Golf de Cély

Golf de Cély occupies the grounds of the Château de Cély, a handsome 18th-century estate in the Forêt de Fontainebleau. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. — one of several he created in France during the postwar decades — and opened in the early 1960s, making it one of the more historic American-designed layouts in the country. RTJ's characteristic fingerprints are visible throughout: boldly contoured greens, strategic bunkering, and a routing that makes patient, thinking golf feel rewarding rather than punishing. The château itself serves as the clubhouse, giving the place a formal, patrician atmosphere that sits comfortably within the broader tradition of estate golf found across northern France.

The setting is genuinely beautiful. The Forêt de Fontainebleau surrounds the property, providing a canopy of mature oaks and pines that define fairways and change character with every season. The forest floor's sandy, well-draining soils — the same geology that made Fontainebleau a haven for painters and climbers — keep conditions playable through much of the year.

About 50 kilometres south of Paris, Cély sits within easy reach of the capital and draws a clientele that takes its golf seriously. The surrounding Seine-et-Marne département hosts a cluster of quality parkland courses, but Golf de Cély's combination of architectural pedigree, château setting, and mature forest landscape gives it a distinctive identity in the region.