ROUGH & THE SMOOTH

With a spectacular course designed by legend Gary Player and plush new facilities on the way, Polish resort is perfect for a budget-friendly golfing break

THE par-three 15th belongs on a postcard. One where the “wish you were here” tagline both tempts and taunts you.

With its green guarded by a lake shallow enough to entice a Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie sequel and a sand trap that requires a ladder to get in and out of, Modry Las’s signature hole is memorable at least.

Dawn was less than an hour old just outside Choszczno, in the north-west corner of Poland, and the words of design coordinator Theo over barbecued meat, salads and local vodka the night before were now making sense.

“It must look like a lion and play like a cub – except around greens, then it’s fair game,” was how he’d summed up the philosophy of ninetimes Major winner Gary Player, credited with designing the track.

Poland isn’t the first place associated with a golf getaway but for value, few destinations will come close. With the sport decimated after World War II, it took another 50 years to resurface again.

Indeed, when Modry Las chairman Artur Gromadzki – born and raised in the neighbouring town – bought 50 hectares in the 90s, he didn’t know what to do with it. Bureaucrats were bewildered when he settled on golf.

What he’s delivered is a special course with a resort that looks set to soon match it. A spacious clubhouse is expected to open in the spring, with 10 double bedrooms plus a special Gary Player suite.

“It’s coming closer,” said Artur as landscapers planted roses a few yards away. Standing on what will be a terrace combining views of a sweeping par-five 18th with the Radun Lake it runs alongside, it wasn’t hard to see what he did.

A chef working in the French embassy in Warsaw has been recruited for the restaurant and the wine cellar below will boast more than 100 varieties. The conference room for between 70 and 100 may not see much work.

There will be a spa with wet, dry and infrared saunas, hot and cold foot spas, and a jacuzzi, all of which guests staying upstairs will get free access to.

For larger groups, there are self-catering chalets, each with a wood-burning stove to spend the evening by. I, however, had one of six garden suites, which sleep two and would compete with my Glasgow flat for size.

Waking up to a panoramic view of the large pond and all its wildlife off the 16th hole isn’t bad for just under £90, especially when two days of unlimited golf are included.

As well as the 18-hole set-up, there is a nine-hole par-three course twisting through thick forest that shielded me from the

rain, only to hold a mirror up to the flaws in my short game.

Concentrating on improving can prove tricky, especially on the big course’s second hole with a replica of the dome that features in Matt Damon’s movie The Martian down the left-hand side.

Then there’s the sign planted in the left rough at the fourth, which banks from right to left, warning of wild boars if your ball end up in a thicket.

With its very own Valley of Sin off the sixth green and a stream that guards the front edge of the seventh, I was more than pleased to have the reassuring tones of another Scotsman to keep me right.

Stewart, from Dalkeith in Midlothian, upped sticks and moved here seven years ago as director of golf after being headhunted for his work at Swanston Golf Club in Edinburgh.

He spent 28 years in the Army, serving in Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan among other places while reaching captain and he has plenty of tales and tips to make the round more enjoyable.

Trying to translate a conversation dripping in Scots slang to two Swedes beside us also gives rise to a few laughs.

“My last tour was Afghanistan, I was just fed-up,” Stewart said as he stood on the range helping me cure a slice in my swing.

“It was boiling, about 48 degrees, and I stood there for the third time and said, ‘That’s it’. I stood there and said, ‘It’s too warm. What am I doing here again?’”

It’s a question I wouldn’t be asking if I came back to Modry Las, especially with easyJet now flying from Edinburgh to Szczecin, which is just over an hour away from the resort. There’s even a helipad on site for those who don’t fancy the drive.

“It is the best course in Poland, there’s no doubt about it – I’ve been to every single one,” said Stewart, a statement backed up by the fact it won World Golf ’s best course in the country four years in a row.

“The good thing about here is it is so cheap you wouldn’t believe it.

“I know Spain, Portugal and all these places are hard to beat. But this is as cheap as the Spain and Portugal deals. It is easy to get to now, as well.”