Club zur Vahr Garlstedter Heide

The verdict

Club zur Vahr is a Bremen institution with a city course and, away to the north at Garlstedt, the championship layout that has carried its name into the record books. The Garlstedter Heide course was designed by Bernhard von Limburger, the most influential German architect of his generation, and completed as an 18 hole test in 1969. Carved through thick pine forest on undulating heathland, it is a course of corridors: tall trees press in from tee to green, the fairways bend to small, well guarded targets, and there is nowhere to hide a wayward shot.

It is one of the longest and most demanding courses in the country, a par 72 that stretches close to 6,400 metres from the championship tees, and it has the tournament pedigree to match. The German Open came here three times, with Bernhard Langer lifting the trophy in 1985, and a careful 2004 renovation by Christoph Stadler refreshed the greens, tees and bunkers without softening the design. For the travelling golfer it is a chance to play a piece of German golf history, a forest classic that rewards the straight hitter and humbles everyone else.

The holes worth the trip

Garlstedter Heide is defined by its forest. The pines are tall and the corridors are tight, so the round becomes a series of decisions about how much of each fairway you can take on, and the tee shot matters more here than on almost any other course in Germany. Miss into the trees and the only sensible play is a pitch back into position; find the short grass and you have a chance, but only a chance, because the greens are small and firmly defended.

Length is the second defence. At close to 6,400 metres from the back tees this is a big course, and several of the par fours ask for a long, straight drive followed by a long, precise approach, the combination that has always separated the field in tournament play. Von Limburger needed only a modest number of bunkers because the trees do so much of the work, a sign of a designer who trusted the land and the routing rather than reaching for artificial hazards.

The reward is one of the purest forest golf experiences in continental Europe, quiet, enclosed and demanding, with the heathland and pines giving the course a settled, almost northern feel. It is a place that has tested Bernhard Langer and the best of the European Tour, and that still asks the visiting golfer the oldest question in the game: can you keep the ball in play for eighteen holes?

Where to stay nearby

Garlstedt sits in quiet countryside north of Bremen, so most visitors base themselves in the Hanseatic city itself, with its handsome old town, good restaurants and easy transport links a short drive from the course. There is also accommodation in the spa town of Bad Zwischenahn and the smaller towns of the region for a calmer, country stay close to the first tee.

For a fuller northern German tour, Garlstedter Heide pairs naturally with the great courses around Hamburg. Route it alongside Hamburger Golf Club Falkenstein and the heathland and island courses of the north, and you have the makings of a varied week of classical, tree lined and seaside golf in the country's golfing heartland.

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