North Rhine-Westfalia

Of Nibelungen, wine, golf and song

From Vikings and the Hanse along the Baltic, the promenades around Berlin, the architecture of Saxony, the fairy tales and half-timbered buildings between Bremen and Hanau, we now turn to the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Rhineland-Palatinate and thus to the fabled and legendary fortresses along the Rhine and the Mosel, the one-time Ruhrgebiet [name of major industrial area in Germany] and the German Wine Road before we then later follow the route of the Nibelungen to the Danube.

Previously, one would have scarcely thought of North Rhine-Westphalia as a golfing mecca. But indeed this state along the Ruhr and Rhine, between Weser and Mosel, with the Sauerland, Bergischem Land and Westerwald, a large region, from whose Ruhrgebiet industrial area a green golfing mecca has developed over a short period of time and it is also possible in this context to again unite history, culture, nature and golf in a magnificent way.

Münsterland: Horses, golf and moated castles

In the triangle between the Teutoburger Wald, the Ruhrgebiet and the Emsland, there lies the green Münsterland, a sometimes flat, sometimes hilly landscape with the features of a park, moors, heaths, meadows and fields. Strewn across the land are farms encompassed by oaks, picturesque and protective moated fortresses and moated castles. The flat “Münster Bay” is a paradise for bicyclists, hikers and also golfers.

Nature enthusiasts are enthused by the loneliness of the heaths, meadows, bottomlands and the moor – a refuge for rare plants and birds.

With its capital city of Münster, the Münsterland, the counterpart to Osnabrück in the Westphalia Peace of 1648, a city full of culture, history and a world-famous university, is predominantly a sparsely settled land of farmers and horses. From the once numerous wild horses, approximately 250 remain. They still run free through moor and heath in the Meerfelder Bruch nature preserve near Dülmen – a large reserve of 350 hectares. They are run into a pen once a year and the one-year-old stallions are sorted out to be sold. This event always draws thousands of spectators from around the world. The Münsterland today is the very definition of horse breeding and equestrian sports.

One cannot not only feel energy by riding in the fresh air, but also by hitting the small white ball upon one of the numerous golf courses which are beautifully situated. From these golf courses, one should absolutely visit the 18-hole champion courses of both the Münster-Wilkinghege Golf Club and the Münster-Tinnen Golf Club. With an island green, many ponds and water hazards, the Brückhausen Golf Club in Everswinkel-Alverskirchen offers interesting play. However, it is a must to visit the 27 holes of the large golf course of the Rheine-Mesum Golf Sport Club located north of Münster between Steinfurt and Rheine. A top destination for golfers is the 18-hole championship course of the Vornholz Castle Golf Club near Ennigerloh-Ostenfelde which is characterised by trees which are up to 200 years old and the Westphalian moated castle in grandeur and tranquillity. Also to be recommended is the Westerwinkel Moated Castle Golf Club course in Ascheberg-Herbern which is considered to be prototypical for the Münsterland – castles, horses and golf in a magnificent elective affinity.

Teutoburger Wald: Romans – princes – golf

Eastern Westphalia stretches in the most extreme northeast from North Rhine-Westphalia between Minden in the North and the Sauerland in the south, the Münsterland in the west and the Weser in the east. The Teutoburger Wald represents the green backbone of eastern Westphalia. This region is above all known for the famous “Varus battle in the Teutoburger Wald” with Arminus the Cheruscan prince [commonly referred to as “Herman the German”]. In 9 A.D., the Germanic tribes destroyed three Roman legions here and thus ended Roman rule right of the Rhine. This is still immortalized today through the 54-metre-high Hermann Monument near Detmold. Traces of the Saxon duke Widukind – another famous historical figure of the region – can be found from the fight between the Saxons and the Franks in the eighth century as well as the history of Christianisation which is rich with conflicts. In addition to all these historical sites or those which promote health, there are magnificent golfing opportunities these days.

Not to be missed as the Teutoburger Wald Golf Club in Halle, Westphalia where tennis can also be combined with golf and the Widukind-Land Golf Club in Löhne where today golf clubs are swung instead of the swords previously upon historic ground.

But not only the Romans and Germanic tribes have left their traces in eastern Westphalia. The citizens subsequently built magnificent cities and the princes fairy tale castles. The fertility of this region made many farmers wealthy as can be seen today from impressive rural estates. An excursion to the one-time Imperial abbey Corvey leads into the religious, cultural and business centre of Saxony at the end of the first millennium. The land along the Teutoburger Wald has highly interesting cloisters, monasteries and cathedrals from the Middle Ages. The residences of bishops, numerous churches, abbeys and cloisters document the power of the church during the Middle Ages. Church fathers, nuns, monks and the Middle Ages likewise play a central role in the history of the place.

