Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort - Le Chateau Course

The Le Chateau Course is open to the public. You don't need to stay at Terre Blanche, a beautiful five-star resort tucked into the hills in the Provence region in the south of France, to play it, although the spoils of a stay-and-play are certainly encouraged.

The Dave Thomas design has tested pros like Matt Kuchar, Mike Weir and Ian Woosnam, who have come to train at the resort's academy, and older pros who teed it up at the French Riviera Masters, a European Senior Tour event, from 2012-2015.

Its water hazards are beautifully treacherous. A multi-tiered waterfall flows downhill in front of an elevated green on the par-3 second hole. It connects to a stream bed that's sometimes dry but still a troublesome hazard on four more holes (no. 9, no. 11, no. 14 and no. 16).

The sixth hole, a dramatic par 5, offers two different routes to the green, including one fairway in the middle of a pond. Another pond creates a tough, dogleg par 4 at no. 10.

If you can finish the round with one ball, there's no need for a lesson at the academy. You've fared well on a tough, fun resort course considered among the best in France.