St. John Golf Resort includes the following facilities:
- 18-hole golf course (2x9 holes) PAR 72 (2x36)
- Front nine, Rabyňská hora, PAR 36, with a unique composition of 3 par 3s, 3 par 4s and 3 par 5s, with a length of 2691 m from the men’s amateur (yellow) tees.
- Back nine, Tři kříže, PAR 36, 2 par 3s, 5 par 4s and 2 par 5s, with a length of 2 745 m
- Putting green with a break and an area of 1,000 sq. m., 9 holes
- Chipping green with a break, two bunkers and a green with an area of 400 sq. m, 3 holes
- 6-hole Par 3 public course
Course description:
The course is naturally incorporated into the landscape. Its design takes advantage of the natural terrain, resulting in a desirable variety of landscaping and playing difficulty. The course should satisfy even the most demanding players in terms both of perception of the landscape and of the game itself. All 18 holes are very compact with short transitions between the holes. The course has a total length of 5,400 metres from the men’s amateur (yellow) tees. The entire course requires no more than 5 hours – it is relatively short and requires good technique.
Front nine - Rabyňská hora (Rabyně Mtn.):
The first nine holes are player-friendly, slightly hilly, with wide fairways and well-modelled greens (on an average, around 500 sq. m. in size), giving the course a modern “links” feel. The landscape, into which the course is naturally incorporated, provides numerous magnificent views of the surrounding hilly countryside, the nearby Hrdlička nature reserve and the Slapy reservoir. The course provides a great golfing experience both for beginners and for players with lower handicaps. The first nine holes have a unique 3+3+3 composition – 3 par 3s, 3 par 4s and 3 par 5s. The course design naturally utilises numerous bunkers, as well as blackthorn bushes and two water hazards. The greens, their surroundings, fairways and tees are fully irrigated.
The front nine is named after the hill with a garden house – Rabyně Mtn. – where the first green is located. In the opinion of the course director and HeadPro, Radek Wagner, the most interesting of the first nine holes is hole No. 7 – par 4, 279 metres from men’s and 244 metres from women’s tees. “This dogleg left is a classical example of a heroic-strategic hole. Very long players can venture to attack the green with the first shot – approximately 260 metres downhill. However, there are several traps in front of the green. First a large thick blackthorn bush, where you would be very lucky to find your ball, followed by two deep bunkers right in front of the green. Players who prefer a more careful strategy will play a 200-metre long shot downhill to lay up in the dogleg, followed by an 80-metre approach to the green – however, here again they have to avoid the bunkers. This hole can be considered a great example of a signature hole…”.
Back nine – Tři kříže (Three Crosses):
This part of the course again offers great views and vistas of the surrounding forests, the valley in front of the Slapy reservoir and the villages of Slapy and Přestavlky. Someone who has played the Rabyně Mtn. course can again look forward to friendly, wide open fairways and greens modelled with great care. Particularly the green belonging to the fourteenth hole, where each of the six pin positions has its own tier, will test your ability to read greens. On the other hand, you can relax and regain your strength on the seventeenth fairway, while negotiating spectacular stone walls interspaced with cleared grass patches. The great job done by our greenkeeper, Vojtěch Fuchs, and his assistant, Jakub Lohman, is then crowned by the 18th green – most of the green was cut out from the rock.
The second nine holes feature the shortest hole, the par-3 thirteen, 105 m from the men’s tees, and then arguably the toughest hole of the entire course, the par-4 ten, 340 meters long the men’s tees. The fourteenth hole will surely be a challenge for aggressive players – the green of this dogleg left can be reached in one by a 230-metre drive carrying over a small water hazard. The green is located on a high bank, with out-of-bounds being approximately 15 metres beyond the green. Vojtěch Fuchs points out holes Nos. 12 and 13. “You will surely enjoy yourself here – 12 is the first of the two par 5s on the second nine – a dogleg right with a bunker in the corner and the whole length of the second part next to a forest. The twelfth hole is followed by the shortest hole, which is just 500 metres away from the landmark that gave its name to the second half of the course – the Three Crosses, the alleged geographic centre of the Czech Kingdom. The greens, their surroundings, fairways and tees are fully irrigated. Distribution of holes in Three Crosses: 2 par 3s, 5 par 4s and 2 par 5s.
Important landmarks:
- the top of the Rabyně Mtn. near the 1st and 6th greens – to the north and south, the Slapy reservoir, and views of the hilly landscape of the central Vltava region
- the 10th tee and the 18th green are located next to each other on a slope; the green was cut out from the rock – they form an entire “new landscape”
The course covers an area of approx. 55 hectares. Also in view of safety and architectural requirements, the total lengths of the holes from the individual tees are as follows: 5775, 5410, 4995, 4645 m. The greens have an average area of 500 sq. m.
The greens, their surroundings, tees and fairways are fully irrigated. The irrigation water is drawn from the lake between holes 4 and 5, which is replenished by water pumped from the Slapy reservoir.
The course as seen by its architect, Jiří Velden:
The first nine holes are currently quite straightforward and friendly for both beginners and advanced players. However, the difficulty of the course will need to be increased in the future in order to prepare it for more advanced tournaments. A few new bunkers will be built within 2 to 3 years and lower and higher vegetation will also be planted in various areas. There is a good old rule for golf courses: A course is never quite finished. We can look forward to the spring when the new clubhouse should be opened together with the remaining part of the golf course.
Compared to the first nine holes, the second part will be somewhat more demanding. Particularly the first and last holes will be distinctive due to the elevation difference and greater difficulty as far as the driving distances are concerned. The very first tee of the second nine, the 10th, is located on a slope above a valley. Otherwise, the second half of the course has a standard length and distribution of holes. Holes Nos. 10 to 18 are spread out over an area of 25 hectares. The tenth and eighteenth holes are situated in the close vicinity of the ninth hole. The second half of the course now seems to be hidden for the players. It is separated from the first nine holes by continuous vegetation along the road that borders on the entire ninth hole. I recommend the players to go and view the landscape from a spot between the 10th tee and the 18th green – both can be found on the other side of the road.
