Bad Griesbach (Brunnwies)

When the Jaguar course (now called the Mercedes-Benz course) at the Hartl Golf Resort was completed in 2003, it brought the number of 18-hole courses at Bad Griesbach to six – and, in addition, there are three 9-hole courses and two six hole “learner” layouts on the property.

In the world of mega-sized global golfing destinations, you will not be surprised to learn that the Hartl resort boasts of links with the 5-course PGA National complex in America and 12-course Mission Hills in China. Like those other two sites, Hartl plays an important part in promoting the game of golf both nationally and internationally.

The Brunnwies course was the first to be designed by Bernhard Langer at Bad Griesbach and it remains the flagship layout at the resort. Located in the Rott Valley of Lower Bavaria to the north east of Munich, the eighteen holes have been intuitively routed to blend in beautifully with the natural landscape.

The par four 5th is an absolute beast, well worthy of its stroke index 1 rating. Played from a left offset tee position, with out of bounds to the right of the fairway, the hole ventures straight uphill to a wickedly sloping green that affords few, if any, reasonable pin positions.

Other notable holes include the par fives at holes 7 and 10 (both plunge steeply downhill from gun platform tee positions, inviting golfers to open their shoulders and let rip with the driver) and the signature hole on the course, the par three 14th, where a pond protects the front left corner of a green sitting more than a hundred feet below the level of the tee.