Tegernseer Bad Wiessee

If you're a franchise player of football giant FC Bayern, you're likely to live in Bad Wiessee next to your boss Uli Hoeneß, who has held every position in the club from striker to chairman of the board. And if you're in with Uli, you might just play your golf at the Tegernseer club, which presides over the like-named lake in the Bavarian Prealps. It's one of the more stunning (and expensive!) locations on this planet, but the golf club makes surprisingly little of its exclusivity. The stated motto is "live and let live", so even if you're no one in particular, you can play for a reasonable greenfee. Just follow three simple rules: keep a low profile, avoid peek times and don't get caught for tax evasion (although reports indicate that jail couldn't keep Uli Hoeneß from roaming the fairways at Bad Wiessee).

While first beginnings date back to 1958, the site is not overgrown with trees, so there are some great views, even a few of the otherwise elusive lake. But that's not all the place has to offer; the first 8 holes are a master class in routing and represent some of the very best golf to be had in Southern Germany. The property is certainly difficult enough to warrant excess walking between holes, but Donald Harradine managed to tie everything together admirably. Unfortunately, after eight holes he ran out of land and slapped a tiny par 3 onto a ledge to at least complete the front nine.

The back nine is a patchy mixture of connector holes, quirky gems, panoramic pleasers and claustrophobic craziness. It's worth playing, but occasionally over the top and certainly not flowing as organically as the front. The common denominator of both loops is that they are quite difficult and a little over watered. Tegernseer could be a completely different beast, if it played firm and fast. The terrain is perfectly suited to inject some ground game spice into the round, although the 13th hole might be rendered unplayable.

It's hard to do this design justice, because the first eight holes are clearly from the top drawer. Whereas others like #13 and #18 are bordering on the absurd and copious amounts of creativity were saved at #10, #12 and #15. The well behind green 13 should certainly be used to replenish water supplies before tackling the climb up to the spectacular 14th tee. At the very least it can be said that, in contrast to some of the more "well-rounded" courses in the region, no one has ever fallen asleep here!