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In an area famed for its daredevil skiing with death-defying drops, Eichenheim at Hotel Grand Tirolia in Kitzbuhel, Austria may well deliver drops too, but in a such a beautiful way that you’ll still be a happy golfer. Words: Alex Mead
Every year it’s like a gigantic reveal, with golfers waiting impatiently for the bitterly cold Austrian Alpine winter to relent and pull back its blanket of snow from the beautiful, lush fairways and greens, allowing the fun to begin. You can almost imagine the buggies queuing up outside Hotel Grand Tirolia waiting for the greenkeeper of Eichenheim to give the thumbs up so golfers can gleefully tee off. The excitement would momentarily wear off within a few shots as the memories of past rounds return — reminding them just how tough this mountain course is. However, when they do look up and take in their surroundings after that double bogey putt is sunk all is forgiven.
The 6,092m, par 71, Eichenheim is the work of American architect Kyle Phillips, who spent 17 years with Robert Trent Jones Jr — where he was responsible for, among others, Celtic Manor, Sugarloaf and Granite Bay — before striking out on his own. While Eichenheim must surely rank among his most spectacular works, he was definitely given the most incredible tools with which to work.
Hotel Grand Tirolia is based near the Alpine town of Kitzbuhel, just over an hour south-west of Salzburg, in the province of Tyrol, east of Innsbruck. In the winter months, it’s where you go to ski and, if snow-loving types are to be believed it’s got a bit of a ‘legendary’ status. Even just the most half-baked attempt at research will reveal why: the 1,712m Hahnenkamm, a mountain that plays host to a downhill race where racers hit speeds of 140kmh, tackles jumps of 80m and gradients of 85% — all in front of about 500m television viewers in the hope of winning half-a-million euros or so.
A far safer way of earning that kind of money is to play golf. Admittedly, you have to play well, but earlier this year, several months after the downhill skiers risked life and limb for the cost of a very average flat in a shabby part of London, three golfers playing in the shadow of Hahnenkamm were 150 yards or so from winning twice as much. All three had earlier in the year recorded an ace at one of 40 courses across Europe registered with Million Dollar Hole In One (MDHIO). Their prize was the chance to attempt to repeat it in Austria, all-expenses paid at Eichenheim. Get lucky twice and they’re €1m better off. Easy. The trio included 24-handicapper Australian Marissa L’Estrange who had used a driver on a 149m par-three in the Algarve. Sadly, for L’Estrange, Jose Pinto Da Silva, from Portugal and Merja Salminen, from Finland, they’d had their fill of holes-in-one for the year with the pressure telling and all of their shots veering to the left and a good pitch and putt from the hole.
In fairness to them, it could also have been the views that distracted them. Wherever you are on the course, it’s pretty hard not to find yourself staring at a slice of Alpine beauty. Buggies are essential. This is winding-around-the-mountains golf and if you don’t have a buggy then you’d better hope you’ve got mountain goats as ancestors.
Like so many of the holes, the par-three that crushed the dreams of the wannabe millionaires, was bordered on one side by a steep forest of pine trees, guiding you to a hole set to a backdrop of mountain peaks — their snow-covered tops shrouded in mist.
The elevated tee of the 482m, par-four, third gives you a stunning view that takes in a winding, forest-lined fairway and leads your gaze to the perfectly framed pine-speckled mountain beyond. On the downside, the elevation is so great that it makes distances hard to judge and with a narrow fairway to hit, you can’t get too wild with your driver to try and make the distance. Be cautious, and you might make it, but the temptation to give a wild swing from that great height is too much for most aside from the most ardent of score-chasers.
But this isn’t a course to worry about the scorecard, it’s a course to revel in and take on every challenge it offers and there are plenty. Arguably the 299m par-four seventh is among the easier holes, but even then the roll of the land gives you more than enough to think about — the only flat you ever find here is on the green, and even then you often have to be on your game to get there. Shrug your shoulders, take a picture of the view and move on, it’s standard procedure in these parts. If there’s slow play ahead, who cares? Breath in the Alpine air and see if you can at least save face on the par threes.
The tinkle of bells from the cows grazing nearby and the giant wooden cattle sheds that dot the lush, green landscape only adds to the quaint charm of Eichenheim. It’s a place to escape — which probably explains why so many golf balls go awol: they probably don’t want to leave either.
You’ll want to play this course over and over, it’s the kind of place that you need to see several times and even after you’ve played it countless times, you imagine it still has the ability to take you aback, with the different light painting new pictures of this most artistic of natural landscapes.
When you do finish the golf, Hotel Grand Tirolia has plenty both to fuel your talk of favourite holes and rejuvenate bodies that have been tackling a terrain made for hooves not feet.
First, the refuelling. A Josper means that charcoal-grilled steak is always going to be cooked well and we’re in the Alps so fondue is a welcome appearance on the menu, and likewise wienerschnitzel (breadcrumbed veal). The platters of meat, cheese and anything that can be pickled are perfect for a quick post-round feed and the balance of restaurants here, one fine-diner, one bistro, means you’re pretty much going to be happy whichever way your appetite swings.
With the belly full, getting ready for your next round is pivotal and the spa options at Hotel Grand Tirolia are, quite frankly, dizzying. You can be heated, cooled, wrapped, coated, scrubbed, cleansed, peeled, pummelled and probably boiled and fried too. Whatever works for you, you’ll find it here, so you’ll always be ready for just one more round. Green fees from £45. grand-tirolia.com
