Thanks to the acquisition of additional land in 1964, the 9-hole course at Golf Club Montreux was redesigned as an 18-hole layout by Donald Harradine. Forty years later, Ron Fream completely renovated the course, introducing four new holes.
Vaud 1860, Switzerland
Thanks to the acquisition of additional land in 1964, the 9-hole course at Golf Club Montreux was redesigned as an 18-hole layout by Donald Harradine. Forty years later, Ron Fream completely renovated the course, introducing four new holes.
The Montreux Golf Club is the oldest golf course in the region of Lake of Geneva. It started out as the English Club of Montreux and was not established to satisfy the Swiss, rather English tourists who flocked to the area to enjoy the microclimate and the scenery.
A 9-hole course at first, the club expanded the layout to 18 holes in 1931 before half the course was turned over to agriculture during the Second World War.
When additional land became available in 1964, Donald Harradine was commissioned to add nine new holes and modernise the existing 9-hole course. Forty years later, Ron Fream completely renovated the layout, introducing four new holes.
The course in play today is very pleasant walk and a solid test of golf in truly magnificent surroundings, set only a couple of kilometres to the south of the popular resort town of Montreux, well known for its annual jazz festival.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
California, United States
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As with all the other European charts we’ve been updating over the last thirteen months, the rankings for Switzerland have been compiled by a new panel assembled for that specific purpose and we thank every one of these committed golfers for their valued contributions. Nine courses climb up the new listings, eight drop down and eight remain in the same place. Domaine Imperial One of the non-movers is the 18-hole course at Golf Club du Domaine Impérial which retains its position as the #1 golfing layout in Switzerland for the eighth straight edition. Officially, the layout is a Pete Dye design but his associate at the time, Tim Liddy, was the man on site who actually oversaw construction of the course. Set out on land by the northern shores of Lake Geneva, the fairways occupy an estate that was once owned by Joseph Bonepart (elder brother of Napoléon Bonepart) and the 19th century manor house, La Villa Prangins, now operates as a rather grand clubhouse for the golfers who play here. Zürich The 18-hole layout at Golf & Country Club Zürich dropped out of the Top 10 bracket in 2018 but it now soars six places back up the chart to #5, following a renovation carried out recently by Thomas Himmel. Originally designed by Tom Williamson almost a century ago, the course was later remodelled by Tom Simpson in the mid-1930s then further upgraded by Donald Harradine during the 1970s so its architectural pedigree is one to be admired. Breitenloo Located ten kilometres east of Zurich airport, the course at Golfclub Breitenloo rises four places to #11 in our new Swiss standings. Founded in 1964, the club engaged both Frank Pennink and Donald Harradine to develop the course in its formative years before Kurt Rossknect upgraded the layout in 2004. Importantly, a recent bunker renovation by Staedler & Reinmuth GolfDesign has contributed substantially towards improving the ranking fortunes of the course. Hittnau-Zürich The Golf and Country Club Hittnau-Zürich course (up six to #18) lies half an hour’s drive southeast of Breitenloo, with the original 9-hole layout the work of renowned architect Bernhard von Limburger. Donald Harradine revised the layout after it had been extended to eighteen holes before Kurt Rossknect redesigned more than half the holes in 2015/16. Occupying a hilly landscape with lovely old trees, streams and lakes coming into play, this Alpine beauty is quite the testing track in a wonderful setting. Golfpark Zürichsee First opened for business in 1998, the Golfpark Zürichsee course (up five to #20) is laid out in a former gravel quarry, where Peter Harradine fashioned the initial 9-hole layout at what was then called Nuolen Golf Park. Twenty years later, Kurt Rossnecht added another nine holes, with water now featuring regularly, especially on the front nine where only three holes are free from any aquatic influence. To view the entire detailed list of our latest Top 25 Golf Courses of Switzerland click the link. View list here. If you have any comment to make on the above article then please use the “WRITE A RESPONSE” link at the bottom of this page. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses
