More than Golf in the Black Forest — 72 hours in Der Öschberghof
When you are thinking about a golf trip, your mind is already gone to Portugal or other exotic destinations such as Dominican Republic or South Africa. However, Europe and more specifically Germany are still able to provide a unique experience and it’s just next door. Let me bring you on a 72-hour trip in the south of Stuttgart, right at the Danube source, for an enchanting stay-and-play at Der Öschberghof.
Sunday: A brand new cosy atmosphere is surrounding you
3pm. The hotel and the room
After an hour drive from the Stuttgart airport, gently provided by one of the hotel’s chauffeur, I finally arrived. The resort seems to have emerged from the ground only yesterday. It looks brand new and so welcoming. Later on, I will be told later on that what I could witness was the result of a €60 million investment.
The first thing I want to do is to settle down in my hotel room. I want to see where I am going to sleep for the next few nights. When I open the door, it already feels like home. A lobby with a head-to-toe mirror, a large cupboard, the mini-bar (by the way it’s free), a safe, a Nespresso coffee machine, everything here is to make you feel more that welcome. Over the balcony, my sight is overseeing the main parking lot. Not ideal, but between the golf, the spa and my tourist activities, I don’t think I will have much time to spoil my eyes with this view.
Indeed on the other side of the valley, I can see the village of Donaueschingen. This typical German village is no more than the source of the legendary Danube.
4pm The Driving Range
After a 1 minute walk from the hotel, I am already entering the club house and I ask if I need a card or coins to get some golf balls for the driving range. First you need to know that for hotel guests, driving range balls are free. Here we go.
Even if with this level of services, I am surprised to see a 2-way driving range which means that depending on where the sun is, you can choose either the longest side or the shortest side to avoid having the sun in the face. Clever and so user friendly. Those details show you how the place is trying to reach perfection. Each details count. It reminds me the complete opposite, when I was playing at the Fuerteventura Golf Club. Despite being a luxury resort, you are blinded by the morning sun on the driving range. Oh and I almost forgot: on both sides you can hit golf balls on the grass.
The short game addicts won’t be disappointed. Different variations of short game facilities will drive you to spend hours there.
8pm: Italian dinner at the Hexenweiher
For Italian-food lovers, this is the place. When you put thing in perspective, you are in Germany, in the Black Forest and you can enjoy a true antipasti or a pizza cooked in wood-fired oven.
The experience is delicious. Going through the doors teleports you to Italy for the time span of a dinner. Simply wonderful.
By the way, you can’t miss the restaurant, it’s between the hotel and the club house.
It’s already 10pm and as soon as I get into my room, I have the feeling that it was visited. And indeed it was… by an employee. He untuck the bed, brought my slippers close to it ! In addition, he placed the remote, a bottle of water and a chocolate on the nightstand. Yes, this is the kind of services you can expect at der Öschberghof.
Monday: A round of golf on the East Course and chilling out at the spa
11am on the tee to play the East Course
After a generous breakfast, while watching the greenkeepers mowing the greens, it’s time to head to the driving range to get warm-up and play on the East Course.
This course came out of the ground in 2011 and was part of the large investment made to bring the resort to high standards. This 18 holes were built on fields bought around the resort after fierce negotiations. It explains this “open” link-style feeling when you are reaching the end of the property, around the 4th and 5th holes.
Hilly and strategic, the course will test your skills and philosophy of the game. Sometimes you will be tempted to play big with the driver, but a 4 or 5 iron will grant you a wedge on the second shot for an undeniable par. Indeed, the average-sized green are relatively flat and won’t trick you. The transition between the the 9 and 10 looks like climbing but the view is rewarding.
4pm Chilling out at the 5000 square meter SPA
After playing a 18 holes, I still have time to explore the SPA before dinner.
Wearing a bathrobe and my slippers, I walk into the spa carrying my a dedicated bag with a towel inside. With 4 different type of spas, a 25-meter long swimming pool and an warmed outside poll, where do I start ?
Let’s go for the classic route. First stop at the classic spa. After laying out my towel on a long chair, I entered the sauna. Fifteen minutes later, 2 choices lay before me. Either, I go for the cold shower or the cold room. I’ll go for the cold room. In the middle, a block produces ice that comes up by stick and fall randomly around.
After a few lengths in the swimming pool, I see a glass door leading to the outside warmed and slightly-salted swimming pool. The sun is setting, a light rain starts to fall, and as I bend over the pool edge, my mind replays the holes I could see from where I was. A truly magic moment.
Tuesday: Playing on the Old Course and other gourmet delices
11am A Different Experience on the Old Course
It can be a repetition but it was not. The Old Course is a completely different experience. Embedded in the Dark Forest, this very long course will challenge your long irons. If you slightly miss a drive, you will have to pull out a long iron to reach the reach the green. A lot of dogleg-type holes will lead you at some point to a typical German restaurant: Öventhütte. Originally, a wooden cabin located between the 13th and 16th hole’s tee boxes, its success and size grows gently, not only among golfers but also locals. As a result, it can welcome now more that 90 guests inside and nearly unlimited guests outside on the terrace.
7pm Last dinner at the Esszimmer.
The last day of my trip is already here. I am ending it by a great dinner at the Esszimmer which is for most of the hotel guests, the place to go when they are hungry. For breakfast, for a quick snack in the afternoon or a fine dinner, you will find every time of the day a variety of choice that will suit all your tastes. The restaurant, despite its high ceiling is relatively quiet even if the place is crowded. In addition the terrace is the place to be. I talked about a lot of the outdoor possibilities, so the best moment to go will be summertime. Der Öscheberghof facility is up to 750 meters above the sea level, guarantying you sweet temperatures.
10pm and above…. the bar and the smoking lounge
Because golf and travel are tied to leisure, I have to talk to you about the bar and the smoking lounge. The bar offers a wide array of spirits. And because of this, I challenge the barman Julian, an artist of his own. I ask for a Bas Armagnac. Well, he pours me one in. It’s not the only trick, he can pull out of his sleeves. Cocktails are where he excels.
And for those who want to tie their drink with a cigar, you can too. A walk-in humidor is situated just beside the bar in the smoking lounge.
Wednesday: Before going back home…. there’s more on my to-do list !
If you think you were done here, you are wrong. The region has so much to offer that spending a week there wouldn’t be enough. After having a glance at the source of the Danube and if cars are your thing, you can visit to the Schramberg Automuseum displaying 130 vehicles from a private collection nonetheless ! Above all you will be staying in the Dark Forest. Any hikers will tell you it’s a great place to stride for.
What I have experienced there, shows that Germany is the utmost unknown golf destination. In addition, staying in the Black Forest offers so much that you will need to add extra time to your trip. Golfers and non-golfers will find the best compromise that the place has to offer.
Of course, I have done only one but if I can live this type of golf experience in the Dark Forest, imagine what could offer other German golf courses. I acknowledge than not all of German golf clubs are offering this level of services, however Germany is the second biggest European golf market with 731 golf courses. I am sure there’s one for you.
