Preserving the environmental heritage of Golf Bastide de la Salette

Respecting, safeguarding and sustainably developing the environment of the site on which its 18-hole golf course lies is more than a priority for Bastide de la Salette. We have a duty of responsibility towards the rich biodiversity we have inherited.
The location of the building and the 70 hectares of greenery that make up the Golf Bastide de la Salette estate owe nothing to chance. Today, they tell the story of a past we must protect and enhance in the heart of Marseille.

The site on which the 18-hole golf course was built is the result of merging two previously neighbouring estates. The historical owners of this land had already preserved its natural environment.
In the 1960s, the parcel on which you now find the 3rd to 15th holes was divided. Part of it was made available to a market gardener/horticulturist, who took good care of the fertile land. The rest was used by the owners as a hunting ground, prized for its dry stone wall terraces, natural resources and close proximity to the city of Marseille.

Over to the west, in the section in which the Bastide (country house) is located, the driving range and top of the golf course stand in the former garden of the Château Vaudran, which belonged to a Marseille ship owner in the 18th century. The château has now disappeared, but you can still enjoy the many species of trees and shrubs brought back by the owner from his various travels and planted on the estate.

Hundreds of two-century-old cedars from Lebanon stand side-by-side with strawberry trees and unfamiliar varieties brought back from places like Africa. These include red bark trees found nowhere else in the region, which you can still admire to the left of the fairway at the first hole. White oaks, holm oaks, maritime pines, Aleppo pines, plane trees, poplars, cypress trees, olive trees and many others bear living witness to his many past voyages.

It is therefore our duty to protect this rich heritage from the ravages of time. Sometimes weather conditions like rain or wind can make life difficult for us. Pruning the plants to help protect them keeps us busy in winter.

The direct proximity of the golf club to the Calanques National Park—the only one in Europe that includes land, sea and suburban areas—makes it an oasis of green among the urban landscape, offering refuge and shelter to many different bird species. We are determined to protect them by keeping their habitat as natural as possible. It is not unusual to see a settlement of grey herons on the golf course, much to our delight. We also see buzzards and other birds of prey, and even red foxes.

We are now focusing firmly on developing this ecosystem even further. Insects like bees and other native species are protected as part of our maintenance plan, both by restricting the use of pesticides and by safeguarding their essential resources through targeted clearing.

We are also working on reducing our water and electricity usage through modern systems that help us keep our environmental impact as neutral as possible.

Our commitment never stops and we are proud that our contribution to the detailed biodiversity inventory was retained by the French Natural History Museum. We also want to take part in the various activities led by the golf industry to raise awareness, and demonstrate our commitment by aiming to obtain the highest environmental certification possible.

Our members have nicknamed “their” golf club “the city dwellers’ garden”, and this makes perfect sense with its proximity to the city and the biodiversity of the environment we offer them.