Golf Asia — January 2018

70 GOLF ASIA

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Salzach Valley, not only the largest golfing

facility in the Austrian Alps (with two 18-hole

courses, a well-stocked pro-shop, driving

range and excellent teaching professionals),

but with the snow-capped mountains of the

National Park Hohe Tauern rising to 3,797

metres in the distance, it's one of the most

picturesque in Europe, too.

It was a sunny June morning and local

golfer Karl Bauer was joining us to tackle 36

holes (the Kitzsteinhorn and Schmittenhöhe

courses). He got proceedings underway by

expertly splitting the fairway on the 357-metre

Par 4 1st of the Kitzteinhorn course.

“On a beautiful day like today, I like

to have breakfast, take the cable car to

the Kitzsteinhorn glacier to ski, come

back down, take a swim in Lake Zeller,

then finish off with a round of golf in the

afternoon. For me, it’s a perfect day, ”

Karl told us as we strolled the vivid green

fairways lined with wildflowers.

Designed by Donald Harradine, the two

parkland-style courses are situated beside

each other on the valley floor, and feature

water on several holes, huge bunkers and

distinctive old hay barns that dot the fairways.

The Kitzsteinhorn course is worth playing

just for the stunning view from the wooden

bridge that leads across a lake from the 10th

tee to the 11th green. We could have spent

all day gazing at the reflected vista of the

green and glacier-swathed mountain behind

set off by a towering fountain.

“The Schmittenhöhe is the most difficult

of the two courses and requires more club

management, especially with the final two

greens being so well protected by water”,

said Karl, as we headed for lunch at the

club’s patio restaurant, having completed

our first 18 holes. Karl’s partner joined us

after mountain biking in the surrounding hills.

Glowing from her exercise, she's a typical

example of the local commitment to an

active life in this part of the world. Whether

its teeing off in the valleys, paragliding

in the sky, snow-boarding the slopes or

windsurfing on the lakes, it seems just

about everyone we met was involved with

some kind of outdoor activity. Only that very

morning the petrol attendant had told us he

was off bushwalking after finishing work.

“This is a great area for outdoor sports

and we host all kinds of events including

the World Mountain Biking Championships

and the ‘Aqua Alpine Cup’ which is a

combination of skiing and water-skiing,”

said Karl, as we turned our attention to the

varied menu offering a wide range of dishes.

Many were typically Austrian ones: such

as ‘Wiener Schnitzel’,‘ Black pudding with

mashed potato and onions’ and ‘Entrecote

(local beef) with mustard sauce, tomato and

garlic vegetables and potatoes’. “Of course,

to finish you’ll have to try my apple strudel,”

said head chef and ex-judo champion

Beautiful Lake Zeller attracts

water activities of all kinds

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AUSTRIA