The 16th German-Rainbow-Open in the CORONA year 2020:
The corona virus (Covid-19) also influences our GRO preparations. We sincerely hope that this issue will calm down during the current year and that we will finally be able to perform our 16th GRO on schedule. The organizing team has therefore decided (as of April 6, 2020) to continue with the preparations and the execution. Nevertheless, it cannot be entirely ruled out that even in October the virus will continue to dominate our daily lives.
For this reason we are changing some deadlines/procedures. For example, the participation fees should only be paid when the tournament can be carried out without any doubt.
Online registration for the 16th GRO is now possible and desired (see entry fee, packages & booking). Exceptionally, this year a free cancellation of the registration is possible until August 15, 2020 (see also our cancellation policy).
We expect the payment of the participation fee at a later date. To obtain the early booking discount, the date of the registration is valid.
We will announce the payment date as soon as we can foresee the guaranteed realisation of the 16th GRO in consultation with Arosa. Anything else would not be feasible from an organisational point of view.
It is mainly to wait and see whether events (not only playing golf) will be possible again in October.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to say by now when exactly this will be. However, we expect at least 6 weeks prior to the event – subject to the development of the pandemic and any conditions attached to it.
As in the years before, the starting place will be guaranteed after receipt of payment.
We ask for your understanding for these unusual measures. Above all, we wish all rainbow golfers to survive the pandemic unharmed.
Kind regards from the headquarters for the board of directors and officials
Ottmar
6-April-2020
Statements to the German Rainbow Open:
Als einer der Organisatoren der GRO gebe ich, wie alle anderen des Teams, seit 2005 Vollgas, um den perfekten Rahmen für Europas größtes LGBTI-Golfturnier zu schaffen. Jedoch seid es ihr Teilnehmenden, die das Event zum unvergesslichen Erlebnis werden lassen. Vielen Dank!
Was ich bei der GRO liebe? Das starke Gemeinschaftsgefühl.
Meine Golfkarriere begann bei den German Rainbow Open! Über den Schnupperkurs wurde ich zum begeisterten Turnierteilnehmer und konnte sogar schon eine Medaille mit nach Hause nehmen. Man fühlt sich wirklich unter Freunden - auf dem Golfplatz und in der Bar.
Mein sportliches Highlight des Jahres! Grandiose Golfplätze, tolle Sideevents und Freunde treffen. Kann es schon ab Saisonstart kaum erwarten.
GRO is the premier gay golf tournament anywhere in the world! It is expertly managed and provides all that any gay golfer could ask for in a tournament.
Die GRO ermöglichen Golfen auf einer der besten und schönsten Golfanlagen Deutschlands zusammen mit guten Freunden.
I already came 4 times. Always a great pleasure. The quality of the organization, the golf courses, the evenings and especially THE ATMOSPHERE… are wonderful.
Die GRO sind ein Fest unter Freunden. Golf in allen Leistungsklassen auf Top-Plätzen, professionell organisiert durch die German Rainbow Golfers und dazu ein Rahmenprogramm, das alle einbezieht. Ein Turnier von Freunden für Freunde!
Ein toll organisiertes, anspruchsvolles Turnier, mit internationalem Spielerfeld und hochwertigem Rahmenprogramm.
Bunt, offen, anspruchsvoll auf hohem Niveau. Ein internationales Event, das sich durch perfekte Organisation mit Herz auszeichnet.
Die GRO sind ein Potpourri aus Spaß, Spannung, Sport und den unterschiedlichsten Menschen - kontinentübergreifend. Stets eine Reise wert.
I attended my first Rainbow Open in 2017. The Rainbow Open was a fantastic tournament. It was so professionally organised and both the courses we played at Winstongolf were of championship standard. So I'll be back in 2018!
An den jährlichen GRO teilzunehmen, bedeutet an einem großen, bunten und fröhlichen Familienfest beteiligt zu sein. Auf Weltklasse-Plätzen, in herrlichem Ambiente mit tollen Leuten.
Hosts and players were so very welcoming and inclusive that we felt right at home instantly, even though we were complete strangers to most everyone.
