Le Golf National began hosting the French Open (one of the oldest golf tournaments in the world) in 1991 and has been the host venue ever since. With such recognition, the Albatross course has since been voted the 4th best course in Europe. For a true appreciation of what golf in France has to offer, this course is well worth a visit on your Paris vacation.

Designer Hubert Chesneau set out to create a course in the American TPC mould, which meant choosing a site on clay to achieve maximum sculpting of the layout. The result is an inland links style course with gently rolling fairways, heavily undulated greens and plenty of water hazards.

There is definitely a general theme of risk-reward which makes for a very entertaining and challenging round of golf. A good example of this is the 15th hole, where a tee shot aimed away from the water on the right hand side can result in a 3-4 club difference for the second shot, which to an island green can make the approach vastly more difficult.

Although it is long (over 7000 yards from the back tees), the fairways are wide and generous. Heavy penal rough, vast water hazards and huge bunkers will keep you focusing on the short grass.

For a course that is consistently in great condition, it is excellent value for money (60 euros during the week). The facilities at the complex are first class. In addition to 36 holes of championship golf, there is a 9 hole par 32 which provides the perfect warm up or 2 hour round. Accomodation is available at the Novotel hotel (which is part of the complex) and play and stay packages are available.

If you are thinking of a golf vacation or a weekend break to Paris, you would be surprised to learn of the superb quality of the golf courses surrounding the city. This year’s French Open is held between July 1st – 4th, so a visit around this time would ensure you play it the way it is set up for the best players in the world.

Here are a few tips to give you the foundation to become a very good putter.

1) Get the fundamentals right and use your routine to ensure these are correct everytime. The most important things to think about here are having a light grip pressure and a consistent ball position.

2) Be very decisive about the read. When you are over the ball, second guessing yourself will result in a poorly executed putt. Go with your first instinct and stick with it.

3) See the ball go in the hole in your mind. I find it best to do this during my practice strokes which helps me feel the speed. Make the number of practice strokes exactly the same before EVERY shot.

4) Focus on the steps of your routine and hit the ball solidly and you will have hit a good putt. Measuring the quality of your putting by this instead of the outcome will increase your confidence and make you a better putter long-term.

The key is to keep it simple and forget about working on the technique of your stroke. The best thing you can do is stick to your routine and commit to a clearly visualized line to the hole.

Denis Pugh, coach to European Tour players such as Francesco Molinari and Colin Montgomerie demonstrates the importance of a solid putting routine.

With winter now upon us, which for most means cold weather and less time on the golf course, I would like to offer you a structured program for improving your golf game, which can start without the need for a golf club. To begin with, you can download my FREE mental game fundamentals eBook, which is a valuable resource to begin your mental game learning and take you closer to lower scores. Please visit http://www.golfstateofmind.com to receive it.

For the next two weeks I will be offering a 25% discount on the Golf State of Mind Mental Game Audio Teaching mp3 (normal price $12.99).

The Golf State of Mind is a teaching program designed to show golfers the simplest and most effective way to discover their true potential. Through learning powerful techniques to visualize, feel and trust your ability, good golf will become an automated sub-conscious process.

It is so important to practice and play with the correct mental attitude and learn techniques to use your mind in the most optimal way, which will ultimately lead to lower scores on the golf course. The GSOM audio teaching will show you how to synchronize your body and mind, so you can automatically focus on the shots you want to hit, instead of continuously working on and thinking about technique.

If you would like to hear audio excerpts of the teaching, please visit http://www.golfstateofmind.com/listen/

To get your 25% discount on the Golf State of Mind mp3, go to http://www.golfstateofmind.com/product/ and add the mp3 to your shopping cart. Once you have done this, you will be able to enter the discount code: lowerscores2010 and you will get 25% off the normal price of $12.99. Although payments go through paypal, you do not need a paypal account to pay by credit card.

Thanks for your time. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a LOW scoring New Year!!!

Best,

David MacKenzie