Golf in Slovenia, from Royal Bled to courses among the vines

Royal Bled, Slovenia’s best course

If you only play one, make it this. Yugoslavia’s Karađorđević kings were behind its founding in 1937, and it is the largest and oldest course in Slovenia. There are two layouts, the 18-hole King’s Course at 6,563 m and the 9-hole Lake’s Course at 3,047 m, with the Julian Alps and the Karawanks as backdrop. The club has a restaurant and rooms in King’s House and Lake’s House. The town and lake are covered under Bled.

Other 18-hole courses

The tourist board counts seven in all. Arboretum Volčji Potok, by the botanical garden, looks out to the Kamnik-Savinja Alps between ponds and pine woods. Diners Cubo Golf Ljubljana, in Smlednik, is a few minutes from the capital and runs transfers from hotels. The Otočec course sits beside Otočec and Struga castles on the Krka. Mokrice, below its medieval castle, runs through a 200-year-old English landscape park. Ptuj is a short walk from the old town, has been named the best-maintained course in the country several times and has a par 3 with an island green. And Livada at Moravske Toplice, next to Terme 3000, covers more than 50 hectares and has the longest hole in Slovenia and in Europe.

Scenic 9-hole courses

To me, this is the more original part. At Lipica you play in the heart of the Karst beside the world’s oldest Lipizzaner stud. At the Brdo estate near Kranj, the course blends into the castle park. Kranjska Gora crosses the Pišnica river several times with the Julian Alps in front. And Bovec, the highest course in the country, has 9 holes over 3,012 m, named after spots in the Soča Valley, between Kanin and the landscapes where The Chronicles of Narnia was filmed. Radenci by the spa, the Zlati Grič wine estate, the Amon estate at Olimje and the public course at Trnovo in Ljubljana complete the list.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Bled before prices climb.

Travelling with a non-golfer

At Trnovo, the tourist board says you can have a go with a qualified golfer even if it’s your first time. Bovec has footgolf, a cross between golf and football over 18 holes that takes about three hours in ordinary trainers, and it hosted a European championship in 2015.

How I’d plan a golf trip

For a golf trip, I’d spend a few nights in Bled for Royal Bled, Kranjska Gora and Brdo, then a few in the east for Ptuj, Livada and Mokrice, with spas and wine in between. If you’re coming for something else and want just one round, Bled, no question. To fill the other days, what to do in Slovenia gathers the other activities.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Bled and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Bled before prices climb.