GOLF
TRAVELLER
ISSUE 14
• 2020 GRANDE EUROPE GOLF TOUR WITH COMPLIMENTS
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Castelconturbia Golf Club, Milan
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2020 GRANDE EUROPE
GOLF TOUR
Prague sunset
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Photo by Fredy Martin on Unsplash
September 1 - 20, 2020
2020 Grande Europe Golf Tour Berlin – Prague – Vienna – Ljubljana – Milan – Geneva September 1 – 20, 2020 Welcome to our exciting, unique and luxurious Grande Europe Golf Tour. We travel by coach in style, romantically reminiscent of those well-heeled British travellers taking leisurely Grand Tours of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. Taking just a few weeks rather than months or years, we sample the continent’s superb architecture, culture, landscapes, food, wine, shopping – and experience some of the best golf Europe has to offer. Our tour begins in Germany’s capital city, Berlin, on the first day of the northern autumn. We check into the Sofitel Berlin Kurfürstendamm Hotel, an architectural treasure that combines German design with French flair. The French influence adds a touch of exclusivity which can be seen throughout the hotel. Designed by award-winning architect Jan Kleihues, this luxury hotel is characterised by its understated elegance. The 5-star hotel is located in the heart of the City West area, close to the legendary Kurfürstendamm shopping area, the WWII Memorial Kaiser Wilhelm Church and the famous C/O gallery is just a stone’s throw away Easy walks or use local transport to the oldest zoological garden, Checkpoint Charlie or the Brandenburg Gate, which is a key site in the history of the Berlin Wall. Along with Potsdamer Platz the gate symbolised Berlin’s Cold War division between East and West Germany for 28 years until 1989. One of the largest cities in Europe, Berlin is well known today for its contemporary arts, festivals and nightlife, diverse architecture, and a very high standard of living. Among its charms are 240 kilometres of navigable waterways – three
times more than Amsterdam. We have two rounds in the Berlin greater metropolitan area. The first is at the Sporting Club Berlin and the second, at the Golf and Country Club Seddiner See. The Spor ting Club Berlin offers three well-kept 18-hole golf courses and a flat nine-hole course, giving very different challenges to golfers of all abilities. The Arnold Palmer parkland-style course has larger, flatter greens than the Nick Faldo-designed course, which is reminiscent of Scottish links with its high rough and 135 pot bunkers. For those who aren’t interested in teeing off, the 120-hectare resort has an equestrian centre and a yachting academy by the lake. The Golf and Country Club Seddiner See is popular with German golfers as well as visitors and its two 18-hole championship courses have been ranked among the country’s best since 2010. Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed the South course and architect Rainer Preibmann was responsible for the North. Both courses follow the natural landscape’s contours and test every player’s strategies and range of strokes. After three nights in Berlin, we are off to Prague in the modern Czech Republic via Castle Wackerbarth for lunch in Saxony’s beautiful Elbe Valley. Here we find one of Germany’s oldest leading sparkling wine producers. As well as the historic Radebeul vineyards, some of which were planted in the 1720s, and the castle, there is the Belvedere summer residence and a baroque garden to admire. Our three nights in Prague give us time to appreciate the delights of this beautiful, riverside city. We stay at Augustine,
The Sporting Club Berlin
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a luxury hotel linked to a 700-year-old Augustinian monastery and close to the magnificent Prague Castle. The castle is one of the city’s most important landmarks – and it has been that way for more than a thousand years. Covering 45 hectares, it’s one of largest castles in the world and comprises palaces, offices, church buildings, fortifications and gardens. The memorable sights don’t stop there. Look for the medieval astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall that sets off a procession of the 12 Apostles and a golden rooster crowing on the hour. And the beautiful, mid-14th century sandstone Charles Bridge with its fortified towers is one of the most decorative crossings over the city’s Vltava River. Nearby are the intriguing narrow passageways of the Little Quarter. One, Vinarna Certovka, is just 50cm wide and has its own traffic light to prevent pedestrian congestion. We take in a dinner cruise on the river and play Albatross Golf Resort, named the republic’s leading course by Golf Digest USA. The course was opened in 2009, designed by Keith Preston and has been a member of the European Tour Properties since
Albatross Golf Resort, Prague
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Photo by Ansgar Scheffeld on Unsplash
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
2016. Albatross has hosted the Czech Masters every year since 2014 and will do so again in August 2019. Described for centuries as the musical capital of Europe, Vienna is next in our line-up of European beauties. Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, the Strauss family, Brahms and Schönberg all called Vienna their home. Another influential figure and founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, worked here at the University of Vienna from 1902 to 1938. We check into The Vienna Ritz-Carlton at the famous Ringstrasse or Ring Road, in the heart of the historic city centre with UNESCO World Heritage status. Along with Viennese wine, some of which is made in the central city, make sure you try some locally-made croissants. The story goes that the pastry was created in Austria to celebrate one of the victories over the Ottoman empire, and that Maria Antoinette, who was born in Vienna, introduced it to France many years later. There are two excellent golf courses in Vienna – Fontana and Golfclub Adamstal. A strategy of continual improvements means Fontana is on
