Golf around Baiersbronn

Golf and the Black Forest may sound like opposites at first, but the two go back a surprisingly long way. As early as the late 1920s, golfing pioneers laid out their first holes in the mountain air of the northern Black Forest. Today golfers benefit twice over from the setting, with fairways between mature trees and a climate that stays pleasantly cooler in summer than in the Rhine valley.

For guests in Obertal, the greens are closer than you might think. The nearest 18-hole course is waiting just the other side of the mountain in Freudenstadt.

Golf Club Freudenstadt is one of the oldest clubs in Germany. Founded in 1929 and extended to 18 holes in 1992, the course lies in park-like grounds with mature trees, just a few minutes from the town's large market square. It plays as a par 71 over 5,603 metres from the men's tees and 4,918 metres from the ladies' tees. The atmosphere is calm and pleasantly unhurried.

Hole 11 is notorious and loved in equal measure. The tee shot drops down into a valley with a narrow landing zone. Woodland threatens on the left, a stream on the right, and anyone who plays too boldly finds their ball in the wetland. It is a hole that reliably comes up in conversation at the 19th hole.

If you like to collect courses on holiday, you will not have to look far around the northern Black Forest. In Baden-Baden you play one of the longest-established courses in the country, on hilly ground above the rooftops of the spa town, and the Kinzig valley near Alpirsbach has its own golf course too. For ambitious rounds, it is even worth looking across the Rhine. The courses in Alsace are within easy reach for a day trip.

That way a golfing week can be put together in which no course appears twice, with the Schwarzwaldhochstraße, the Black Forest High Road, as the finest stretch of road between rounds.

The altitude sets the calendar. The season traditionally runs from April into late autumn, and in high summer the early tee times are the most pleasant. Green fee players should reserve their tee time in advance, as the good morning slots are in demand at weekends in particular.

Newcomers without a handicap are catered for too. The region's clubs offer taster courses, with golf clubs and patience both supplied. And at Engel Obertal, golf is a fixed part of the activity programme. Reception helps with tee times and arrangements, so that everything from the tee shot to the sauna fits together.

The real argument for golf here is the combination. 18 holes in the parkland in the morning, a loop through the Wanderhimmel hiking trails in the afternoon, or straight into Wolke 7. A shoulder stiff from the drive will thank you for it.

If you only flirt with the sport on holiday, you are still doing everything right. Nine holes in the morning, a snack at a hut, a dip in the natural swimming lake. There are worse ways to structure a Black Forest day.