The Provencal Golf Club in Biot has a superb restaurant

The Provencal Golf in Biot is an unpretentious and well-laid golf course for all

In the middle of a densely populated area with homes, offices and light industry, a small oasis is located in the hinterland just 5 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast at Antibes. If you want to play golf without spending the whole day, the 9 hole Provencal Golf Club in Biot, is a great opportunity for an entertaining half-day activity.

The training facility and a small 6-hole pitch and putt course also allow the beginner to try this wondrous sport, which was once expensive and exclusive, but today has become a sport for everyone. At the facility in The Provencal Golf, the whole family will be able to have a fun and memorable experience at a reasonable price.

Lunch restaurant with good local dishes

Already on arrival at the golf facility on an early weekday afternoon, you sense a good and relaxed, even almost holiday-like atmosphere. From the restaurant you can enjoy views of the training area with the Maritime Alps in the background.

It is hard to overlook the fact that the place is not only visited by golfers, because there are many waiters in the restaurant who are in the process of servicing the many Frenchmen from nearby offices who take a lunch break under the large umbrellas on the club terrace.

In fact, it is a legal requirement of many French companies that staff do not eat their lunch at work, and it exploits the brasserie Le Club, which keeps a good turnover on the many non-golfing lunch guests.

Please note, therefore, that the restaurant closes relatively early at 5 p.m. outside the summer season, if you want to play an afternoon round just like we did.

The Provencal Golf in Biot is an affordable and not too difficult course

In the afternoon heat, it is an advantage that you can rent a golf cart, because even if you only play 9 holes, the heat can quickly interfere with the good experience that the course in The Provencal Golf actually is. It is not possible to buy a course guide, but it is also not necessary as there are good overview maps at the tee sites.

Furthermore, on the club’s website, there is a fine photo review of all the holes if you want to prepare from home. The course length of 2,370 meters from the yellow tee is affordable, and the 9 holes are played in pairs with 35 strokes. Layout-wise, you would call the course a forest course with moderate terrain jumps.

The tee boxes, fairway and greens are well-groomed, although there are a few worn areas. 

Worst though is the golf cart path, which needs a thorough renovation, but it is adapted with a patient speed in the golf cart along the way.

Play the narrow holes wisely

The course is well designed and with a short distance between the holes. We leave the training area with a nice view of the restaurant at the tee site on hole 1. It’s an accessible par-4 hole of 265 meters length and a soft right-dogleg, which I play fine with my natural slice in the drive and good chip after a half-moon approach stroke.

Immediately after that, the most difficult hole on the course must be played. Hole 2 is a par-5 hole that becomes narrower and narrower the longer you hit your drive. A smart way to get the long-hitting players to think twice.

Then the course alternates between par-3 and par-4 holes, all of which are well-laid and bordered by varying low bushes and broadleaves, as well as a few pines and olive trees that shield the course from the nearby buildings.

Remember to enjoy the round an extra time on the restaurant’s terrace

Far too quickly, you reach the far end of the track when you return “home” on hole 7. It’s a short par-4 hole with a sharp left dog game, and on the tee spot, the long-hitting player can see that it’s possible to beat the 255 meters directly to the green, which is about 10 feet higher than the tee spot and is protected by two greenside bunkers. A difficult but not impossible battle.

However, I take the sensible way up the fairway from where, with a reasonable drive, I only have 80 meters into the middle of the green.

After two more lovely holes, we suddenly stand again at the clubhouse, and just before closing time can sit down in the restaurant and enjoy a late lunch while we remember all the good golf battles that we knocked out on the course.

The bad and missed strokes have long since been forgotten, and back is the impression of a fine round on a course that is well-groomed without being flashy and which can be played for a reasonable green fee. So if you have half a day in excess, Le Provencal Golf is a recommendable place to use it.

For more info and table reservation please visit: Le Provençal Golf

By Mikael Mortensen – 2022