The Streif – it is the holiest strip of ski racing real estate on the planet – a place where heaven and hell occupy the same space in late January every year when the world’s fastest and bravest downhillers test their mettle on it’s steep slopes at a spine tingling race called the Hahnenkamm.
It is a bucket list location for all true lovers of ski racing, but when the summer sun melts the snow, and turns the Streif into lush green alpine pastures, this stunning slice of paradise transforms into one of the most breathtakingly scenic golf courses in the world.
A dream destination on my golfing bucket list for years, I finally got to play it this past September when I made my way to Kitzbühel, the home of The Hahnenkamm (which is German for “rooster’s comb”) during a grand tour of the Alps. But the magnificent Hahnenkamm golf course, who’s real name is Red Bull Golf am Rasmushof, wasn’t the only track I played while in Kitzbühel, which was the seventh and final stop on my “Best of the Alps” golf tour through Italy, France, Switzerland, and Austria. This storied ski town has three other spectacular golf courses, and I got to play them all with local friends who, like me, are ski and golf junkies. Here then is a recap of my time on the links in Kitzbühel, with a few extra bits of info on where to stay and dine while in the area.
GOLFING IN KITZBÜHEL
Red Bull Golf am Rasmushof
Located right next to the famed Red Bull “Zielhaus” (Finish House) at the bottom of the Streif, on a very choice parcel of the ski racing world’s holiest of Holy Lands, this fabulous, rock and rolling 9-hole, par-27 track is one of the funnest golf courses you’ll ever play.
With magnificent views of the nearby Wilder Kaiser mountain range, the first four holes of the course take you up and down a series of challenging par-3s as you wind your way back onto the sacred ground of the Streif for the last five holes. Ski racing fans will get an extra kick out of the hole markers as each one is named after a famous section of the Streif. Holes two and three are called “Mausefalle” (mousetrap) and “Steilhang” (steep slope) – two of the most gut-challenging and iconic sections of the Hahnenkamm race course, but oddly enough the most testing part of the Red Bull golf course s hole No. 7 – named “Lärchenschuss” which is one of the Streif’s less treacherous sections.
“This course is an absolute must if you’re a ski racing fan who loves golf, you must tick it off your your bucket list,” my long time friend Tony Dunne, a legend of Kitzbühel nightlife scene who tends bar at Flannigans Sports Bar, one of Kitzbühel’s most popular watering holes, tells me just before we tee off on the dreaded 7th hole.
“This hole is just below the final jump on the Streif, and is basically do or die, so not necessarily my favorite. If you hit the green you’re good to go, but if you miss the green to the right your ball will roll back down the hill a very long way, and you’ll be doing a lot of uphill climbing after your second shot. I usually end up doing a lot of walking on this hole,” Dunne adds with a laugh before hitting a perfect 160-yard downhill shot onto the green, setting up an impressive two-putt par.
I unfortunately bounce my ball off the side of the green, and then watch it plummet down the hill toward the Streif’s finish line faster than Cyprien Sarrazin or Marco Odermatt on a good day. After a decent approach shot, and a long, sweaty climb up the race course I make bogey and smile as I walk on the tracks of my ski racing heroes, something I’ll never forget, and can’t wait to do again!
