Austerlitz

Europe's golf map stretches well beyond the famous names. Away from the links of Scotland and Ireland and the better-known resort destinations of Spain and Portugal, there are outstanding courses tucked into mountain valleys, Baltic coastlines and forests across the continent. From Switzerland to Estonia, these are courses that can be easy to overlook when planning a golf trip, despite offering the scenery, character and quality to make the journey worthwhile. We've picked 10 of Europe's biggest hidden gems, with every course coming from a different country. Andermatt Golf Course (Uri, Switzerland) Switzerland Ranking: 12th | Green Fees: From 130 CHF (€137) At around 1,400 metres above sea level, Andermatt Swiss Alps is surrounded by mountains, but the course itself is not quite the mountain layout you might expect. Designed by Kurt Rossknecht and opened in 2016, much of the 130-hectare course is relatively flat, with long rough lining the fairways and few trees giving it a links-like character. The third and fourth holes provide a dramatic change of pace, climbing through the rocky terrain at the end of the valley, while natural streams and water hazards feature elsewhere on the layout. The surroundings are impossible to ignore, with mountain ranges encircling the course and the sound of Alpine streams and grazing cows completing the experience. Pärnu Bay Golf Links (Pärnu Maakond, Estonia) Estonia Ranking: 1st | Continental Europe Ranking: 52nd | Green Fees: From €75 Estonia is hardly the first country that springs to mind when planning a European golf trip, which is precisely why Pärnu Bay Golf Links deserves a place on this list. Opened in 2015, the Lassi Pekka Tilander design occupies a narrow strip of sandy land where forest meets the Baltic Sea. Wide fairways, expansive waste areas and bold, multi-tiered greens give the course a links-like character, while the firm fescue surfaces reward a low, running game. Lead shaper Mick McShane, whose CV includes Kingsbarns, helped bring the design to life. Pärnu Bay may be off the beaten track, but it is one of the Baltics' standout layouts. Adamstal Golf Club - Championship Course (Niederösterreich, Austria) Austria Ranking: 1st | Continental Europe Ranking: 89th | Green Fees: €115 Tucked into a wooded valley southwest of Vienna, Adamstal feels a long way from the Austrian capital and even further from the usual European golf itinerary. Yet this spectacular mountain course has been Austria’s No. 1 on Top100’s national rankings and has hosted several editions of the Challenge Tour’s Euram Bank Open. Canadian architect Jeff Howes shaped the Championship course around the natural contours of the valley, with the 10th and 11th climbing into the mountains before dramatic elevated tees reveal the landscape below. The course even has a settle-the-bet 19th hole, a par three tucked into a pretty valley beside a mountain spring that has supplied Adamstal with drinking water for more than a century. Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort (Dobrich Province, Bulgaria) Bulgaria Ranking: 1st | Continental Europe Ranking: 43rd | Green Fees: €119 Perched on Bulgaria's northern Black Sea coast, Thracian Cliffs is one of Europe's most spectacular coastal golf courses. Gary Player’s signature design opened in 2011, with the holes carved along a narrow strip of land between high cliffs and the sea. The Black Sea is visible from every hole, while dramatic elevation changes add another dimension to the experience. The course hosted the 2013 World Match Play Championship, won by Graeme McDowell, and has featured prominently in Top100’s Continental Europe rankings. Alongside nearby BlackSeaRama and Lighthouse, Thracian Cliffs forms part of an unlikely but compelling golf destination on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. Zala Springs Golf Resort (Hungary) Hungary Ranking: 1st | Green Fees: 41,900 HUF (€114) Set among the rolling hills of western Hungary, Zala Springs combines a Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed course with the thermal waters of nearby Hévíz. Opened in 2016, the 160-hectare layout winds through a landscape of lakes, natural rock formations and mature vegetation, with