11 of the best golf courses to play in Germany

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Germany has a lot to offer the golfing tourist away from the course, but when it comes to world-class facilities it really delivers.

Here we take a look at the 11 best golf courses in all of Germany.

Bad Saarow (Arnold Palmer)

Arnold Palmer did little to imprint any 'American' style on Bad Saarow.

On the opening nine, where the main roads are wide and the holes run freely through the countryside of Brandenburg, you can really open your shoulders.

The back 9 is what really excites the senses; Front 9 is just a warm up. Many awards have been given to the back nine, including the title of “the best back nine in Germany.”

The Arnold Palmer course in Bad Saarow, with its fairways through the forest, is undoubtedly among the best courses in Germany.

Seddiner See (Süd)

A group led by Ferdinand von Bismarck (great grandson of the “Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck) founded the Seddiner See Golf & Country Club in 1994. Located about thirty minutes south of Berlin City Center, in the middle of the lake district, they bought a property. 600 acres of farmland. Due to its advantageous position, a large housing development and two golf courses are being built.

RTJ's trademark palaces are among the best features of the course, which combines a newly created wildscape home to more than 300 species of flora and fauna, including 75 from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

zur Vahr Bremen (Garlstedt)

The 220 acres of the course are located in a heavily wooded, rolling area. Tall pine trees dominate the landscape, restricting access from tee to green and limiting play from courses that bend slightly to fairways.

The forest had such a good effect that twenty-four houses had to be built.

It is a course that always reviews well even though there have been problems with the humidity on the roads.

Winston (Links)

This “false link” and negative course, which was filmed in the gently sloping Baltic area separated by forests, rivers, and lakes, is probably the most controversial course ever built in Germany.

During the construction, about 1.2 million cubic meters of earth was moved, which shows that it was a big job.

This dunescape was created by architect David Krause out of the ordinary; all sand, except for the greens and tees, was removed from the site. A unique feature of this course—its large inland slopes—sets it apart from the rest of continental Europe.

Berlin-Wannsee (Championship)

Located in the heart of the Düppeler Forest and close to the famous lakes Wannsee and Stölpchensee, this traditional park complex is a staple of German golf.

Reconstructing vegetables solved some of the previous problems of agriculture; their small differences blend perfectly with the surrounding topography.

Fortunately, no one has proposed ideas to “bring the course into the modern era” so far. The composition is simply logical from start to finish and should be left alone.

Föhr (Rot & Gelb)

Remarkably, given the 27-hole layout and limited space on the grounds, the course is not only passable but also attractive.

Despite making every effort to avoid adjacent holes, every nine-hole loop makes it back to the clubhouse. Green is the most striking feature one encounters; they are challenging and flexible, without being overly fast.

Shot rates are carefully planned so that new concepts often work and bad shots are rarely over-punished.

Frankfurter

The Frankfurter Golf Club is located within the boundaries of Frankfurt in a wooded area. Its terrain is slightly variable and has many similarities to the sand belt courses of west London.

Founded in 1913, the golf club is among the oldest in Germany. The current structure was created in the late 1920s in the old English heathlaland style by Harry Colt and John Morrison, while Charly Gardner created the previous 9-hole course, which was in a different location.

Hubbelrath (East)

When the Hubbelrath Golf Club was founded in 1961, Dr. Bernhard von Limburger, sometimes known as “Limmy,” made a difficult course through the forest, revealing amazing natural formations in the process.

In 1972, the championship course of the East (Ostplatz) was combined with the short course of the West (Westplatz) in agreement with the club's 2,000+ members.

Howard Swan is overseeing the renovation and extension of the East course, which ensures it will remain a major challenge when hosting major tournaments.

Köln

The 440-yard par-4 sixth hole is the most difficult on the card. To have a chance of making the par four here, you must avoid the fairway bunkers on each side of the fairway with dog legs on the left.

There is no tree intrusion, not even a deep forest. There are no overhangs or greens, and all fairway bunkers are visible. Even the average golfer should have a reasonable chance of avoiding trees during their game as the tee angles are very straight.

Budersand Sylt

Located among natural sand dunes, the eighteen holes here are so expertly designed to blend in with their surroundings that it's hard not to believe they were created by a seasoned professional designer, as opposed to a rookie German architect working on his first project.

Considering that every interior part of the course was designed with a specific function in mind, this is even more amazing.

As difficult as the hole opening is to imagine, the struggle begins on the first hole at the end of the area. It is played down a fairway and then veers left and up to the green with a sand dune to the right for protection.

Hamburger Falkenstein

This excellent natural course is located in a tropical area, and as everyone knows, golf is best played on sandy, freely draining terrain.

Falkenstein is a lovely adventure that leads you to play in all directions.

Golfers enjoy a peaceful setting in a wooded area, away from the hustle and bustle of Hamburg city.