And then, of the total number of European courses created by the Nicklaus Design company, at least half are in Great Britain and Ireland with most of the other half in Spain.

It's no big surprise, then, to learn that there is only one Nicklaus layout in all of Germany; and that's at Gut Larchenhof Golf Club.

It is also no surprise that is ranked as one of the top 100 clubs in the world for along with it's outstanding course and excellent driving range and practice facility that includes both practice bunkers and pitching and putting greens, its five-star clubhouse includes a wellness centre, three restaurants, showering facilities and a first class pro-shop.

It's 6,356 metre championship course is so highly rated that only a year after it opened in 1997, the prestigious German Masters; one of the leading events on the European Tour; moved to Gut Larchenhof from its former home at the Motzener See course near Berlin.

And it is certainly most fitting that Bernhard Langer, German's greatest-ever golfer and a man who has won the competition no fewer than four times, is promoting the tournament, now called the Mercedes Benz Championship, through his Langer Sport Marketing company until at least 2009.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE:

Jack Nicklaus designed Gut Larchenhof to conform to his philosophy that "Every golf course must be unique and must not punish a good golf stroke."

From it's championship tees it's 18-hole, par 72 layout is 6,356 metres (just on 7,000 yards) long and has a slope of 138.

The signitute hole, the 241-yard 8th, is one of the longest par three holes in Europe.

The tee shot is played over a couple of intimidating ponds to a relatively small green with a horseshoe-shaped bunker in front that catches any under-clubbed shots.

There are some members of the old school of golf who have described the layout at Gut Larchenhof as artificial, unnatural and less than subtle, but those critics probably live in a utopian world where earth moving and shaping does not have to be undertaken when fashioning a new, modern golf course.

HOLE BY HOLE TOUR

For a hole-by-hole, flyover tour of the Gut Larchenhof golf course as presented by the European Tour's official website, you should click here.

LOCATION:

The club is located at Pulheim-Stommeln at the gates of the economic powerhouses of Cologne and Duesseldorf and is on the western edge of the forest of Chorbusches in a quiet oasis with excellent transport

OTHER FACILITIES

Gut Larchenhof offers in its world class clubhouse:

- A first-class wellness centre with up-to-the-minute sauna and massage facilities

- Excellent wining and dining, either in its intimate gourmet restaurant, it's lively

bistro with club bar or at the dining area on its expansive terrace.

- Stylish rooms for club and business-meetings.

- A Pro shop offering the best in internationally-branded equipment and apparel and the hire of golf clubs, pull trolleys and golf cars.

GREEN CARD

The club requests on its official website that all members, prospective members and guests should be in possession of the so called "Green Card" which the German Golf Association gives to applicants who successfully undergo practical and theoretical examinations based on the way golfers should take care of the courses they play on and the importance of golfing etiquette.

CONTACT THE CLUB

Address:
Gut Larchenhof e.V.
Hahnenstrasse
Pulheim,
North Rhine-Westphalia
Germany, 50250

Phone:
02238 - 9 23 90-0.

Website:
http://www.gutlaerchenhof.de/