LES AISSES GOLF COURSE,
One of the 3 great Sologne courses that lie just to the south of Orléans only 40 km), Golf des Aisses may not be quite in the same top bracket as Robert von Hagge’s but nonetheless, it complements the American-inspired layout superbly. Opened in 1992, Les Aisses was originally builded with three 9 holes courses.
There are 27 holes at Les Aisses Golf on a massive 625-acre property. Each loop was named Rouge, Blanc and Bleu and each configured with two par threes, two par fives and five par fours to give a par of 36 for each circuit. The Rouge/Blanc course was actually slightly shorter than the other two 18-hole combinations but was rated the toughest of all three possible layouts.
The Blanc nine was famed for its bunkers, with some holes having enormous waste area expanses running down almost the full side of the fairway from tee to green. On the other hand, the main hazard on the Rouge nine was water and this was best seen at holes 6 and 8, which dogleg in opposite directions around large lakes.
In 2010, things changed at golf des Aisses, specifically for the Red and White loops. The original Olivier Brizon design was modern and occasionally eccentric, but Hawtree Limited changed all that and the style now harks back to the Golden Age.
The main 18-hole course is now simply named Les Aisses while the Blue course is now called La Canne. Expect to see Les Aisses heading upwards in the French rankings, as it’s now a course to be reckoned with.
