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We embarked on our revision of European national rankings in March 2022 so it’s taken more than a year – and sixteen chart updates – to arrive at the stage where we now round up the remaining eight countries, most of which feature less than ten golf courses. Six of these listings are headed by the same course as last time but two (Lithuania and Russia) have a new number 1 at the top of the table. Greece – Navarino Dunes  We start in Greece, with the Dunes course at Costa Navarino retaining the #1 spot. The first of four 18-hole courses to appear at the resort since 2010, this layout from Bernhard Langer and European Golf Design still sets the standard for all the others. Both the International Olympic Academy and Hills layouts at the same venue enter our Greek chart at #2 and #5 respectively. The Kilada Hills course by Nicklaus Design opens soon and may feature in our next chart edition. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Greece. View the chart here. Bulgaria – Thracian Cliffs The course at Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort remains our #1 track for Bulgaria. Situated on the Black Sea coast, this Gary Player design is one of the most spectacular golfing experiences in all of Europe, with holes laid out on a narrow sliver of land between high cliffs and a rugged coastline. Nearby BlackSeaRama and Lighthouse make this a great golfing destination within easy reach of Varna airport. The new development at OKOL Lake Park opens soon in Sofia and we plan to check it out next year. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Bulgaria. View the chart here. Slovakia – Penati The Jonathan Davison-designed Heritage course at the Penati Golf Resort is still our #1 for Slovakia, just edging out the other 18-hole layout at this impressive facility, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Legend. If ever there was a golfing destination with a high-class pair of contrasting 18-hole courses to enjoy then this is it – compare and contrast these two then make your own mind up which you prefer. We’ve added the course at Welten outside Bratislava to our Slovakian chart and it debuts at #8. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Slovakia. View the chart here. Slovenia – Royal Bled The King’s course at Royal Bled Golf easily holds onto its #1 status in Slovenia. Golf at this location goes back as far as the late 1930s when a 9-hole course was first constructed. Donald Harradine redesigned the layout in the early 1970s but it took an extensive 2-year renovation by Howard Swan in 2015-16 to fully realize the potential of the property.  The wonderful 9-hole Lake’s course at Royal Bled also makes a chart entrance at #4, just behind Arboretum which is currently closed for major renovation work. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Slovenia. View the chart here. Russia – Raevo The course at Raevo Golf & Country Club climbs two places to become our new #1 in Russia. A Jack Nicklaus Signature design, it lies in a densely wooded area close to Moscow, with sand-capped fairways expertly routed around a dammed section of the Reka Nakhavnya water course. Operated by IMG, Raevo offers a high-end playing experience. We’re adding four new courses to our Russian listings, led by the Cal Olsen-designed Agalarov near Moscow at #7. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Russia. View the chart here. Estonia – Pärnu Bay The 18-layout at Pärnu Bay Golf Links holds onto its #1 ranking in Estonia. Laid out by Lassi Pekka Tilander, the course occupies a narrow strip of land in a fabulous coastal setting where the heavily forested landscape meets the sea. Often flanked by expansive sandy wasteland areas, the fairways weave in and out of small lagoons in a rather unique golfing environment. We’ve also added the courses at Otepää GolfCenter (#5) and Rae Golf (#7) to our Estonian table. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Estonia. View the chart here. Latvia – Ozo The course at Ozo Golf Club in Riga is still our #1 in Latvia. Established twenty years ago by former NHL player Sandis Ozolinsh, the layout was designed by Rob Sedberg of Frontier Golf, transforming a former landfill site near Lake Kisezers into a top-class golf complex which also includes a driving range, together with chipping and putting practice facilities. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Latvia. View the chart here. Lithuania – Capitals Located an hour’s drive west of Vilnius, the course at Capitals Golf Club takes over at the top of the Lithuanian chart, moving up one place from the runner-up position. Little soil was shifted by Peter Chamberlain when he fashioned the fairways in the early years of the new millennium, so holes are sympathetically set across a mix of largely undisturbed wooded terrain and open countryside dotted with lakes and streams. Click the link to see the entire list of ranked courses in Lithuania. View the chart here. We’ve also included the course at National Klaipeda in our updated Lithuanian standings at #2. 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