Bielefeld is considered to be the industrial and administrative centre of eastern Westphalia. Around Bielefeld, there are magnificent golf clubs in green. The Bielefeld Golf Club has the special feature of having only 13 holes. However, the Gütersloh Westphalian Golf Club has a veritable 18 holes. Embedded in a typically Westphalian park landscape are the 18 holes of the Marienfeld Golf Club between Harsewinkel and Gütersloh. The Schulten-Hof-Peckeloh Golf Club in Versmold is considered to be very sporting, only a few kilometres away.

An exciting theme and worth noting is the Hanse in the traditional cities such as Minden, Herford or Lemgo which have maintained the reminiscence upon the boom period of the Hanse through buildings that are worth a visit. This varied landscape is so rich in flora and fauna that precisely two nature parks have been created – the Northern Teutoburger Wald/Wiehengebirge and the Southern Teutoburger Wald/Eggegebirge.

Health and golf

Everywhere that the earth has opened up, springs bubble forth to daylight and thus make possible the basis for an extraordinary abundance of high-quality spas and therapeutic baths. This has brought the region the name “Germany’s Therapeutic Gardens”. Here one finds the 18 holes of the Bad Driburger Golf Club or the course of the Bad Salzuflen Golf and Country Club, which is near Teutoburger Wald. Near Bad Oeynhausen, one can play great golf at the Widukindland Golf Club and also visit the German Fairy Tale Museum.

The many theme routes provide further offerings for hiking, biking, golfing, education and culture. Included among these are particularly the Teutoburger Wald Wellness Biking Route as well as the Hermannshöhen Hiking Route. Worth seeing is also the Oldendorf Observatory which is equipped with an amateur telescope which has the strongest light in Europe. Here begins a “journey of planets”, which is accurately scaled to represent the distances from the planets to the sun. Every metre of this journey on foot corresponds to a million kilometres in the universe.

The Senne near Paderborn is a large region of woods and heaths. A portion of it has been used militarily for international manoeuvres. The Welschof Senne Golf Club, with 18 and 4 holes, is quite near the diocesan city of Paderborn, in Salzkotten-Thüle. The 18 and 3 holes of the Paderborn Country Golf Club are always worth a round of golf.

A visit to the Minden-Lübbecke Westphalian Mill Region provides the opportunity to experience mill romanticism and, at the same time, a romantic look back at the time at the turn of the century when windmills, watermills and Rossmühlen still ground grain for the daily bread. These days, the grinding and baking days in the summer are always a festival for visitors and locals. Combination trips are available by tourist boat, museum train and carriage trips are offered here as well as “mill hopping” with the motor roller. How would it be to rest under a windmill after a round of golf?

Living history – Golf in Xanten

Germanic tribes, Romans, French – Cologne upon the Rhine have had a magical appeal for all kinds of tourists for thousands of years. In the past 20 years, the golfers have been coming – with purely peaceful intentions. However, before we leave the cathedral “in Kölle”, we turn to the lower Rhine where the young Siegfried made quite a splash centuries ago when he “climbed down from his father’s fortress”, in order to go down the Rhine to conquer a dragon and then, through the aid of callous skin and a magic hood, captured a treasure and later a veritable princess in Worms. Xanten is rather introspective today.

It is not too far from Xanten upon the lower Rhine to Düsseldorf. Beginning here, “Old Father Rhine” is accompanied by golf courses upon the left and right (e.g., Düsseldorf-Hubbelrath, where the German Open was long held or the Kiawah Golf Club where Japanese investors welcome guests). In the Bergischen Land, east of Düsseldorf, lies Wuppertal which can still boast of the only cable suspension railway in the world. Not far from this cable suspension railway, in Sprockhövel, one comes upon a pearl of golf course architecture: The Juliana Golf Club, a very difficult mountainous course lying in a green tranquil paradise.

Back to the Rhine towards Düsseldorf where perhaps the Meerbusch Golf Club or fairways of the Myllendonk Castle Golf Club should be played. The 18-hole course of the Düsseldorf Golf Club was already constructed in 1961 and is recommended for playing pleasure in an occasionally hilly landscape for playing pleasure. Also to be recommended are the Erftaue Golf Club in Grevenbroich which is southwest of Düsseldorf and the Schmitzhof Golf and Country Club which lies further west behind Mönchengladbach which, owing to its sportiness and hospitality, is well-known far beyond the boundaries of the lower Rhine.

From the state capital city of Düsseldorf which is, at the same time, something of a golfing mecca, an extensive excursion into the Ruhrgebiet is not only permitted, but rather even urgently recommended – finally, its centre Essen has become a European cultural capital city.

In scarcely another large region as the Rhine-Ruhr area are there so many golf courses. We will mention a few in Essen, Bochum, Bottrop, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Witten: In Essen, this is the Essen-Heidhausen Golf Club. In addition, there are the Bochum Golf Club, the Dortmund Golf Club, Mühlheim an der Ruhr Golf Club, the Black Heath Bottrop-Kirchhellen Golf Club and the Wasserburg Anholt Golf Club. A special address is also the Moyland Castle Country and Golf Club with 18 holes located directly near a castle and the 18-hole championship course of the “Golf Park near the Moyland Castle” which is among the top courses in the region. In all of NRW, there are over 160 golf clubs. More than half are concentrated upon the Rhine-Ruhr region. Thus, one can play golf in almost every place – and guests are always welcome everywhere.

