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A resort with extraordinary qualities is required to move a peripatetic golf-travel writer to salivation or even minor acclamation. Kitzbuhel, in the Tyrol region of the Austrian Alps, provided those qualities, and more.
Renowned as a winter ski resort, it’s a touch off the beaten track for an unsuspecting golf scribe, even in high summer. Pretty it may be, he’d think, but golf is not usually compatible with vertiginous mountains where, no doubt, the weather is as questionable as the local wine.
Not for the first time, I was wrong on all counts. The golf was as glorious as the June weather and the wine, like the cuisine, was memorable. As for Kitzbuhel itself, let me venture that it is the most complete resort town I have discovered in a lifetime of travel. It is enchanting.
Scenic, historic, and with an ambience at once serene and welcoming, it is a town (population 8,600) to soothe the soul and titillate the senses. It has everything, including three golf courses and a plethora of attractions to please all tastes and proclivities, gastronomic and cultural. You’ll deduce it is a most agreeable holiday venue and I commend it to the discerning.
I wouldn’t have discovered its delights were it not for an invitation to play in the inaugural Kitzbuhel Festival of Golf, now to become an annual event each June. It’s already in my diary for next year!
I had anticipated a small rural town perched atop a mountain with golf courses tacked onto the ski slopes and requiring crampons to play. In fact Kitzbuhel, as sophisticated as becomes Austria’s leading ski resort, reclines elegantly in a valley alongside a lake that is the centre point of an expansive nature reserve. It is a panoramic wonderland with a trillion trees, a feast for all the senses. They say you can hear the beating of butterfly wings and the bird song will drive you crazy for a day or two. You’ll get the picture.
The tourist map declares the place a city and who am I to argue? Let’s just say that it is compact, easy walking, largely traffic-free and with plenty to see and do on days given over to things esoteric. An imperative is a visit to the museum dedicated to the town’s fascinating history (it dates to the bronze age and was once the copper mining centre of Europe. Because of its wealth it was annexed by the Hungarians before hard-fought independence was re-gained). You'll be entranced by a free guided tour that starts most mornings from the tourist information centre.
It’s a place of cobbled streets, ancient but impeccably preserved buildings, handsome churches (a tour of the cemetery is an up-lifting experience, one to renew faith in family values) and with hotels, guest houses, and bistro-cafes galore. It’s a grand place for promenading and every street is a picture postcard in waiting. Most streets have a waist-high stand bearing photographs depicting the scene in by-gone eras. Little has changed. History here is a living entity, a source of great pride and the raison d’etre of a community spirit that is almost tangible.
These days tourism is the only industry and they have it down to a fine art. Golf aside, the region is a summer delight for ramblers and cyclists (hire bikes are readily available) because there are signposts everywhere, in town and on the woodland trails that encircle it and the lake. They indicate not only the next highlight but how long it would take to walk there and most have a bench nearby, usually positioned to give a view worth painting.
We spent a day wandering around the lake, known as Schwarzsee, stopping for lunch on the terrace of a waterside hotel. We probably covered the equivalent of 36 holes but it went in a flash. It was exhilarating, a lovely nature ramble. The region must be a winter wonderland but summer is equally appealing, with masses of flowers and butterflies and birds of every species and hue.
The most surprising aspect, though, was the climate. We were there in June and on some days the temperature touched 33C. For several weeks before our arrival, I gather, it had been hovering around 30C, with clear blue skies. Our hosts said this was unusually high for Spring time although common in July and August. Sometimes it lasts for four months, the air cooled by occasional rain storms that keep the countryside lushly green. Melting snow feeds the streams that rush down from the mountains, bringing a high water table and pristine conditions on the ubiquitous gardens and the local golf courses, so green they could have been in Ireland.
Talking of golf, there are three golf clubs within a 15 minute drive of Kitzbuhel, in fact one of them, with its own hotel and golf academy, is only a short walk from the town centre. There are many others within an hour's drive; 19 all told, some out of the top drawer.
So if you're searching for an agreeable venue for a summer family holiday with a little golf included look no further than Kitzbuhel. Go once and you'll go again. The family will insist upon it. A bonus: you can get there, or close to it, by budget airlines to Salzburg, Innsbruck or Munich.
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