Golfing Destinations Hungary: There are still only six courses in the country, but Declan Murray was impressed
The Irish are everywhere, of course, so it should perhaps come as no surprise they are in Hungary. What is a surprise is to find them in Hungary's small, but burgeoning, golf industry.
Yet there they are. When you arrive at Pannonia Golf and Country Club near Budapest, you will find that Bill Deegan is the head professional. At European Lakes, in the south of the country, they go one better: your host, and one of the co-owners, is one Willie O'Brien.
Like many Eastern bloc countries, Hungary has undergone radical change since 1990. Many Western companies have flooded in, seeing the possibilities of new markets, but it is only in recent years that Hungary has seen the potential of golf.
Up to now, their tourist industry has been based around thermal spas or watersports in the Lake Balaton region, and while that has proved attractive, particularly to visitors from Germany, in golf they see the potential to expand their tourist base.
There are only six 18-hole courses in the country and only 1,000 club members. But many more developments are in the pipeline, and what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality.
We can vouch for the fact that at least four of the courses are well worth a visit and, with Malev Hungarian Airlines now providing a daily service direct from Dublin to Budapest, getting there is no longer a problem.
And, for what one hotel manager described as the "vivid golfer", there is also the bonus that Malev's departure times (07.55 from Dublin, 18.40 from Budapest) mean that you could play on both the day of your arrival and your departure.
Budapest itself is a major attraction for a golfing trip. Instead of being based in some faceless, apartment block resort, you will be in one of the most beautiful and historic cities in Europe. Whether culture, shopping or nightlife is your thing, you will find it in Budapest.
Another advantage of staying in Budapest is that, at the moment, Hungary represents very good value (€20 will get a three-course meal with wine). But the country joins the EU next May and the single currency in 2006 or 2007, so the bargains may not last for ever.
But, assuming golf is your interest, you'll be anxious to get out to Pannonia, likely to be your first port of call, and you won't be disappointed. The name itself is synonymous with quality. When the Romans invaded the area that is now Hungary, they only went as far as the Danube, which divides the country into East and West. They named that western province Pannonia, and so impressed were they by the local wine that they decreed it to be the only area in the empire, outside of Italy, which could produce wine.
The wine is still good and so is the golf. Almost half of the country's club members are in Pannonia, which is a well-designed (by Austrian Hans Georg Erhardt), well-maintained course, with big, nicely-contoured greens (in excellent condition), set in rolling countryside on land occupied by the Habsburg family as a weekend retreat around 1845.
Attractive holes abound. The eighth is a deceptive par three. At just 157 yards and playing downhill, you don't need a lot of club but you do need a lot of accuracy. Anything long or left is in trees or out of bounds, anything short or right is in water. A little sliding fade would be the ideal shot as the green slants to the right.
The ninth is a quite magnificent par five, a genuine three-shotter, with danger on each of the three phases. At 565 yards off the back tees, water menaces the drive left and bunkers cut in from the right. Then you face a choice. Unless you've hit your Sunday best, you're going to be laying up short of water that runs up to 90 yards short of the green. Even then you have to be careful, as anything leaking right will leave you blocked out by a tall tree for your third, and, when you do play your approach, the green is also guarded by water on the right.
Another reminder of home comes at the 17th which bears an uncanny resemblance to the 17th at Druids Glen, i.e., a par three to an island green. This one is a little shorter at "only" 145 yards, but still intimidating for the mortal among us.
Another course within easy reach of Budapest is at Old Lake near Tata. This is set in a converted hunting estate, which used to belong to the Eszterhazy family, and has a lovely, mature parkland feel to it, not unlike some of the better inland courses here.
While not as obviously a championship course as Pannonia, Old Lake has its challenges. Although it is considerably shorter and can be played off the back tees, it is tight and you needn't go running away with the idea that you'll be using driver at every hole. There are lots of trees and plenty of water hazards, too.
The layout has some strong holes, including the ninth and 18th. Both are long par fours. At the 424-yard ninth you have to thread your drive through out of bounds left and a hazard right, then you need a long iron or fairway metal to a well-guarded green.
The 400-yard 18th is a lovely closing hole with a very challenging drive through trees, where a little fade would help, and then you are faced with a medium to long iron to a green surrounded by trees and with out of bounds just over the back in front of the clubhouse.
The course features two horseshoe shaped par fives, the 13th and 17th - nice holes, but both which contain the only irritations of an enjoyable round in the form of internal out of bounds (inside the horseshoe) which should really just be ground under repair.
If you were just going to Hungary for a long weekend or three- to four-day break, it's likely you would confine yourself to the above two courses, which would be a pity because you would miss out on two other excellent layouts at Birdland, in the west, and European Lakes, in the south.
As you travel to both courses, you will be reminded of, well, Ireland. Hungary is very green and relatively flat, but there are differences. Such as fields upon fields of vines, and people selling water melons by the side of the road, which suggest that Hungary's summers are somewhat warmer and drier than Ireland's.
Both Birdland and European Lakes offer top quality accommodation as well as golf. Birdland, at Buk, a spa resort, is surrounded by hotels, but the course, which is owned by the Radisson group, will get its own 207-bed, five-star hotel this autumn.
Birdland was Hungary's first championship course when it opened in 1993 and it remains a demanding test. It is like a lot of stadium type championship courses here (Druids or K Club) with plenty of mounds and plenty of water.
At Birdland, you'll meet another horseshoe par five, the 525-yard fourth, though this time the centre of the horseshoe is filled not with trees but with a large expanse of water. A brave line off the tee, tight to the water on the left will leave the green on in two.
This is a well-designed course (Gerold Hauser) with a lot of difficulty in it. Water comes into play on 11 holes, and the greens, while not of the quality of Pannonia or European Lakes, are full of subtle slopes.
Other standout holes are the par four third and the two short but deadly par threes, the seventh and 15th, 165 and 140 yards respectively, where the flagsticks seem to stand in a sea of tall reeds that are a feature of the course and mark out the lurking hazards.
When we arrived at European Lakes, owner Willie O'Brien joked that "he was busy cutting the grass", and certainly he has reason enough to be busy as they are developing two further championship courses and a golf academy at the converted hunting estate set in the rolling hills of the Zselic Natural Reserve.
Well, whoever is cutting the grass at European Lakes is doing a good job. The course's own literature invokes comparison with Augusta, and while that is certainly a leap of imagination, the greens at the course are wonderfully true and lightning quick.
The signature hole here is the 385-yard par four 15th, where you drive from an elevated tee across a valley to a plateau fairway, and then play steeply downhill to a green bordered by water on three sides. The 412-yard fourth is another striking hole, a downhill dogleg right to a green tucked in behind a water hazard on the left.
The whole complex at European Lakes, near the Mediterranean-style city of Pecs, is most impressive, and clearly no expense has been spared in converting the hunting lodge into luxurious guest suites and bedrooms.
As well as Irish entrepreneurs, some Irish golf tourists have already discovered the country. Peter Javorkai, managing director of Special Tours Hungary, says: "We have had quite a few Irish tour groups, usually travelling around Easter, St Pat's weekend and other major holidays. However, most of our guests from Ireland are weekend city break travellers staying two to four nights (usually arriving on Thursday or Friday and leaving on Sunday."
The company offers a range of weekend or week-long packages, and can be contacted by email at special@spectours.ie
Perhaps after all it's not so much of a surprise to find the Irish in these parts, for we are known to have a nose for a good thing, and golf in Hungary has the potential to be a very good thing.
