Great golf and fine wine all in one place, what could be better?
If like me you love a good glass of wine or six after a round of golf on a championship course then this feature is for you.
Picture yourself in South-West France in the sunshine at the renowned Golf du Médoc Hotel and Spa in 2010. This stunning four star resort is located in the heart of the Médoc vineyards just 20 minutes away from Bordeaux and boasts two 18-hole championship golf courses. Luckily for us, they have just announced a series of exciting well priced initiatives for this year which wine and golf fans will surely find hard to resist.
Golfers can enjoy a three-night stay at Golf du Médoc for just 375 Euros per person which includes three nights bed & breakfast, three rounds of golf, full access to spa and leisure facilities and visit to a Médoc Chateau to do some wine tasting. Now I don’t know about anyone else but that’s my kind of golf holiday.
The resort also plans to launch a unique new 54-hole pairs event in July called ’Les Drives du Médoc’, which will be played on Golf du Médoc’s two courses and at Golf de Margaux and centre around Médoc’s vineyards.
In addition, a variety of wine and golf packages and events are available and guests can sample a wide range of clarets from the hundreds of chateaux in the region including Fete du Vin, a wine tasting festival in Bordeaux from June 24-27, and La Coupe des 36 Chateaux, a 36-hole weekend event in September where the prizes are sponsored by the Chateaux.
It just so happens that Bordeaux has never been more accessible to the UK market following the launch of budget airline Ryanair’s new service from Edinburgh at the end of last year. Now this is rapidly sounding like a plan even my wife would like.
Henry Martinet, manager at Golf du Médoc Hotel and Spa, said: “There is something very civilised about enjoying a great wine after a wonderful round of golf. Great golf courses and vineyards are rarely found in such close proximity and we are very proud at Golf Du Médoc that we can offer guests the chance to experience the best of both worlds at some truly amazing events.”
Regularly rated in the top ten courses in the country, Golf du Médoc’s Chateaux Course features a mixture of heather and broom, water hazards, well-placed ditches and fast greens. South African Retief Goosen emerged as the winner when the links-style layout held the French Open in 1999 and the course has again been chosen to stage this year’s French PGA Championship from April 5-10.
The Les Vignes Course, which measures 6,842 yards in length, is a gentler but no less memorable test as it meanders through a regional mixture of moors and pines, with the emphasis on course strategy rather than length.
The idea of Martinet, ‘Les Drives du Médoc’ will be held three months later from July 7-10 and will feature three different scoring formats for each day – betterball, stableford, greensomes stableford and texas scramble stableford.
As well as three rounds of golf and a practice round, competitors will also receive four nights’ bed and breakfast at Golf du Médoc, daily wine and gourmet food tastings, cocktails and prizes of Médoc wines plus a gala dinner at Chateaux Kirwan in Margaux for a cost of only 695 euros per person.
Martinet said: “I wanted to come up with a competition that combines the passion of golf and the magic of great Bordeaux wines, and I think this fits the bill perfectly. I have been working on this idea for some time and it is very exciting that it is coming to fruition at last. I am sure all the competitors will have a great time during the event.”
In my opinion that will take a lot of beating for 695 Euros. It’s the perfect golf trip no? Wine, Weather, Wife, Golf, the big four are in the bag – book my ticket please Mt Martinet and by the way, I’d like a big glass please…
You can check out all of Golf du Médoc’s golf and wine packages in 2010 on their website at www.hotelgolfdumedoc.com or e-mail them at contact@hotelgolfdumedoc.com.
For full details on Les Drives du Médoc and how to enter, go to www.drives-du-medoc.com or email contact@drives-du-medoc.com .
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