Factfile
Domaine de Terre Blanche
83440 Tourrettes,
Var, France
Tel: 0033-4943-99000
Fax: 0033-4943-99001
Web: Four Seasons Resort
Golf packages, which include golf, breakfast and accommodation, cost from around 600 Euros per night per room.
Fly to Nice Cote d'Azur Airport from Newcastle with easyjet. Log on to: EasyJet.com for full details.
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The profusion of budget airlines now flying out of the North East has really opened up some of Europe's more exotic golf locations as perfect weekend getaways. The Algarve and the Costa del Sol are obvious choices for year-round sun and fun out on pristine green, dry tracks. But for something different, think South of France. Easyjet now fly to Nice on the lovely Cote d'Azur direct from Newcastle every day - and what's more, it's under two hours away. There are some lovely courses nearby but it's probably worth taking a 45-minute journey from the airport up into the lovely hills of Provence. This is a mystical land with ancient villages clinging to limestone outcrops and the towering Alps as a backdrop. There can be no better place to stay than the wonderful Four Seasons Resort at Terre Blanche. The two-course Americam-style country club complex, situated near the village of Tourrettes in the Var region, offers some of the best year-round golf in Europe. The two tracks, designed by Newcastle-born Dave Thomas, wind through pine and oak-clad hills and valleys, providing golfers with sweeping views of neighbouring villages and snow-capped mountains. A round here is a thrilling, take-your-breath-away experience. Sometimes the views make it hard to concentrate on your next shot. The pre-eminent Le Chateau course offers several water features to test the ability of the more advanced golfer. Sophisticated construction and irrigation techniques maintain the quality of the playing surface all year long. The Le Riou course is probably less difficult but boasts the finest views as it sweeps across the top of the hill Terre Blanche occupies. Le Chateau comes in at a massive 6044m off the yellow tees - another 570m off white - and 5178m off red. As with most Thomas designs, accuracy off the tee is required to make decent progress here. The fairways are all beautiful, most with undulations aplenty and, another Thomas trademark, strategically-placed bunkers, particularly as you approach each green. Doglegs also abound with the reputedly hardest hole on the course, the 400m par four third, swinging from right to left uphill. A thin, narrow green awaits behind a battery of bunkers. The fifth requires a 200m or so carry across water while the sixth can be excitingly reached by cutting across the lake via a carefully constructed isthmus if you dare. There are some interesting par threes too, with the 13th and 16th both requiring stonewall accuracy. Le Riou is equally exciting, if slightly less challenging. Measuring 5591m off yellow and 5893 off white, it comes in at just under 5000m from the red tee box. The course starts down on the lowest point of the complex alongside the river that gives it its name. The opening holes are fairly straight and fairly straight forward. Things start to get a bit hotter at the sixth, a long 460m par five that again features a dogleg, a fiercely undulating fairway and many a bunker. The eighth is a really interesting par three of only 150m - the green sitting uphill on a narrow plateau that is protected by water and a huge pot bunker to the front and a tree on the edge of the putting surface to the left. The ninth is a hideous test with a big lake in front of the tee boxes and a fairway that alarmingly sweeps down to the water along its entire length. At the end, there's a small green across a stream. The back nine march across the highest part of Terre Blanche and are simply stunning to look at. The final three holes are glorious, each dropping further down the hill until you reach the par five 18th, which doglegs right. There's a rocky canyon-cum-stream that sweeps from left to right until it drops into a lake in front of the clubhouse and with bunkers all the way down the left, accurate and long hitting is a prerequisite for success. It's a great end to a great course. Thomas, who has produced a raft of top-class courses around the world including Slaley Hall, the Belfry, Parque de Floresta and San Roque, has really enjoyed himself in this lush Provencal countryside, bending the courses around the Four Seasons hotel in the centre of the complex. It's all designed to look like a typical village from the region and it does it splendidly, blending into the forest quite seemlessly. It's a great achievement by Thomas and the hotel designers. Late this year, there's a chance to visit the complex as part of a three-night package, play some golf, enjoy the great food and meet affable Dave Tomas too. Full details are on the Terre Blanche website (see address below). The hotel is composed of a main building, which houses the minimalist reception, the excellent restaurant, a nice bar and a pleasant lounge, and a myriad of houses in local style with terracota walls and pan-tiled roofs that are the rooms and suites. The rooms are all luxurious and most boast terraces that overlook the courses. It's an inspiring place to be. The other facilities include a David Leadbetter golf academy, which offers instruction and private lessons, while there's a handy covered driving range. The luxurious clubhouse rounds off a really pleasant golf experience. On the day I was there, French number one Rafael Jaquelin was limbering up for this season's European Tour on the range and the Le Chateau course, which he rates highly. After the golf you can relax by the complex's delightful outdoor pool and take in more of those delicious views. There's also a spa suite that offers a range of treatments to relax those aching muscles. It really is an ideal place for a weekend break and easyjet make it all the easier to get there from our region. | 
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