunkers that wisely accommodate drives and often prevent you from being in 2 on the green. The 465-meter par 5 12th could have been considered an easy hole until Stuart Halett replaced a fairway bunker and repositioned the tees... The 13th is a "par 3 and a half" which has been lengthened by 30 meters and whose green slope mercilessly brings balls back towards the bunker. As for 14, which inaugurates the "finishing holes", a 171-meter par 3 with a raised green, it is defended by 4 bunkers, one of which has been returned to its original position.

All golfers who have played Chiberta rank this course among their favorites. A true course that has regained its former glory, where wind and rain can also disrupt concentration, judgment and play...

The finale in the pine forest is a little more "relaxing", but right to the end, Chiberta assumes its identity with sublime greens that are very difficult to read and undulating fairways. Go on, and many times over: the whims of the wind will make the course different from one day to the next...

Golf de Chiberta

104 Bd des Plages

64600 Anglet

Tel 05 59 52 51 10