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FLASHING swords and thundering hooves are not usually associated with golf, even though the game is both royal and ancient, but take a golfing holiday in France and with a hint of imagination the connection is easily established for those of a romantic disposition.
The reason: castles and medieval chateaux abound here where knowing golfers congregate, particularly in the south and near the channel coast where in the Middle Ages rival kings of England and France spent their lives knocking seven bells out of each other in pursuit or defence of empires.
An example: see the great castle that is the focal point of the golf resort of La Bretesche and if you've an ounce of soul you can almost hear the hoof beats and the clanking armour and visualise the knights riding off into the woodland mist rising from the lake that was the castle's main defence.
It may be the most distinctive landmark in French golf and it helps to draw thousands of visiting holiday makers to this enchanting region of Brittany. There's another castle, even bigger, not too far away at Nantes.
It's some way removed from a golf course, being at the hub of this ancient and charming city, but there's a connection, nonetheless. Because thanks to its airport and a newly launched service by GB Air, Nantes has become the gateway to a golfing destination par excellence, the centre piece of the region known as the Western Loire Valley.
It's only two hours flying time from London Gatwick but in terms of ambience it's another world. Once the capital of Brittany -- the Breton flag still flutters in profusion on the castle ramparts -- parts of the city date to 200 BC and while there's no evidence of that by-gone era history permeates what may be a model conurbation.
It has a population of 600,000 these days, a high tech city with a university that is renowned for its research into subjects esoteric. And even though it is 40 miles from the Atlantic coast its port is still the fourth largest in France, thanks to the great river that once encircled it.
Thus it was an island, which must have presented a major logistical hiccup for aspiring invaders, and it remained that way until early in the last century when one arm of the river was filled in, allowing the city to burgeon.
Where once the river flowed is now the principal boulevard and tramway, a source of considerable surprise when you learn of this while sipping a glass of Chablis al fresco on what was once the river bank.
Some traditionalists of a certain vintage still mourn the change, it seems; modernists laud what must have been a considerable feat of engineering which has brought an expansive aspect to the newer section of the city where imposing buildings line broad, tree-lined avenues tailor-made for pavement cafes and promenading.
'Tis a handsome place indeed, with a host of attractions, historical, gastronomic and cultural, to enchant the thousands of visitors who discover the place each year.
Golfers are joining their number and soon they will be legion, drawn by a collection of courses of the first order.
Some will prefer to base themselves in Nantes, to enjoy the charms of the city, and sally forth each day for golf. Four courses, L'Epinay, Vignen, Nantes-Erdre and Pornic, are within a short saunter. Somewhat further afield are Savenay, about 45 minutes, St Jean de Monts, about 70 minutes, La Bretesche, about 80 minutes and La Baule, about 85.
THE development boom that a decade ago put France to the fore of European golf has virtually run its course but the end results are now part of the tapestry of French life and a magnet for golfing tourists.
Consider that 15 years ago there were 93 golf clubs and 43,613 registered players in a population comparable to Britain's but with a land mass three times as large. In mid-1990 the statistics were 355 clubs and 173,700 registered players. Now there are 514 courses and the French Golf Federation is contemplating a membership of 300,000 by the end of the decade.
What's more, unlike the majority of British clubs, many of those in France are dedicated to pay-and-play, commercial ventures combining private housing and extensive facilities for visiting golfers.
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