Gut Altentann

Gut Altentann is the Austrian course that Ron Kirby and Jack built and it’s set on the outskirts of Mozart’s hometown, Salzburg. Gut Altentann Golf Club was founded in 1988 and it was the Golden Bear’s first European ensemble. Twenty years later, and the course is one of less than a dozen to have been designed by Nicklaus in continental Europe – a remarkably small number considering that Jack has built over 300 courses worldwide.

This is an Austrian Open venue, so it’s no surprise to hear that Gut Altentann is a stern challenge. With two lakes and a sprinkle of Jack’s risk-and-reward design makes for an immensely enjoyable round. The topography is perfect for golf and the variation holds your attention from start to finish.

Measuring over 6,700 yards in length from the championship tees, the course is beautifully landscaped with trademark Nicklaus contoured bunker complexes and huge greens – averaging 640 square yards in area – throughout. Water plays a large part in proceedings too, coming into play at no fewer than eleven holes on the course.

The original plan was to build an exclusive resort, complete with golf course, hotel and spa and other sports amenities, but the financing collapsed before the clubhouse was even built, so the routing of the course is rather unusual with the 3rd and 8th greens being closest to the old farmhouse, which was not destroyed and became the clubhouse, while the 1st, 9th, 10th and 18th start or end a couple of hundred metres away.

The toughest hole on the front nine is the 447-yard par four 3rd where a stream cuts diagonally across the fairway at the point where it doglegs to the right. On the inward half, the hardest hole is reserved until last. The 490-yard par five 18th has a stream running left from the tee that then cuts across the fairway as it doglegs sharply left to the green – a very demanding finish to a round at the Gut Altentann Golf & Country Club.