plenty of water coming into play. The 12th is among the standout holes, requiring an all-carry shot over an intimidating lake, while the ninth features a distinctive Biarritz green. Zala Springs is ranked Hungary’s No. 1 course by Top100 and offers something increasingly rare in modern golf: a high-quality course paired with a destination where golf is only part of the holiday. Kytäjä Golf – South East Course (Finland) Finland Ranking: 4th | Green Fees: From €90 Just 30 minutes north of Helsinki, Kytäjä's South East course offers a very different side of Finnish golf. Designed by Canadian architect Thomas McBroom and opened in 2003, it was his first Scandinavian project. The front nine winds through undulating woodland, before the back nine opens out across flatter terrain and towards the shores of Lake Kytäjä. Those lakeside holes provide some of the course’s most impressive views, with the surrounding Finnish landscape never far from sight. Kytäjä may be a relatively unfamiliar name to travelling golfers, but visitors are warmly received and there is plenty to discover. Karlštejn Golf Resort – A&B Course (Central Bohemian Region, Czechia) Czechia Ranking: 4th | Green Fees: From 1,900 CZK (€78) Golf in the grounds of a medieval castle is a pretty good way to spend a day in Czechia. Around 30 kilometres southwest of Prague, Karlštejn Golf Resort winds through a hilly, wooded landscape beneath the famous Karlštejn Castle, with limestone outcrops, ravines and a couple of lakes adding plenty of character. The 6,324-metre course was designed by Canadian architect Les Furber, who returned in 2006 to add a further nine holes. The original layout has also hosted a Ladies European Tour event, adding some serious pedigree to an otherwise wonderfully secluded setting. With Prague close by and the castle looming over the landscape, Karlštejn offers a memorable combination of golf and sightseeing. Golf Club Tále - Gray Bear Course (Slovakia) Slovakia Ranking: 3rd | Green Fees: From €75 Set in a mountain valley beneath the Low Tatras, Gray Bear was the first 18-hole championship course to open in Slovakia when it welcomed its first golfers in 2002. Designed by Americans Bob Walton and Skip Malek, the course occupies 160 acres of spruce forest within Tále National Park, weaving between open meadows and dense woodland. Streams, boulders, stone walls and specimen pines are incorporated throughout the layout, giving it a distinctly natural character. The 6th is the signature hole, with a stream crossing the fairway before the hole sweeps downhill towards a green surrounded on three sides by water. With the Low Tatras providing a dramatic backdrop throughout, Gray Bear is a memorable introduction to golf in Slovakia and an easy addition to a wider trip through the country. Golf Grad Otočec (Novo Mesto, Slovenia) Slovenia Ranking: 2nd | Green Fees: €80 Set among the heavily forested hills of Dolenjska, Grad Otočec winds through an undulating 185-acre property beside the River Krka. The course is a collaboration between Howard Swan and local architect Peter Škofic, with tight playing corridors creating an unusual sense of seclusion as the fairways twist through the woodland. The 3rd is a standout, with the par five turning towards a sunken, blind green, while the 12th stretches to 568 metres and demands three long, straight shots. Adding to the appeal, Otočec Castle sits nearby on an island in the river, giving visiting golfers the chance to stay in a genuine Slovenian castle after their round. Miklagard Golf (Viken, Norway) Norway Ranking: 2nd | Green Fees: From 850 NOK (€78) Just 10 minutes from Oslo Airport, Miklagard is remarkably convenient for a course of its stature. Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed it as Norway’s first championship course, with the layout purpose-built to host national and international tournaments. It is a big, bold test, with significant elevation changes, large bunkers and fast, contoured greens. A 2019 remodelling project added five new holes and reshaped the opening, while a hotel now occupies the former practice area. Its combination of accessibility, pedigree and championship credentials makes it an easy addition to a golf trip through Norway.

