I'VE been lucky enough to play golf in some fantastic settings - parkland, woodland, Scottish highlands, seaside links - but nowhere as breathtaking as among the mountains and lakes of the Rhone-Alpes region of France.

During the winter months, of course, this part of Europe, close to the Swiss and Italian borders, is snowed under with skiers. But now spring is here and it's time to put away the salopettes and snowboards and rummage in the garage for those trusty irons.

There are 60 courses in the region, including the four that our group checked out: u Evian Masters, at the grand Evian Royal Resort, the setting for the top annual international event on the women's professional circuit, offering stunning views over the lake towards Switzerland and the Alps; u Lake Annecy, a fairytale picturesque wooded course nestled among magnificent mountains; u Aix-Les-Bains, gently undulating and hugely enjoyable, one of the oldest courses in France, close to the centre of this attractive town, with a micro-climate that means you can play year-round, and u Giez, halfway between Albertville and Annecy, where I had my picture taken, teeing off with snow-capped Mont Blanc in the background (see below). The setting is perfect, and the follow-through isn't bad at all - but what the photo doesn't show is my badly sliced ball disappearing over a boundary wall, never to be seen again.

It was September when I was there, and I reckon that, even now, that tiny Titleist orb could still be rolling down the Alpine foothills, heading inexorably towards Lake Geneva.

It was warm and sunny back then, real shorts weather, with the ball flying further (if not always straighter) in the thin, clear, crisp air. Even if you're not on top of your game (and I wasn't), it's hard to be too downcast when you're up there, high among the wispy white clouds wafting across an azure sky.

At Giez, the front nine, in particular, is truly spectacular. You even walk off one green to find a shuttle bus waiting to take you and your clubs up to the next tee, a near-sheer ascent of 200ft-plus.

This really is a golfers' paradise - at Evian, for example, it was wonderful to follow in the fairway footsteps of superstars such as Laura Davies, Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer - but there's much more to the Rhone-Alpes than manicured greens and sumptuous 19th hole hospitality.

The lakes, for a start: Leman (also known as Lake Geneva), Annecy and Bourget, fed by pure water from mountain streams, making this area the country's premier spa region, and Evian spring water famous around the world. Then there are the towns, including...

Annecy

u Aix-Les-Bains, with its temples, Belle Epoque architecture, Art Deco palaces and thermal baths, racecourse and Rodin Room at the Faure Museum; and u Annecy, a quiet, pleasant place to simply potter around, soaking up the rich history and enjoying the colourful medieval buildings, or take a boat trip from a jetty close by the awe-inspiring Imperial Palace hotel.

This being France, the food and wine is something special. Clubhouse restaurants have improved greatly in the UK, but they still have some way to go when compared with Gallic gastronomy.

Steak and chips is all very well, but how many English golf courses do you know where you can get crayfish gratin, Savoie Fondue or chicken stuffed with truffles and poached in Madeira sauce?

And if fine dining, top-quality golf courses, spa treatments, rock-climbing, horse-riding, tennis or history and culture don't float your boat, then maybe watersports will, with sailors and windsurfers flocking to the lakes.

And how I envied the paragliders, silently circling the towering peaks, knowing how it really feels to fly.

Factfile

For more information on tourism in France, visit franceguide.com or call the Information Line (premium line number) on 09068 244 123.

To find out more about the Rhone-Alpes region, go to rhonealpes-tourisme.com

Golf courses:

Aix-Les-Bains +33 4 79 61 23 35, golf-aixlesbains.com; Giez +33 4 50 44 48 41, golfdegiez.fr; Evian +33 4 50 26 85 00, evianroyalresort.com; Annecy +33 4 50 60 12 89, golf-lacannecy.com

Hotels:

Imperial Palace, Annecy: +33 4 50 09 30 00, hotel-imperial-palace.com or imperial-annecy.com Evian Royal Resort: +33 4 50 26 85 00, evianroyalresort.com

8:57am Saturday 26th April 2008

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