Seit ich 2012 das erste Mal an den GRO teilgenommen habe, ist diese Veranstaltung ein absolutes „Muss“ in meinem Terminkalender. Ein wirklich richtig fein organisiertes Golfturnier im Zeichen des Regenbogens mit Suchtfaktor.
Klasse Golf, klasse Event... das (in 2006 seinerzeit für mich) erste, grösste und nach wie vor für mich schönste Golfturnier der Community... 🙂
Idea of the tournament
It was the spring of 2005 …
There were five of us and we had a common vision: We wanted to create our own international golf tournament for lesbians and gays.
With high sporting standards, played over two days on an 18-hole championship course. Above all, however, the fun and communication within the LGBTI community should be in the foreground. For example, mixed flights, also in terms of playing level, were a natural part of the plan.
In the same year we were able to turn our vision into reality – and have been doing so every autumn ever since. Today the German Rainbow Open is a firmly established tournament in European gay and lesbian golf (LGBTI).
According to our philosophy we want to introduce as many still inexperienced lesbians and gays interested in golf as possible to this wonderful sport. A professional golf introductory course is therefore always part of the German Rainbow Open. And we promise: Our LGBTI Community Golf Tournament is also suitable for players with little tournament experience.
Be there! We look forward to seeing you, all of you.
STRAIGH drives QUEER players PRIDE golf
Program
New since 2019
Event-Home
We’ll host the 16th edition of the German Rainbow Open the second time at the A-ROSA Resort Scharmützelsee which is located south-east of Berlin. On both tournament days we’ll play the three courses named Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo and Stan Eby after their designers. Information on every course can be obtained by clicking the following link.
With both, the A-ROSA Resort Scharmützelsee and the close-by a-ja hotel Bad Saarow we’ve been able to negotiated attractive room rates (see more under hotel recommendations).
We do not offer any packages inclusive of hotel nights. You will have to book the stay directly with the hotels mentioned or with any other accommodation outside of the resort.
Accreditation, Get Together:
The accreditation, opening speach and ceremony will take place at the golf clubhouse and it’s restaurant „Greenside“ on Thursday.
Hotel-Nights at the A-Rosa and A-ja:
For all of our event participants we’ve negotiated special rates* with both resort hotels. You’ll need to book the nights directly with one of the both hotels by using the keyword “German Rainbow Open”.
The special rates are valid for nights from September 27th to October 5th. Those will be available for bookings for all participants until August 6th, 2020. For bookings after August 6th the respective applicable daily rates will be applied by the hotels.
Early-bird discount
The early-bird discount applies to all tournament packages if booked by no later than June 30, 2020.
Practice rounds (optional), special rates
If you’re up for practice rounds you can benefit from special rates we’ve negotiated with the resort for all participants. Those will be available from Mon – Sun.
Stan Eby course:
50 EUR (Hcp. groups C and D will play this one during the tournament)
Arnold Palmer:
60 EUR (Hcp groups A, B, C and D will play this one during the tournament)
Nick Faldo:
70 EUR (Hcp. groups A and B will play this one during the tournament).
Please ensure to book your tee-time(s) timely online or by calling the golf staff: +49 33631 – 63 300
Payment system during all event days:
Participants staying at the A-ROSA Resort will be able to either pay for consumed food and drinks/beverages cash or to have it charged to their respective room. We do not aim for offering food/etc. vouchers for doing payments (as in prior years). If you won’t stay at the resort you’ll need to pay for your expenses cash or by credit card with the service staff.
Thursday October 1st, 2020
Accreditation / Get Together / Event-opening ceremony
Accreditation: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the entry hall of the golf clubhouse.
Get-Together at the golf clubhouse and it’s restaurant “Greenside”:
In casual atmosphere with food offerings (reduced menu, to be paid individually) everyone will have the opportunity to get together with other participants. At around 8pm the welcome-speech and the official opening of the this years German Rainbow Open will be held.
We aim to publish the starting lists for the first tournament day (Saturday) at around 9pm at the black-board of the club house.
