Very Merry – Outdoor sport in picturesque settings one step away from the capital

Maybe it has to do with the gloves (or the elegant outfit) that the golf is one of the most elite sports in the world. To play golf people go in a club that is not only about the ball game, but also about the landscape and the other guests with whom to socialise, and naturally all the additional services: from a restaurant to a cocktail bar. It may seem that the lovers of this sport actually train their body less, but many studies show that this sport already known in Scotland from the middle of the 1400s has a great effect on our body. Open air and the lot of walk necessary during the game can only do good, it has a stress-relieving and relaxing effect, and technical strokes require focusing and a lot of practice above all. The sport spreading rapidly worldwide became known in Hungary only in 1902, from that point, however, its popularity has been growing steadily: between the two world wars Hungarian golfers were at the forefront. Naturally, good settings are also required for good performance – nowadays golfers may stroke the ball on twenty golf courses of different lengths in Hungary.

Since 1996 between Etyek and Alcsútdoboz an especially nice golf club awaits guests: the hard ball made according to strict rules may be stroked over the 18-hole course of Pannonia Golf & Country Club. This place is special in every respect: the sports venue created by the renovation of the classicist cowshed once belonging to the estate of Archduke Joseph of Austria due to its services is even appealing to those who do not wish to immerse in the mysteries of various clubs. However, if we want, we may try this sport on one occasion here. After the first part of about one and a half hours everyone can decide whether to dig deeper in the rules of match or stroke play.

For those to whom golf is not exciting enough, the nearby Vál Valley offers a completely different kind of sports activity. Here we may meet horses in several places, and it’s only up to us whether we try trotting on the backs of school horses or we master the equestrian knowledge of ancient Hungarians at a three years’ training. Whatever we decide, sitting in the saddle we immediately understand former aristocrats’ passion for equestrian sports. Races and sports performance depending on the harmony and the common effort of man and animal had an important role in most magnates’ lives, and placed horses originally kept as farm animals in another dimension. It is impossible to walk around the mansions of this area disregarding the traces of all this: the walls of halls are decorated with the pictures of magnates while riding horses, there are huge barns in the castle parks, and in many places we even find a riding hall. Horse riding was a natural thing among the circles of aristocracy, and many of the aristocrats practiced this sport at an amazing level. Walking around the area, inspiring life stories and the impressive sight of grazing horses will definitely make us want to try horse riding!

Don’t go far if you want to hit a ball and ride a horse at the same time. In Tabajd the MCP Polo Club makes this possible. The Persian origin polo was spread in Hungary due to the horse lover Andrássy family; thanks to them many aristocrats got involved in the sport and bred horses suitable for the game from the end of the 19th century. After World War II – right because of the aristocratic “stigma” – it was not allowed to play polo, however, at the end of the 1990s the old passion revived. Over the past decades several pitches were established in Hungary, to the great delight of players, and of course spectators!