Six months - that is the entire golfing season at Oberzwieselau, owing only in part to its altitude of about 700 meters. This part of Bavaria is heavily forested and rather damp, which, coupled with the short growing season, is not ideal for golf. However, in good weather the region is great fun and so is the course.

As can be expected in this very hilly and occasionally mountaineous area, the terrain is quite undulating and provides a number of spectacular holes. The views are sometimes restricted by trees, but the golf is not: most fairways are seriously wide. Unfortunately this width does not always provide strategic interest, because on most holes the ground game is not a factor. Competetive golfers might deem the course too easy because of that, while recreational players will love the forgiveness.

After a couple of neatly presented holes to ease the player into the round, the rollercoaster goes into full throttle with the 4th and lets up only very slightly after that. There are no mundane holes to be found, but variety suffers a bit from the fact that three par 3s of similar length will put a wooden club into the hands of the average hitter. The greens are rather slow, so they could use a few more undulations and some of the artificial ponds don't add nearly as much interest as a meandering burn that appears on almost every other hole.

It's a fun track, very playable in the summer, no major shortcomings and no pretense of greatness either - with the possible exception of tranquility, where it scores very highly indeed.