Le Kempferhof

Le Kempferhof is set close to Strasbourg in a delightful 85-hectare wooded estate. A nineteenth century hunting lodge doubles up as the clubhouse and a charming small hotel which is themed around the cinema, specifically movie legends.

The Kempferhof is one of the toughest challenges in the Alsace region. Robert von Hagge designed the course and it opened for play in 1989. Le Kempferhof is the realisation of a dream of three Alsatian entrepreneurs who felt that the Strasbourg region needed a quality course.

This is not a course for the high handicapper with plenty of water and bold, almost haphazard bunkering. The gently rolling fairways provide for easy walking but you will need a reasonable degree of accuracy from the tee along these tree-lined fairways. If you are seeking an exciting and supremely challenging round of golf then Le Kempferhof will certainly tick both boxes.

The following edited extract is from France’s Most Beautiful Courses by Jean-François Lefevre:

“Arriving via the Plobsheim road to the Kempferhof golf course one has an immediate presentiment of the fate awaiting the golf balls. From the brackish water of the water hazards guarding the shared green of the 9th and 18th holes, it is clear that the architect has stayed true to form and not skimped on the traps for the golfers.

It is a game of cat and mouse, with which the aficionados of the Seignosse, Les Bordes and Courson courses, von Hagge’s other creations, will be familiar. He has a predilection for undulating fairways, huge bunkers and island greens. They are his signature. One is never likely to get bored on his courses. The player must have technique and not a little luck to pull off a good scorecard.”