St. Petersburg is renowned as The Venice of the North, and is ranked among the most beautiful cities in the world. The second biggest Russian City with more than five million residents boasts a beautiful location at the estuary mouth of River Neva into the Baltic Sea.
With its grand palaces, beautiful parks, elegant channels, wonderful squares and world class museums the city attracts more than seven million visitors per year.
St. Petersburg, from 1921 through 1991 named Leningrad, is also worth a trip for golfers. Especially since in 2015 approximately 50 kilometers from the city center Gorki Golf & Resort opened the first 18-hole-course in the Oblast Leningrad, as the area around St. Petersburg is called.
The 6560 meter, par 72, championship golf course at Gorski Golf & Resort can accommodate golfers of all levels due to five different tee boxes on each hole.
From the black tees the course is a real challenge even for professionals, but provided you use the right tee the course is also fun to play for high handicappers.
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The course was designed by well-known Finnish golf course architect Lasse Pekka Tilander. The former top amateur and member of the Finnish national team has laid out more than twenty courses in five countries.
Among them master pieces like Pärnu Bay Golf Links in Estonia and Sand Valley in Poland. Tilander describes the Gorki course as an “inland links course” with wide fairways and large bunkers.
A lavish driving range, putting and pitching greens and three practice holes in combination with the golf academy lead by South African PGA Professional and Director of Golf, AJ Steyn, offer a chance to improve or fine tune your game.
In the spacious two-storied clubhouse guests find a well-stocked Pro Shop, a meeting room on the second floor and a playroom for children.
The restaurant serves Russian and international cuisine which can be enjoyed on two terraces looking out to either the 1st or 18th green.
