Nick Faldo was in Denmark last week to continue work on his pioneering 18-hole ‘Faldo Championship’ standard golf course at Ledreborg Palace, near Copenhagen. The completed layout promises to be a stunning addition to the company’s increasingly global portfolio. One of the most environmentally sensitive projects that Faldo Design has ever undertaken, its development has proved to be an engaging example in natural, instinctive design.
Ledreborg Palace is a well-known historic landmark and it remains the residence of an aristocratic Danish family. The striking 18th century building and sumptuous grounds include ancient royal burial mounds and a wealth of gently – and occasionally spectacularly – rolling parkland.
Nick Faldo commented, “Environmental and ecological considerations always form an essential part of any work that we undertake but the history of the site at Ledreborg Palace has made this a particularly sensitive project. We have had to avoid infringing upon ancient hedgerows, ponds and forestland and, in particular, earth movement has been kept to an absolute minimum. This has made for a challenging but very interesting process of work, where the routing has been directly influenced by the precise topography of the site. This is exactly how I imagine design practice would have been implemented on the very earliest golf courses. In broad terms, the course was largely already in existence from the very beginning and the process has been an exercise in pure, instinctive course design.”
Construction work is now fairly advanced and Faldo was at Ledreborg Palace to refine the strategic qualities of a golf course that he believes has the potential to become one of the finest in northern Europe.
Robert Birch, chairman of the board at Ledreborg Palace, commented, “We chose Faldo Design based upon their excellent reputation and also due to the fact that we are looking for something a little different here at Ledreborg palace. It was very important for us that the course be designed in a way that was sympathetic to the surroundings – in particular to the natural environment that exists here. Nick was very excited about the prospect of working on a project such as this one and we have been delighted with his efforts.”
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