Penati (Legend)

Opened in August 2012, the Penati Golf Resort is located near the town of Senica, about an hour’s drive north from the Slovak Republic’s capital, Bratislava, and it's now the country's largest golfing facility.

The resort is set within a generous 540-acre site, blessed with sandy ground and pine trees. It’s an ideal property for golf and Nicklaus Design snaffled nearly half of the available acreage to etch the first 18-holer at Penati, adding yet another new country to the Golden Bear’s flourishing collection of global golf destinations.

Boldly named Legend, this par 72 Nicklaus course measures a testy 6,954 yards from the tips, but you’ll need to bring your best ball striking game in order to tackle the monster par six 15th which can be stretched to a whopping 787 yards from the back tee. However, there are a staggering eleven tee boxes on this huge par six, so there’s a sensible option for golfers of all standards.

Some will dismiss the 15th as a gimmick, but nobody will forget the dramatic downhill par four closing hole which heads directly to the clubhouse terrace, where many golfers will be watching to see whether approach shots find a watery grave or the sanctuary of the island green.

In June 2013, Penati hosted the EGA European Mid-Amateur Championship and the Legend course impressed Bertrand Noël from France who won the gold medal, beating Australia’s Richard Heath at the third play-off hole. Albert Türklitz from Germany took bronze.

The Legend course was for a while the premier layout in Slovakia and maybe you saw it on TV when the PGA European Challenge Tour visited Penati in 2014 and 2015. The Heritage course toppled the Nicklaus track from the head of our Slovakian rankings in 2016 but the best thing to do is play them both then decide which one you prefer.