Friday, October 2nd 2020
Tournament day 1 of the 16th GRO | golf introductory course | buffet at the “Green salon”, A-ROSA restaurant
From 8am:
Tournament-check-in and option for late arrivals to register until 8:30am (please provide upfront info if you can register earliest by Friday) at the reception desk with the golf clubhouse.
On day one we’ll play the first 18 holes in foursome groups (ideally mixed genders)
10am:
Shot gun/starting times (depending on total number of participants) on both courses:
Groups A/B:
Nick Faldo course
Groups C/D:
Arnold Palmer course
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In paralell to the first tournament day:
10am to approx. 3.30am: Golf-introductory course, including lunch break at the golf club house.
Meeting time/point 10 a. m. at the golf reception desk in the club house.
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From around 3pm:
Get Together (optional) in the golf club house (at the 18th green of the Arnold Palmer course). After the first tournament round participants will have the opportunity for meeting within the Greenside-restaurant.
7pm:
Common dinner at the A-ROSA hotel. We’ll meet in the “green salon” and will enjoy food from the hotel buffet offered. With a tombola and a “small” award ceremony around the special prices and the trial course we’ll round up the evening.
Around 10pm (optional):
Conclusion of the evening in the A-ROSA hotel-bar lounge.
Saturday October 3rd, 2020
Tournament day 2 of the 16th GRO | Playersnite: festive buffet, award ceremony, party at the A-ROSA Forum
The winners of the 16th German-Rainbow-Open will be determined on Saturday October 3rd, 2020:
Players will be grouped into threesomes and will start based on the stroke play results (A+B), respectively net-results (C+D) of the previous day.
Groups A/B:
Arnold Palmer course: tee box 10 from 9:30am, tee box 1 from 10:00am (or all from tee box 1, depending on the total number of participants)
Groups C/D:
Stan Eby course: 09.15am ,starting from tee box 1 and tee box 10 ((or all from tee box 1, depending on the total number of participants)
From around 3pm:
Optional Get Together in the club house (18th green of the Arnold Palmer course).
7pm:
Gala-evening opened by a champagne reception at the „A-ROSA Forum“ (next to the driving range).
Around 7.30pm:
Players Night including gala-buffet, award ceremony (winners 1-3 within all handicap groups for female and male), Pink-Jacket award to the overall stroke-play winners male and female.
Around 9:30pm to 12:30am
Dance party at the A-ROSA Forum, end of the event
Golf Introductory Course
Getting to know golf:
We are committed to introducing those interested in golf to the LGBT community. That is why we offer a golf introduction course with the help of the golfmanagement of (location tba.).
Parallel to the first round of the tournament on Friday, 2nd Oct.2020, non-golfers will have the chance to experience the fascination of golf in a golf introduction course lasting several hours under the professional guidance of a golf instructor. Rental clubs, balls, welcome drink and guided tour included.
The process:
10.00 – noon training
noon – 1 pm lunch break
1 pm – 2 pm practice
2 pm small tournament of the introduction course participants
On Saturday, Oct. 3rd, graduates of the introduction course can rent clubs and use the practice facilities and the “Jack McEwan” short course for a fee. In case you are interested, please contact the golf reception.
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Please bring non-slip shoes to the introduction course!
Important notes:
Registration for the introductory course (package “TRY) automatically includes participation in the evening events at the “Green Salon” of the A-ROSA Resort on 2nd October and at the A-ROSA Forum on 3rd October.
If less than 6 persons register for the introductory course, it cannot take place. If this should happen, registrations for the introductory course (package “TRY) will automatically be transferred to the package “FUN”. The affected guests will then be informed by the organisation team and the difference between the packages “TRY” and “Fun” will be refunded by bank transfer.
Enrollment fee, packages & booking
The packages listed below do not include any hotel nights. The hotel stay needs to be booked separately by you.
We do recommend the A-ROSA Resort (that’s where the get together on Oct 1st as well as the evening events on the 2nd and 3rd will happen) and the close-by a-ja hotel. With both hotels we were able to negotiate special rates for our participants (check tab hotel recommendations).
The respective early-bird special for tournament packages will be available by registering until June 30st, 2020 latest. Every registration done will be binding. In the unpleasant case of cancellation, please check our cancellation policy.
