Sporting Club Berlin Faldo Course: 2026 Access and Booking Update
The Faldo Course at Sporting Club Berlin is the most ambitious links style test in eastern Germany, a Nick Faldo design built into the lakeland at Bad Saarow. Here is where it stands in 2026, how access works, and how to play it.
The news: a Faldo links an hour from Berlin
The Faldo Course at Sporting Club Berlin sits beside Lake Scharmuetzel at Bad Saarow in Brandenburg, roughly an hour southeast of the capital, and it remains the standout reason golfing visitors detour from the city. Often listed today under the Golf Club Bad Saarow banner, the layout was designed by Sir Nick Faldo with European Golf Design and opened in 1996, conceived as a links in the German lakeland rather than the parkland that dominates the region.
For 2026 the headline is continuity rather than change. The course carries forward its reputation as one of the most distinctive championship tests in the east of the country, a venue with tournament pedigree that hosted the European Amateur Team Championship in 2018. It heads into the new season as a mature, well established resort course rather than a project in flux.
The course itself
The Faldo plays as a par 72 of around 6,486 yards, and its signature is the sand. The design carries 133 pot bunkers, a deliberate nod to the great Scottish links that inspired it, and they shape strategy on almost every hole, rewarding the player who plots a route rather than simply attacking. Firm running ground and exposure to wind off the lake complete the links impression in a landscape most visitors would never expect this far inland.
Beyond the Faldo, Sporting Club Berlin is a multi course resort with a second 18 and extensive practice and lodging on site, which makes it a comfortable stay and play base. The combination of a recognisable architect, genuine links character and full resort infrastructure is what keeps the Faldo Course on the short list of marquee German venues outside the better known Munich and Hamburg belts.
How to play it in 2026
The practical reality for 2026 is straightforward: this is a resort course that welcomes visitors, so a round is far more attainable than at the private clubs that fill many best of Germany lists. The simplest route is a resort stay and play package, which bundles tee times with lodging beside the lake, though day visitor tee times are also available and worth booking ahead in the busy summer window.
On timing, the Brandenburg season runs spring through autumn, with the firmest, fastest links conditions from June to September. Green fees are mid market for a marquee German resort course rather than top of the European scale, but they should be treated as indicative for the 2026 season and confirmed directly before booking, as resort rates and package terms change.
Our take
Our take is that the Faldo Course is the rare German venue that gives a travelling golfer a genuine links experience without the pilgrimage to the coast, and the bunkering alone makes it worth the hour out of Berlin. The fact that it is openly bookable, when so many of the country's best courses are members first, only strengthens the case for building a trip around it.
If you are planning a 2026 Berlin and Brandenburg trip, the Faldo Course is a natural centrepiece, ideally paired with a couple of nights in the city. Book the stay and play package early for the summer firmness, pack for lake wind, and confirm tee times and rates directly with the resort before you travel.
Plan your Germany golf trip
From the Faldo links at Bad Saarow to the heathland and parkland of the wider German circuit, tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge builds and costs the trip, with no obligation.
Questions
Can visitors play the Faldo Course at Sporting Club Berlin?
Yes. The Faldo Course at the resort in Bad Saarow, sometimes listed as Golf Club Bad Saarow, is a resort course that welcomes visitors. Booking a tee time in advance is sensible in the peak summer months, and resort stay and play packages are the simplest route. Confirm rates and tee availability directly before booking.
What kind of course is the Faldo Course?
It is a links inspired par 72 of around 6,486 yards designed by Nick Faldo with European Golf Design and opened in 1996. The standout feature is the bunkering, with 133 pot bunkers across the layout, which sits on the shores of Lake Scharmuetzel about an hour from central Berlin.
When should I play the Faldo Course?
The Brandenburg season runs from spring through autumn, with the firmest and most reliable conditions from June to September. Green fees are mid market for a marquee German resort course and should be treated as indicative for the 2026 season and confirmed directly before booking.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course, season and access details verified June 2026 from resort and golf travel sources; conditions and green fees change, so always confirm directly before booking. Last reviewed June 2026.