Villa du Golf Saint Cyprien

The courses were scenic, interesting and challenging, and play moved along at a good pace. We found the course in good shape overall despite some of the reviews. The greens were in better condition on Etang Canigou than on La Foret, where maintenance was underway. Friendly staff, and a nice place to stop for a coffee or beer afterwards.

The woman in the pro shop was especially helpful and friendly throughout, and she’s what lifted this from a two star review to a three. She helped us with gloves and had us try them on to get the sizes right. The shop looked well stocked, and the other staff were friendly, helpful, and apologetic. The course design has clearly had a lot of thought put into it, with plenty of challenging holes. But the condition was very poor, presumably because of the hot weather. Many tee boxes were badly uneven and hard to get a tee into. The greens were a mixed bag: some in awful shape, while several, mainly on the back 9, were lush and soft. Those played slowly, and the damaged ones were unpredictable. I can imagine maintenance is difficult in this climate, but the price felt high for a course in such poor condition, even with the discount. Maybe that’s supply and demand, since in Ireland you can’t go 20 miles without finding a golf course, unlike in France. The rental clubs were also a terrible first impression. Please get a suitable left handed set. I was handed six clubs, including a ten year old Wilson starter set driver, 3 wood and putter, an old Mizuno MB52 6 iron, and ancient Wilson shovels from 7 to 9 iron and SW. The other two clubs only turned up after someone rummaged around the back, once my face had given away my shock. My two right handed friends got full modern Wilson D9 sets, though one had a random old starter Inesis driver. The woman apologized and didn’t charge me, but mismatched, horribly dirty clubs take away from a paid round. At least clean them. Baked on dirt and grass won’t improve already awful clubs.

We played three rounds this week and really enjoyed them. The courses are in very good condition. Staff in both the pro shop and restaurant were friendly and patient, and food and drink prices were very reasonable. Service was efficient too. Well done.

A nice, challenging course with good greens, but the fairways and most tee boxes were in very poor condition. The staff were friendly and helpful. It felt very expensive for what you get.