Le Touquet (La Mer)

“La Mer”, sang the French crooner Charles Trenet, and I was humming my favourite karaoke tune as we played around Le Touquet’s namesake.

However, the course has more in common with the song’s English equivalent – because it is literally Beyond The Sea.

Sure, crashing waves can be heard throughout the second nine, and there is more sand on the course than on most links.

But there is never a wave in sight, making its name a little curious.

I digress. Le Touquet has become a regular destination for British golfers because it is so close to the Channel Tunnel and, along with other clubs in the area, is such good value.

We played La Mer because it is in Continental Europe’s top 100, but the resort also has two other courses.

Its modern clubhouse includes a substantial restaurant and impressive pro’s shop with a very helpful team.

Our game was on a very cool, dull day in March, which meant we didn’t experience La Mer at its best, but we still enjoyed a track with plenty of drama, especially on the back nine.

It is quite a long walk to the first tee, so it is worth knowing that La Mer has a separate car park.

The opener is a tough par-five that bends around a small nature reserve before an ascent to a flag protected by a bunker.

It is followed by a heck of a par-three – 211 yards, between dunes and bunkers. I took driver and was excited to see my ball fly onto the green and rest just eight feet from the pin. Frustratingly, I missed my birdie.

The downhill par-four third proffered another opportunity as I followed a decent drive with a pleasing approach. However, birdies remained in the sky on this day.

One of La Mer’s trademarks is the banks in front of the greens and the run-offs around them, and none are more pronounced than on the head-spinning par-three seventh.

From the tee, the shot seems tricky but not insurmountable into a green guarded by three large bunkers.

Later, it becomes clear that the putting surface falls dramatically from left to right, and any overly adventurous shot will see the ball tumble past the pin down a very steep slope. A par-three would be a heck of a score.

Water on the left and trees on the right can befuddle the thoughts of those tackling the eighth, but the real challenge is club selection for the approach into a green perched above an embankment.

The ninth is an even greater challenge, with a blind drive that needs to avoid the lake on the left before a long second between bunkers before a two-tier green.

With the sound of the waves crashing beyond the hedges on the course’s perimeter, we took on the tenth – a super par-three over bushes on the right and a deep bunker that threatens shots that go front and central. I profited from clubbing up.

Delightful holes follow, including the stroke index one 11th. From the elevated white tee, the drive needs to be steered away from sand traps on the left. Banks around the sloping green can foil hopes for a par.

My round was chugging along nicely but almost became unhinged on the par-four 14th, where a stream sneaks diagonally across the fairway. I successfully avoided it with my second shot, but it trickled into a greenside bunker.

The turn for home begins on the 15th, a par-five dogleg which could yield a birdie chance if left-side bushes and right-side traps are avoided. Alas, my cold putter spurned another opportunity.

“Give it more than you think,” I advised Mrs W as she prepared to approach the green on the par-four 17th, which is obscured by the steep bank in front of it.

She took me a little too literally, and the ball flew into bushes beyond the target and was never seen again.

When we spotted the sign for the panoramic view next to the 18th tee, we thought we might finally see the sea.

The vista across the course is impressive, but the waves remained out of sight.

Meanwhile, the drive needs to be steered away from trees on the left before

approaching a small green protected by three sand traps.

But that was not the end of the drama at Le Touquet… sadly, thieves had smashed into our car during our round and taken Mrs. W’s handbag.

This type of incident can happen anywhere, and I mention it only because of the superb response of the team at Le Touquet.

They vacuumed the glass from the car, arranged for a garage to fix the window, and contacted the police on our behalf.

And we learned a lesson.. don’t leave valuables in the car.