...a review of 3 new Danish courses
By: Thomas Vennekilde
During a weekend we played three amazing courses and also
went in the footsteps of the Danish nobility….
Some years ago – nostalgically known as "The Good Old
Days" - a golf course was something a bunch of enthusiasts got together,
found the earth, bought the field and founded a club.
Whether you like it or not, those days long gone. Today, all
new courses are a result of capital investment and a desire to, as soon as
possible, build a golf course.
We've managed a couple of days off, and gone to look at three
of these newer courses. Common to them, is they are all built in connection
with a manor or an estate.
GYLDENSTEEN
Support for the track did not arrive, and the sale of
memberships and homes went at a leisurely pace, and in 2009 was the company
behind bankrupt. At that time you had to scout long for a buyer to a golf
course, and were it not for the tenacious members of the club, the course was
enough overgrown subsequently to be dug up. For two years languished the pitch
until Finn Gramvad who six years earlier had sold Blåvandshuk Golf, came by and
bought the plant.
Finn Gramvad is engaged because we see him when we arrive at the club. He is currently in the clubhouse, but anyway takes time to greet and show around the aristocratic appearance main building and telling a little about the golf. He has no idea who we are, but he shall of course tell about the cheap package deals where you get green fees, breakfast, dinner and overnight in luxury hotel. Yes, business acumen cannot be denied.
Loser’s wash
We thank him nicely for the tour and head to the first tee. The course is fairly open and just a few hundred meters from the Kattegat. Already in the first tee, we get a taste of what awaits us: a half long par 4-hole straight into the wind. Two balloon-slices later and we set course for the rough on the right side. The balls are fortunately found and we press on. The front nine is the long section and places high demands on the driver. But that is changing as we round the clubhouse after 9 hole. The last holes are somewhat shorter and with added whimsy that we did not see on the first loop. Especially the final three holes require you take thinking that promotion. And since our match at the same time is in the balance, it is with light shaking hands, that we're tackling with them. 16th is a long par 5-hole, where the green is tucked in the woods. A long putt for both of us brings today's match all square, and sends us into the forest to one of the runway’s hardest holes.
Dogleg holes are always fun, for you must attack or just play
safely? We do like good restaurant reviewers and try one of each – a hook and a
slice. When we meet on the putting green, the result is all even. This must be
decided on 18th hole. We can rejoice that no one is sitting on the terrace. One
of the only lakes on the course is located just in front of the green on this
par 3-hole, which is also protected by trees. A tee shot in the lake means that
our roads are getting a divorce. The loser goes to the washing station, where
the winner's clubs must have a loving treatment. The winner goes to the bar and
orders a well-deserved beer.
A half hour later, running down the great avenue we can look back on a great day on the golf course. It is a shame that Bogense is so remote. The relationship between price and quality is really advantageous at Gyldensteen, and many Danish golfers would enjoy a visit here.
STENSBALLEGAARD
It's the next day. After a good night's sleep, I stand now looking at my reflection in my shiny equipment, while I enjoy the view of Horsens and surroundings on the last hole of Stensballegaard.
Prior has gone a whole day at a facility which was voted Best New Course in 2010. Now how some awards are always subjective, but one thing's for sure; Stensballegaard is something special. The 27 holes are laid out on manor lands down to Horsens Fjord and offer something for every golf palette. Here there are long runs, large greens, strategically placed bunkers and much more. The only thing there isn’t, is rakes in bunkers.
Since Stensballegaard opened they got a lot of attention, praise and criticism for their desire that bunkers should be hazards. The architect contention is: bunkers are over-groomed and consequently too easy to get out of. In order to make them more punitive remove the rakes and asked instead people to smooth the sand out with the foot or the iron after a visit. It was not all that was exciting getting into a footprint that had not been raked, and Danish green fee guests have affected the policy. Now, they have introduced a Bunker Shaper, which smooth’s the sand out, without making it too manicured.
Stensballegaard consists of three loops of nine holes. We began the day at Brakør, which is the longest of the three. Here are some good-sized holes where you really have to get up on tiptoe. It is also in this loop you come closest to Horsens Fjord, when at the fifth tee you hit your tee shot directly to the water. Although Brakør was the longest, it proved to be also the most convenient.