Top 100 Golf Courses revises its Alpine rankings 2020 We re-ranked our Top 100 Golf Courses in Continental Europe a month ago and since then we’ve been updating the various national listings and issuing news releases to coincide with these chart revisions. This Alpine edition for Austria and Switzerland is the ninth and final publication in a sequence that has taken us all the way from the Mediterranean Sea in the south to the Atlantic Ocean in the north. Austria There are only two non-movers in our newly extended Top 40 for Austria and one of them is the Championship course at Adamstal, which remains our national #1 layout. Located in a gorgeous mountain setting near the small town of Ramau, an hour’s drive southwest of Vienna, the course is a mid-1990s production developed by former rally driver Franz Wittmann, with architect Jeff Howes extending the original 9-hole set-up to form the 18-hole Championship course then adding another 9-hole track called the Wallerbach. Adamstal - Championship course Reviewers last year were fulsome in their praise for Adamstal: “the sites for both courses are quite dramatic. The mountainous terrain has been heavily massaged to produce golf holes threaded through dense forest and across, up and down some severe slopes… it is a truly glorious course to see and to play… top scenic environment and the most challenging golf course.” Moving higher up the Austrian Top 10 tier, the course at Golfclub Am Mondsee rises four places to No.6. Laid out on former farmland next to Lake Mondsee in the mid-1980s, this 18-hole Max Graf Lamberg design is configured as two returning nines, each of which concludes with a curving par five hole on either side of the imposing Drachensee Lake inlet. Mondsee The biggest climb in our Austrian chart is made by the course at Dachstein-Tauern Golf & Country Club near the Schladming ski resort in Styria (up nine to #10), reversing a fall of seven places when we last updated the European national listings two years ago. CEO Franz Wittmann Junior, son of the Adamstal owner, is working hard to raise the all-round standards at the club and the course has come on leaps and bounds in recent times. Dachstein-Tauern The East course at Colony Club Gutenhof lies in the shadow of the West course at this fabulous 36-hole golf facility on the southern outskirts of the capital but the gap between the two layouts has closed considerably with the East advancing seven spots to No.14 in our new Austrian standings. Co-designed by Kurt Rossknecht and Hans Erhardt, these parkland tracks opened for play in 1990 and both have challenged and entertained in equal measure during the last thirty years of operation. The course at Golfclub Schloss Frauenthal is the highest of our ten new entries, debuting ahead of the other newcomers at #20. Our Alpine correspondent François Gacougnolle was here a few months ago and had this to say about the layout: “this course is definitely not trying to compete in the ‘monster’ category and it will probably never attract professionals… since length off the tee was never going to be the real issue here, the creators of Frauenthal used just about everything else you can find on a golf course to make your par a little more challenging to score.” Schloss Frauenthal Rank/ To view the complete detailed list of the Top 40 Golf Courses of Austria click the link. Switzerland The top three courses in Switzerland remain in the same position so that means the 18-hole layout at Golf-Club Domaine Imperial is still the national No. 1. It’s a rare Pete Dye European design, inaugurated by Seve Ballesteros in the summer of 1987, located close to Lake Geneva, less than ten kilometres from the French border. Mentioned last year in a review as a “delightfully comfortable” place to visit, the course was also described in the same post as “clearly where ‘the 1%’ play their golf”. Domaine Imperial Only four courses move forward in the newly expanded Swiss chart and the biggest jump is made by the new millennium design of Jeremy Pern at Golf Club Vuissens, which is now three places better off at No. 4. It’s a personal favourite of our man in the Alps, François Gacougnolle, who regards it as “not easy, physically and mentally tiring, but a lot of fun!” In his opinion, “its only weakness is that it is far from just about everywhere, and not easy to find.” Sometimes, going the extra kilometre or two can bring its own rewards. Vuissens The first of five chart debutants arrives at No. 15 and it’s the course at Golfclub Breitenloo, situated eight kilometres northeast of Zurich airport in a hilly area between Kloten and Wintherthur, with lovely views of the Glat Valley and the Alps. The club was founded in 1964 and both Donald Harradine and Frank Pennink are credited with involvement in the initial development of the club’s 18-hole course before Kurt Rossknecht carried out a major renovation early in the new millennium. Breitenloo To view the complete detailed list of the Top 25 Golf Courses of Switzerland click the link. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses
