The Scandinavian Golf Club’s two courses debuts in the very top of the brand new list of Europe’s 100 best golf courses created by Golf World. The Scandinavian Old Course sprints past a raft of established golf courses for a grand spot at #15, like The Scandinavian New Course enters the list as #34, reports Frank Undall.
Old Course was constructed in the period from 2006 to 2010. The course is designed with the fundamental element that precision from tee box weighs more than length. Optical illusions are part of the design, for example, on 10th hole where two enclaves of bunkers from the tee box seems to be one large and challenging area, and likewise on the 17th hole. From the teeing ground this penultimate hole seems much narrower at the landing site than it really is.
Like Old Course the New Course is built in the period 2006 to 2010 but only started operating in the spring of 2011. This course also demands accuracy from the tees, but a few holes, the long-hitters also have the opportunity to try their muscles in earnest. This especially comes true on 12th hole – 588 metres from the professional tees. Precision is key element on New Course, and this you will be reminded of from start at the very narrow 1st hole. Forethought and a medium iron give more bonus than a driver.
Five Danish golf courses
Reviews of golf courses at The Scandinavian and the other 98 golf courses can be viewed in full in the special supplement to Golf World November 2011 that is already released. There are different categories, but the Top 100 list that The Scandinavian Old Course and New Course debuts on are the “Top 100 Golf Courses Continental Europe”. This means that the assessment was conducted among all European golf courses outside Ireland and Britain.
Besides The Scandinavian Golf Club’s two courses, three other Danish golf courses can be found in the Top 100 list. It is Lubker Sky-Sand (the RTJII course is #16 after debut as #14 in 2008), Esbjerg (#60 from previously #75) and Forest Course (Skovbanen) in Holstebro, which debuts as #89. Rungsted GC was in 2008 listed as #77 and Denmark’s first RTJII golf course at Skolí (Skjoldesnæsholm) as #98, but none of these courses are in the 2011 list.
Right at the top, the French Les Bordes and Morfontaine remains occupants of respectively 1th and 2nd place, while Royal Dutch Hague on 3rd place surprisingly sends the 1997 Ryder Cup course, Valderrama, to #6. Belgien Royal Zoute is #4 and has swapped places with Golf Nationale, which is now #5.
Not just the golf courses, but also the clubhouse at The Scandinavian Golf Club is under evaluation. The clubhouse has previously triggered awards for architecture, materials and craftsmanship methods, including “The Carpenter Prize 2009”.
Latest prize in this context is “The Natural Stone of the Year Award”, which has just been awarded architect Anders Park from Henning Larsen Architects for the basic use of natural stone slate. The materials used are primarily 400 million year old Norwegian slate, heartwood of 120 year old Douglas pine, glass and finally tombak – a very ductile (stretchable) alloy of copper and zinc.
Scandinavian Golf Club www.thescandinavian.dk