How to Get a Golf License in Germany | Adventures in Golf Season 6
Before you can play on a course in Germany, you need a license. Erik Anders Lang takes the test to get his.
Welcome to PlatzreifeDüsseldorf, the site of Adventures in Golf’s first trip to Deutschland, presented by United Airlines.
Before the big day, Erik heads to Golf-Sport-Verein Düsseldorf e.V. where he meets up with golf journalist Michael Basche for a quick range session.
Now, it’s Erik’s time to put his skills to the test, literally, at the Golf Club of Oberhausen where he meets the head pro, Thilo Fassbender, and his instructor, pro golfer instructor and gnarly skateboarder, Kevin Kunze.
After Erik’s exam, he makes his way to what will likely become one of Düsseldorf’s favorite hang-out spots: Topgolf. Way before the targets and bays are finished, Erik visits with two of the guys responsible for this new location and understands why they specifically chose this German city.
To wrap up his trip, Erik tees it up with golf journalist Isabel Von Wilcke, where he gets an even better understanding golf life in Germany from her perspective.
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45 Comments
Study said 75% in the US were open to the public.
Well done. This was very interesting. Thank you
This 15 handicap with a horrible swing determines whether or not you're good enough for a license? AND he hands out crappy tips? Holy shit! This is the worst idea ever!
GREAT EPISODE CHEERS ERIK
Same rule in Belgium. Makes no sense to me
Control freaks,….what were your ancestors Nazis?
Hi Erik, great video! Where is the knit sweater from that you have on you in the last part of this video?
Thanks!
I assume this kind of license is mandatory all around the UE… I know FRA, BEL and ESP and the three are the same…
Is basically an insurance issue and respecting the rules and the other players… no jeans and collarless shirts allowed in Spain….
germany is a deeply classist society, just look at their schools with the three school system thats crazy
Germany has the most stupid rules in the world
Involving sports . Have you a licence?
In Germany you need a licence to have a shxx
I think we should insist on all German's visiting the UK to have a special test in English to be able to participate in OUR sports ,( especially fishing )
Including Fishing, Sailing, Golf , Tennis, and many more. No wonder that Germans are so bad at the wonderful game of Golf .
Just a short story to finish with.
I received a call from a friend in Germany asking if I could show a guy around our Island ( Jersey)
Sure was my answer.
I was to meet him at his hotel.
On arrival at the hotel I was informed by a woman ( apparently his secretary) the Hern Doctor will be about half an hour, as he is taking a swim.
As you can imagine this wound me up. The first thing this twat asked me was if he moved to Jersey could he join a golf club? I informed him that the only way he could move to Jersey was if he had enough money
( £ 25 m ) at the time to become a resident. And as far as golf is concerned it's a normal sport for everyone not only for jumpt up idiots
Like himself. He didn't bother trying to become a resident. Probably had more to do with golf not being only for the elite. Anyway the courses I have played in Germany have not been particularly up to standard, but some yes I mean some of the people I met were very nice .
My 10 year old son plays nearly every weekend with us .He obviously hasn't a handicap but he can keep up with us he always manages to get a par or two every round, it's the best way to learn any sport to play, shoot , fish ,sail, with experienced players as it brings your game on .
As far as kids are concerned, Germany is useless
They are not allowed to go fishing etc until they reach a certain age, also they must pass a test
Before they are set free .
I think these rules are awesome
Its the same in sweden, you have a test and a playing test
Boot lickers.
It was a brisk day….
I think its pretty much all around the Europe…you need to spend €1000 to even get it…its shame it actually turn down many many people…and lil bit snobishnes is involved..and need to be a member of 1 of golf clubs…and 90% of courses are expensive and much much worse than american public courses..
0.01% hahaha. WTH? 65000 golfers out of 80 million is about 0.8%
She was cutting diamonds
Man, apparently I need to go be a professional in Germany 😂😂
0.01%? Interesting math there. It’s closer to being 1% of the German population golfing. 0.8125% to be exact.
Great fucking content buddy.
We have a similar issue in Italy, to play on the course you must take an exam about rules and etiquette, but luckily in Italy all courses are open to public( there’s only one private club in all of Italy)
19:19 I love all your videos but I have a special fondness for this one.
What a moronic German thing
Butterfield Golf Club, just west of Chicago, is lovely. Please let me know if that's something you're interested in. It formed because other Chicago corses didn't allow Catholics. The founders decided to form a world class course and included the bye-law that any Priest could be a member. The course and play is amazing and is indicative of 1929.
First 18 hole club in US is a course is Downers Grove, IL. It's the initial Chicago Club. Original 5 of the USGA course. Home of the out of bounds rule, because a farmer would take pot-shots at the golfers. The new club is very private, but the original location is with most holes the same, public and lovely.
