Le Touquet La Mer

Architects: HS Colt & CH Alison
Restoration: Frank Pont (with Patrice Boissonnas)
 

The La Mer course was designed in 1930 on pristine dunes overlooking the English Channel. The wind erosion was so fierce that it had to be built a mile inland. It has hosted six French Opens.

Much of it was destroyed in WWII. Modest restoration works were undertaken in the 1980s but in 2010, having painstakingly researched the course’s origins, Frank and French architect Patrice Boissonnas developed a long-term course plan to restore it back to its pre-war origins. This involved removing more than 30,000 trees which, in turn, led to the uncovering of three lost holes. All bunkers, tees and green surrounds were restored. The mowing lines were improved and the playing surfaces have been made faster and firmer.

Although only two-thirds of the work has been done to date, the course’s ranking has already risen dramatically. Having previously been rated #60 in Continental Europe by Golf World magazine, it is now placed at #24.