A hydraulic control device with a pressure control valve that has a control piston and a modulating piston which can move relative to one another. The control piston and the modulating piston are pushed apart from one another by at least one spring. At one end face of the modulating piston there is arranged a pressure chamber in such a manner that when the pressure chamber is filled, the modulating piston is caused to move in the direction toward the control piston. The pressure chamber can be filled by a first volume flow Q1 of a pressure medium. A venting line, with at least one further throttle, is connected to the pressure chamber. A second volume flow Q2 can be discharged, via the venting line, from the pressure chamber. The hydraulic control device can be utilized in a marine transmission.