Pack B / GRO ALL
2 days GRO tournament, 2 evening events incl. buffet
early bird special
for registrations done by June 30, 2020:
295
regular price
for registrations done from July 1, 2020:
345
Included Services
Thursday, 1-Oct-2020:
Acceditation, tee off gimmick,
welcome speech
Friday, 2-Oct-2020:
18 holes tournament, snack
dinner at “Grüner Salon” (A-ROSA restaurant)
small award ceremony (special prizes)
tombola
Saturday, 3-Oct-2020:
18 holes tournament, snack
dinner / evening event at “A-ROSA Forum”
award ceremony / Pink Jacket Award
dancing party
Pack C / GRO TRY:
1 Introductory course, 2 evening events incl. buffet
early bird special
for registrations done by June 30, 2020:
170
regular price
for registrations done from July1, 2020:
190
Included Services
Thursday, 1-Oct-2020:
Acceditation, tee off gimmick,
welcome speech
Friday, 2-Oct-2020:
golf trial course, snack
dinner at “Grüner Salon” (A-ROSA restaurant)
small award ceremony (special prizes)
tombola
Saturday, 3-Oct-2020:
dinner / evening event at “A-ROSA Forum”
award ceremony / Pink Jacket Award
dancing party
Pack D / GRO FUN:
2 evening events incl. buffet
early bird special
for registrations done by June 30, 2020:
110
regular price
for registrations done from July 1, 2020:
130
Included Services
Thursday, 1-Oct-2020:
Acceditation, tee off gimmick,
welcome speech
Friday, 2-Oct-2020:
dinner at “Grüner Salon” (A-ROSA restaurant)
small award ceremony (special prizes)
tombola
Saturday, 3-Oct-2020:
dinner / evening event at “A-ROSA Forum”
award ceremony / Pink Jacket Award
dancing party
Tournament T&C’s
Important Information – please read.
All relevant information about the scoring classes, game / start mode, caddy rules, play-off… etc. are available here for download in the form of the official tournament T&C document (as of mid-April).
Ambitious tournament players always check out the tournament T&C’s. We at the German Rainbow Open explicitly welcome golfers who do not yet have that much experience in tournaments. That being said we kindly ask also newbies to download the T&C’s and study it carefully.
MARKUS will be happy to answer all questions around the tournament T&C’s, just contact him – tournament@german-rainbow-open.com
Notes on enrollment
The eraly-bird special will apply only for online registrations by no later than June 30th, 2020.
We strongly recommend to enroll asap – due to organizational reasons the total number of participants will be limited. In case of a late enrollments we’ll keep a waiting list based on a first paid first registered principle.
All golfers carrying a golf handicap of -54 or better are entitled to enroll. Bring a handicap certificate (details see tournament T&C‘s).
Last date to enroll will be September 15th, 2020. In case you’ll be able to first after September 16th 2020 you’ll for sure will get a spot in case one is left. Otherwise we’ll put you on the waiting list and inform you as soon as a spot becomes available.
Your participation spot will be finally confirmed after we’ve received your payment onto the account listed alongside.
Please ensure to fully complete an enrollment for every individual separately. Bitte für jede teilnehmende Person eine separate Anmeldung vollständig ausfüllen. Subsequently a conformation including all enrollment details will be sent to the Email-address provided during registration.
In case you do wish to amend your enrollment afterwards please ensure to provide us with your request via Email. DO NOT COMPLETE THE ENROLLMENET FORM AGAIN!
Please ensure to transfer the enrollment fee (depending on the package you’ve chosen) onto the alongside listed account only after request (e-mail from the organisation team/treasurer) including the following information: Your FIRST and LAST name and „GRO 2020“.
Recipient:
German-Rainbow-Golfers e. V.
Bank:
Hamburger Volksbank
Hammerbrookstraße 63, 20097 Hamburg, Germany
IBAN:
DE09 2019 0003 0001 1584 06
SWIFT/BIC:
GENODEF1HH2
Fore!
Your enrollment is binding. In the unpleasant case of cancellation, please check our cancellation policy.
