Head for Marseille for the FFGolf Golf Week
Interviewed by FFGolf for its “Golf de la semaine” feature, Daniel Scaravonati, director of Golf Bastide de la Salette, shares a few secrets about the only 18-hole golf course in France’s second-largest city. An exceptional course from the Resonance collection.
“Golf Bastide de la Salette is located in Marseille’s 11th arrondissement, on the heights of the La Valentine district, fifteen minutes from the Old Port and the city center. It’s an 18-hole course, a PAR 72 measuring 5361m from the white markers. It’s a fairly hilly and technical course.
Set in the rolling hills of Marcel Pagnol, it’s a target course that needs to be approached with modesty. The difficulties on this course lie in teeing off and attacking the green: placing your ball well on the first shot to give yourself a chance of attacking the greens on par 4s in the best possible conditions, and on par 5s to be able to place a second shot in the right place. These are shots that we don’t necessarily have the opportunity to play, 3-irons, 4-irons or hybrids, on some other courses.
The setting at Golf Bastide de la Salette is a Mediterranean environment, with natural Provençal garrigue, which we allow to develop as much as possible, as part of our commitment to biodiversity.
The signature hole has become hole number 11, where the tees face the sea, with visibility of Marseille’s southern districts, the velodrome stadium and, in the background, the Planier lighthouse. A small Par 4, which is quite narrow at the drop of the ball and quite challenging to play.
The best reason to come and play at Golf Bastide de la Salette is to find an original course. It’s a real change of scenery, just outside Marseille. It’s worth coming to see La Salette, and the course deserves to be played at least once, to challenge yourself and make you want to come back and play better. But in any case, the ballad is magnificent.”
Daniel Scaravonati – Director of Golf Bastide de la Salette