Also worth mentioning are the courses of the Elfrath Mill Golf Club near Krefeld, the Duvenhof Golf Club as well as the Neuenhof Golf Club in Fröndenberg.

Viva Colonia – also for golf

Now, however, let us return to the Rhine and then go up the river to the Carnival stronghold of Cologne where the cathedral has long looked down over the city. Together with Mainz and Trier, Cologne is the oldest city in Germany. People settled here over 5000 years ago. However, golfers have only played here since 1906. That is namely the year the Cologne Golf and Country Club was founded. The city on the Rhine, which is best praised with “Viva Colonia” not only has tradition, the cathedral and Carnival, but is one of the most culturally significant places and always worth a visit. Germanic tribes, Romans, French – Cologne on the Rhine have had a magical appear upon all kinds of tourists for many thousands of years. The golfers have been coming for the past three decades – for purely peaceful purposes. With its two 157-metre-high towers, the Cologne Cathedral has been the symbol of the city for centuries, one of the most well-known architectural structures in Germany and has also been designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. In general, Cologne is a city of churches. Like no other city, there are twelve large Romanesque collegiate churches and Minsters which are among the most significant in western Europe upon the narrow area within the medieval city walls. In the historic “Gürzenich”, the “Little Tavern of Cologne”, festivals of emperors, princes and townsmen were celebrated, but also coronation ceremonies, court sessions and Parliament meetings were held. There are the showy Carnival get-togethers today. Heinzelmännchenbrunnen – the saga of the hard-working helpers who take on a part of difficult work overnight for each townsman inspired a Schlesian popular poet with his poem about the “Heinzelmännchen of Cölln“.

Golf in and around “Kölle am Ring”

The Cologne Cathedral was built over 632 years. It only took a few decades at the end of the 20th century until a true golfing centre was developed from the city along the “Ring”. One can play at the Velderhof Golf & Country Club or at the Am Alten Fliess Golf Club which is one of the top courses in Germany and a member of the leading golf courses. Not to be forgotten are the Burg Konradsheim Golf Club, Marienburg Golf Club, the Leverkusen Golf Club, the Rhine Golf Club and the historic Cologne Golf & Country Club.

Only 15 minutes by car from the Cologne Cathedral or the Bonn inner city lies the Clostermanns Hof golf course. The course extends out into the Cologne Buch from the picturesque backdrop of the Siebengebirge [name of mountain range].

Fortresses and Bonn

Travelling up the Rhine, one comes upon Bonn-Bad Godesberg. Many fortresses now border the river. The Middle Rhine began here a long time ago where wine is not only drunk, but also grown. Robber barons lived in the fortresses from which most are now only in ruins. One of these robber barons, Rudolf von Habsburg, even became German Emperor in the 14th century.

Bowing to the diplomacy long located in Bonn – the city was the German capital city for almost 50 years – the Bonn International Golf Club was built which today is also open to tourists. This also applies and particularly for the Bonn-Bad Godesberg Golf Club.

The former Federal capital city has a long history, a unique museum landscape and last but not least music institutions which make the Beethoven City an ideal site for a cultural vacation that combines magnificently with golf. One can follow in the footsteps of Beethoven, experience historic Bonn with treasures from 2000 years of history, experience the nature and culture of the Siebengebirge or wander into the Voreifel. One need not travel far to discover the Ahr Valley or the romantic sides of the Rhine. Something to the south, the 27 holes of the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Golf Club await you, an athletically interesting and demanding course which extends far across the hilly landscape of the lower Ahr Valley. It is worth a visit in any case to the west of Bonn to the Zievel Fortress Golf Club. As the name already says, the Zievel fortress is a special attraction here because the backdrop of the fortress is visible from almost all fairways. In the Rhineland, the view is unique from the clubhouse terrace to both greens 9 + 18 which are to be played down a slope.

Finally, in North Rhine-Westphalia, one should make a sidestep to the west into the Eifel, above all to Aachen. The natural park of Eifel, an old volcanic landscape with a lot of forest, Maars, offers great natural experiences which may also be combined with golf in the Eifel Golf Club. Karl the Great fulfilled his dream of a “new Rome” with the construction of the palatinate chapel in 786 in Aachen. In the octagonal internal structure of the Aachen Cathedral, there stands the Marble Throne. The vault holds his mortal remains in the golden Karl Shrine as well as the gold-plated pulpit. From 936 to 1531, 30 German kings were crowned in the church. The cathedral was the first German architectural structure to be declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

And naturally, one can also play good golf in and around Aachen, where annually the “Orden wider den tierischen Ernst” [Medal Against Deadly Seriousness] is awarded, at the Aachen Golf Club. Thus, at least the conceptual definition of the medal is well used.