Mayr Golf Hotel
May 24, 2010

Situated on the south shore of Lake Wörth the Mayr Golfhotel is situated in a very picturesque part of Southern Austria quite close to the Slovenian and Italian borders. Golf Today was invited there for a week to sample the "Mayr Cure" and experience the local attractions.

The Mayr Health Spa

Originally built in 1936 and considerably updated and expanded through the 1970s, 80s and 90s is both a comfortable and attractive hotel. It's not large, having only 63 rooms and 8 apartments, but has plenty of facilities. Of course there is the very comprehensive spa area with a dozen or more treatment rooms, a small gym, a swimming pool, restaurant, reading rooms and a large meeting hall where assorted activities take place throughout the day.

Generally people stay at the hotel for a period of 1,2 or 3 weeks whilst undergoing the most intensive part of the "Mayr Cure" and so that people always have things to do, should they wish, there is a daily list of activities that people are invited to participate in. These range from daily physical exercise classes, pilates or yoga. To Nordic walking, lectures on health, cookery, a day trip to Slovenia, cycle rides, a shopping trip and so forth. Additionally they advertise other things that are going on in the area, for example there is a boat trip around Lake Wörth, and additionally there is a rack of informational leaflets on activities in the area from hiking trails, cycle routes and golf courses.

One comment that I heard from several of the other guests was how welcoming and friendly the staff and the hotel was, and have to agree from my own experience. Everyone spoke excellent English putting my exceedingly poor German to shame and everything from hotel transfers to and from the airport, treatments and classes was handled with a smile and patience. One telling thing I discovered when chatting to the other guests was how many of them were return visitors, I'd say at least two thirds of people were on their second, third and right up to a twentieth visit!

One thing I would like to make clear to people is that the treatments, and the spa philosophy in general is one of cure, rest and regeneration. So things like the massages are of the remedial, "get the knots out of your muscles" type rather than the "gentle soothing to whale music" type. The salt scrubs actually are a scrub (which I have to say despite feeling like I'd been sandpapered did leave my skin embarrassingly clean and soft!).

The range of treatments is bewilderingly wide. From nasal reflexology, detox baths and mud packs, to osteopathy, shiatsu massage and lymphatic drainage. The mud packs being my favourite. Imagine being wrapped up in a warm, water filled duvet and left to float up and down for half an hour. Lovely!

Aside from the treatments there are medical staff on site who assess you at the beginning, middle and end of your stay and run all sorts of tests and assessments on you.

The Mayr Cure

The central philosophy of Dr. Franz Xaver Mayr (1875-1965) is that a healthy bowel is the key to the body's health. Toxins build up here which affect the digestive system in the course of time, and subsequently also your whole body.

There is a four point program for therapy to detoxify and regenerate through natural and organic means. Rest, cleansing, training and substitution.

After you've arrived and settled in the first appointment is with one of the doctors who'll interview you, weigh you and organise whatever tests you agree on and prescribe assorted minerals and supplements for either short or long term usage based upon your aspirations of what you want to achieve during your stay. The most common is some weight loss of course, but also I encountered people who were seeking to break their eating/health cycle, destress, recover from a bout of food poisoning and recuperate from surgery.

I volunteered for the standard "weight loss" type program. A small pile of pills and potions, appointments for several tests and a menu card later and I was set for the week.

One very good thing that is organised is that you are assigned a table in the restaurant, with people who not only speak the same language, but who are going through the same process. This very quickly becomes an informal support group for the inevitable grumbles of "Oh God I'm so hungry" and "Wish my headache would go away" and so on and so forth.

You're put on a very restrictive and tight eating regime, which not only "trains" you to eat correctly but helps detoxify the body and of course lose weight. I'd estimate at first its in the 500-600 calories a day range, might be underestimating that, but didn't feel like it! I did feel really pretty rough the first few days from caffeine withdrawal and a couple of the supplements were frankly pretty awful tasting. This seems to be the usual routine for people, aside from those who do the pre-arrival course and are already well "trained". I met one chap who had done this and he seemed rather happier than the rest of us initially!

After the detox period and another medical check up the diet is expanded, but only a little, never have I been so grateful for an extra egg at breakfast time! The "Mayr Cure" does seem to have some curious philosophies compared to what many people commonly believe, for example, no drinking at meal time and no fruit. I often felt quite sorry for the very friendly restaurant staff as I've never been to any restaurant where the answer to a question is "no" so many times and even the little menu's have an apology on them stating that the staff are under strict instructions to follow the medical staffs directives so aren't going to be sneaking you dessert!

I will say that during my week there I did feel pretty devoid of energy, no doubt due to the restrictive calorie intake, but you do soon get used to eating much less than normal in a more formal manner and by the end of the week I felt much better and whilst it probably took me a couple of extra days to feel fully back to normal again (the whole cure process is supposed to take around 5 weeks).

The results? I lost 6 pounds in the week, which I was very pleased with and others reported to me even more success than that, 7 pounds seemed to be more normal and 10 the most I heard. The other thought I had was of those people I spoke to who kept returning. Whatever the philosophy or the techniques used, it does seem that it works!

Golf

For the golfer staying at the Mayr Golfhotel the main attraction will be the Kärnter Golfclub Dellach which is located no more than a sand wedge away. Opened in 1927 its the second oldest golf course in Austria though has a very modern club house, pro shop and restaurant (which I didn't sample!). Rather like at the Mayr Golfhotel the English spoken there is exceptionally good, perhaps not surprising from the golf pros who are English! Lessons are offered with video analysis and more than one guest at the hotel was taking advantage of the location to brush up on their game. (Beware the leg pulling about ham sandwiches and beer on offer!)

The course from the back tees is a par 71 5609m down to 4765m from the forward ladies tee off areas. Its pretty tight, plenty of trees abound and some streams border a number of the holes, but to compensate the rough is friendly and the bunkers shallow. Additionally there is a driving range, chipping area and practice putting green.

I visited in mid-May and the course was in great condition. One caveat I would make for the visitor to the hotel looking to play golf is that if you haven't done the pre-arrival course, I wouldn't suggest playing golf within the first few days of arrival, it seems "par for the course" to be under the weather somewhat for the initial detox and I have to say I really didn't feel up to playing initially.

In addition to the Dellach course the hotel can arrange for tee-times at the Seltenheim, Moosburg or Köstenberg courses in the area.

Conclusion

To be honest I don't think I quite understood what I was letting myself in for initially! The regime was somewhat more restrictive than I imagined and some of the treatments were certainly more therapeutic than I'd previously experienced at a spa type location. I have to say though, sitting here a week after leaving, I DO feel better than I did two weeks ago. The weight I've lost hasn't immediately gone back on again, and the weight seems to gone from right around my stomach. Exactly where you'd want it to be leaving from if you are a male.

Whilst I'd like to have thought I was reasonably fit (I'd completed two marathons in the month before arriving) it was reassuring to know from all the tests that they ran that I was essentially pretty healthy aside from a slight bloody acidity. My body analysis suggested that I could probably do with losing two kilos of fat and that's exactly what I achieved in the week.

Certainly if your someone, golfer or not, who could do with a complete break, afford to lose a few pounds and wish to improve your health I would suggest you look into the Mayr Golfhotel. If you bring your clubs you couldn't be closer to a very pleasant course, you'll need to pack your iron discipline too though, that restaurant looked VERY tempting after a few days!