Evian Resort Golf Club: Major Golf in the French Alps
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Perched above the southern shore of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) in the Haute-Savoie, the Evian Resort Golf Club blends big-tournament pedigree with cinematic alpine scenery. It’s home to The Amundi Evian Championship — women’s golf’s only major played in continental Europe — and it sits within a historic resort whose Belle-Époque glamour has pulled royalty, artists, and spa-seekers to Évian-les-Bains for over a century.
The Champions Course: strategy, views, and a “Fantastic Finish”
Evian’s 18-hole Champions Course (public play: 6,030 m, par 72) tumbles across steep, terraced ground with uninterrupted lake and mountain panoramas. It’s one of France’s oldest layouts, but its modern bite comes from a late-1980s redesign by Cabell B. Robinson, and a further overhaul completed in 2013 by European Golf Design with LPGA consultant Steve Smyers to sharpen strategy and spectator flow — particularly over the closing stretch often dubbed the “Fantastic Finish.” In LPGA major setup the course typically plays as a par-71 around 6,4–6,5k yards.
A stage for history: The Amundi Evian Championship
First staged as the Evian Masters in 1994, the event became a major in 2013 and is the tour’s only major held on the same course every year. Past champions include Annika Sörenstam, Lydia Ko, and Céline Boutier. In 2025, Australia’s Grace Kim captured her first major title at Evian after a playoff — another reminder that the course’s precision-first demands create dramatic finishes.
Practice like a pro: the Evian Resort Golf Academy
If you’re visiting to tune up your game, the Academy is a destination in its own right. Spread over about 15 hectares, it features six themed training modules that recreate on-course situations, a six-hole “Lake Course” you can play in about an hour, and tech-forward coaching with Golfzon Leadbetter professionals using tools like TrackMan Range, TopTracer Range, and the Big Tilt XL putting platform.
The resort: Belle-Époque soul with modern polish
Staying on-site ties the golf to Évian’s spa heritage. The crown jewel is the Hôtel Royal, inaugurated in 1909 and built in honour of King Edward VII. Restored to Palace-hotel standards, it blends Art Nouveau grace and contemporary comfort; recent spa renovations emphasise the story of Évian water — from Chablais peaks to the springs — with experiences ranging from a snow room to an outdoor infinity pool. Past guests have included monarchs and cultural icons, underscoring the hotel’s century-long allure.
Beyond the fairways: what to do around Évian-les-Bains
Évian itself is rediscovering its Belle-Époque stride. Architectural standouts like the Palais Lumière and the casino’s Byzantine-style dome speak to that golden age, and the famous Cachat pump room/snack bar is scheduled to reopen as part of the town’s heritage revival. Stroll the lakeside promenade, then hop the ferry to Lausanne — crossing time is about 35 minutes, with up to 15 or more sailings each way on busy days. From Lausanne, you can link into the Lavaux UNESCO vineyards or Montreux’s château-dotted riviera.
Wine lovers should look east along the French shore to the Bas-Chablais crus — Crépy, Marignan, Marin, and Ripaille — crisp, floral whites anchored in Chasselas, perfect with lake fish. For a picture-postcard detour, the medieval village of Yvoire (ramparts, 14th-century gates, and a landmark bulb-domed church tower) sits a short lakeside drive away. Hikers can trade spikes for boots on summits like the Dent d’Oche, while winter brings the Portes du Soleil ski domain within day-trip range.
Why Evian belongs on your list
Few resorts deliver this mix: a major-tested course with a deliberately dramatic finish; an academy that turns practice into a mini-course adventure; and a spa town that’s doubling down on its Belle-Époque identity — right on a lake you can cross by boat to a different country for lunch. Come for the golf, stay for the setting, and you’ll understand why “playing Evian” has become its own expression in European golf.
