Riviera Golf de Barbossi

Riviera Golf de Barbossi

Riviera Golf de Barbossi has a good and coastal location in the southwest corner of Cannes and close to the coastal highway, the Autoroute A8. It provides easy and quick access to this challenging golf course in the heart of the Cote-d’Azur.

The art of golf

The course provides an unusual art experience if you have the energy to enjoy the 22 beautiful sculptures and works of art along the way. The course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior, has a high technical difficulty with tricky greens that require your full attention.

The speed of the grass

It can be hard to believe until you’ve experienced it. But there can be a big difference between how fast and far the ball rolls on the greens in Barbossi. On the already hilly greens the phenomenon “with and against the grass” makes it extra difficult to judge the putting line. Often you have to leave the green with a 3-putt or worse.

Heating before tee-off

In other words, it can be a good investment to spend 10 minutes calibrating the putter before starting. There is a nice training area close to the clubhouse. And the driving range should probably also be visited so that the trajectory can be adjusted before putting the ball on the first tee. Great precision will be needed for the next 4 hours.

Affordable start

The first hole of the course is an uncomplicated par4 hole with a small dogleg to the right. The safe shot is on the left side over, towards the 18th fairway. The right side is risky as a side branch to the river Riou de l’Argentière runs all the way along the fairway.

Then follows a par3 hole. Consider the tee stroke for a bit while your breath comes back to normal after quite a steep slope up from the first hole green. Some players will maybe already think they should have rented a buggy. And on the back-9, they’ll probably have regretted saving it. There are more elevation changes in this course than you think at first sight.

Remember water and snacks

After hole 2, pass the clubhouse for the last time on the round. Hole 3 is a par5 hole that leads the game to the southern end of the course. Then you play back and forth in the west side of the path before returning on holes 17 and 18. Therefore, remember to bring enough drinks and energizing snacks from the start, because the pathway goes up and down often.

Between holes 16 and 17, you pass the highest point of the pathway. Here is a magnificent view of the course and the basis for today’s selfie or group photo, if you otherwise have enough air in your lungs to keep the camera still.

Overall good condition

When I played the pitch in mid-March, the grass was at a good high and, as a whole, the pitch appeared well-groomed. The only minus was the tee places, which were very worn everywhere. This testifies to the fact that the course is much visited and is also played in the southern French winter, weather permitting.

Not a beginner’s track

Perhaps the club should consider the state of the tee off spots for a while, so that the grass could have some time to recover. However, the condition of the tee locations should not determine whether you choose to play this well-designed course.

The difficulty and hilly terrain should weigh more, and brand new golfers will probably get a better experience on some of the area’s easier courses such as Golf Saint Donat or the 9-hole course Le Provençal Golf.

Art for all the money

Back in Barbossi, there are many things to enjoy, even if the golf game – exceptionally – is not a complete success on that day. Out of nowhere, between holes 4 and 5, you suddenly spot three beautiful muses, which are taken directly out of Greek mythology.

And even though the impact on hole 11 may end up in the lake towards hole 13, you can hardly help but smile when you see the figure of the erotically very chubby woman who has taken a head jump in the lake, while three crocodiles are caught in a big grin with the blue Mediterranean sky for background.

Smile and enjoy the day

In other words, there is a lot to be happy about at Riviera Golf de Barbossi. And if you can keep a cool head, it’s not impossible to come back with a good score. The course is played in par71 with an affordable length of 5,361 meters from the yellow tee.

Remember hole 19

As usual, the club also offers a lovely restaurant, where you can enjoy the view of the beautiful terrace.

While golfers come home on the nice wide fairway on the affordable hole 18, you should therefore take the time to explore the French menu card and make sure to restore the fluid balance at restaurant L’Arbre Jaune at the end of a nice golf day.

Club website: Riviera Golf de Barbossi

By Mikael Mortensen – 2022