History
In 1910, a local hotel company began negotiations to rent land in the Bréville dunes from the Granville town council. The first 9 holes were begun by a group of local enthusiasts in 1912 with a view to a further 9 holes to be added later. The Cercle des Sports took charge of the new course which was not officially inaugurated until July 5, 1914 although it had been in play for two years by then. The First World War soon put a stop to play and a part of the course was requisitioned by the local garrison. After the war Granville grew in popularity as a resort and so the course needed to be upgraded. Thus in 1921 plans were laid and work was begun under the supervision of Harry Colt, the famed English golf architect. Colt made good use of the magnificent dune landscape to design one of the largest courses in Europe at that time. A visit in 1922 by the renowned specialist in golf course design, Martin Sutton, confirmed the natural quality of the linksland. He was so impressed by what he saw on his visit across the channel that he wrote: 'the site is a golfing paradise... I doubt if there's a course even in England or Scotland that has a more favourable natural situation.' The Granville links is a magnificent example of Harry Colt's work as a golf course designer. During World War Two the club house was requisitioned and the course closed by the occupying army. In 1957, a small group of golfers restored the course to its original layout. The course is much changed since then with only a dozen of the original holes remaining. However, the newer holes do largely follow the original layout. Despite these changes, the course still challenges players of all standards and especially in the wind - just as on the links of Scotland or Ireland.
The designer, Christian Dior, was born in Granville and played golf at the Golf de Granville. When he came back from doing his military service in 1928, he organised a small competition for a few of his friends. This idea was taken up by the club in 1973 and since then a competition has been held in his honour each year - La Coupe Dior, of which a photo can be seen below in the gallery.
In 2008, the course was once again the venue for a national championship, the Mid Amateur (+35 years of age). The first photo in the gallery shows the 17th green during this championship which was held at Granville in September 2008.
Read more about this topic: Golf De Granville Baie Du Mont St Michel
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But what experience and history teach is this—that peoples and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
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