Everyone knows that golf is not a sport for the middle of winter, especially in the French Alps. Fairways are most desirable when they are green and lush and where danger lies in amber coloured sand traps perilously positioned to make approaching the pin that much more challenging. Well that idea of what golf is supposed to look like could not be farther from what takes place each winter in the French Alps.

Green fairways are replaced with a blanket of white snow and white golf balls are replaced with balls with a vibrant orange hue. This is Snow Golf and arguably its most posh event takes place each January at the BMW Megève Winter Golf Cup.

The BMW Megève Winter Golf Cup is not for everyone. It is purposely exclusive and only shared via word of word of mouth to its elite guests. Yet the pro-am competition draws both professionals and celebrities alike to its home at the Golf du Mont-d’Arbois, the world’s oldest mountain golf resort, created in 1923.

This is also one of Megève’s finest golf resorts originally designed by Sir Henry Cotton, winner of the Open Championship in 1934, 1937 and 1948. Now under Edmund De Rothschild heritage, the course stretches out over 50 hectares of woodland with gentle slopes that make for a most enjoyable day of golf, even in the dead cold of winter.

Renowned for its charisma, authenticity, and grace, as well as being family friendly, Megève has become one of the most popular ski resorts in the Alps. Developed in the 1920s by the Rothschild family, it lured aristocracy and royalty during this period, followed by film stars and writers in the fifties and sixties.

Now it is deemed the ultimate luxury ski resort in France that entices only the wealthiest of skiers. This heritage is manifested in the swanky calendar of modern events that includes snow polo, an international jazz festival and horse racing in the summer months. It is a place where socialites come together to meet and ski and of course watch snow golf at BMW Megève Winter Golf Cup.

According to the U.S. Golf Association, snow golf was invented by esteemed British author Rudyard Kipling, who used to paint balls red and strike them into tin cans that he buried in the snow in front of his house in Vermont. Kipling was taught by another legendary British author, Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who visited him in November 1894, and wrote of the encounter, ‘I had brought up my golf-clubs and gave him lessons in a field while the New England rustics watched us from afar, wondering what on earth we were at, for golf was unknown in America at that time.’

Snow golf is centuries old, however, the first professional snow golf tournament in Megève was invented only two decades ago. What started off as a joke, between the jeweller and his golf teacher Jean-Luc Biset has now become one of the Alps’ most exclusive sporting competitions. One day, Guilhem pondered ‘polo is played on snow, so why not organise a winter golf tournament?’

And so, he and Biset set about organising the first snow golf professional competitions in Megève, which took place in 2000, based on a nine-hole layout that pursues the summer fairways and skirts the ski runs that traverse the Mont d’Abois course.

Nowadays, preparation for the event takes a fortnight as the snow is compressed by a special cement and snow cats shape the fairways and tee boxes. Black flags are placed in the clusters of small ironed out greens. All the while cable cars ascend the summit of Mont d’Arbois, crammed with curious skiers craning their necks to get a glimpse at the intrepid golfers below.

This event has an international following with seasoned sportsmen and women, well-known personalities and golf enthusiasts taking part or cheering on the golfers. Some of the professional players who have taken part in the event include France’s Thomas Levet, a former French Open champion and his countryman and fellow European tour player Raphaël Jacquelin.

Entry is open to all golfers with a maximum 35 handicap. The formula is two rounds over Friday and Saturday with teams of two playing four-ball better ball. Men play with black balls. Women play with pink balls.  Golfers who are not eligible for the Winter Golf Cup can play the snow course on the Sunday.

The difference is that this international competition is played out on the snow instead of the usual grass. Therefore, greens are called whites – and you play with a brightly coloured ball. Players use the same set of 14 clubs, but wear snow boots instead of golf spikes and swap golf shirts for thermal wear and waterproof jackets with woollen ski caps. Forget golf buggies, the mode of transport on the golf course here is husky sleigh. Take an exhilarating ride between the holes on a dog sled at the Megeve Winter Golf club.

For this competition they play nine holes with a shotgun start, meaning that nine groups of players tee off simultaneously from different holes. This utilises only half of the 18 holes on the Golf du Mont-d’Arbois course. In this contest the longest hole length is about 400 metres.

Set against the backdrop of the mountains including the majestic Mont Blanc, the BMW Megève Winter Golf Cup is an event that evokes an exclusive atmosphere that is refined yet laid back and it makes a fabulous opportunity for a social gathering attracting a glamourous crowd. And of course, being France, fine food is par the course, with lunch, dinner, cocktails, and a gift are to be expected.

Indeed, there are plenty of black-tie fringe events with free-flowing champagne and canapés of oysters, caviar, and foie gras available at the many five-star hotels and restaurants that grace the slopes. These include the nearby Chalets du Mont d’Abois Megève – a Four Seasons retreat, just seven minutes-walk away.

The Four Seasons Megève hotel and other luxurious lodgings are nearby for guests to stay at. Some of the best include Fermes des Marie and Flocons de Sel – a Relais & Chateaux hotel  that houses Megève’s exclusive three-Michelin star restaurant.

The BMW Megève Winter Golf Cup  is one of those intimate and unique events that you have to know the right people to be invited to. An event for pro golfers and exclusive guests, it is one of those glittering occasions that only the finest resorts in the French Alps can host. Megève’s long reputation as a resort for the glitterati attracts just the right sort to attend these kinds of prestigious occasions.