Thracian Cliffs - Gary Players' masterpiece on the Black Sea

Multiple major winner Gary Players has designed numerous, often exceptional golf courses around the world. Thracian Cliffs on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast nevertheless occupies an exceptional position and is considered by many to be "Europe's Pebble Beach". The course became famous not least due to the teeshot by professional golfer Nicolas Colsaerts during the Volvo World Matchplay 2013, when the Belgian played his teeshot on hole 10, a short Par 4, directly into the toilet block on the left. In general: the course chiseled out of the rocks of the Thracian coast by Players is quite ball-consuming, especially on the first round, so you should take an appropriate supply with you on the round. Due to the numerous differences in altitude, the round is completed by cart.

Thracian Cliffs - Along the Black Sea coast

The first nine holes run almost entirely along the coast. The following therefore applies to almost all holes: don't stop too far to the right, as the ball will tend to disappear towards the sea. The fact that the course is not only beautiful, but also very difficult, can already be seen on hole 2. The Par-5 is considered the most difficult hole of the entire round, starts with a blind teeshot uphill and has a heavily undulating Fairway. The same applies to all holes: the greens are large, difficult, fast and surrounded by challenging bunkers. Hole 3 offers great views from the elevated tees and a green that is offset to the right towards the sea. Perhaps the most beautiful section of the round - in any case a particularly spectacular one - is introduced by the short par-3 on hole 5, which is played over a hollow and the terrain slopes clearly to the right towards the coast. Hole 6, also a Par-3, is undoubtedly the signature hole. The tees are up to 40 meters above the green, which borders the white rocks of the coast on the left, with the Black Sea lurking to the right and behind. Hole 7, a Par-4, is best known for its tee shot from a small island in the sea. Interestingly, this is the middle of the five tee boxes per hole, so you should at least take a look towards the Fairway, as you need at least 170 meters of carry to get there. But that's not all: the green is significantly elevated, so you have to play the approach almost blind. The stretch of fairways bordering directly on the sea ends with a short, narrow Par-4 on the eighth hole.

The back nine is one level higher

On the ninth hole, the direction of play changes - and with it often the direction of the wind. The majority of the course now heads back towards the clubhouse. You therefore play one level higher, as the fairways are laid out above the front nine. This also means that there is now a threat of trouble on the left-hand side in particular and most of the holes on this side drop steeply. Players has used the gain in altitude to create beautiful courses with height differences. Sometimes it goes downhill from elevated tees and then uphill again, sometimes the entire fairway runs up or down - there are rarely any flat fairways. The Par-4 on hole 11 leads away from the clubhouse for the last time, after which the beautiful and challenging path back to the start begins. One of the most beautiful holes is the 12th with wonderful views of the sea and the coast. The thirteenth green is also wonderfully exposed with an unobstructed view of the water. The up to 454-metre long par-4 on hole 16 is the second most difficult hole of the round, where a Bogey often feels like a Par. On hole 17, a pond comes into play on the left shortly before the green, so you should stay to the right here. For the final par-3, this pond must be played over towards the slightly elevated green that hangs towards the pond - a beautiful and challenging finish.

Dive after the round

After the round, you can use the free shuttle from the clubhouse to Argata Beach and either mourn the balls lost to the Black Sea on the beach at sea level or simply enjoy the weather, the scenery and life.