Outstanding Golf Resorts in Central Europe We began our look at resort golf twelve months ago in Portugal’s Algarve region. We’ve since been round the Mediterranean to a variety of places on the Spanish Costas, Belek in Turkey and the island of Mallorca. Venturing further south, we’ve looked at courses in Tunisia, Marrakech in Morocco and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. Only France and Italy from the more “mainstream” European nations have appeared in this series so it’s now time to cast the spotlight on a few other central European countries with great resort offerings. The weather window for playing here is shorter but the golf product is often as good as you’ll find in the hotspots that we’ve previously written about. Czech Republic – Beroun Host venue for the last three editions of the Czech Ladies Open, Royal Beroun Golf Club is situated 30 kilometres southwest of Prague city centre, with an entertaining Les Furber-designed parkland golf course which is complemented by a fabulous, multi-function clubhouse. The club’s website calls this an “ambitiously dimensioned” building and that’s exactly what it is, featuring a restaurant, private clubroom, wellness and fitness centre with an outdoor pool, and a large conference room. The boutique hotel occupies the upper floor of the clubhouse, with seven double rooms and two deluxe rooms. Slovakia – Black Stork  Positioned close to Poprad in the southern foothills of the High Tatra Mountains, the Black Stork Golf Resort at Vel’ká Lomnica operates a 27-hole facility which has evolved from the original 9-hole setup unveiled at the start of the new millennium. The course lies within the Tatra National Park in an unspoilt landscape with sensational mountain views in a clean, fresh air environment. The on-site Hotel International offers accommodation in twenty-eight double rooms (one of which is specially adapted for less mobile visitors) and one suite. The wellness centre includes indoor and outdoor pools, a whirlpool, steam room and sauna, along with a fully equipped gymnasium. Austria – Diamond Austria’s only European Tour Destination venue, Diamond Country Club has staged the Austrian Open since 2010 on its Jeremy Pern-designed Diamond course. There are actually thirty-nine holes in play at this facility, with the main 18-hole layout complemented by the 9-hole Park and 12-hole Country courses. The club’s 42-room onsite Aparthotel affords spacious accommodation and easy access to the golf courses and the twinned 4-star Diamond City Hotel on the south bank of the Danube in nearby Tulln provides guests with another city stay alternative. Hungary – Zala Springs  Located close to the small spa town of Hévíz, which is famous for its large thermal lake, the Zala Springs Golf Resort boasts an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior as its sporting focal point. Opened for play in 2016, the complex now includes a boutique spa with swimming pool, classic steam cabin and authentic Finnish sauna. Accommodation options close to the clubhouse include Junior Suites and Golf Studio Suites with Terrace. For larger groups, there are Grand Premium Family Suites comprising two bedrooms, a large living room, modern kitchen and dining room. An artisan breakfast and use of the spa is included for every stay. Slovenia – Royal Bled Dating back to 1937, when the Yugoslav King Aleksander Karađorđević chose Bled as his summer residence, the golf course at Golf Resort Royal Bled has attracted players from far and wide. Donald Harradine re-designed the layout in the early 1970s then another 9-hole course was added in the 1990s. Only five years ago, Swan Golf Designs upgraded the main 18-hole King’s course when the firm carried out an extensive renovation to completely revitalize the course’s fortunes. Like both Diamond Country Club and Zala Springs, Royal Bled is a member of the IMG Prestige global network. The accommodation extends to ten elegantly furnished rooms upstairs in the King’s House clubhouse, along with four double rooms in the adjacent Lake’s House which can be configured for families or groups hiring out the entire building. Switzerland – Bad Ragaz Golf Club Bad Ragaz was founded in 1905 and down the years the club’s golfing ground has been worked on by three generations of the Harradine family: Donald Harradine’s stepfather improved the original 9-hole course in 1925, Donald himself constructed the existing 18-hole layout in the mid-1950s then his son Peter Harradine subsequently added the 9-hole executive track. The golf facility lies on the floodplain of the River Rhein so the wooded landscape’s a bit flat but the towering mountain surroundings make this one of the most picturesque places for the older professionals to tee it up when they compete in the annual Swiss Seniors Open on the Legends Tour. The adjoining Grand Resort Bad Ragaz contains three high-end establishments: the Grand Hotel Quellenhof & Spa Suites; Grand Hotel Hof Ragaz; and the Palais Bad Ragaz. In total, there are 247 rooms and suites allocated across these three hotels. In addition to the associated thermal pools, saunas and fitness equipment in the wellness centre, the resort operates a medical centre staffed by an Interdisciplinary team of more than seventy doctors and therapists.  Germany – Bad Griesbach Quellness & Golf Resort Bad Giresbach (renamed in recent years from its original Hartl Resort title) in Bavaria is the largest golf complex in Europe, with ten different golfing layouts and a massive circular Golfodrom training centre. Two of Bad Griesbach’s five 18-hole layouts – the Brunnwies and Beckenbauer – were designed by Bernard Langer and both are listed in our German standings. Three 9-hole courses, a 6-hole “hacker’s” track and a 6-hole children’s short course completes the golfing line-up at this impressive operation. There are a total of 105 rooms available for stay and play on the Brunnwies, Penning and Uttlau estates in addition to three superior hotels at the resort: the 5-star Maximilian (205 bedrooms); the 4-star Fuerstenhof (145 bedrooms); and Das Ludwig (168 bedrooms). 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

