http://www.agrt.cz/
6428M (~7000 Yds), Par 72, Slope 138 (HAH!)
They say: "Golf course in Austerlitz was designed by renowned golf architectural offices Austrian Hans-Georg Erhardt of Steyer, who is one of Europe's leading golf architects. Irrigated field, it is difficult and interesting natural obstacles, deep bunkers and artificially constructed lakes."
#1 Not for the last time on this course, you need to drive between the two water hazards . . . this 'un's pretty wide, and, of course I blasted my drive, oh, 5 or 10 yds past 'em anyway . . . I tho't I had plenty of club to reach the green in 2, but my 5wood wound up 20m short . . . I just scuttled a 5iron, scottish-style past the hole and 3 putted for a bogey.
#2 I was by myself, behind a 3some in a cart, so I moseyed langourously between shots . . . didn't want to press them, but I did want to finish before dark . . . this second hole kinda demonstrates (to me) the newness of the course, and the way that it might "grow in" as it matures. I just -- more or less intentionally -- hammer-pulled my ball across the dogleg into the stubby rough in the midst of those trees . . .the trees are too small - now -- to really be a problem . . .the hole is short enough, you could just stay in the fairway, but there were some moguls out there I didn't like the look of . . . my wedge distance was uncertain, so I came up 30ft short of the pin, just in the fringe. 3putt bogey.
#3 is the first of several semi-blind tee shots, didn't bother me, it's only 280m, but severely uphill so I didn't figger there was too much trouble over the water . . . bladed my short iron over the green, and didn't get up and down, even after I played a masterful chip-back from against the 3meter high stone wall -- bogey.
#4 so I was getting a little bored with the course introduction, here . . . easy bogeys is not interesting golf . . . but this next tee shot was visually perplexing . . . I had no idea how far it was to the jumblies, so I just hit it as straight as I could: a high beeline that bounced hard against the slope and rabbited up over onto the side slope next to the fairway . . . I mis-calculated the uphill discount for my short iron, but that was fine, since the flag was on the front . . . had an 18ft sidehill putt for birdie -- you might see the ball right of the pin on the green . . .broke almost 4ft . . . 3putt bogey.
#5 is a long uphill slog slowly uphill, still . . . I tho't I was reconciled to bogey golf, but apparently that last missed birdie putt did aggravate me . . . I hit a short low slice drive to the middle of the fairway, then foozled a 3wood -- from overswinging I realized a hole or two later . . . I usta call this "letting the poodle off the leash" meaning a composure breakdown . . . doesn't happen so often now, but here it was . . . hit another half-assed 3wood short of the green, wedged long and 2putted double bogey . . . on a par 5, dangit.
#6 seems like a little relief is in order, but its a very long par4, even down hill. I was still overswinging and my putting didn't improve, so another double bogey.
#7 turns back up hill, and I resolved to get my swing back under control . . . I mean the course is pretty wide open here, and the wind howling over the hilltop shouldn't make so much difference . . . but it did. Bogey.
#8 -- finally -- a par 3 downhill breather . . . for some reason I resisted hitting a half7wood and opted for a 3iron, which I didn't ketch solid . . . hit my westtexas 7iron chip too solid, 12ft past the hole. putt. putt. bogey.
#9 is not the #1 handicap hole - that's that dang par5 #5. . . since the tees were all under construction I went back to the championship tees instead of forward to the temporary tees . . .what hubris . . . I didn't even reach the fairway with a solid shot to the left side of the divided fairway . . . I don't quite understand the thinking here, design-wise . . .the rough is a little penal, true, but there's just not enough going on here to justify the divided fairway. I took an 8, true, but that was re-mortification due to the temporary tees and my overswinging. . . I don't see why anyone would go to the right fairway here . . . it just makes the hole longer . . . but that is a tough green with a front pin position . . . the bunkers are in play and that false front on the right side makes the landing area smaller than one hopes for.
