Golfing Region Allgäu

It is the region in which Inspector Kluftinger investigates. The tough but warm-hearted main character of the Allgäu crime novels, which are now on bestseller lists all over Germany. The region whose great asset is its flourishing landscape. And the region that is still first and foremost associated with winter sports.

According to Simone Zehnpfennig from Allgäu GmbH, the accommodation providers now count around 17 million overnight stays per year. How many of these guests come to the region specifically to play golf, however, is not yet statistically recorded. The only thing that is clear is that since the golf clubs have been taking more care of holidaymakers and positioning themselves better at national tourism trade fairs, the number is increasing.

Golfing in the Allgäu

Hardly any other golf region in Germany is as diverse as the Allgäu. If you draw a radius of 60 kilometers around Kempten, the largest city in the region with a population of around 65,000, you can reach over 20 golf courses in just under an hour by car. And each of these courses has its very own advantages. For example, the 27-hole course of the Waldegg-Wiggensbach golf club with the highest tee in Germany at 1011 meters. The many slopes and ravines in particular make the round of golf a sporting, tactical and sometimes alpine challenge. The reward is a magnificent mountain panorama.

The Auf der Gsteig golf course in Lechbruck also has this to offer. The 18-hole course is only around an hour's drive from the Bavarian capital of Munich and yet offers the special charm of an Allgäu Alpine foothills course. Here the panorama of the Allgäu Alps, there the far-reaching view over the Lechsee into the hilly landscape of the Ostallgäu and one hole further on a clear view of the massive mountains of the Tyrolean Alps. From Hellengerst Golf Club (also 18 holes) in Oberallgäu, you can even see as far as Switzerland in good weather.

The Sonnenalp golf resort in Ofterschwang, a few kilometers north of the traditional winter sports resort of Oberstdorf, is exclusive. With 36 holes and a further 9-hole course, the resort is the largest golf provider in the Allgäu and is also one of the leading golf resorts in the whole of Europe. The course run by the Fäßler family is part of the renowned five-star Hotel Sonnenalp, where the two ski stars Maria Höfl-Riesch and Lindsay Vonn, among others, like to stay. The courses in Unterallgäu have a completely different advantage: the courses in Ottobeuren, Bad Wörishofen and Memmingen are not quite as high up as the other Allgäu courses and can therefore usually be played all year round.

Most of the courses are genuine natural courses, embedded in the existing landscape. For example, in the middle of damp moorland meadows, over hill and dale or around old trees and hedges. Cows watching you play golf from the pasture on the neighboring tee are therefore not a rarity, but always a popular photo opportunity.

What to do if you don't feel like playing golf?

There are plenty of sights and leisure activities. Too many to list them all individually. Traditionally, people hike a lot in the Allgäu, for example to mountain peaks such as the Grünten (1738 meters) near Sonthofen and through natural monuments such as the Breitachklamm, the deepest rocky gorge in Central Europe, near Oberstdorf. Or to the countless small mountain pastures, where cheese, butter and bread are sometimes still made and sold. And then, of course, there is the most famous sight: the fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle near Füssen.

When is the best time to visit?

The Allgäu is best visited in spring or fall. This is when nature is at its most beautiful. Especially as the Allgäu golf courses usually need a little longer after winter to recover from the snow and ice than courses in other parts of Germany.

What else should you know about a vacation in the Allgäu?

The Allgäu is easy to reach by car via the north-south axis of the A7 highway. If you prefer to travel by train, you can get to the Allgäu from all directions. Usually by local trains, but occasionally also by long-distance trains. From Munich main station, for example, it takes around one and a half hours to reach Kempten. And the Allgäu can even be reached by plane: The Allgäu Airport in Memmingen is served by flights from Hamburg and Berlin, each taking around an hour.

There is a special offer for golfers in the form of "Oberstaufen Plus Golf". In short: anyone staying in a hotel in Oberstaufen can not only use the mountain railroads and adventure pools free of charge, but also receives a free green fee per night on the golf courses in Oberstaufen-Buflings, Wiggensbach, Lenzfried, Scheidegg and Memmingen.

www.allgaeu-golfer.de