Le Golf National, near Paris, France, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018 and the Olympics in 2024, is to reopen its Albatros course in September 2026 following a redesign that came in part because of the Paris Metro Line 18 project.
Line 18 is a new 35-kilometre metro line – connecting Paris-Orly Airport to Versailles – that is currently under construction as part of a four-line expansion of the Paris Metro. An initial section – from Massy-Palaiseau to Christ de Saclay – is scheduled to enter service in late 2026.
The new metro line meant that Le Golf National would lose part of Albatros, the club’s main course, most of its Oiselet short layout, the Heritage short-game zone and the Foulque practice area.
The Albatros was originally designed by Robert Von Hagge and Hubert Chesneau in the late 1980s. It was partially redesigned in 2015 by Jeremy Slessor of European Golf Design ahead of the course hosting the 2018 Ryder Cup. In addition to hosting golf’s biggest contest and the Olympics, the Albatros has also hosted the World Amateur Team Championships in 2022 and is the regular host of the Open de France on the DP World Tour.
The redesign at Le Golf National came in part because of Line 18, a new 35-kilometre rail line that will become part of the Paris Metro (Photo: French Golf Federation)
Given the nature of the project, a multitude of stakeholders and companies have been involved. Several professional players were also consulted during the design and reconstruction phases.
“In a project of this complexity, several public stakeholders are involved, notably the Société des Grands Projets, the developer of Line 18, and the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines urban authority (SQY), with whom we negotiated additional land adjacent to Le Golf National’s property in order to compensate for the land loss and enable the reconstruction of the future par-three course,” said Edouard Brechignac, director of assets for the French Golf Federation (FGF). “A project of this nature requires very close collaboration. My role has been to precisely ensure this balance, making sure that every technical or architectural decision fits within a broader vision for the site. It is important to remain humble and open to good ideas, but it is equally important to make firm decisions to move the project forward while keeping costs and schedule under control.
“Within this framework, the French Golf Federation has had to anticipate the reconstruction of the impacted areas while maintaining sporting activity on the Aigle course during the different phases of work. We quickly realised that this project could become an opportunity to improve several aspects of the site: refining certain landforms, improving agronomic conditions, optimising water management and strengthening some architectural qualities of the course. The project is therefore both a reconstruction effort and part of a broader initiative to enhance the overall quality of the facility.”
Russell Talley has been the golf architect on the project. “The brief given to Russell was to enrich the playing experience by introducing more movement and subtle topographic complexity throughout the Albatros, especially on the greens, through the use of slopes and counter-slopes,” said Brechignac. “This approach aimed to strengthen the strategic dimension of the course while offering a greater variety of pin positions and playing situations.”
Talley’s primary task was to conceive, design and oversee the reconstruction of three holes (four, five and six) on the Albatros as well as make any adaptations in the field.
The new fourth (bottom of diagram), fifth (middle) and sixth (top) holes on the Albatros course (Image: French Golf Federation)
“The ‘useable surface areas’ that were available massively predicated the whole design process considerations for the Albatros holes and Oiselet course,” said Talley. “New holes were placed in areas that afforded improved hole design while taking into consideration flow, circulation, strategy, integration, safety and maintenance.”
About half of the new metro line is on the golf course boundary. “One spot where a tall, wide mound was needed was adjacent to the fourth hole on Albatros – this was to protect the metro line and a new public footpath to the north and adjacent to the line,” said Talley. “This mound is on the right side of the fourth and required the fairway and green to shift to the left, which had a knock-on effect for the fifth and sixth holes.”
These three holes are in the southeast corner of the property and were considered not conducive to spectator viewing.
“Previously, the fourth hole’s mounds along the entire right side were severe and abrupt,” said Talley. “It was not at all easy to walk and was never really frequented by spectators. The new mound is more user-friendly and is higher than the fourth and fifth fairways, so spectators will have a view down onto these two holes and towards the sixth, too. We had an opportunity to make the fourth a dogleg left, with a raised green, and then create a new fifth hole that is longer and is a dogleg right from an elevated tee to the original fairway, which is now lower than the teeing area. The fifth green has been relocated up the hill to a prominent high point that has commanding panoramic views of the Albatros and the open farmland beyond the site’s boundary. The sixth hole has been totally transformed and is now a slight dogleg left, the drive axis aim is more to the open field on the right, with a split fairway and an array of fairway bunkers that’ll allow for strategic decisions off the tee, depending on what pin position is chosen for the new, elevated green that is narrow from front to back.”
