Golf de Mormal

Should golf-course designers seek inspiration from the site that they have been commissioned to shape rather than carving into the landscape with bulldozers and chainsaws? Of course, the answer is "Yes". In designing the Mormal course, Jean-Claude Cornillot was fully respectful of the site, a former orchard which, yet again, belies the image that one normally has of the Nord department. Because of the patchwork bocage landscape that he had to work with, with its hedgerows and apple trees, one has the distinct impression of playing in Normandy. It really would have been a pity not to have designed the course in keeping with the natural environment. Over the last ten years the hedgerows have been allowed to grow unhindered and some 1,200 fruit trees have been planted, offering superb views in spring and cost-savings at harvest time when, even if one fails to hand in a respectable scorecard, one can leave with bags full of plums, apples and other fruit! This landscape, along with the converted farmhouses with their square courtyards and renovated brickwork, must have surprised many of the Japanese clientele who, since the installation of Toyota, regularly frequent these Avesnois fairways, situated to the south of Valenciennes. Hedgerows, then, demarcate the fairways… when they do not actually cut across the latter! In fact, the hedgerows are one of the major 
problems that players are faced with. Thus the 10th hole, a par-4, is bordered on the right by large apple trees, and on the left by a hedgerow so that, on the third stroke, one has no other choice but to attempt to clear more apple trees.
Water is not lacking, either (2nd, 3rd, 9th, 15th and 17th). It encircles some of the greens and claims the occasional ball but has more of an aesthetic and functional value in the lower-lying areas of the course.
The width of the fairways allows players to demonstrate their power and the lack of caution is not too severely punished as, with the exception of the 7th, 14th and the 16th —grass thrives in the Avesnois!—the rough is maintained at a height that will not overly alarm those who go a little off course! Set in the heart of the countryside, away from sources of pollution, Mormal Golf Club's appeal mainly stems from the fact that it does not confront the golfer with any insurmountable challenges.