Les Bordes New Course: Heathland Design in France’s Sologne
Across a quiet Sologne estate, Gil Hanse shaped a firm, heathland-inspired course that stands apart from its wooded neighbour—and remains part of one of Europe’s most private golf clubs.
The New Course at Les Bordes is not a conventional parkland resort layout. Set on sandy, gently rolling ground in the Sologne, it draws on the open heathland tradition: firm-looking corridors, native heather, broom and mature trees frame a course where the ground itself is part of the strategy. Its modern design gives the wider Les Bordes estate a contrasting second championship character.
A more open landscape within the Sologne forest
The Sologne is known for woodland, water and sandy soils. Hanse’s routing uses that landscape rather than imposing a heavily manufactured one. Pine, chestnut, birch and oak sit among open stretches of heather and broom, while sandy areas give the holes a lighter, more natural edge. The result feels spacious in places but remains carefully framed by the estate’s woodland.
That character is deliberately different from the Old Course, Robert von Hagge’s more enclosed forest design. The New Course feels more exposed and heathland-like, encouraging a different rhythm of play and a more visible ground game.
Firm ground, clear angles and thoughtful positioning
The generous visual scale should not be mistaken for a licence to swing without a plan. Sandy waste areas and heather influence where a tee shot can finish, while the angle into the green determines how much of the target is available. A ball placed on the correct side of a fairway can create a simple approach; a longer drive from the wrong line may leave a more awkward route over or around trouble.
The course rewards players who use the contours and ground movement, choosing when to carry a feature and when to let the ball run. It is a modern championship test with a distinctly natural surface character.
A new chapter in a 46-hole private golf estate
Designed by Gil Hanse, the New Course opened in July 2021 as the architect’s first golf-course design project in continental Europe. It is an 18-hole, par-72 layout measuring 7,285 yards. The wider club now offers 46 holes: the New Course, the Old Course designed by Robert von Hagge and opened in 1987, and the ten-hole Wild Piglet short course, also designed by Hanse and opened in 2020.
The significance of the New Course lies in the contrast it creates within one estate. Rather than repeating the Old Course’s woodland style, it adds a more open, sandy and heathland-inspired experience, giving the property a broader architectural identity.
