Golf in Tále: Gray Bear Course, Green Fees 2026 and Learning to Play

Two courses: Gray Bear and Little Bear

The golf resort in Tále belongs to the Ski, Golf & Hotel Resort Tále, which is run by the company Tále, a. s. The course lies in the Low Tatras National Park on about 60 hectares, among streams, boulders, firs and spruces. The home club is Golf Club Tále.

Gray Bear is an 18-hole championship course with a par of 71 and a length of 6,296 m. It opened on 8 August 2002 as the first 18-hole championship course in Slovakia, and the first drive was hit by the Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin. It was designed by Bob Walton and Skip Malek of the American firm International Golf Course Design. The resort itself describes it as a technical mountain course of high difficulty: narrow fairways, changes in elevation, hard greens and bunkers that demand precise iron play. The Course Rating from the white tees is 74.4. Professional tournaments are also played here, for example the women’s Ladies Slovak Golf Open in August 2026.

Little Bear is a 9-hole golf academy with a par of 28, opened in 2014. It is a half-size course with half-size landing zones, so it is good for practising the short game. Its special feature is that you can play it in two directions. The resort says it is the first and only concept of its kind in Slovakia. The academy has a chipping and putting green, and the whole resort has a driving range.

If you have never played golf, Gray Bear is not the place to start. Little Bear and coached training sessions are made for exactly that.

How much the green fee costs

The green fee price list is valid from 1 March 2026, prices include VAT and discounts cannot be combined.

Gray Bear	Monday - Thursday	Friday - Sunday, public holiday
18 holes	€75	€100
18 holes early bird (9:00 - 11:00)	€55	€75
9 holes or sunset fee after 16:00	€40	€55
18 holes junior	€50	€80
9 holes junior	€35	€45
Replay fee (36 holes)	€110	€155

On Little Bear the price is the same every day: 9 holes €25, 18 holes €35 and unlimited play all day €45. Juniors pay €20, €25 and €35.

Discounts according to the price list:

• the junior fee applies to players aged 13 to 18,
• children under 12 get 50% off the green fee,
• professional players get 50% off,
• guests of Hotel Stupka and Golf get 20% off on both Gray Bear and Little Bear.

Other services: range balls €4, hire of one club €4, half set €11, full set €21, top set €41, hand trolley €8, electric trolley €21 for 18 holes and €11 for 9 holes, electric buggy €48 for 18 holes and €31 for 9 holes. Players over 65 and holders of a ZŤP disability card pay €31 and €21 for the buggy. Only a person over 18 may hire a buggy, a player from 16 may drive it and at most two people may sit in it.

Golf for beginners

The cheapest way to try golf is the public training session. It is every Tuesday from 16:00 and, according to the training page, lasts until 17:30. It costs €10 including hire of equipment and is meant for complete beginners. You learn the basics of the swing, your first drives and putting, and you find out about the rules and etiquette. Places are limited, so register in advance on +421 48 6712 512 or at golf@tale.sk.

If you want individual attention, you can book a lesson with the coach Aleš Svěntek. According to the price list of individual programmes, a session for one person costs €45 for 50 minutes or €35 for 30 minutes. If you are serious about golf, you can take a course preparing you for the green card (the basic playing permit): 12 lessons (10 hours in total) with theory, instruction on the practice areas, two rounds on Little Bear, hire of clubs and the exam for the basic handicap cost €450 for one person. The green card exam alone costs €135.

Gray Bear is played with a handicap or a green card. The operating rules allow play without them only for foreign players and for Slovaks who live abroad long term, and even then the marshall may send a player off the course if he judges they are not up to playing.

Golf with children

Children’s training sessions are every Sunday from 10:00 to 11:00. They are for children from 6 years, for complete beginners and the slightly more advanced, and cost €10 including equipment. Children under 12 pay half the green fee. The resort rules say that children under 10 may play only when accompanied by an adult, and you must not leave them unsupervised anywhere in the grounds.

When to play

The golf season in Tále lasts from spring to autumn, and both its start and its end depend on the weather. The resort publishes the exact dates on tale.sk. As of 2 October 2026 both courses were open with tee times from 10:00 to 16:00, and the golf reception is open from 9:00 to 16:00. Autumn maintenance was under way at the beginning of October, and a tournament was still in the calendar on 17 October 2026. The resort has not yet said when the 2027 season opens.

A few tips for playing more cheaply or differently:

• Early bird: 18 holes on Gray Bear from 9:00 to 11:00 cost €55 instead of €75 Monday to Thursday, and €75 instead of €100 at the weekend.
• Sunset fee: after 16:00 you pay the price of nine holes for 18, that is €40 or €55.
• Night golf: the floodlit Little Bear academy is open from 15 June to 15 September on Friday and Saturday from 19:00; the last tee time is 21:00, and 22:00 in July and August.

You book a tee time online through a link on the resort’s website or by phone at the golf reception. Be at reception about 15 minutes before your start and at the first tee at least 10 minutes ahead. In a thunderstorm, or when the bell sounds, you must stop play at once and go into the building.

Getting there from Bystrá

Tále is a holiday resort in the Bystrá valley, a little above the village of Bystrá. From the apartments you drive up the valley towards Tále, a journey of a few minutes; you will find the exact route in the box above. You park by the clubhouse with the golf reception. According to the operating rules, the car park is not guarded.

What to bring and wear

On the course you wear suitable golf clothing, including shoes. In its article for beginners the resort recommends a polo shirt with a collar for men, and a skirt, shorts or trousers and a blouse with a collar for women. Leave out jeans, sleeveless T-shirts and ordinary trainers. You can hire clubs, a trolley and balls; golf gloves and shoes are in the golf shop.

Golf trolleys and other golf equipment are not allowed in the restaurants. You can bring a dog on a lead, but onto the course and into the buildings only with the staff’s permission.

What to combine it with

The Gray Bear golf restaurant is open daily, with bar and kitchen from 9:00 to 17:00. A short way from the golf, by Hotel Partizán, are the Tarzania rope park and a natural swimming pond, so while one person plays, the children have something to do. After golf you can go to the Hotel Bystrá wellness in the village.

More trip ideas: the Tarzania rope park in Tále, Chopok South in summer and the Hotel Bystrá wellness. You will find more about summer below Chopok on the Summer hiking page.