Fanø Golf Links (large pics)

[TomSteenstrup]

Some pictures from Fanø Golf Links (west coast of Denmark):
(http://www.fanoe-golf-links.dk)

Teeshot, 9th. Can you spot the flag?


The 9th green. Just a pretty picture  


The par 3 16th. The punch bowl green - correction: Bath tub
green - is tiny. The wind usually helps, coming from the right
(west). Going straight at the green can lead to disaster left (dunes).
When the wind is against, it is recommendable to play safe right
of the green and try to two putt your way to a par.


The par 4 17th. A pseudo-split fairway. Mostly you just hit it
out there and hope for a good lie on any side.

[Paul_Turner]

Well that's an eye opener!

[John_Conley]

Very interesting...

I lived in Danmark for four months in late 1989.  The couple rounds I played were on courses that were okay, but nothing special.  (Rungsted Kyst and Koge come to mind.)  This looks pretty cool.

Thanks for sharing!

[RJ_Daley]

Tom Steenstrup, thanks for showing some other links land courses,
that aren't so often thought about.  This one looks like the perfect course
for the fellows to play their old hickory club tournament.

Can you tell us anything more about Dunlop the Scotsman who laid the course out in 1901,
or the person that added the second 9 in 1930?  I looked in Tom Morris scrapbook and couldn't find any reference
to Dunlop.  

It looks like bunkers were not a strong consideration or need to provide links experience.

Do you think a good bunkermeister might shine the course up a bit?

What is the approximate course length off the back tees?

[TomSteenstrup]

Fanø is a different kind of golf course. It's only about 5700 yards, par 70. They have some severe restrictions on what they can do to the course, thus no bunkers, no fertilizers, watering, etc.

It's history is mostly one of a limited holiday course for tourist, but many have come to love it for its raw experience. Those 5700 yards will never feel long, but the course certainly can show some teeth when the wind is up - and it almost always is.

RJ: Yes, I believe it would be a perfect course for a retro-tournament, and I believe they had one of those for their 100 year anniversary.

I have no clue about Dunlop (Donald Dunlop, from what I gathered). Supposedly, he was a pro from Scotland. I doubt he did much more than point out some green sites.

They have some arial shots that are pretty cool. See if you can spot the 5th - a very "Dell"-like par 3.:
http://www.fanoe-golf-links.dk/luftfoto/pres0000.html

[Paul_Daley]

Tom: you've really titilated us with these images of Fanoe. Much obliged!

It also further underlines the ridiculous trend that so many new clubs engage in, namely, trying to attach and make capital from incorporating the "links" tag into their club's marketing. The irony is strong: here's a links that wouldn't look out of place in Britain. Too many new coastal courses are lush and luxuriant, barely resemebling a links, yet they
try and push home the point. Yes, a laughable situation.

What you mentioned about Fanoe making do without fertilisers, water, bunkers, and so forth - all positives.

[TomSteenstrup]

I've used one of the overhead shots to show the routing of the course.



The 5th, 8th, and 15th are quite difficult. The 5th has two green sites, one for winter play and one for summer play. Both are impossible to find from the tee. The tee shots on the 8th and 15th are scary.

[wsmorrison]

Thanks so much for posting these pictures, Tom.  Very interesting to see familiar dunesland in unfamiliar places.  It looks like a great course that transports you back to an earlier time.  The course was founded in 1901?  What are some of the earliest courses in Denmark?  Are there longer links courses and do they hold international or professional tournaments?

[ForkaB]

Great stuff, Tom.

Looks like there is ample room for expansion..........

[Jonathan Davison]

What a site!
Looks enough room for another 18?

[Joe Hancock]

If there are severe restrictions in place i.e. water, fertilizer and chemicals, I can't imagine approval for expansion or more holes would be granted, regardless of space available.

Very cool looking land. It's crtainly a study in shaping by nature vs. the hand and mind of man.

Joe

[Tom_Doak]

Tom S:  Thanks for sharing those pictures.  I had heard about the course years ago from one of my interns, James Duncan.

What is the cause for the restrictions you cite?

It sure looks like the course could be improved if they were allowed to do so.  For starters, unless it screws up another hole, I'd move the 16th green back into that slot behind and right of the current green ... a stronger shot to a more visible target.  

[Adam_F_Collins]

Denmark. Who knew?

Very cool. Thanks for the eye-opener.

[TomSteenstrup]

Thanks so much for posting these pictures, Tom.  Very interesting to see familiar dunesland in unfamiliar places.  It looks like a great course that transports you back to an earlier time.  The course was founded in 1901?  What are some of the earliest courses in Denmark?  Are there longer links courses and do they hold international or professional tournaments?

This is the oldest course in Denmark. It has changed so much though that it probably doesn't have much to do with the original layout (which btw. has been lost, I believe).
http://www.fanoe-golf-links.dk/uk/content.htm

The only other links-like course I know of is Esbjerg GK, which is a much better/larger/championship-like course, is on sandy soil, but is not exactly links in geography. The European Challenge Tour has had a couple of events there.
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16245;start=25

Tom S:  Thanks for sharing those pictures.  I had heard about the course years ago from one of my interns, James Duncan.

What is the cause for the restrictions you cite?

It sure looks like the course could be improved if they were allowed to do so.  For starters, unless it screws up another hole, I'd move the 16th green back into that slot behind and right of the current green ... a stronger shot to a more visible target.  

From what I gather, all links land - and pretty much the remaining coast line of DK - is restricted by environmental politics. This course would never have been build now. This also means that it is unlikely that land could be found anywhere in DK for a new course in some of our links land.

I see what you are saying with the 16th green site, but I love that little tub. An intentional hook is not a bad approach to this green.

[Keith Durrant]

Some more history from Golfika:

http://www.golfika.com/edi03_e.html

"Most - not to say all - books on golf history state that the very first golf open ever played on the Continent was the French open. It was at La Boulie, the Paris Golf Club, in 1906. The winner was Arnaud Massy - the first non British to win the Open (the next year at Hoylake).
 
Recently, one of our readers, Bill Hewitson, sent us an e-mail with a very interesting information. His grand-uncle, Robert Dunlop, professional at Prestwick went to Denmark and designed the Fano Golf Course, opened in 1901. An open (an inaugural event ?) was the played on August the 10th of the same year. Robert Dunlop was the winner.
 
As a proof, Bill sent us a picture of the medal clearly proving his assumptions.  
           


  Front view (on the left) says "Open Golf Championship of Denmark" Fano 1901 Won By Robert Dunlop (Hard to read on the scan).  
     
  Unfortunately, we know very few about Robert Dunlop nor the history of the Fano Golf Club. We would appreciate any help from our readers.  
     
  Robert Dunlop. Born 30 of August, 1877. Was pro at Prestwick, Scotland. Designed the Fano Golf Course in Denmark in 1901. Eventually gone to the USA in the Chicago area. There is a story that he had drowned in a lake during a New Year's Eve party at the club. It appears that he was not found for some time as the lake froze over. "