First of all, if you paid no attention to what’s written on either the scorecard or course signage then you’d be hard pressed to know that this was a Gary Player layout. The Black Knight has been all over the world designing grand golf courses with big budgets and unlimited resources, but this must rank as one of his more “lie of the land” efforts, blending effortlessly into its natural environment.

There’s nothing flash or fancy here, everything is rather understated and matter of fact and, apart from a couple of holes on either nine – the long par three 8th with a fence immediately behind the green and the par four 15th, where the right angled dogleg requires too long a tee shot to enable a direct approach to the green – everything is rather sensible and really enjoyable.

I really liked the opening stretch of five holes, played out on higher ground in the southwest corner of the property, before you drop down to the valley floor to play out the next twelve holes then ascend back up to the clubhouse at the last.

My playing partner and I were paired up with a couple of guys from Stuttgart who were great fun to play with and we enjoyed a beer and a spicy hot dog with them at the half way hut next to the train station just as one of the little diesel-powered two-carriage units signaled its arrival, reminding me very much of Boat of Garten in the Scottish Highlands with its steam train service in the summer.

Although the drop shot 5th is a very scenic hole, I thought the best of the five par threes on the card was the 17th (“Easy Shot”), which is played to a triangular-shaped raised green with little margin for error in terms of hitting and holding the putting surface.

While greens were in good condition the other playing areas on the course were far from their best, obviously not helped by a lack of fairway irrigation. Scruffy tees and playing corridors are never a good sign and it looked like they’ve been that way for some time now, perhaps never recovering from the long drought of last year.

Still, Cihelny’s worth a play if you’re in the area, along with Karlovy Vary and Royal Marianske Lazne. They’re all situated in a beautiful corner of the country, close to the German border, and discounted green fees can be obtained if you purchase the West Bohemia Golf Pass for a very reasonable price.

Jim McCann