Golf Resort Konopistë
We are some friends that like to play golf and we have now gotten the ambition to play golf in different places in different countries. We take turn in arraging and deciding where we are going.
This was a trip arranged by my friend Marc who initially asked us how we felt by playing golf in Czech Republic. Being a new country we all were immediately in for it. He had identified the Golf Resort Konopiste as our goal for the trip. Flights to Prague from Brussels were fairly cheap and it wouldn’t take us that long to get there.
The Golf Resort Konopiste was supposed to one the best in close range of Prague which all of us also would like to spend some time in.
We had an early flight out from Brussels and the plane left on time at 6.30 am. The flight conditions were apparently very good because we landed 10 min before scheduled. We got the luggage and found the car rental after some walk in the airport. I always bring my GPS which makes it easy to find the way around in new places. We had a tee off at 12.15 and had calculated it would take us an hour to reach the Konopiste Golf Resort.
When we arrived in the area of the golf course we were taken by the beauty of the area, it reminded us all about the Ardennes. We found the parking at the castle which contained the Golf Club House. We checked into some very nice rooms which actually were at the sizes of apartments, all of us were impressed.
The golf club had two courses and we were playing the Radecky first, which were a nice par 72. We immediately liked it and we had a very good afternoon. It took us 4½ hour to play the 18 holes and some lost balls.
The last couple of holes we all could taste the Czech beers which were waiting at the 19th hole. We had a couple of beers and then took a break for a couple of hours before we would join for dinner later that evening.
Golf Resort Konopiste offers 3 apartments and 45 double rooms and the hotel is in service throughout all year. The hotel is situated 45 km south of Prague and was inaugurated July 20th 2002. The hotel and golf course is based on the Manor Estate of Tvorsovice, whose history dates back to the 10th century. The last owner, the Barton family, used it as a summer residence.
Golf Konopiště a.s. entered into the project in 1997 and built up a resort which has two great 18-hole master courses, which we had the luck to play on. These are the Radecky Course bearing the name of one of the former owners, famous marshal of Napoleonic Wars Václav Radecky of Radeč, and the D’Este Course named after Archduke Ferdinand d’Este, successor to the Austrian Throne.
The courses are following a landscape with slight slopes, which is surrounded by the forest and includes various bunkers and numerous water barriers, in which we lost some balls. One of the great things about these courses is the modelled greens, which are both large and difficult. The entire resort was built up in cooperation with the Professional Golfers Association of Europe, PGA.
The centre piece is the beautiful, renovated chateau with reception, pro-shop and a restaurant which served great food. We had the diner here the first evening and we were more that satisfied with food we got; amongst a lot of good dishes they serve a gorgeous foie gras. The waiters were kind and smiling and they were also quiet swift. Besides the restaurant in the castle / club house they have a steak house which we didn’t try.
The room were very large and great. It was one of the better rooms I have had in a long time. The bathroom was both nice and large with a huge tub which I enjoyed after the game.
In all I will say that Golf Resort Konopiště is a great place to go, and I wouldn’t consider it twice to go back again