Fontana, Vienne
Golfclub Adamstal, Vienne
Ritz Carlton, Vienne
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Fontana, Vienna
Royal Bled Golf Course, Slovenia
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its way to become one of the top 10 golf courses in Europe. The prestigious Doug Carrick and Hans Erhardt-designed course is demanding but fair, they say, with numerous bunkers and water hazards interrupting its even terrain. The 18-hole championship course was a venue for the European Tour in Austria from 2006 to 2009, and in 2015. The course was a candidate to host the 2022 Ryder Cup, losing to Marco Simone GC in Rome, Italy. Golfclub Adamstal has Canadian architect Jeff Howes and Austrian champion rally driver turned golf enthusiast Franz Wittmann to thank for its astonishing 27-hole design incorporating streams, slopes, clearings and rock formations. A backdrop of steep, wooded hillsides set the scene for the 18hole championship course and the nine-hole Wallerbach course – both of which are consistently immaculate. Ljubljana in Slovenia is next, where we stay for three nights at the five-star Intercontinental. On the way, we stop for a
Photo by Matteo Raimondi on Unsplash
Milan
Ljubljana Intercontinental
picturesque lunch at a Gault-Milleau-rated restaurant near Graz. A free day at Lake Bled in the Julian Alps allows us time to relax before a round of golf at Royal Bled Golf the next day. We have been able to secure some tee times on this semi-private members’ course that is one of Europe’s hidden gems. The original course was laid out in the 1930s at the request of the Yugoslav royal family, and lay abandoned after WWII until Donald Harradine redesigned it in 1972. With the alps as its backdrop, the course is a great place to take in some magnificent scenery and prolific wildlife before we head towards Europe’s fashion and design capital, Milan. We spend four glorious nights in Milan with golf at two nearby Italian classics and a free day for sightseeing, shopping, and exploring. We stay at the centrally-located Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a five-star Luxury Collection hotel. Our 2020 tour will play the fabulous 36-hole Bogogna Golf Resort north-west of Milan in the Ticino nature park area near
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Bogogna Golf Course, Milan
Castelconturbia Golf Course, Milan
Crans-Sur-Sierre Golf Club, Switzerland
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Golf Club de Domaine Imperial the foothills of the Monte Rosa mountain massif. There are two contrasting 18-hole, championship courses here – Conte and Bonora. Both were designed by Robert von Hagge and have won several Italian golf awards since opening in 1997. The par72 Bonora parkland-style course record is held by the 2018 European Tour Golfer of the Year Francesco Molinari, with a 66 in 2002 as an amateur. From the design house of Rober t Trent Jones Sr, Castelconturbia is our second Milanese golf challenge. The course and clubhouse are full of Italian flair and the huge greens are a striking feature. Three inter-looping nine-hole courses – The Pines, The Chestnut and The Oaks – allow numerous configurations, on multiple tees. Our last two nights on tour are spent in Geneva, with our hosts at the lakefront Hotel President Wilson, another Luxury Collection hotel. Pete Dye courses are scarce in Europe but we play our last golf on one of the select few. Golf Club de Domaine Imperial
was created by the acclaimed architect in the 1980s on the banks of Lake Geneva just outside Nyon between Lausanne and Geneva. Formerly known as La Villa Prangins, the clubhouse was built in 1860 for Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew, Prince Jerome Napoleon. Domaine Imperial has been frequently rated Switzerland’s best, and is a fitting golf finale to our 2020 Grande Europe Golf Tour before we meet for our farewell dinner. The tour officially ends after breakfast on Sunday, 20 September with airport transfers. However, add-ons to Lausanne, Evian or the acclaimed Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in the Swiss alps are all possible on request. We can also help with international air flights to Berlin, ex Geneva. If luxury river cruising takes your fancy, we also offer all Grande European golfers a luxury golf cruise from Prague to Budapest along the Danube River. The ‘Romantic Danube’ golf tour can be taken before or after the Grande Europe Golf Tour. Contact denise@parnz.co.nz for more details.
Visit our website: www.parnz.co.nz Or call us on +64 9 486 1077, Australia Toll Free 1800 018 575
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PaR nz Golfing Holidays Partners and Associates PaR nz Golfing Holidays is a member of:
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PaR nz Golfing Holidays – 2017 and 2018 Best Outbound Golf Tour Operator – World Golf Awards 2016 Best Inbound Golf Tour Operator – World Golf Awards
New Zealand's Best Inbound Golf Tour Operator
New Zealand's Best Outbound Golf Tour Operator
New Zealand's Best Outbound Golf Tour Operator
PaR nz Corporate Events Limited trading as PaR nz Golfing Holidays, Established August 2000. Office located in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand . Postal address PO Box 331395, North Shore 0740 Phone +64 (9) 486 1077. Directors Denise Langdon & Kim Buckley Contact denise@parnz.co.nz and kim@parnz.co.nz Photos care of PaR nz’s image collection, as supplied. Cover photo: Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces overlooking Lake Geneva.
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