The golf course at Reit im Winkl features a monumental out and back routing, the likes of which are profoundly rare on difficult mountain sites.
The golf course at Reit im Winkl features a monumental out and back routing, the likes of which are profoundly rare on difficult mountain sites.
The golf course at Reit im Winkl features a monumental out and back routing, the likes of which are profoundly rare on difficult mountain sites. It is still a tough walk, but the way the holes are stitched together is nothing short of amazing and down mostly to Thomas Himmel. It is also one of only a few courses worldwide to play through two countries. The routing starts off in Austria with a bunch of visually striking downhill holes, before straightening out a bit and crossing the border to Germany after the fifth. Two more quirky downhillers follow and then, as they would say in cycling, the man with the hammer comes.
The 8th to 12th holes are furiously Alpine – all short, quirky and full of surprises. The 9th hole in particular towers ominously over the player; it almost feels like the last pitch to a mountain summit. Thankfully, the halfway hut is up on top of the plateau. But it's not just the holes themselves that impress, but the entire stretch that turns the player in one big loop over and around the peak to set him or her back on their way to the clubhouse. The next three holes describe another mini-loop and are generally flatter, but not without some nerve-wracking moments around a walloping gorge.
Much of the elevation that was lost on the way out is then made up over a long par five and a par three that rise steadily without becoming overly steep, but some players will undoubtedly struggle at this point. The reward comes back in Austria with the final and relatively level par five as it swings back to the clubhouse in an elegant – if somewhat tight – curve.
Even though two thirds of the course is in Germany, the maintenance standards are more reminiscent of the typically well-groomed layouts in Austria, where many courses are in holiday regions that are used to pamper paying guests. And for once, the marshal selling ice-cold drinks out of his cart, is not just a gimmick, but also a very welcome service.
Between the world-class routing, the beautiful mountain scenery, the quirky hole designs, the subtle greens, the challenging tee shots and the explorative hike this experience is as rigorous as it is unmissable.
Footnote: Despite Reit im Winkl Golf Club’s Austrian address, the club is not affiliated to the Austrian Golf Association but is part of the German Golf Association, so we have assigned the course to Germany rather than Austria.
Great German golf resorts So far in this series of resort articles we’ve profiled only one German golf facility – albeit it was the largest in Europe at the Quellness & Golf Resort Bad Griesbach, which has an incredible 129 holes in play – so we thought it was time to take a look at some of the other top golf establishments in a nation ranked #6 in the world by the R&A for the number of courses (811) that are open to golfers. We’ll start in the north of the country near the Danish border then gradually meander our way almost two thousand kilometres southwards through several German states to end up in Bavaria, close to the border with Austria. Some of the resorts rank highly in our German national chart, others are listed in our regional listings – all of them offer stay and play options that are as good as you’ll find anywhere on the continent. Budersand First stop on our resort roundup is Golf Club Budersand Sylt, located on the North Frisian island of Sylt, the most northerly German island in the North Sea, which connects to the mainland by the Hindenburg Dam, a railway causeway that links the long sandy stretch of land to the rest of the country. First opened for business fifteen years ago, the course is set out in what was formerly an old military base, with holes routed as two returning nines across dune-strewn linksland, bringing pot bunkers, meandering burns and creative contouring into focus. The club’s 5-star hotel offers 77 rooms and suites which are characterized by the thoughtful use of fine natural materials and each of the five guest room categories comes with its own balcony or suite roof terrace. Room furnishings are high quality, from Perlino Bianco marble in the bathroom to walls adorned with works of art. The restaurant serves “Nordic Fusion" cuisine – featuring ingredients from selected producers in Northern Germany and Scandinavia – and the spa comprises a large pool, saunas, steam bath and several treatment rooms. Gut Apeldör Halfway between Sylt and Hamburg lies the 27-hole golf facility at Golf Club Gut Apeldör in the Dithmarschen district of Schleswig-Holstein. David Krause laid out the “Big Apple” and “Big 9” courses in the mid-1990s and holes on both layouts are set out on a sandy heathland landscape with free-draining soil properties. Water and sand hazards come into play