Golf introduces us to many new people. In recent years, through my travels as a course rater for Golfweek, I met and played a round or two with Stephan Guertler, from Vienna, Austria, a fellow GW rater and course enthusiast who, while searching for his niche in the wonderful world of golf established a business called My Golf Concierge. (MGC) It’s basically a boutique travel agency. Stephan’s niche is golf trips to Mainland Europe.
As an annual visitor to the “home of golf” in Scotland, I wondered what would make someone consider the Europe mainland. Stephan, also a lover of Scotland & Ireland, suggests that The “Heart of Europe” offers more off the golf course, focusing on things like history, culture, sightseeing, music, fine dining, shopping and more. He says the golf courses are great and if a non-golfer is along for the trip, there’s more options for them.
I asked Guertler if there was a difference in cost. He said: “Absolutely, there is a huge difference. Tee-times at the famous courses in Scotland and Ireland have gone through the roof – a round at Trump Turnberry now costs 1,000 pounds (around $ 1,350). The “Heart of Europe” – especially the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary – are much more affordable. Even in Austria, for around $ 500 per day you can get a shared double room, a round of golf, transfers, a sightseeing tour, breakfast and dinner.” As a frequent visitor to Scotland, I’ll maintain that there are more cost-effective ways to some of the typical tours, but no doubt it can be costly.
As a fan of the Scottish links courses, I wondered about the relative quality of the golf. Guertler maintains that their clients play top shelf courses. He specifically mentioned designs by Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones, Sr.& Junior and Kyle Phillips and described a “beautiful and memorable experience, oftentimes with lake and or mountain views and local wildlife.” Like Scotland & Ireland, access to the courses is usually not an issue and the weather is typically more predictable and mild. Guertler says: “Depending on where you go, I would say May to mid October (are the best) – if you want to play golf in the mountains, I would say late May to mid September. Best months are June and September – if you go in July or August it can get relatively hot and it’s generally more crowded because of summer break.”
One thing I’ve always loved about Scotland is how welcoming the clubs and people are. Guertler says that MGC clients encourages visitors to “go off of the beaten path”, so that they can meet the locals. We recommend local restaurants or places where tourists usually don’t go so that they get more of a local experience as opposed to only seeing tourist attractions.
MGC focuses more on the destinations than the golf courses and mentions Vienna, Salzburg, Zurich, Prague and Munich as his favorite cities with wonderful golf courses nearby. “For an example, in Salzburg you can tour the city, go on the “Sound of Music” tour and play a Jack Nicklaus signature course on the same day – I would say this experience is hard to beat!” Air travel is convenient with major destinations like Munich, Prague, Budapest, Zurich, Geneva and Vienna having non-stop flights from the US. Otherwise the mentioned destinations are accessible with one connection from most major US airports in European hubs like London, Paris or Frankfurt.
MGC handles all the details and typically uses 4 & 5 star hotels and resorts. B & B or VRBO accommodations are also available, if desired.
I suppose this post reads a bit like a commercial and is a bit off topic compared my typical posts but I thought this to be an interesting option and might promote a potentially interesting option for golf travel that I know my bride might appreciate.
