Golfclub Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee-Reith - Get to know the DP World Tour's newest venue

Kitzbühel is best known for its world-renowned skiing but this week the picturesque town plays host to Austria’s national open on the DP World Tour.

Located east of Innsbruck, in the western Austrian province of Tyrol, Golfclub Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee-Reith provides a stunning backdrop for the Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tirol.

Set amidst the Tyrolean mountains, an international field of golf talent - headed by home hero Sepp Straka - will vie for victory on the fairways rather than the slopes used for the nearby annual Hahnenkamm downhill race.

Created in 1987, Golfclub Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee-Reith is the third first-time venue in five events on golf’s global tour, becoming the 465th different venue on the DP World Tour since its inception in 1972.

One of four golf courses in Kitzbühel, it previously staged the Kitzbühel Golf Alpin Open on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2003.

Situated at 800 metres above sea level, with views towards the Hahnenkamm, Kitzbüheler Horn and Wilder Kaiser mountain ranges, the layout provides stunning scenery.

Ahead of the tournament's 32nd edition, the club have built six new championship tees on holes 1, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 13.

Among other course enhancements, new bunker complexes have been built along with a new driving range for the world's leading players to use.

Further work has taken place to refine putting surfaces, narrow fairways and establish the rough.

The par of the course has been reduced from 72 to 70 and the front and back nine have been reversed so that the tournament now finishes on a par three in front of the clubhouse with a stadium-style grandstand at the green.

Speaking during his pre-tournament media duties, Straka said of the course: "It's great. It's really tight off the tee so you are going to have to hit it pretty straight, and the rough is pretty thick this year.

"The greens are tiny so I think [hitting it well] off the tee is going to be pretty important this week."

Markus Brier, the record three-time winner of the Austrian Open and one of just two home winners alongside Bernd Wiesberger, said he is pleased to see the event held in an alpine setting again after being staged at Gut Altentann Golf Club, Salzburg, last year.

"It's beautiful," said Brier, who won his home open when it was on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2002 and 2004 and on the DP World Tour in 2006.

"You see the scenery, the course is in good nick. I think it is good to go somewhere else. We had it in Fontana for years and at other courses and I think it is a very special place."

Brier, who competes on the Legends Tour and is this week taking in the action on the DP World Tour as a fan, said having Straka in the field this week is the "icing on the cake".

"He grew up in Fontana where I was attached and he was there when I won so we had a bit of a relationship when he was young," he added.

"It's great to see him because now I see him every three years and he has really matured. He has made his way.

"But he is still the same as ten, 20 years ago, and he is really relaxed."

Nicolai von Dellingshuasen will begin his first defence of a DP World Tour title alongside pre-tournament favourite Straka this week.

The German, who became a father earlier this year, is expecting a tough test on his return to Austrian soil.

"Considering the circumstances, that I think a couple of weeks ago there was still snow, the rough is thick, the greens are great," he said.

"It is quite tight so we really have to hit it straight. If you are in the rough, sometimes you just have to hack it out and take the punishment.

"But I think it's great. The views are incredible. I am going to enjoy this week, 100%,"