The 2023 tour, otherwise known as 'Nul Pointer Barry's year', will see us returning to the shores of France for the first time since the 'forgotten' tour of 2004. We will be based, from the Wednesday night, in Valbonne, with accommodation split between Château Beaumont and a delightful hotel in the town centre.

 

We have at least four full days of golf organised, with an option to play an additional round at the Willie Park Jr. designed Monte-Carlo Golf Club (actually located in France) at 2pm on the Wednesday for the early birds. Standing at 2,700 feet above sea level with views to the Mediterranean on the front nine and views to the snow-capped mountains on the back nine, this a wonderful parkland course set high in the hills above Monaco with views over Italy, Monaco and France. Described by Bernard Darwin in 1913 as "the roof of the world", it has hosted nine editions of the Monte Carlo Open, with Seve Ballesteros winning in 1986 and Ian Woosnam victorious three years in a row from 1990.

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Dinner on Wednesday will be in the old town of Mougins.

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The customary 'international' match will take place on the Thursday afternoon at Golf de Cannes Mougins, with lunch at the club beforehand. Ranked the 42nd best course in France, it is located just a few miles inland from the famous Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes, nestling in the foothills of the southern Alps close to the forested Valmasque Nature Park. Founded in 1923, the club embarked on an ambitious plan to remodel the course in the late 1970s, calling in the design partnership of Peter Alliss and Dave Thomas to upgrade the layout. This renovation led to the club establishing the Cannes Open in 1980, with notable winners down the years including Greg Norman (1983), Seve Ballesteros (1987) and Ian Woosnam (1994). The course plays long, though fairways are wide and greens are generally large and subtly contoured. Feature holes include the 4th, which doglegs left and slightly uphill to a raised green, and the downhill 17th, where the putting surface lies beyond a threatening pond. In 2015, Tom Mackenzie was called in to extensively renovate the course, refurbishing 25 fairway and 26 greenside bunkers, using capillary concrete - a highly porous but water retentive cement and polymer bonded mix - to re-line the sand traps. He also reconstructed the greens at the 11th, 14th and 17th holes as part of an enterprising improvement project that could well see the course steal the limelight in French golfing circles once again!! 

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Dinner on Thursday ​will be at Café des Arcades in the main square in Valbonne. According to its website, it is a restaurant with "history, memories and French charm".

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Friday's Brown Jackets Open will take place at Château de Taulane, Ranked the 38th best course in France, it is set about one hour's drive from Cannes and has been completely refashioned by the 'Black Knight', Gary Player. Set on some 120 acres, it opened for play to critical acclaim in 1992. Seven lakes come into play, most to catch any wayward approach shot to the well-protected greens. Described as a "fascinating, but above all fun layout" in a "haven of peace and tranquility", it holds the attention of golfers of all levels from the opening tee shot to the very last putt.

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Dinner on Friday (and the auction) will be at Meat & Wine in Valbonne, described as "top notch" in a recent Tripadvisor review.

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For the Brown Jacket Masters on the Saturday, we will be back at Golf de Cannes Mougins.

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Dinner on Saturday will be at Restaurant le Vesuvio, right on La Croisette in Cannes. According to its website, it has a generous and inventive menu (whatever that means).

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In a break from tradition, there is no golf planned on the Sunday. Instead, there will be lunch on the beach for this who aren't heading home early, plus an optional dip in the sea to sober up before the flight home. Exact venue still TBD.

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In terms of travel, everyone is flying into Nice. We will have a tour bus that will take about 8 people and clubs, so there may be a need for a hire car or two (still TBD). Valbonne is only about 20 minutes from the airport though, so it may be more cost-effective to take Ubers. Further details on this to follow.

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The tour itinerary is as follows 

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Wednesday 4 October

• The first tourists to arrive will be Andy, Clive and Sam (with Kerri, Ian and Baz already there)

• Golf at Monte-Carlo Golf Club at 2pm

• Dinner in Mougins old town

• Vix, Lems and Finbar arrive late Wednesday

• Accommodation in Valbonne

 

Thursday 5 October

• Everyone else (apart from El Mel, Gilo and Justin) arrives Thursday a.m.

• 'International' match at Cannes Mougins - tee booked from 1.50pm

• Dinner at Café des Arcades in Valbonne

• El Mel, Gilo and Justin arrive late Thursday

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Friday 6 October​

• Open at Château de Taulane - tee booked from 12pm

• Dinner at Meat & Wine in Valbonne

 

Saturday 7 October

• Masters at Cannes Mougins - tee booked from 11.50am

• Dinner at Restaurant le Vesuvio in Cannes

 

Sunday 8 October​

• Pre-lunch departures for Lems, Vix, Gilo, Justin, Finbar and Billy

• Lunch on beach, venue still TBD

• Head home

We have at least four full days of golf organised, with an option to play an additional round on the Old Tom Morris Links at Rosapenna on the Wednesday for the early birds. Ranked the 32nd best course in Ireland, the original design is credited to Old Tom Morris whilst he was visiting Lord Leitrim in his estate in 1891 and it soon became the place to be seen playing. The course was then upgraded by Harry Vardon in c. 1906 and James Braid is also said to have suggested improvements. Harry Colt was then called in to make some further dramatic design changes in 1911 and he was actively involved up to about 1916. In June 2005, nine new holes - laid out by Pat Ruddy and carved through the low-lying dunes - were opened for play and the order of holes was resequenced. with holes 2 to 10 of the original Old Tom Morris design now forming the back nine. A genuine blend of the old-fashioned with the contemporary.

