During his ceremonial visit to the D-Day Beaches in Normandy
this weekend, Barack Obama wishes he could take the time to play golf.
If a round of golf were on his itinerary, he would head for the Arnold
Palmer-designed course at Omaha Beach Golf Club,
a favorite of visitors to U.S. WWII cemeteries and the Normandy
beaches. In a Scottish-links style layout, all of the 27 holes––the Sea
Course, the Orchard Course and the Pond Course––are named for war
heroes––Eisenhower, Churchill, etc.
The signature hole is a
dogleg right with large bunkers guarding a fairway that leads to a
green perched a clifftop above Mulberry Harbour and D-Day beaches. The
Golf Club is nearby to famous "artificial port" at Arromanches and the Normandy American Cemetery
where almost 10,000 Americans are laid to rest. A few of the scenes of
Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" were filmed on the golf
course, which was liberated by the American 1st Division on June 7,
1944.
Hotel Mercure Omaha Beach
40 km east of Caen and 8 km from the ancient and historic city of Bayeux, the 3-star, 70-room Hotel Mercure Omaha Beach
is a perfect headquarters for Normandy coast visitors. Specializing in
seafood freshly caught at the adjacent fishing harbour of
Port-en-Bessin, L'Albatros restaurant overlooks the golf course. Part
of the Mercure hotel chain in 10 European countries, the Hotel Mercure
Omaha Beach is making available the “Mercure Summer Offer,” a 40% discount on a 2-night stay, including breakfast (through September 15, 2009).
For more info: read Karen Misuraca's article in her examiner.com column, "Obama attends 65th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy."