Our Czech Republic panel has been extended for this chart release, allowing us to gather more opinions (and local knowledge) which has led to the introduction of ten new chart entries in an expanded Top 30 national listing. Only five courses make modest upward moves in the table and each of them are mentioned below. Twelve courses drop down the chart and three remain in the same position but we start first of all with the big news of a new national #1. PGA National The Kyle Phillips-designed PGA National Czech Republic course on the Oaks Prague residential estate outside the capital is the first of our ten newcomers, crashing straight into the chart at number one. The 18-hole layout was constructed in two phases over a four-year period, with the official launch – which we attended – taking place in August 2020. We first saw the course when it was half built the year before and even at that early stage we knew it was destined for the very top… Ypsilon The 18-hole layout at Golf Resort Ypsilon (up one place to #6) is located outside the city of Liberec in the north of the country, close to the border with Germany and Poland. First opened for play in 2006, the course is a Keith Preston production with holes set out as two returning nines across a hilly landscape, providing a rather entertaining walk in a wonderful parkland environment. Uniquely, the club offers ten boathouses as stay and play options on the lake next to the 9th hole. Panorama The small market town of Kácov is famed for its Hubertus brewery which uses water from the Sázava River as it flows past the premises. Less than a 5-minute drive away you’ll find the Libor Jirásek and Rainer Pressmann-designed Panorama Golf Resort (up two places to #13), where three contrasting nines opened for business in 2017, complemented by a boutique hotel above the clubhouse, along with adjacent bungalows as further accommodation possibilities. Loreta Half an hour’s drive from Panorama lies another Keith Preston design at Loreta Golf Club outside Pyšely (up one place to #15). Unveiled in the summer of 2013, the course is draped across a beautiful landscape, incorporating hedgerows, mature trees and wetland areas into the fields of play. For visiting golfers looking for an early tee time, there are twenty-four beds available in eight double rooms and two suites on the second floor of the clubhouse. Kunětická Hora The East Bohemian course at Golf & Spa Kunětická Hora (up three to #16) is situated 125 kilometres east of Prague, between the towns of Hradec Kralove and Pardubice. It’s a rare European layout from Graham Marsh (characterised by large clover-shaped bunkers) that first opened its doors in 2007 with several holes routed around a large central lake. The on-site hotel offers 142 beds in fifty-seven rooms, apartments and suites. Kaskáda Two hundred and fifty kilometres south of Kunětická Hora in South Moravia lies the 27-hole Kaskáda Golf Resort (up one to #17) which is positioned outside the city of Brno. Designed by Jonathan Gaunt and debuting in 2007, the complex boasts three 9-hole circuits, two of which (Wooden and Stone) we cite as the 18-hole layout of first choice. There are also fifty rooms and suites available for visitors, together with a wellness and spa centre. Šilheřovice The Park Golf Club Ostrava course at Šilheřovice is the highest placed of the remaining chart newcomers at number 21. The 18-hole layout is set in an exquisitely landscaped park, the dominant feature of which is a lovely old chateau that was the property of the Rothschild family from 1844 to 1945. The course was built during the Communist era in 1968 to a Jan Cieslar design, when it became only the third 18-hole layout in the old Czechoslovakian nation, after Royal Mariánské Lázně and Karlovy Vary. To view the entire detailed list of our latest Top 30 Golf Courses of the Czech Republic click the link. View list here. If you have any comment to make on the above article then please use the “WRITE A RESPONSE” link at the bottom of this page. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

Outstanding Golf Resorts in Central Europe We began our look at resort golf twelve months ago in Portugal’s Algarve region. We’ve since been round the Mediterranean to a variety of places on the Spanish Costas, Belek in Turkey and the island of Mallorca. Venturing further south, we’ve looked at courses in Tunisia, Marrakech in Morocco and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. Only France and Italy from the more “mainstream” European nations have appeared in this series so it’s now time to cast the spotlight on a few other central European countries with great resort offerings. The weather window for playing here is shorter but the golf product is often as good as you’ll find in the hotspots that we’ve previously written about. Czech Republic – Beroun Host venue for the last three editions of the Czech Ladies Open, Royal Beroun Golf Club is situated 30 kilometres southwest of Prague city centre, with an entertaining Les Furber-designed parkland golf course which is complemented by a fabulous, multi-function clubhouse. The club’s website calls this an “ambitiously dimensioned” building