#10 . . .ok. we've made it to the top of the hill . . . nowhere near the clubhouse . . . as far away as you can be . . . they do have a little temporary snack-shack by #9 tee / #10 green, but it wasn't in operation . . .but you see the theory of the overall layout now: uphill front9 holes, then downhill on the back9. Interesting concept . . .but I was pretty beat up by then, and wore out . . . good course to have golf carts, like the 3some in front of me . . . I stayed up with them, but dang, at times. Still I was hopeful that I could have some good holes going downhill. . . powdered my teeshot on 10, just hit it as hard and straight as I could, to see what would happen. It went in the bunker on the left . . . 8^/ . . . so I was closeenough to go for the green in 2, but the lie was uncooperative. My 5iron came out week, even, so I still had a long shortiron that I hit fat. my 7iron chip rolled 30 ft past the pin on the cusp of a large circular tier. Amazing green.I think you could play this hole for decades without getting tired of it.
#11 . . .apparently they have enough downhill they didn't have to leave the holes too close together here . . . it's a good 100m walk to the next tee . . . and same thing as on 10, into the bunker I go, foozle out, wedge on. putt putt bogey. . . thinking the whole time, if it wasn't uphill, I'd go back to 10 and start over . . . that may be wishful thinking, this is the #2 handicap hole, I just think I could do better. Wasn't in a single trap coming up the hill. go figger.
#12 what an awesome view of Austerlitz. After some calculus I figgered 5iron, which was probably correct. If I hit the green, from the height, I guess it would have staid on the front, and not rolled on back, but as it was I was in the second left bunker. Splashed out short, putt putt bogey. The interest in the second hole was all that kept me from going back up to 10 for a restart, well, that and the hill climb.
#13, it's a shock to realize how far uphill I have climbed on the front9, to see the downhill inclines of 10-11-12-13 . . . many courses have 1 hole like that, or even 2, but 4, four! consecutive is a master layout. 13 perplexed me, with its downhill sharp right dogleg . . .one thinks it's possible to drive the green, but the risk/reward is pretty severe . . . I finally settled on a safe 4iron, but that was woefully short . . . I cudda hit a 5wood over the traps safely. Irritation raised its ugly head again here, so I hadda foozle a couple irons to reach the green, then 3putt.
#14 basically back down to the valley floor, now, this is a straightforward par3 . . . I just hit a half7wood without worrying too much about whether it was too much, beeline drive to the right side of the green, and it kicked over off the humps over towards the hole, on the back of the green . . . not really a makeable birdie, but an easy par . . . finally.
the season Americans call Indian Summer has been adopted over here in europe, too, sometimes to describe the surprisingly warm weather . . . in fact, the czechs will translate Babi Leto as Indian Summer, but since I couldn't rationalize them using Indian Summer, I persisted till it was clear to me that Babi Leto means Grandmother SUmmer, because of these filmy tendrils of white somethings that drift about during the re-warmed weather, because it looks likes grandmother's hair . . . 8^D . . .
#15 on the card looks like a reachable par5 . . . my drive was long and in the middle of the fairway, just past the traps, but I still had something like 250m to the green . . . it's all kinda uphill again, I guess is the kindest thing you could say . . . I flaired my 3wood over into the right rough, right at the 100m marker. Hit a 9iron to the middle of the green, 2putt-par. . . woohoo, 2 in a row!
#16 was not much of a challenge to me now, in my newly refound competency. Driver, 7iron, 3putt, tho'. . .8^/ . . . My camera batteries had died, so I have clipped this photo from their web site. 16 is coming downhill from the left, 17 is a par3 over water to the right.
#17 was a total miscarriage. There were some people kinda wandering around the water's edge by the tee that put me off, so, on a 129m par3, I missed the green and didn't get up and down . . . of all the holes on this course I want to play again to show I can do better, this is one of 'em.
I think it is obvious that this is a rather new course, and needs to do some maturation . . . a few trees growing in would make it harder (more obstacles) and easier (easier to visualize & frame shots) . . . the greens are still kinda grainy, the ball doesn't roll true, which given the contorturedness of these greens is a little unfair . . . 8^) . . . The bunkering is very intelligent all thru the course, both on the uphill and downhill holes, and the mounding around the greens is really attractive and pertinent.
The clubhouse is very nice, the restaurant is justifiably a local favorite, and the cabanas such as we staid in were very nice.
I give this place a 2 on the scottsdale scale, with a note that in a couple of years, it could be a "1". Outstanding.