at many holes, most memorably at the par four 18th, with a long beach bunker positioned between the home green and a lake on the right. The Golfhotel Gut Apeldör has 42 guest rooms available for visitors, divided into four different categories (standard, business, comfort, junior suites) and varying in size from 27 to 80 square metres. The Gutshof Restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and evening dinners, serving fresh, high-quality regional food. The attached wellness centre within the converted silo tower of the Old Barn is where to seek out a sauna or a massage – or maybe just a place to chill out in the designated relaxation room. Gut Kaden A 90-minute drive from Gut Apeldör brings us to another 27-hole complex to the north of Hamburg, Gut Kaden Golf und Land Club, where Frank Pennink designed the original 18-hole layout in the early 1980s. Deutsche Bank became title sponsors of the European Players Championship in 1995 and the event was held here nine times until its demise in 2007, with tournament winners on the “B” and “C” nines at Gut Kaden including the likes of Bernhard Langer, Lee Westwood (twice) and Padraig Harrington. The hotel offers 39 spacious guest rooms (each one decorated with an eye to detail) for single or double occupancy and if 30 square metres of space is too small then there’s also a suite for those who might require a bit more room. The restaurant in the Gut Kaden manor house also boasts a large outdoor terrace as a meeting place for both golfers and hotel guests. The fitness area contains a range of cardio equipment, in addition to a sauna, massage room and other treatment rooms. WINSTONgolf Another 2-hour drive east of Gut Kaden sits the 45-hole facility at WINSTONgolf in the northeast German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Built on the site of an old sand quarry, the Open course was the first layout unveiled here around twenty years ago, designed by Holger Rengstorf, followed a decade later by the David Krause-designed Links layout. You’ll be hard pressed to discover a more diverse 36 holes at one location – and including the 9-hole kranich course gives a full day of golf that’s hard to forget. The Gut Vorbeck manor house hotel is situated on the 13th hole of the Links course, directly on the river Warnow. The building was constructed in 1912 on the ruins of a previous enterprise which burned down, though the original vaulted cellar has been preserved. The manor house was completely renovated in 2010 and converted into 19 stylishly furnished guest rooms and a suite. The Kranichhaus restaurant serves everything from crispy salads to fresh fish and fine fillets. On the spacious estate grounds there is a canoe station and a riding stable for those who want more than golf. Fleesensee We continue east from WINSTONgolf into the heart of the spectacular Mecklenburg Lake District and the 72-hole Golf Fleesensee resort. The Schloss course is the longest and toughest of the three 18-hole layouts here, designed by Stan Eby for European Golf Design in the late 1990s. With well-bunkered holes routed in an out-and-back fashion, the Schloss course extends to a little over 6,400 metres from the back markers and ponds come into play close to the green on several occasions at this rather demanding track. There are three main accommodation options at Fleesensee, starting with the 177-bedroom Schloss hotel which has rooms varying in size between 27 and 73 square metres. Restaurant Blüchers (once the castle chapel) presents cuisine of the highest quality and the spa and wellness area are wonderful facilities providing exclusive treatments and soothing massages. In addition to the hotel, the child-friendly Beech Resort is a great family-orientated hostelry and there are also apartments in the Maremüritz Yachthafen Resort. Hardenberg Three hundred and thirty-five kilometres southwest of Fleesensee in Lower Saxony is where you’ll find the 36-hole facility at Golf Resort Hardenberg. The Göttingen course was first to arrive here in 1971 when Donald Harradine set out the original 9-holer (later expanded to eighteen holes in 1987) then the David Krause-designed Niedersachsen 18-hole course came along in 2004. The Göttingen brings water into play from time to time while the Niedersachsen goes one better with an island green complex shaped like a boar’s head on the par three 11th, replicating the distinctive image on the Hardenberg family crest. The 5-star Hardenberg BurgHotel nestles close to the ancient Hardenberg castle ruin (some 8 kilometres south from the golf courses) on the outskirts of Nörten-Hardenberg, with 38 guest rooms and 4 suites available. The Novalis restaurant serves regional northern German and classic French cuisine and the wellness centre houses a state-of-the-art gymnasium, three different types of sauna and a couple of whirlpools. Alternatively, the 4-star Hotel FREIgeist Northeim is located 5 kilometres in the opposite direction from the resort outside Northeim, with 