Golf du Bois Chenu

High in the southern Alps, Barcelonnette sits at roughly 1,150 meters elevation in the Ubaye Valley — one of the more remote and dramatic settings you'll find attached to a golf course anywhere in France. The surrounding peaks regularly exceed 3,000 meters, and the valley's famously dry, sunny microclimate makes it a genuine surprise to visitors expecting perpetual mountain cloud. Barcelonnette itself carries an unlikely cosmopolitan footnote: 19th-century emigration to Mexico left the town dotted with ornate "Mexican villas," a quirk of local history that still catches first-time visitors off guard.

Golf du Bois Chenu occupies forested terrain on the edge of town, with the pines and larches that give the course its name providing both visual definition and natural shot corridors. At this altitude, the air is thinner and the ball travels noticeably farther than at sea level — a minor recalibration most visitors enjoy rather than resent.

The course serves the valley's summer visitors and a loyal local membership, functioning as a genuine mountain escape rather than a resort showcase. The season is compressed by the alpine calendar, roughly June through October, which keeps the turf in good condition during the months it actually sees play.