Oberstaufen-Steibis

The strength of the Steibis mountain course is that the spectacular Alpine landscape gives up just enough manageable terrain for a full 18-hole layout. There are only two or three really harsh slopes to climb and two connector walks, which would be held against a normal course, but are very acceptable in the high mountains. And the rhythm is pretty good, too, so the course should work for repeat play. Once the routing is "in the bag", a mountain course can hardly disappoint, because drama and natural beauty come with the territory.

The course builds up with a couple of not overly challenging par fours that have just the right amount of twists to engage the golfer's interest. Then a stretch of wild holes over very undulating terrain raises the stakes, culminating in the one-of-a-kind 6th hole. It's a long par five with a diagonal, uphill tee shot that is hard enough to get right, but then the second shot has to deal with two large boulders that apparently broke off the mountain and came to rest in the exact position that the fairway feeds to. Once this monster of a hole has been negotiated, the 7th is an exhilarating downhiller, unless the drive is aimed too far left, in which case it can end up in a cottage from 1677 – the oldest building in all of Steibis.

More unusual holes follow: the 9th is a vexing par three, where even better players lay up. The 10th can be a never-ending story and more than one ball has disappeared here at the very last moment. The round then plays out with a good mixture of exciting and mellow holes. There is a real sense of journey across the back nine, although it is quite a bit shorter than the front.

Conditioning is rarely easy in the mountains, especially interesting and true rolling greens are hard to come by after long periods of snow cover. Steibis is no exception to this rule, but in the grand scheme of things this does not matter as much as it would for an ordinary course. There's plenty to like as it is; the scenery, the quirk and the solid golf without artificially tricked up holes.