62 double rooms which are suitablefor 1-2 adults with children and/or a dog – and family rooms can be booked with connecting doors. Weimarer Land We continue 200 kilometres southeast into the Thüringen state (“the green heart of Germany”) and the Weimarer Land Spa & Golf Resort. Here, you’ll discover a 45-hole facility designed by Christoph Städler with two 18-hole layouts (the Goethe and Feininger) and a recently developed short track named the Königin Luise 9-hole course. Interestingly, the Bobby Jones Champion Course is an 18-hole composite layout which is configured as holes 1-5 and 15-18 of the Goethe course then holes 10-18 of the Feininger course. The on-site hotel consists of 94 elegant guest rooms which range from 27-square metre double rooms to 97-square metre suites (with 1 bedroom and spacious living room area over two floors). The Lindenspa contains several pools, a blossom bath, steam bath and sauna, while the wellness centre provides a selection of body treatments and massages. The Augusta restaurant is named after the legendary Masters venue in Georgia and it opens for breakfast from 06:30 to 11:00 then for dinner in the evening between 18:00 and 21:30. Jakobsberg Our next golfing port of call lies 350 kilometres west of Weimarer Land at the Jakobsberg Hotel & Golfresort, overlooking the Rhine Valley to the south of Koblenz. The property was purchased in 1960 by Dr. Hans Riegel – founder of confectionery maker Haribo – who later brought in architect Wolfgang Jarsombek during the 1990s to develop the hunting grounds and transform them into the 18-hole golf course that’s in play today. The resort has been a training base for the German PGA for many years now. Romantik Hotel Klostergut Jakobsberg was built in 1157 as a monastery by Emperor Barbarossa and today it towers high above the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site with 39 guest rooms in total (most come with a balcony or terrace) and a well-appointed spa and gymnasium. Local and regional cuisine is served in the Waidblick restaurant and there are 7 conference rooms for up to 200 people. The estate’s vineyard is managed by a local winemaker who tends to the vines, produces the wine and bottles it. Waldsee We continue 425 kilometres south now, past Heidelberg and Stuttgart into central Baden-Württemberg and the Princely Golf Resort Bad Waldsee. This 45-hole golf complex nestles close to the small spa town of Bad Waldsee, with two very different 18-hole layouts: the Old course is a Donald Harradine design dating back to 1969 and the longer, tougher New course is a Thomas Himmel and Carlo Knauss co-design which appeared in 1998. Both tracks as complemented by a delightful 9-hole par three course measuring less than a thousand metres. Forty guest rooms at the resort each have a balcony and they come with all the usual amenities such as television, telephone, minibar and high-speed internet connection. Overnight stays include use of the fully-equipped fitness room, sauna and whirlpool. A range of chargeable massage therapies are also available. The Restaurant in the Courtyard lays on regional and seasonal specialties, with a full buffet breakfast on offer every morning. Snacks, light meals and drinks are served in The Outlook T-19 café-restaurant. Sonnenalp The final leg of our German resort excursion takes us another hour’s drive southeast from Bad Waldsee to Sonthofen, the most southerly town in the country, and the nearby Golf Resort Sonnenalp-Oberallgäu. The older Sonnenalp layout is another Donald Harradine track which originally opened for play in 1975, while the Oberallgäu course is a Kurt Rossknecht early new millennium production – if mountain golf is what you’re looking for then look no further than here (out with the winter months of course)! Accommodation at the 5-star hotel comprises 218 guest rooms and suites, along with 7 Alpine chalets. Nearly all rooms have a south-facing balcony or terrace with a view of the Allgäu Alps. Catering is taken care of at four restaurants, including the award-winning Silberdistel gourmet restaurant. The wellness area features a separate natural spa section, heated outdoor pools, saunas and relaxation rooms. A gymnasium with modern Technogym equipment is also on hand for those who feel the need to work out. Many thanks to Stefan von Stengel for permission to use his images above for Budersand, Gut Apeldör and WINSTONgolf. 