How three rejections turned into a cult club in the Königswinkel

A golf club with no course

Three times no

There is a small tag on the golf bag showing the silhouette of Neuschwanstein. Turn up with it on a course in Scotland or Portugal and someone will ask: you have a course at the castle? No. And that is exactly the story. Golfclub Neuschwanstein was founded in 1995 to build eighteen holes in Schwangau. Fifty-five people, a site in the Mühlberg district, a plan. The municipality decided against it. A second attempt via Schloss Bullachberg came to nothing. A third, ten kilometres away, did not work either. At some point the board made the decision that turned an ordinary club into an unusual one: we stop building. Thirty years on, the club is at home in Türkheim. In Ottobeuren. In Lechbruck, in Nesselwang. On twelve courses that belong to others.

“A club does not need its own course. It needs people who want to play.”

Golf ball with the Golf Club Neuschwanstein crest in the grass, flag on the green behind

The crest travels to every course

Ottobeuren, Türkheim, Lechbruck, Nesselwang: wherever the club plays, its mark lies in the grass. The ball carries it, the flag at the tee carries it, the tag on the bag carries it — only the course belongs to someone else.

Thirty years without a green of its own

Four attempts, three rejections and one decision that changed everything.

1990

The idea

Golfers and golf enthusiasts from the region want a course within sight of the castle. Five years of planning, calculating and negotiating follow.

1995

The founding

Fifty-five interested people enter Golfclub Neuschwanstein into the register of associations. The goal is clear: eighteen holes in Schwangau’s Mühlberg district.

Shortly after

The rejections

The municipality of Schwangau decides against construction. A second attempt via Schloss Bullachberg, where a hotel with a golf course was considered, also fails.

Around 2000

The third attempt

A project ten kilometres from Schwangau fails because not all landowners agree. After that the board decides: no more attempts to build.

Today

At home with the neighbours

Türkheim becomes the first sporting home. A close friendship with the Allgäuer Golf- und Landclub in Ottobeuren follows, where the tournaments are held. Plus twelve partner clubs where members play at a reduced green fee.

The club in numbers

1995

founded

as an association in Schwangau

founding members

who set out to build eighteen holes

rejected course projects

Mühlberg, Bullachberg and a third attempt

courses of its own

and still in the game after three decades

partner clubs

with reduced green fees for members

25 €

annual fee

apply directly with the club

players at the summer tournament

fully booked in 2026, fourteen of them new members

450+

members

from four nations, according to the club

The silhouette in the crest

The club has no clubhouse, no driving range, no green of its own. What it does have is a crest: the castle inside a blue ring, a piece of fairway below it. You find it on the flag at the tee, on the ball, on the bag tag — and it creates a recognisability that larger clubs might well envy. Members play with it on courses far beyond the Allgäu, and someone always asks about the castle. They are happy to tell you themselves that the club never got its course. It is the better story.

Green jacket, green hat

Twice a year it gets serious. A team scramble in summer, where handicaps matter less than everyone sitting at one table afterwards. The club championship in Ottobeuren in autumn. The winner wears a green jacket; the women’s champion receives a green hat. Plus categories you will not find elsewhere: alongside longest drive and nearest to the pin there is nearest to the beer crate. Allgäu snacks wait at the halfway house, beer at the 19th hole. The 2026 summer tournament was fully booked, eighty-eight players, fourteen of them new members. And whatever is left at the end of a tournament does not stay in the club: surpluses and earmarked donations go to social projects in the region — in 2025 to a children’s hospice in Bad Grönenbach.

Not a plot of land. A group.

Summer tournament 2026, fully booked: eighty-eight players, fourteen of them for the first time. At the end they line up behind the banner the club puts up wherever it is a guest.

Golf ball in the grass of a fairway, conifers and mountains backlit behind

And if you want to play yourself?

Twelve courses, one membership, 25 euros a year. We reserve the tee time, pack the lunch for your round and tell you beforehand which course is playing best. What you need for it is right below — openly, including the part about the green fee.

See our golf days

What golfers want to know first

Membership of Golfclub Neuschwanstein is the key to the reduced green fees. The essentials up front, answered openly.

Yes. To use the benefits at the partner clubs you must present a currently valid DGV card from your home club with a registered handicap. Golfclub Neuschwanstein does not administer handicaps itself — the membership is additional to your existing one, not a replacement.

No. We reserve your tee time, you pay the green fee directly at the course — at the reduced rate as a member. That keeps the price of the package honest, and you decide how often you play.

To the golf days

Directly with the club. The annual fee is 25 euros and you apply via the club’s own website. Best to sort it out before you book — then the discount is in place when you reach the first tee. If anything is unclear, tell us and we will walk you through it.

Golfclub Neuschwanstein

Twelve of them: Ottobeuren, Wittelsbacher, Auf der Gsteig, Zieglers, Altmühlgolf Beilngries, Alpenseehof, Augsburg, Schloss Igling, Gut Ludwigsberg, Wiggensbach, Klingenburg und Stenz. They lie between the Allgäu and the Altmühl valley — some are a short drive away, others a day trip. Ask us which one is playing best right now and what suits your days here.

No. The room is yours regardless. You only need the membership for the reduced green fee at the partner clubs — the part that makes the golf days good value.

Our golf days at Neuschwanstein

Our Golf Days at Neuschwanstein

369€p.p.

Our golf days at Neuschwanstein

“Four nights, three rounds — you pick the course”

We reserve the tee time, pack the lunch for your round and share the tips over a welcome drink that you will not find in any course guide. Tee off in the morning, wind down on the terrace in the evening. The green fee is paid at the course.

4 nights11 Aug – 8 NovArrival recommended on Sundays

Welcome drink with tips from the house

Arrive, toast, and hear which course is playing best today.

4 nights in a standard double room

Four nights for three golf days, with a day to settle in.

4 × Allgäu breakfast buffet

Regional and hearty, early enough for the first tee time.

3 × Schweiger's lunch package for your round

Sandwich of your choice, fruit, cereal bar and water to take along.

Sauna, steam bath & exercise pool

Soothing recovery after your round.

Tee time reservation at a partner club

We book ahead for you – the green fee is paid at the course.

Membership of Golfclub Neuschwanstein: €25 a year

Arranged directly with the club – handicap or DGV card required, the club administers none itself.

Twelve partner courses to play

Ottobeuren · Wittelsbacher · Auf der Gsteig · Zieglers · Beilngries · Alpenseehof · Augsburg · Schloss Igling · Gut Ludwigsberg · Wiggensbach · Klingenburg · Stenz

Five things that make the difference

Small things we have learned from guests who golf from here regularly.

The 25 euros are quickly done, but not in five minutes. Sort it out beforehand and you play at the reduced green fee from day one.
Without a valid card showing a registered handicap there is no discount at the partner club’s desk. It belongs in the bag like your gloves.
The earlier we know when you want to play, the better the slot. On weekends the mornings go first.
Twelve courses sound like choice, and they are. But the finest course helps little if you spend two hours in the car. We will sort them by distance for you.
After eighteen holes a walk through the Faulenbacher Valley does more for your legs than a deck chair. The path starts at the hotel door.