Adriatic

Situated on the Istrian peninsula, overlooking the Gulf of Trieste, the course at Golf Adriatic was laid out by Austrian architects Diethard Fahrenleitner and Barbara Eisserer to afford Adriatic Sea views from numerous points on the layout, even though none of the fairways actually come into contact with the coastline.

When it opened in 2009, this championship course was the first that the Kempinski hotel chain had opened in its 120-year history and it’s now the sporting focal point of the attractive Skiper Resort. The course can be stretched to 6,360 metres for tournament play, though five tee options on every hole allow it to be played by every level of golfer.

The four par threes are all feature holes at Golf Adriatic and they vary in length from 155 metres at “Alberi” (hole 14) to 220 metres at “Cypress” (hole 4). “Pines,” the final short hole on the card, concludes the round here and it’s a really tricky proposition, where the green has been cut into rocks and sizeable stones protect the putting surface to the left and behind.

The 556-metre 13th (appropriately named "Monster") is the signature hole here. Played from an elevated tee box, the drive must avoid a single specimen tree in the fairway and a pond to the right of the landing area. The distant green, framed by hedges and protected by sand, appears a long way away at this point so what's the bet most golfers would settle for a five on the card from this position?