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 70 Golf Courses of Germany 2023 We continue our revision of European rankings with Germany. It’s not so long ago that we doubled the number of courses in our German listings from 50 to 100 but we’ve had a radical rethink about where we’re going with these national standings. We’ve assembled a new group of panellists and quite a few courses in the previous edition of the chart didn’t find favour with the new panel. They also proposed a number of alternative courses for consideration. To ease the transition, we’ve contracted the chart to a Top 70, allowing us to take stock of the situation. We have another 2-year cycle in which to fully re-evaluate the golf scene in Germany. It may be that some of the displaced courses will reappear or perhaps we’ll expand the chart further with a further influx of newcomers. Only time will tell in the months ahead. Right now, it’s hard to predict what will happen – the large swings in fortune for some courses (either up or down) are an indicator of just how volatile things are! If you’d like to contribute to the process then by all means let us know what you think of this latest German chart edition. Which courses are riding too high or falling too far down? Which courses shouldn’t be anywhere near the listings and are there any others that we’ve excluded by mistake? All opinions are welcome… For now, let’s have a look at some of the new chart highlights. Hamburger Falkenstein The course at Hamburger Golf-Club, more commonly known as Falkenstein, has been our German No. 1 since we started ranking courses in Germany in 2008 so it’s no big surprise to announce that it remains in that same position. Designed by Colt, Alison and Morrison in the late 1920s then remodelled by Bernhard von Limburger during the 1960s, the layout is in the midst of a long-term restoration project undertaken by Frank Pont and Hendrik Hilgert. Our International correspondent David Davis termed the course “the best of the best” when he played here on a German golf trip in 2021. “Hamburger Falkenstein is a true standout… the sandy soil and undulating terrain are a perfect mix for great golf design… it sits on the cusp of being recognized as one of Colt’s great legacy courses… worth a trip to Germany just to play it.” Frankfurter Another Colt classic in Germany, this time the course at Frankfurter Golf Club, makes quite an about turn in its ranking aspirations. Previously listed as high as #6 in 2012 and #7 in 2016, it returns to the Top 10 with an astonishing 31-place leap to number 5. Christoph Städler remodelled the bunkers and greens fifteen years ago to mixed reviews and arboreal issues still remain in place around the property. Hendrik Hilgert of Infinite Variety Golf Deutchland redesigned the club’s facilities in 2021 and he installed a short game area last year. The firm should be in prime position to oversee a much-needed tree management programme if the club decides to embark on such an upgrade project. We’ll certainly keep a close eye on any potential developments in that regard… Norderney Situated on one of the East Fresian Islands which are separated from the coast of Lower Saxony by the Wadden Sea, the 9-hole course at Golfclub Norderney rises 28 spots to number 13 in our new standings. Laid out by locals a hundred years ago, the links is one of only fourteen Continental European tracks included in George Peper and Malcolm Campbell’s book True Links. Fairways are routed through large sand dunes and the layout is configured as three par threes, three par fours and three par fives, with golfers never playing consecutive holes of the same par. The course is not that easy to get to (requiring a one-hour ferry journey from the port of Norddeich) but it’s certainly worth the effort required to play such an authentic track. Habsberg The Graham Marsh-designed course at Golf Club am Habsberg soars an incredible thirty-four places to #15 in our revised listings. First opened for play twenty years ago, it staged the Habsberg Classic on the European Professional Development Tour in 2006, when Martin Kaymer shot a 59 for his second round on the way to winning the event by ten shots. Laid out in two loops, this heavily bunkered layout plays as long as 6,482 metres from the back tees. The best hole on the card is probably kept until last at the 510-metre 18th which bends gently right to an offset home green surrounded by bunkers – check out an overhead google maps image of this hole to see exactly what “sand-protected” really means! Gut Wissmanshof The course at Sport- & Golf-Resort Gut Wissmannshof near Kassel advances an impressive thirty-seven positions to number 18. The layout only opened six years ago when Holger Rengstorf completely remodelled a course that had been built on the same site twenty years earlier. Another nine holes have since been added so Wissmanshoff is now a 27-hole complex. The on-site hotel has a total of 30 rooms, suites and apartments, half of which are located in the new main building with the others dotted around the golf course. There’s also a three-storey driving range with 45 covered tees, two large indoor practice greens and a sports and golf simulator, allowing you to play world-famous golf courses or even shoot clay pigeons. Lohersand Leading the large pack of new chart entries, the course at Golf Club Lohersand enters at number 25. Positioned near the small town of Rendsburg in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, the course was originally set out across a forested heathland property by Bernhard