Swiss Alps – a golf destination and much more Would I suggest a golf holiday in Switzerland? Probably not. Would I recommend a holiday in Switzerland and then play some golf while there? Oh yes, with great big cowbells on! This was my first visit to Switzerland and it was so enjoyable with highlights being the scenery, wonderful accommodation, delicious culinary experiences and a national culture that focuses on the finer things in life, with strong emphasis on health and well-being. Grey Nickel, the sales and marketing company that specialises in golf and ski, arranged this Swiss visit and the itinerary was action-packed. London Heathrow to Zurich is a very manageable 80-minute flight and once we’d landed we were whisked off in a southwesterly direction to take a look at a fairly new 9-hole course called Golf Meggen. There are some lovely holes to be played here, where the elevated panoramic views across Lake Lucerne are simply stunning. We stayed at the Seehotel Waldstaetterhof in the vibrant town of Brunnen on this first night where further lovely lake views are to be savoured, this time at street level. There was just enough time for nine holes at Golf Club Axenstein en route to the next planned stop. Axenstein is unlikely to appear in any golf course rankings, but it’s so much fun where there are some really short holes and some really tough walks between greens and tees – at this point I wished I was a mountain goat! You will get round these nine holes in just over an hour and the experience is not to be missed. Yet again the mountain and lake views are simply breathtaking. Back to the schedule and off to the famous ski town of Andermatt. This town met my expectations of a classy Swiss ski hub, with fantastic food and drink and accommodation choices and, of course, the vibe that skiers instantly recognise. We continued to be treated like royalty and pitched up at The Chedi, which is part of The Leading Hotels of the World group, a collection of 375 hotels that are unrivalled for absolute quality throughout. The Chedi is without a doubt the best accommodation in this area. Our golf experience was at Andermatt Swiss Alps – here we have a course that is only two years old (opened in 2016) and so close to the beautiful mountains in the Urseren Valley. It’s laid out over rocky terrain, which is intersected by natural streams and surrounded by grazing cows. There are some memorable holes, especially the unforgettable short par four at the 3rd and 4th. Our 2018/2019 Swiss ranking for the course is #10 and the review posted 30th October 2017 by our Alpine Correspondent, François Gacougnolle, is just spot on perfect – there’s nothing that I can add as it’s very accurate and well worth a read (Andermatt Swiss Alps click to read more). After a very relaxing night at The Chedi we transferred to another club at Domat/Ems via a tricky drive across mountain roads with many nerve-jangling hairpin bends – just watch those edges… it’s a long way down! There are three loops of nine holes at Domat/Ems and again I cannot envisage this course becoming part of the Switzerland rankings, but there are a number of strong holes coupled with a really lovely club feel. Our next journey to Bad Ragaz lasted only twenty minutes and it was the highlight of my trip. We stayed at The Grand Resort Bad Ragaz and yet again we were treated like kings. This property is billed as Europe’s Leading Wellbeing & Medical Health Resort and it’s also on the books of The Leading Hotels of the World. As luck would have it, we arrived in town during Bad RagARTz, an open-air exhibition of 430 sculptures that simply has to be seen. Our golf was played on the venue for the Swiss Seniors Open hosted each July since 1997 where the winners normally have some very low scores. In 2015, local favourite, Andre Bossart, went on to win the event after carding a 61. This score was on for me after three holes of my round at Bad Ragaz but suffice to say the course record still remains intact! I really enjoyed the Bad Ragaz course, which reminded me in part of the Duchess course at Woburn in England – very tight in places, but not overly long where accuracy is key to scoring well. Everything about the Bad Ragaz layout is just an extension of the whole town – this is just a really nice feel good place to be, whether you are hiking, golfing, using the spa or eating very well. On the subject of eating, our ‘king-like’ experience continued into the evening when we dined at IGNIV, the 1 Michelin star restaurant by Andreas Caminada. The talented chef and his team explained in perfect detail each and every one of the twenty-courses during our time at his table. This was a serious culinary treat (with wines to match). I may be more accustomed to the pie and mash shop in the East End of London, but this was undoubtedly one of the very best dining moments in my life. There was just enough time on the final day of our luxurious trip to walk off the excesses and play another 9-hole layout that’s set right next door to Bad Ragaz, at Golf Club Heidiland. This is another facility where fun is the main focus, with nine expertly manicured short holes that will only take up an hour or so of any golfer’s time. I genuinely loved my first golfing experience in Switzerland – expectations have now been set and I can't wait to revisit. Andy Newmarch Top 100 Golf Courses
