Fontana Golf Club

The verdict

Fontana is the championship test of the Vienna region, a polished modern course built on a grand scale a short drive south of the Austrian capital. The Canadian architect Doug Carrick laid it out in the 1990s on flattish farmland, and rather than fight the land he reshaped it, excavating a large central lake and using the spoil to create the dramatic mounding and movement that give the course its character. It opened in 1997 and quickly became the country's tournament venue.

That pedigree is real. Fontana hosted the European Tour's Austrian Open across several editions, and a major renovation completed between 2017 and 2021 brought the conditioning and the bunkering up to a high standard, with bent grass greens and fairways that run true. It is parkland golf with a resort sheen, generous in places and demanding in others, and for a traveling golfer pairing golf with a few days in Vienna it is the obvious round to build a trip around.

The holes worth the trip

Carrick built Fontana to look and play like a tournament course, and the round has a real sense of theater. The central lake comes into play on several holes, demanding a carry or flirting with the edge of fairways and greens, and the bold mounding frames the targets and gathers or rejects the slightly errant shot. Tree lined corridors put a premium on driving in position, and from the back tees the course is a stout test that explains its long run as a professional venue.

The greens are the standout feature after the renovation, large, firm and full of movement, running fast and true on bent grass that holds up well in the warm continental summers. They reward the player who controls distance and spin and punish the approach that finishes on the wrong tier, so a good score depends on a sharp short game as much as length off the tee.

From the forward tees Fontana is an enjoyable, scoreable round for a mixed group, while the championship tees offer a genuine challenge for the low handicapper, which makes it a versatile choice for a buddies trip or a society day. Finishing beside the lake with the clubhouse in view, it leaves the impression of a course built to host the best, and it remains one of the most complete golf experiences near Vienna.

Where to stay nearby

Vienna is the natural base, one of Europe's great cities, with hotels for every taste and a cultural and dining scene that turns a golf trip into a proper break. The course sits close enough to the city that a group can stay in the center and reach the first tee in well under an hour, or choose quieter lodging in the spa towns and countryside of Lower Austria nearby.

A trip built around Fontana works best as a city and golf combination, pairing rounds with Vienna's coffee houses, palaces and music, and there is further golf within reach across Lower Austria and over the border for a group wanting more than one day on the course. For couples and buddies groups alike, it is a refined, easy to reach destination at the heart of central Europe.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Fontana.