von Limburger back in 1959. Forty years then passed before the layout was expanded to 18 holes. Today’s 18-hole layout alternates between narrow, forested playing corridors and more open heathland avenues, with three water-laden holes skirting a large lake on the front nine. Extending to 5,480 metres from the back tees and playing to a par of 71, the course features five par threes and four par fives measuring between 435 and 471 metres. Düsseldorfer The Düsseldorfer Golf Club course shoots a commendable twenty places up the chart to #48, having entered the listings last time around as a newcomer. Designed by Fred Hawtree in the early 1960s, the layout was upgraded by another English architect, Howard Swan, in 2005 when he was contacted to carry out storm damage repair work. In more recent times, extensive modernization and renovation work has been carried out on the golf course and driving range to keep pace with modern requirements. In particular, all the bunkers on the course were refurbished and numerous paths around the property completely renewed. To view the complete detailed list of our latest Top 70 Golf Courses of Germany click the link. If you have any comment to make on the above chart then please use the “Write a Response” button at the bottom of this page. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses
Top 100 Golf Courses of Germany 2020 Our second instalment since doubling up to 100 courses sees quite an influx of new layouts, as we keep discovering unheralded gems that have flown under the radar for various reasons. In contrast, movement at the top is limited: Golf Club Föhr breaks into the Top 3 and Winston Open continues its upward trend (#6, up 7). Agronomic issues have befallen Hubbelrath East (#8, down 5), whereas Köln’s bunker renovation has been favourably received by the vast majority of pundits (#7, up 3). Golf Club Föhr A bit of a surprise package was Berlin Wannsee (#11, up 15), which had been in our rankings forever and perhaps taken for granted. Also, most high profile new builds seem to favour the rugged/linksy style, so a venerable parkland track is easily undersold these days. Another course in that category is storied Bad Ems (#14, down 3), whose future is uncertain, as a change in ownership and marketing strategy is about to spawn a significant redesign. Berlin Wannsee Golf Club Our highest new entrant is Gut Düneburg (#19), an exciting David Krause layout of the heathland/moorland type that is well off the beaten track. Then Wiesbaden’s Rhein-Main (#22) presents itself as an old US military design in the best sense of the word, whereas Elmpter Wald (#24) was built by the British Royal Air Force – perhaps a bit simplistic, but on glorious heathland. At #31 enters Reit im Winkl, a controversial and spectacular mountain course that plays through two countries (Germany and Austria). Gut Düneburg Golfclub München-Riedhof near Munich used to market primarily its exclusivity and membership perks, but they actually have a fun-filled Heinz Fehring layout to go with it and after a recent renovation Riedhof rises to #28 (up 49). Haxterhöhe Links is the polar opposite – an ultra-inclusive and down to earth club with proper fescue greens, sleepered bunkers and ground game options (#38, up 51). Haxterpark - Haxterhöhe Links The remaining newcomers are thoughtfully designed Ebersberg (#47), Holger Rengstorf’s extravaganza at Gut Wissmanshof (#55), then Bella Vista, a rare municipal course with fescue greens (#59), the high end project at Wörthsee (#67) and finally Düsseldorfer (#68), on very similar land as neighboring Hubbelrath and, if you will, Fred W. Hawtree’s answer to Bernhard von Limburger. Düsseldorfer Golf Club Of the courses that appear for the first time in our table only Gut Wissmanshof is actually a new build. The others are all older venues that have not been ranked previously due to lack of data. In that vein, if you have played a good number of German courses and are interested in becoming part of our rankings process, please write to us and tell us a little bit about yourself. Gut Wissmanshof And even if your exposure to golf in Germany is limited, you are more than welcome to contribute a review for those courses you have played. There are several sides to every story, but in terms of rankings, we often only look at how a course changes and expect it to move up and down the table accordingly. But golfers change as well, sometimes their preferences for certain types of courses or playing conditions alter over time. So it should come as no surprise that rankings are never actually “done” and every new generation of golfer helps to shape – and occasionally even upset – them. Rank/ To view the complete detailed list of the Top 100 Golf Courses of Germany click the link. Ulrich Mayring German Correspondent
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
New Jersey, United States
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
New York, United States
New York, United States
