Situated 3,000 feet above Lake Lucerne, the newly renovated golf course at Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne, Bürgenstock Alpine Golf, opened for play last week. Besides enjoying a new challenging course, guests at Switzerland's newest luxury resort will have views of some of the Swiss Alps famed peaks: the Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, Stanserhorn and Buochserhorn.
Built in 1928, the original nine-hole alpine course was carved out of the rock and granite cliffs. Soil was taken from the crevasses of a former glacier and stone from the excavated cliffs. In 2013, Stadler Golf Courses, Germany's preeminent golf course design firm, teamed up with Sommerfeld, another German firm known for its course construction, to undertake a comprehensive re-design while maintaining some of the course's signature feature, including the surrounding beech and spruce trees, and large rock outcroppings.
A new course layout was curated to make play more challenging; tees, fairways and greens were rebuilt; two water hazards were introduced; and new trees were added. In its continuing effort to be sustainable, the resort requested that excavation materials be re-purposed for the course's construction. Throughout the course, a sustainable irrigation system was introduced and modern drainage was installed. Water is being extracted from the resort's cooling and heating water system and recycled to be used again.
After a round of golf, guests can head to the Golf Restaurant, which serves seasonal Swiss dishes as well as classics like Caesar salad, beef tartar and a wagyu golf burger. Golfers can choose to dine on the terrace in a beer garden ambiance or, in cooler weather, sit by the fire inside.
Greens fees for hotel guests start at CHF70 (about $71) for nine holes on weekdays and go up to CHF110 (about $111) for 18 holes on the weekends.
The Bürgenstock Resort will open for guests this summer.