The King’s course at Royal Bled heads our new Slovenian Top 5 chart Last month’s Golf Participation Report for Europe 2017 from KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice threw up what we thought was a very interesting statistic: the percentage increase in Slovenian registered golfers between 2015 and 2016 (49%) was the second highest of forty-three countries and territories across the continent. It just so happened that Top 100 Golf Courses attended a press trip a couple of weeks ago in nearby Slovakia, so we thought it made sense to stay an extra few days and travel to Slovenia to have a look around some of the main golf complexes that are attracting local people to the game. We’d heard too that the King’s course at Royal Bled had just reopened in August after a three-year renovation led by Swan Golf Designs, when Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia played the ceremonial opening shot from the 1st tee to formally launch the refurbished course and mark the 80th anniversary of the original layout. Four teams (led by Scotland’s Sam Torrance, Italian Costantino Rocco, Marcel Siem from Germany and Slovenia’s own Challenge Tour professional, Tim Gornik) competed against each other at the reopening event and Rocca’s team emerged as winners, with Siem posting the new course record after carding an impressive three under par score of 69. Located within the Julian Alps, close to the Triglav National Park, Royal Bled changed ownership in 2013 after it was acquired by Serbian entrepreneur and passionate golfer, Dragan Šolak. The new owner then embarked on an ambitious (and costly) mission to upgrade the King’s course and its infrastructure, returning the club to its former position as one of Europe’s most sought after golfing destinations. As we witnessed, the results of this makeover are simply stunning. The King’s course bears little resemblance to the layout that first opened in 1937, having been lengthened and largely rebuilt, especially on the back nine where exciting new risk/reward water features have been installed. The appropriately named King’s clubhouse is also now fit for royalty, having been furnished with downstairs locker rooms and upstairs overnight accommodation of the highest standard. Royal Bled is now one of a select group of twenty-six top-end golf facilities across Europe participating in the IMG Prestige elite reciprocal program, and its inclusion in this prestigious enterprise is an indication of just how far the club has come in recent times. We’ve absolutely no reservations about naming the Royal Bled (King’s) course as our number 1 layout in Slovenia – indeed, we fully expect it to debut in a prominent position when we re-rank our Continental Europe Top 100 before the end of the year. We had a look around two other courses that are located close to Ljubljana. Arboretum (our new national number 3) was an absolute delight, sited close to the largest botanical park in the country, where tree-lined fairways are set out within an expansive, undulating property. Italian Marco Croze designed the original nine at the end of the 1990s, with local designer Peter Škofic adding another nine a few years later. Nineteen kilometres from Arboretum, the course at Diners in Smlednik (at number 5 in our new Slovenian chart) lies in the shadow of the Šmarna gora hill, which rises 664 metres above sea level, offering terrific views of the Kamnik and Julian Alps and the Ljubljana basin. First opened for play nine years ago, this golf operation has recently suffered financial problems, leading to a new consortium taking over the management of the course and its extensive practice facilities. Away from the capital, Grad Otočec remains at number 2 in our national listings. It’s a Howard Swan and Peter Škofic co-design, with the Englishman setting out the original nine in 2005 and the Slovenian architect doubling the size of the layout a few years later. For those who think the course at Arboretum might be too undulating, they should come here and see what really contoured land looks like – if thrilling golf is what you’re looking for, then this is the place to find it in the midst of a fabulous forested property near the old castle. The small town of Ptuj is situated a two-hour drive to the northeast of Otočec and the landscape of this pleasant 18-hole layout at Golf klub Ptuj (at number 4 in our Slovenian rankings) is almost totally flat as the course lies on the floodplain of the Drava River. The Studencnica brook comes into play from time to time but the main aquatic challenge on the course arrives at the par three 14th, where the hole plays to an island green in the middle of a lake. A further 50-kilometre drive northeast of Ptuj lies Murska Sobota, in the very northeast corner of Slovenia, not far from the border with Austria, Hungary and Croatia. The small spa town of Moravske Toplice sits nearby and one of its main sporting attractions is the course at Golf Livada, where the par three 15th is the signature hole on the card and the fairways are set around the indoor water park and swimming pools of the Terme 3000 thermal resort. Unfortunately, Livada didn’t quite make the cut for the current Slovenian Top 5 chart but that might change when we next re-rank. Rank/ To view further details of our newly updated Slovenian Top 5rankings click the link. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses