Rhein-Wied

Sometimes getting there is half the fun. When you leave civilisation and enter the forest, you will probably wonder whether the narrow and steep ramp up to Golfclub Rhein-Wied is actually an official road or whether you are trespassing. After crossing the 12th fairway and making your way up to the clubhouse, you'll marvel at the difference that a drive of a few minutes can make in terms of seclusion and tranquillity. If you want to get away from it all, this is the place to go – you won't have a problem with access, there's even an honesty box for off-times.

However, the golf is not quite as laid-back as the atmosphere: an edgy 18-hole layout has been draped over the top of a wooded peak bordering the Rhine river. Many trees have been cleared, but it is a heavily forested area, so the course suffers in wet conditions. But after a couple of dry days it is a joy to play and despite some cliff-hanging slopes it can be walked.

The dramaturgy of the routing is nearly ideal: it starts reasonably and then injects more and more quirk up to the 5th hole and then eases off again for a while. The craziest stretch is what could be called the Amen Corner of Rhein-Wied between holes 10 and 12. It starts with a blind, downhill tee shot that has to land on a dime, otherwise it's an extra chip or two just to get to the corner of the dogleg. At the 11th a gorge of epic proportions must be driven – but again more a question of working out the correct angle than of pure length. Finally, the 12th presents an "Eisenhower tree" right where you want to land your tee shot. All three holes can be birdied as well as royally botched.

This exciting stretch is again followed by some holes that are easier to digest. Finally, 17 and 18 are pretty unusual closers, because they are both very short, eminently memorable and strategic enough to provide a fun finish in match play. The best word to describe this layout is probably "imaginative" and although the terrain takes no prisoners, it is not so severe as to cause any detriments to playability.