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The customary 'international' match will take place on the Thursday afternoon at Portsalon Golf Club, ranked the 22nd best course in Ireland. Founded in 1891 by Colonel - wait for it - B.J. Barton, Portsalon was a founder member of the Golf Union of Ireland, the oldest golfing union in the world. Designed by Charles Thompson, the Portrush professional, the course runs along the beautifully sandy shores of Ballymastoker Bay, stretching for two miles towards where the mouth of the deep blue Lough Swilly meets the Atlantic Ocean. The links quickly earned a reputation as one of the best around and attracted visitors from near and far, including Bernard Darwin, who described the course as "thoroughly entertaining". However, the club struggled to survive until the members stepped in and bought it in 1986. It was then remodelled by Pat Ruddy, with only five of the original holes left unchanged; nine new holes were introduced and four others were altered significantly. It is an exhilarating course situated in a stunning location with most of the holes weaving their way between sand dunes. It is unpretentious 'golf au naturel'. The 2nd hole is considered to be one of the best in Ireland, with breathtaking views.

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Dinner on Thursday ​will be at The Olde Glen Pub, considered by Paul McGinley to be the best pub in Ireland. It's about a 15 minute cab ride from the hotel.

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Friday's Brown Jackets Open will take place on St Patrick's Links at Rosapenna, already ranked the 3rd best course in Ireland despite only officially opening in June 2021! Built on land that previously housed a 36-hole facility from the early 1990s, the course was designed by Tom Doak of Renaissance Golf Design. The head greenkeeper, George Helly, previously worked at Bandon Dunes in Oregon and Tara Iti in New Zealand.

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Dinner on Friday will hopefully be at Fisk Seafood Bar in Downings, although they don't take bookings, so we'll have to be pretty flexible. Both Fisk Seafood Bar and The Olde Glen were recommended in a July 2022 article in the Irish Times.

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For the Brown Jacket Masters on the Saturday, we will be back at Portsalon Golf Club.

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Dinner on Saturday will be at The Singing Pub, one of Ireland's oldest pubs. located about 3km outside Downings. Again, they don't take bookings...

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Golf on Sunday is on the Sandy Hills Links at Rosapenna, for those that want it (as things currently stand, we have 10 takers for golf on Sunday). Ranked the 12th best course in Ireland, the current course opened in June 2003, following which the golfing world slowly, but surely, began to recognise it as special. Carved straight through the sand dunes (rather than  being routed alongside them), you immediately find yourself in a lunar landscape, among gigantic dunes, with spectacular views across the Old Tom Morris course to Sheep Haven Bay beyond. Each and every hole has precise definition with the hummocking fairways framed by the dunes, so the immense challenge is always clearly visible from the tees and the greens are invariably cut into the dunes or sited on elevated plateaux.

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In terms of travel, there seems to be a roughly equal split between Belfast City and Belfast International, with the majority arriving on the Thursday morning in time for golf at Portsalon at 2pm. It's hire cars from there and I think everyone has received instructions from Finbar Saunders as to who each of you are travelling with. Further details can be found here.

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The tour itinerary is as follows 

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Wednesday 28 September

• The first tourists to arrive will be Finbar Saunders, Andy, Lemon, Bazza and Sam

• Golf at Old Tom Morris, Rosapenna at 3.10pm

• Stay at The Beach Hotel in Downings

• Dinner TBC

 

Thursday 29 September

• Everyone else arrives Thursday a.m.

• 'International' match at Portsalon - tee booked from 2pm

• Stay at The Beach Hotel in Downings (through to Sunday)

• Dinner at The Olde Glen Pub

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Friday 30 September​

• Open at St Patrick's, Rosapenna - tee booked from 11.30am

• Lemon departs Friday pm to return home (the result of some calendar muppetry!)

• Dinner at Fisk Seafood Bar in Downings

 

Saturday 1 October

• Masters at Portsalon - tee booked from 11am

• Dinner at The Singing Pub in Mevagh

 

Sunday 2 October​

• Golf at Sandy Hills, Rosapenna - tee times at 8am, 8.40am and 8.50am (a bit early, but need enough time to get back to Belfast for flights home) - those currently playing are Wapster, DB & Max Zorin (at 8am), with Finbar Saunders, Adolf, El Mel, Andy, Gilo, Vanessa and Sam taking the later tee times

• Head home