For the Elbæk 9 holes, the American architect Rick Baril really decided to bring the wet element in the game. In seven of the holes is water in play, and we managed indeed to have launched a couple of Pro V1's in there, most bitterly on the excellent 9th hole, which runs a river all the way along the right side, to culminate in a lake in front of the green. In honor of the occasion, the green keeper set the flag right up in front of the green, just a few meters from the lake, a so-called “sucker pin”. And, we feel indeed like a couple of fools, when, after a drive in the middle of the fairway, send our approach craftily into the lake.
Worldly Man in Horsens
After such a game it is well to enjoy a solid lunch in the impressive clubhouse. The impressive white building with tall columns looks like something from a Texan country club, but when you sit on the terrace and looking out over the Count Henrik Ahlefeldt-Laurvig course, it's also hard not to feel like a man of the world.
After a delicious beef tartar, we're tackling Guldberg. The first six holes merge into Brakør loop, and have the same character: Long holes in the open landscape. But then making the trip into the woods and up, up, up. On the seventh hole is a 250 meter long dogleg right 4-hole uphill, we experience the rare eagle putt. Although it does not go in, it lifts anyway our energy level.
And so we arrive at today's final hole. On paper it looks like a monster with a length of 535 meters from the yellow and equally dramatic 456 from the red, but we have gradually come up so high that it can only go one way. Down. But before we do, let us gaze over the horizon, and will pronounce it on the spot to be Denmark's best view.
We do not have an altimeter, but guess the fairway falls by 30-40 meters before it flattens out into a lake in front of the green. The joy of beating a drive that hits the fairway, and then just continue to roll is great. Never mind that as we subsequently choked and must cross out the hole. Whether we'd made 27 points, would today's round still have been a great experience.
LYNBYGAARD
With 27 holes in the legs and a great experience in the body, we give ourselves the next day at war with the other Danish course, that Rick Baril designed, Lyngbygaard. It lies just west of Aarhus and can also offer 27 holes. These are divided into a dedicated 18-hole course and a shorter nine-hole course.
Now it is surely appropriate to state, as the jargon is
called a disclaimer - a small passage where the author of this article is aware
of circumstances that may affect his impartiality. They are closely related to
the original initiator, co-owner and director – who also turns out to be my
father. This person, however, is no longer associated with the course, and we
dare therefore to our integrity, and shall pitch a visit.
The beautiful clubhouse in glass and steel is in sharp
contrast to the nearby “Lyngbygaard farm”, with a Copper Beach tree from 1849,
planted in memory of General Rye, who spent the night at the farm before the
decisive attack on the Schleswig-Holstein army in Frederica.
The first hole was– from architect’s page, intended as an
easy start to the round - a bit of a shock when, despite the fact that it's a
5-hole, rated the hardest from the Danish Golf Union. The hole had been index
1. It resolved to be talked about, and today the hole is more appropriately
rated #5. We get at least a decent start to the hole, which has a nice wide
fairway that falls all the way down to the well-protected green.
The wide fairways quickly prove to be a feature of the
course. On most holes, there is plenty of room for a slightly loose driver. It
is only in the second battle, you have to be careful. Greens are good, large
and even giant in individual cases. But they are also undulating and well
protected by sand and water. An example is the second a hole that may be
described as signature; a short par-3 over water to a horizontal green where
the slope behind it is a large waste area. We look with delight as our balls
find their way to the green, and can proceed with a snug par on the score card.
Ryder Cup Course
The front nine is brought into the open and undulating terrain. For people who have seen the Open de France at the upcoming Ryder Cup course Golf National, there will be some similarities, in the form of large lakes and huge bunkers. The similarity is not a coincidence. It is Rick Baril of von Hagge, Smelek & Baril, who has also input in the design of Golf National in Paris.
But then we come to the back nine and here the course completely
changes character. Now we come into the woods, and drives get a little more
cramped. Sand is still plenty, as well as some holes are waste areas as far as
the eye can see. And, then comes something as rare as short par 3-holes. 15th
measuring 113/76 meters, while the 17th a petite 78/62 meters. We note our sharpness
is not as it should be on the short distances, and we take a walk in the sand.
After having put out on the 18th we adopt the terrace, where we reminisce on the past three days. There is no doubt we have played three amazing courses each with their own charm. Which is best - is probably a matter of taste, but one thing is certain. We are pleased that farm land on these three estates was converted into golf courses.
THE END
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