I know this is an older video, but I have only found this. 😉 Anyway, the concept of the Platzreife is not just something for Germany, but in the Netherlands we need what we call a GVB. The idea is basically the same. You need to take lessons with a pro and then you need to walk a part of the course to show that you are able to play golf in a proper way. What you haven't shown in the video is that there is also a written exam on golf rules, both in Germany as well as in the Netherlands. Fortunately you do not need to do a resit every time they do a rule change. 😄
This culture reminds me of Olympic fencing as a sport. I fenced for 30 years and in the US, we tried to get beginners to suit up and fence each other as soon as possible so people will gain interest. In a lot of European countries, Germany and Belgian that I know of, beginners will have to work on their footwork and blade work, often more than 6 months, before they are allowed to actually fence someone else in a bout. I feel like in those countries, "accident" is still a responsibility of an individual while in the US, we treated accidents as an "act of god/nature". Maybe that's why this type of differentiation happens. Whether it makes sense or not.
Hilariously German
If you need a license for something as mundane as golfing, it makes this sound more like a dystopian city than a utopian one…
Same rules apply in sweden, with a license. But we have thousands of people golfing and I think The majority och The people appriciate it.
Its similar to the system here in Italy. You need to go through a Rules course (and pass an exam), then a Pro needs to check you out and declare that you are fit to go onto a golf course.
What a pair of gonzagas
I think its nice that you can sit around in pleasant company and have a decent conversation re cultural differences and traditions .
You have to respect how fluent these people are in ‘not there language’ if they like rules thats ok isnt it ?
Couldn't even tell you her hair color…😊
How do I get some lessons from Isabel 😅
Germany after 1945 : They all need to be guided the right way in order to not do the wrong thing again 😅
So Platzreife is for safety. To educate people. For etiquette and to get people quickly through the course. Yet we have relatively few Golfers here in Germany in comparison to other countries. And in other countries it works even without Platzreife.
I'm trying to get into Golf right now. Again. I already looked into it when I was a student. But then you have the Platzreife, which costs money. You need to join a club, which costs a lot of money, especially for a student. And then you have your usual Golf stuff that you need to get. Its just super inconvenient to get into the sport. You literally have to take a practical and a theoretical exam to even start playing an actual Game. And for me as a student it was waaaaaaay to expensive.
Did you make the theoretical test for the Platzreife as well?
Fantastic stuff 😊
I have a USGA handicap and when I moved to Germany it was very easy for me to get my platzreife. I just scheduled a lesson at the local club and asked the pro about it. I think it helped that I have a low handicap but they had no problem giving me the platzreife that day.
amazing video
we have that in norway befor as well. you needed to hit 7 in par 4 and 6 in par 3 . you need to hit 5 balls of 20 inside a circle and something. then it was the theory for the exam , pass that then its practical in course and like i said 1 month later. you need to do the play exam to be a member. yes in europe , you need to be a member and do the things. yellow and red boxes are more or less removed in norway, we do still have them yes.
I've been into golf for a while and hit the driving range now and then, but I want to start playing for real. The thing is, I'm not about to fork over a thousand bucks for a few lessons just to get a license in Switzerland. For what? So some guy can spend a few hours stating the obvious and cash in a month’s salary? No thanks. And don’t give me the "we only want people who know how to play" excuse. I see people digging bunkers with their clubs before they even hit the ball at my local course all the time. It’s not about keeping beginners out.. it’s about keeping lower-income folks out of the sport. If you think otherwise, you’re probably sitting in a private club on your high horse.
I think this video might be making too big a deal out of the process. Yes, culturally it's a bit strange, especially if you're coming from where I came from in the US, where we all had golf clubs in our hands from age 10 onward. But like all things German, there is a logic. Not that many people play golf in this country. So if you want to play, where are you going to learn it? And do we want a bunch of zero-experience golfers going to the courses? We also don't do that in the States, but we have instead an informal system of training the youth.
The word 'Platzreife' doesn't mean 'license;' it means, literally, place-ripening. It's simply a training on golf fundamentals that tells the course that you know how to take care of your own shit during a round.
What I do find kind of strange in German golf though, is that every course is private and you need a membership somewhere in order to play anywhere. I've gotten around this by being a member at a no-course golf club. It's €15/month, they issue me a membership card, and this is universally recognized as a ticket to entry (paying guest green's fees at all courses). Some courses offer discounts for my type of membership, some courses charge an extra premium for this kind of member card. And that's all pretty annoying.
You have to understand though: culturally, almost everything that Germans do in their free time is associated with a club or association (Verein). Additionally, if they can systematize a thing and make rules and regulations for it, they will. But honestly, as a tourist, especially an American tourist, you absolutely do not need a Platzreife to play golf in Germany. Just smile and be friendly and say, "I'm American and I know how to golf!" and they will let you on 100% of the time.