GC Hochschwarzwald: Immerse yourself in the landscape
Anyone who believes that golf courses cannot enrich landscapes should go to Titisee, one of the classic German holiday areas in Baden-Württemberg . On the 9th green of the Hochschwarzwald golf club, you look back into the Oberaltental. It’s easy to get lost here. Pure nature on a total area of 45 hectares is the motto of the course, which started in this area and with a par of 37 stretches along biotopes, forest areas, meadows and orchards. “We have wet meadows, large hard rough areas, meadow orchards, old stock, actually everything,” club manager Christoph Weiß describes the site. Agriculture used to be the priority here, far less visual diversity than was visible now.
Ten minutes away from Titisee and Hinterzarten, the golfer meets the impressive landscape of the Upper Black Forest on holes two to nine. For this reason alone, it was a matter of course for the small club to take part in the Baden-Württemberg Golf Association ‘s “Habitat golf course – we create biodiversity” campaign. At the same time, the height of the site, which is about 900 meters above sea level not far from the Feldberg, does not make maintenance easy. This is especially true when dealing with limited staff.
“In the past year, an unbelievable amount has happened here in terms of intensive care,” observes Weiß. “Before we had some really almost broken greens.” In the meantime, the golf course has improved significantly in terms of the condition of the greens and fairways. With more expertise and commitment, the small team is now making the golf course an attraction for tourists.
A lot of commitment to “Lebensraum Golf Course”
The terrain is not always easy to master: while holes two to nine are extremely spacious, all other holes share an area of just 15 hectares on the level directly in front of the clubhouse. If you look at it from the terrace, you can’t even see the great variety of the system at first glance. In view of the large nature reserves that stretch across the idyllic Oberaltental, the search for a location when the golf club was founded in 2001 was problematic. The first nine holes were opened in 2004 and the expansion to 16 holes was completed in June 2016.
Christoph Weiß likes to get involved himself when it comes to improving the club’s facilities, even if it’s outside on the pitch. In the meantime, perches for birds of prey have been set up in the meadows, stone bars created, and Prof. Dr. Martin Elsäßer from the environmental committee of the Baden-Württemberg Golf Association got some expert tips for mowing the meadows. The large areas of meadow are mowed once a year, and a sea of flowers awaits visitors in late spring and summer. Then the place in the Upper Black Forest scores like no other with its untouched areas, the view of one or the other Black Forest house. Pure nature. With golf in between.