Construction work on the new fifth hole (Photo: French Golf Federation)
According to Talley, the three new holes will be more challenging and more maintenance friendly. He has also ensured there is no abrupt shaping in the rough, which enables the club to use robotic mowers to maintain those areas.
Alejandro Reyes of Turfgrass Agronomy & Services (TAS), a former superintendent of Le Golf National, has been a key individual on the project. He liaised with Talley to help define a design approach that is technically achievable and sustainable.
“My role was to help define appropriate turfgrass specifications in accordance with the design philosophy, climate, soil conditions, water quality and available resources,” said Reyes. “Other aspects of my role included selecting suitable construction materials, establishing irrigation design parameters in coordination with our irrigation design consultant, as well as review and provide recommendations on drainage”
Reyes also developed a grow-in programme and monitored turf throughout establishment and early maintenance phases, with programmes adjusted, as required, to ensure successful turf development.
“The temporary closure of the Albatros provided a rare opportunity to renovate and regrass the playing surfaces,” said Reyes. “Although the course has been progressively improved over the years through overseeding, the rapid evolution of turfgrass varieties made it possible to introduce a new generation of more resilient grasses. The tees, approaches and greens were stripped and reseeded with modern creeping bentgrass varieties, while the fairways were allowed to dry out, scarified and reseeded during the summer to naturally reduce poa annua before being reseeded as well.
“The objective was to establish more sustainable turf surfaces, reduce the reliance on plant protection products and water, and at the same time improve the overall playability of the Albatros course.”
In addition to redesigning three holes, Le Golf National decided to regrass playing surfaces on the Albatros course, as seen here on the third (Photo: French Golf Federation)
Reyes and the TAS team have been involved in the project from early development, through construction and now grow-in. “Our team was present on site from the beginning, supervising the work, coordinating with the different stakeholders and implementing strict quality control procedures to ensure full compliance with the project specifications,” said Reyes. “We are now working closely with Lucas Pierre [Le Golf National course superintendent] and his team to guide the establishment of the new turf surfaces and to ensure that the course develops under the best possible agronomic conditions.”
In addition to work on the Albatros, the project included the redesign of the Oiselet short course. Originally a nine-hole layout, Oiselet was shortened to seven holes when the Heritage short-game academy was built in 2020.
The masterplan for the redesigned Oiselet short course (Image: French Golf Federation)
“Most of the Oiselet area is where the line goes underground, which required impactful civil earthworks to dig a deep and wide trench to build Line 18’s concrete encasement super structure to house rail lines,” said Talley.
The new Oiselet is now a nine-hole par-three course with holes ranging from 95 to 164 yards (87 to 150 metres). “It is more integrated with the existing practice range and associated teaching buildings,” said Talley.
The third area affected by the new metro line was the Heritage short-game area, which is to the left of the Albatros’s fourteenth hole. It is an area used by young French players as a bespoke training zone. Three greens (putting, chipping and bunker) have been rebuilt in an area directly to the west. “It is now in a low, wet lying and somewhat treed area,” said Talley. “We have raised the area and constructed two large greens – rather than replacing three greens – to accommodate chipping, pitching and bunker practice. An interesting part of this project is that one of the greens is built to the USGA’s ‘variable depth’ method of construction – making it the first of its kind in Europe.”
The final zone that has been revamped is the Foulque short-game practice area. “It has been totally reimagined and improved for more varied short-game lies, shot angles and putting surface contouring,” said Talley.
The new Albatros holes are growing in ahead of the course hosting the FedEx Open de France in late-September 2026. Earthworks on the Oiselet began in May 2026 and the Foulque short-game area is complete and growing in.
The project has been huge undertaking and has included the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders and companies (Image: French Golf Federation)
“Success on this project goes far beyond simply rebuilding the areas that were removed,” said Brechignac. “It is primarily measured by our ability to transform a major constraint into a genuine opportunity. The works associated with Line 18 required the closure of the affected facilities for almost two years. All our planning and actions during the construction phase have therefore been guided by our ability to carry out this major transformation.
“We have also sought to improve the hydrological and ecological functioning of the site, notably through the creation of landscaped swales, the restoration of wetland areas and more refined water management.
“A significant portion of the loss of operating revenue as well as the reconstruction costs were covered by the Société des Grands Projets as part of the expropriation process. This, ultimately, represented a rare opportunity to undertake a renovation of this magnitude while keeping the economic impact under control.”