Le Golf National

L’Albatros — France’s purpose-built golf stadium for the Open de France and Ryder Cup

The course is located in Guyancourt, on a completely sculpted terrain near Versailles. Extensive earthworks allowed for the creation of natural amphitheatres, spectator mounds, lakes, and playing lines adapted for major events.

The idea of a national center capable of hosting France's biggest competitions took shape in the 1980s. Hubert Chesneau designed L'Albatros with the team from the French Golf Federation. The course was inaugurated in October 1990 and hosted its first French Open in June 1991. It later became the venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympic golf events.

L'Albatros is a contemporary championship architecture. Fairways are wide but often cut by water, bunkers, and slopes.

The closing stretch of the course concentrates the tension. Holes 15, 16, and 18 utilize water either frontally or laterally, forcing the player to decide between a direct line and safety. Wind greatly accentuates the difficulty variations.

The Golf National is a high-level public facility, featuring multiple courses, a driving range, academy, hotel, and public access. The experience is less intimate than a historic club but unique for playing a Ryder Cup venue still open to the public.

The Round selects it because it embodies the ambition of French golf: a public, spectacular, demanding course capable of hosting the world's biggest events.

Inaugurated in October 1990; first French Open in 1991; 2018 Ryder Cup; Paris 2024 Olympic site; conceptual design by Hubert Chesneau.

Open de France; Ryder Cup; Jeux olympiques de Paris 2024 — Ryder Cup : 2018; Jeux olympiques : 2024; Open de France : site régulier depuis 1991