Hotel recommendations
Stay prime to be where all takes place.
Our new GRO-home offers a broad range of accomodation options for everyone. The hotels listed provide our recommendation. With A-ROSA and a-ja we’ve been able to negotiate special rates. The a-ja is located around 15 minutes by foot from the A-ROSA resort.
The special rates listed below will be available between Sepetmber 27th and October 5th but only provided the booking will be done by August 6th 2020 latest. For bookings made after August 6th 2020 the respective daily rates will apply.
In case you don’t find anything appropriate amongst our recommendations you may want to check out other options in the region around the event location.
A-ROSA Resort – our special rates will be available until August 6th 2020.
Use the keyword „German Rainbow Open 2020“ when booking.
138,00 € per room/night inclusive of the A-ROSA package – single use
188,00 € per room/night inclusive of the A-ROSA package – double
No parking fees for our event participants (usually 11,- EUR/day at the resort). parking garage will be charged 18,- EUR/day.
The A-ROSA package includes the following elements:
– Stay at the A-ROSA Scharmützelsee
– Breakfast at the market-restaurant
– Complimentary softdrinks in the room
– Use of the SPA-ROSA incl. swim-, sauna-, chill-out/relax- and gym areas
– Participation in the A-ROSA Activ-program incl. leisure-, sport- and fitness offerings
a-ja Hotel – our special rates will be available until August 5th 2019,
Use the keyword „German Rainbow Open 2020“ when booking.
98,00 € per room/night inclusive of breakfast – single use
148,00 € per room/night inclusive of breakfast – double
No parking fees for our event participants (usually 9,- EUR/day)
The a-ja package includes the following elements:
– Stay at the a-ja hotel
– Extensive breakfast buffet
– Use of the A-ja spa with swimming areas (indoor- and outdoor pools), saunas including alternating sauna-infusions and vitapark offering Cardio and power course
– One bathrobe and two spa-towels per person during the entire stay
– 42- respectively 48-inch-flatscreen-TVs (SKY Sport inclusive)
– Complimentary WIFI
It’s easy to book your stay at the A-ROSA or a-ja:
By phone (applies for for A-ROSA & a-ja)
Phone: +49 33631-61100
Keyword: German Rainbow Open 2019
by e-Mail (applies to A-ROSA & a-ja):
event.scharmuetzelsee@a-rosa.de
keyword: German Rainbow Open 2019
by booking form
Please download here the booking form for the desired hotel and send it filled out and signed to: (Fax: 033631-61473 / E-Mail: event.scharmuetzelsee@a-rosa.de). You will then receive a booking confirmation from the hotel concerned.
Hall of Fame
winner 2019
Tina Ehorn, Lüneburg
Christer Shipley, Stockholm
winner 2018
Stefanie Sperber, Hamburg
Andreas Iken, Hamburg
winner 2017
Theresa, Hamburg
Andreas Iken, Hamburg
winner 2016
Petra, Bielefeld
Andreas Iken, Hamburg
winner 2015
Stefanie Sperber, Hamburg
Stephan Zimmermann, Frankfurt
winner 2014
Anne-Kristin Gerlach, Seevetal
Gordon Munro-Sönksen, Versmold
winner 2013
Anemone Synomyme, Hamburg
Gordon Munro-Sönksen, Versmold
winner 2012
Stefanie Sperber, Hamburg
Markus Ortlieb, Heidelberg
winner 2011
Inger Giwer, Berlin
Gordon Munro-Sönksen, Versmold
winner 2010
Tina Ehorn, Lüneburg
Gordon Munro-Sönksen, Versmold
winner 2009
Inger Giwer, Berlin
Gordon Munro-Sönksen, Versmold
winner 2008
Anke Braunschweiger, Achim
Gordon Munro-Sönksen, Versmold
winner 2007
Inger Giwer, Berlin
Michael O’Brien Kelly
winner 2006
Anke Braunschweiger, Achim
Gordon Munro-Sönksen, Versmold
winner 2005
Inger Giwer, Berlin
Gary Langdale, Weston-super-Mare, England
