The only Royal golf club outside the Commonwealth. A Gary Player-designed course. Three UNESCO spa towns celebrating a landmark anniversary. West Bohemia is one of Europe's most extraordinary golf destinations and 2026 is the year to discover it.

Most golfers planning a European trip think of Portugal, Spain or Scotland. Very few think of West Bohemia. That is precisely what makes it worth their attention.

The West Bohemia Golf Pass offers access to five carefully selected courses within approximately one hour's drive of each other, set against UNESCO-listed spa towns, medieval castles and some of the most distinctive post-round wellness in Europe. Here are ten reasons why West Bohemia belongs on every golfer's radar in 2026.

1. Five exceptional courses, one pass
   The West Bohemia Golf Pass gives golfers flexible access to five partner courses, Royal Golf Club Mariánské Lázně, Golf Resort Karlovy Vary, Cihelny Golf & Wellness Resort, Golf Resort Františkovy Lázně and Golf Sokolov. Each with its own distinct character. Choose to play two, three, four or all five, and book tee times directly with each club. The pass is valid for 365 days from purchase and can be bought online or at any of the participating resorts. 
2. Five years of UNESCO World Heritage status and the celebrations are happening now
   2026 marks five years since the Great Spa Towns of Europe was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 24 July 2021, and special events are planned across the network to mark the anniversary. All three West Bohemia spa towns, Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně are founding members of that inscription. Nowhere else in Europe can you play five courses and sleep inside a UNESCO World Heritage landscape throughout.
3. A course designed by Gary Player
   At Cihelny Golf & Wellness Resort, golfers can play a course bearing the signature of one of the sport's all-time greats. Designed by Gary Player, Cihelny offers a well-balanced layout suited to players of all levels, with the resort's wellness facilities making it an equally attractive base for non-golfing companions.
4. A new five-star hotel, steps from the Royal Golf Club
   West Bohemia just gained one of Central Europe's most anticipated hotel openings. The Swissôtel Mariánské Lázně, housed in a collection of restored Art Nouveau buildings at the heart of the spa town, opened in late 2025 with 125 rooms, 23 suites, a rooftop bar and the Pürovel Spa & Sport wellness centre. The Royal Golf Club is three kilometres away. For golfers looking for a base that matches the quality of the courses, this is a genuinely new option for 2026.
5. Spa recovery between rounds
   West Bohemia's spa tradition spans hundreds of years, and its treatments, rooted in natural mineral waters, are among the most respected in the world. After a day on the fairways, the region's hotels and wellness centres offer everything from traditional balneotherapy to contemporary spa treatments, making recovery as much a part of the itinerary as the golf itself. 
6. Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: the cultural highlight of summer
   3–11 July 2025
   The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival transforms the spa town each July into one of Europe's most glamorous cultural events. At its heart stands the legendary Grandhotel Pupp, a five-star landmark featured in the James Bond film Casino Royale, which serves as the festival's unofficial home. For golfers timing a trip to coincide with the event, West Bohemia offers a rare combination: championship-standard golf in the mornings, international cinema and atmosphere in the evenings.
7. The only Royal golf club outside the Commonwealth
   Most golfers know that Royal Troon and Royal St George's carry their title through centuries of British royal patronage. What very few know is that one course in Central Europe shares that same honour. Royal Golf Club Mariánské Lázně became the first Royal club outside the Commonwealth when Queen Elizabeth II granted the title in 2003, in recognition of King Edward VII's role as a founding member in 1905 a king who returned to play the course no fewer than ten times.
   
   There is nowhere else in continental Europe where you can tee off on a course with that distinction. The West Bohemia Golf Pass includes it as standard. 
8. Golf in a UNESCO World Heritage landscape
   Three of the region's spa towns, Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně, together form the West Bohemian Spa Triangle, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for their exceptional architecture and centuries-old spa culture. Playing golf here means teeing off within easy reach of colonnaded promenades, mineral springs and some of the finest preserved spa architecture in Europe.
9. Beyond the course: medieval towns and natural landscapes
   The Karlovy Vary Region offers plenty for days away from the fairway. The walled medieval town of Loket, perched above the Ohře river, is a short drive from Karlovy Vary and one of the most scenic spots in Bohemia. The Ore Mountains, Krušné hory, offer hiking and cycling routes through protected landscapes.
10. A living tradition, authentically Czech
    West Bohemia has been welcoming visitors for generations, among them Goethe, Chopin and King Edward VII and retains an elegance and authenticity that is increasingly rare in European travel. The Golf Pass is, in many ways, a natural extension of that tradition: a way to experience a region at its own pace, in its own landscape, without the crowds of better-known European destinations.

For more information and to plan your golf trip to West Bohemia, visit:www.visitczechia.com/en-us/things-to-do/places/summer-sports/golf/s-golf-pass-west-bohemia

ENDS

Notes to editors:
For image requests, media enquiries and press trip opportunities, please contact: leia@welcometoama.com