and that’s exactly what it is, featuring a restaurant, private clubroom, wellness and fitness centre with an outdoor pool, and a large conference room. The boutique hotel occupies the upper floor of the clubhouse, with seven double rooms and two deluxe rooms. Slovakia – Black Stork  Positioned close to Poprad in the southern foothills of the High Tatra Mountains, the Black Stork Golf Resort at Vel’ká Lomnica operates a 27-hole facility which has evolved from the original 9-hole setup unveiled at the start of the new millennium. The course lies within the Tatra National Park in an unspoilt landscape with sensational mountain views in a clean, fresh air environment. The on-site Hotel International offers accommodation in twenty-eight double rooms (one of which is specially adapted for less mobile visitors) and one suite. The wellness centre includes indoor and outdoor pools, a whirlpool, steam room and sauna, along with a fully equipped gymnasium. Austria – Diamond Austria’s only European Tour Destination venue, Diamond Country Club has staged the Austrian Open since 2010 on its Jeremy Pern-designed Diamond course. There are actually thirty-nine holes in play at this facility, with the main 18-hole layout complemented by the 9-hole Park and 12-hole Country courses. The club’s 42-room onsite Aparthotel affords spacious accommodation and easy access to the golf courses and the twinned 4-star Diamond City Hotel on the south bank of the Danube in nearby Tulln provides guests with another city stay alternative. Hungary – Zala Springs  Located close to the small spa town of Hévíz, which is famous for its large thermal lake, the Zala Springs Golf Resort boasts an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior as its sporting focal point. Opened for play in 2016, the complex now includes a boutique spa with swimming pool, classic steam cabin and authentic Finnish sauna. Accommodation options close to the clubhouse include Junior Suites and Golf Studio Suites with Terrace. For larger groups, there are Grand Premium Family Suites comprising two bedrooms, a large living room, modern kitchen and dining room. An artisan breakfast and use of the spa is included for every stay. Slovenia – Royal Bled Dating back to 1937, when the Yugoslav King Aleksander Karađorđević chose Bled as his summer residence, the golf course at Golf Resort Royal Bled has attracted players from far and wide. Donald Harradine re-designed the layout in the early 1970s then another 9-hole course was added in the 1990s. Only five years ago, Swan Golf Designs upgraded the main 18-hole King’s course when the firm carried out an extensive renovation to completely revitalize the course’s fortunes. Like both Diamond Country Club and Zala Springs, Royal Bled is a member of the IMG Prestige global network. The accommodation extends to ten elegantly furnished rooms upstairs in the King’s House clubhouse, along with four double rooms in the adjacent Lake’s House which can be configured for families or groups hiring out the entire building. Switzerland – Bad Ragaz Golf Club Bad Ragaz was founded in 1905 and down the years the club’s golfing ground has been worked on by three generations of the Harradine family: Donald Harradine’s stepfather improved the original 9-hole course in 1925, Donald himself constructed the existing 18-hole layout in the mid-1950s then his son Peter Harradine subsequently added the 9-hole executive track. The golf facility lies on the floodplain of the River Rhein so the wooded landscape’s a bit flat but the towering mountain surroundings make this one of the most picturesque places for the older professionals to tee it up when they compete in the annual Swiss Seniors Open on the Legends Tour. The adjoining Grand Resort Bad Ragaz contains three high-end establishments: the Grand Hotel Quellenhof & Spa Suites; Grand Hotel Hof Ragaz; and the Palais Bad Ragaz. In total, there are 247 rooms and suites allocated across these three hotels. In addition to the associated thermal pools, saunas and fitness equipment in the wellness centre, the resort operates a medical centre staffed by an Interdisciplinary team of more than seventy doctors and therapists.  Germany – Bad Griesbach Quellness & Golf Resort Bad Giresbach (renamed in recent years from its original Hartl Resort title) in Bavaria is the largest golf complex in Europe, with ten different golfing layouts and a massive circular Golfodrom training centre. Two of Bad Griesbach’s five 18-hole layouts – the Brunnwies and Beckenbauer – were designed by Bernard Langer and both are listed in our German standings. Three 9-hole courses, a 6-hole “hacker’s” track and a 6-hole children’s short course completes the golfing line-up at this impressive operation. There are a total of 105 rooms available for stay and play on the Brunnwies, Penning and Uttlau estates in addition to three superior hotels at the resort: the 5-star Maximilian (205 bedrooms); the 4-star Fuerstenhof (145 bedrooms); and Das Ludwig (168 bedrooms). If you have any comment to make on the above article then please use the “WRITE A RESPONSE” link at the bottom of this page. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses