Le Golf National, host of the 2018 Ryder Cup, and the venue for the Olympic golf events in 2024 in Paris, has been attacked by a group of environmental activists.
Reports say that the green on the eighth hole of the Albatros course was damaged with pickaxes on the night of November 3, with the perpetrators leaving a series of messages on the green, including ‘220 km2 for golf courses, 0 km2 for biodiversity’ and ‘They build golf courses, we want forests’.
It is not the first time that le Golf National, which is owned by the French Golf Federation, has been targeted by environmental activists. Last year saw members of the UK-based Extinction Rebellion movement damage the 18th green. On that occasion, they dug holes, planted trees and left signs denouncing the ecological impact of golf.
The club’s management said that they had reported the incident to the police, and that the course will remain open for play. The damage to the green is being repaired when the course closes on November 7 for weekly scheduled maintenance.
The FFG condemned ‘the act of vandalism’ and said that ‘golf was an environmentally friendly sport which contributes to the preservation of natural spaces’.