Top 30 Golf Courses of Germany 2014

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

Top 100 Golf Courses doubles up in Germany It has been a quiet year for German golf. Another Ryder Cup aspirant surfaced (little-heralded Gut Wissmanshof), which hardly qualifies as news, considering the fuddy-duddy campaigning of previous years. As always the German Golf Federation claims that the game is still growing and a handful of new courses have actually opened. Perhaps 2018 will be a bit more eventful? Certainly the pending rules changes have inflammatory potential. Plus, we're starting off the year with our own little routine of shaking up the status quo. Even though our German Top 50 chart is showing no signs of losing steam, we've decided to take a brave leap into the unknown and created a second fifty. Data is hard to come by for those often relatively dark horses, but we've got to start somewhere and so here it is, our very first instalment of a German Top 100. Hopefully the added visibility will lead to an influx of reviews and rating data, not to speak of spirited discussions. However, for the time being the focus should remain on the Top 50. The most spectacular move was that of the 27-hole complex on the island of Föhr, which leap-frogged a whopping twenty-two competitors to break into the Top 5. The long-term redesign effort at Golf Club Föhr led by Christian Althaus will soon enter its second decade and what has been produced so far is nothing short of stunning. Equally impressive is the sometimes overlooked Winston Open, which rises by eighteen spots. While it probably won't topple its sister course, the #4 ranked Winston Links, it does sit at a well-deserved #13 now. Other big winners include Schloss Klingenburg (#38 to #18) and Hubbelrath East (#5 to #3), which enjoyed a favourable visit by Tom Doak recently. Among the downward trending courses are a number of former leaders, who put too many eggs in the exclusivity basket and design-wise chose to tread in the footsteps of foreign archetypes. Stalwarts like Sporting Club Berlin, Gut Lärchenhof, Seddiner See, Frankfurter, St. Leon-Rot and Stuttgarter Solitude have been sliding down the table for a number of years. Köln at least is holding on to the Top Ten, first reports about their ongoing bunker renovation have been encouraging. Entering the Top 50 for the first time are Tegernseer Bad Wiessee (#27) with its FC Bayern angle, the mountain course of Oberstaufen-Steibis (#29) and “the links in the woods” at Hofgut Georgenthal (#34). Debuting at #40 is Augsburg-Burgwalden, Bernhard Langer's home course, where he started his career as a caddie and at #43 you'll find the oddball track at Golf Club Varmert. The last, but most likely not the least of the new entries in the top half of the table is Hamburg Walddörfer at #46, fresh off a Christoph Städler renovation. As always, if you don't agree with our rankings (and even if you do!), we would be most obliged if you contributed a review with your side of the story. You can also tell us off via email and expect a meaningful response, but none of our combined wisdom will then benefit the rest of our readers, so share your thoughts by clicking the "Respond to this article" link at the top and bottom of this page. As it stands, we do not want our rankings to end all discussions, but rather to facilitate them. Rank/ To view the complete detailed list of the Top 100 Golf Courses of Germany click the link. Ulrich Mayring German Correspondent www.top100golfcourses.com