Austerlitz

Historians celebrated the 200th anniversary of a famous military skirmish near here in 2005. The Battle of Austerlitz – also known to the Czech people as the Battle of Slavkov – was one of Napolean’s greatest triumphs; described as a tactical masterpiece as his troops decisively defeated a Russo-Austrian army under the leadership of Tsar Alexander.

Nowadays, the sporting battlefield in Austerlitz takes the shape of a 7,000-yard, 18-hole golf course and the only clubs being swung in anger are those belonging to members of a golf club formed in 1995 to help develop the game not only in Moravia, but also within the whole republic.

The course was designed by the Austrian golf architect, Hans-George Erhardt (who is also responsible for the more recent Beskydská course in the Czech Republic), and it is complemented by a 30-room hotel where a wide and eclectic array of additional sporting pursuits such as tennis, bowling, beach volleyball and shooting on a rifle range can be arranged nearby!

The club boast a course design “very much in the ‘Scottish style’, with a good number of deep sand traps and heath land to match” but, in truth, this is very pleasant parkland golf with several water hazards thrown in for good measure, all created by the hand – and earth-moving machine – of man!