Københavns Golf Klub (Royal Copenhagen Golf Club) (All 18 holes posted)

[Kris Shreiner]

Anders,

Thanks for the turf and environmental assessments. Your gang of golfers over there has to be a hardy bunch just to deal with the conditions and constraints to tee it up. Please IM me your details and I'd be happy to host you for some golf in Philly when you're over next and can work it in!

Cheers,
Kris

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 4 - first par 5
Hole 4 is a 557yds par 5 that play into the prevailing wind. The drive is fairly straight forward with two small bunkers, one on each side of the fairway. In 1954 the hole didn't have any bunkers reachable from the tee.



The drive.


There are more options in the 2nd shot. If laying up a ridge roughly 150yds from the green make things a little complicated. if in the fairway its fairly easy, go for the blind part of the fairway after the ridge and get the easier&Shorter 3rd shot. If your drive is in the rough or a bunker its more difficult.

2nd shot, fairway from 150yds and in is blind


From the edge of the ridge, not sure if you can see the elevation change


The bunker in front of the green is new and there was only one bunker on the rigth all the way up until  2008/2009.


The green area is best protected in the front but green contours are more severe in the back

[Anders Rytter]

Anders,

Thanks for the turf and environmental assessments. Your gang of golfers over there has to be a hardy bunch just to deal with the conditions and constraints to tee it up. Please IM me your details and I'd be happy to host you for some golf in Philly when your over next and can work it in!

Cheers,
Kris

Most golfers here probably don't know that conditions are often better outside the country

but it's not horrible, read that the greens at royal copenhagen rolled between 7-10.5 last year. Fairways are more of an issue though.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Thanks for the pictures. This is great stuff.

[Gary Slatter]

Hole 4 - first par 5
Hole 4 is a 557yds par 5 that play into the prevailing wind. The drive is fairly straight forward with two small bunkers, one on each side of the fairway. In 1954 the hole didn't have any bunkers reachable from the tee.

The drive.


From the edge of the ridge, not sure if you can see the elevation change


The bunker in front of the green is new and there was only one bunker on the rigth all the way up until  2008/2009.


The green area is best protected in the front but green contours are more severe in the back

[Anders Rytter]

Better now?

BTW, sorry about the lack of green pictures, most of the green-pictures turned out to be really dull because of the flat light.

do have some though

[Tom MacWood]

Anders
Cornish & Whitten credit Colt, Alison and Morrison in 1926 at Copenhagen, actually Alison & Morrison in 1926. I don't think their year is right, 1928 is more likely, but I do think Alison & Morrison is pretty likely, especially Morrison, who was very active in Germany and Holland during that period.

[Anders Rytter]

Fantastic! I've never heard a named associated with the "rumor". Very interresting.

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 5 first of two long par 4's playing into the prevailing wind



The bunkers in the fairway have been moved to be in play with all the new equipment. I've traced the bunker short of the green back to 1995 or earlier. not very precise but not part of the recent restoration. the fringe slopes on the right side of the bunker, it's hard to roll the ball onto the green even though i assume thats what people did way back here.

The drive from mens regular tee. The angle from the tips is more from the left and hence the gap in the bunkers is really not a gap you can hit (it's also very narrow from the regular tees). Either carry them or hit short/right. the carry of the left bunkers is 244yds, into the wind.


If not taking on the bunkers in the drive, you'll end up with a 200yds second shot. with a bunker just short of you goal.


If no wind, the long hitters can reach a down slope (barely seen below) and hit a wedge in the second short.


THe bunker in front of the green is not that much of an issue. (Btw, the pile of earth in the bagground is an old viking (or even older) burial tomb, atleast thats what i've been told and it sure looks like one.

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 6, the hole that ruin golf rounds (Scoring wise )

Hole 6 is an even longer par 4 - 463yds also often playing straight into the wind.The seccond shot is severely downhill and blind if you don't hit it far enough. I spend most of the time here to far left to take pictures but do have 3 shots to share.



Again the drive has been tightened up recently.


2nd shot from just short of the left fairway bunker is semi-blind.


Hope this pictures together with the one above gives an idea of how severe the downslope is.


As mentioned the hole is into the wind, it feel like the ball stays in the air forever on the second shot. The green is not protected by bunkers but the rough on the right is extremely penal. There are a few ponds close to the hole and the rough clearly has access to water. Also, as far as i recall, due to the water the fringe is slightly softer here. a punched shot that ends up slightly short will probably not bounce onto the green as it would on other holes. Left there's is a road, and out of bounds. It's possible to find you ball if you hit it left of the road on the left, I can attest to that.

[Jason Hines]

Anders,

Thank you for putting your time and effort into this thread, Denmark is a wonderful country.  The course conditions are very fascinating to me, would love to play there some day.

Jason

[Mark Saltzman]

Just me or does the bunkering/green shaping look better now than in the historic aerials? Not often this can be said.

[Anders Rytter]

Mackenzie & Ebert (2008-2010) have put quite a bit more flavour into the green areas. got some pictues but most turned out showing very little countours because of the light.

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 7 Dogleg right/Cape'ish hole  par 4 (i forgot to tell that the order of play changed a few years back, hole 5 then is hole 9 today 6->10 an so on. hole 7 now used to be hole 13)

Hole 7 is one of atleast two holes that wasn't part of the original routing. until 1994/1995 the hole played from just next to the 6th green as a short'ish par four with a blind drive (playing up to slope that hole 6 played down). The current hole 7 is made up by the old holes' fairway playing to the next holes green. the  hole after was a short par 3.

The aerials are taken 1954 - 1995 - 2010


In 1995 the new hole seems to be under construction. The last fairway bunker on the current hole used to be a green bunker.

The drive, cut of as much as you dare. The landing area for the safe shot is relatively narrow, Bunkers right, rough and cluster of trees left.


If trying to cut too much from the tee the shot from the rough right is still relatively easy (if you get a lie). the fringe is not completely flat but not that tough to bump a ball through. not that much punishment.


I think this picture shows how the fringe areas play. hardly any of them are flat, just looks like it on most of my pictures.

 

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 8 (former hole 14)

Like hole 7, hole eight most often plays down wind.

Second shot from left doesn't have to carry the bunker but it's shorter and also plays more into the slope from the right side of the fariway. right rough is the place not to be.

The bunkers on the left are easier to see in person


Behind the tee your have Eremitagesletten, its not only the place the most deer live in the park, it was also the venue for the first ever soccer match in Denmark (now the national sport)


The seccond short is fairly straight forward and often fairly short.


but the green area is quite interesting.  The whole hole is tilted left to right. missing left you can't get al kinds of lies and angles, and haveing to land the ball on a slight down slope. unfortunately i missed the shot.

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 9


Hole 9 is a short drivable par 4. it's not only short but also downhill, primarily just short of the green which kicks  drives forward and to the left.

The pin can be seen from the tee but not the green and not the landing area.


The green is open center. if your drive end up on the downslope a short pin behind on of the bunkers is very hard to get to.

[Colin Macqueen]

Anders,
This seems like a unique course pictorial to me insofar as you have such clear, accurate and verifiable aerials taken approximately sixty years apart. Pretty unusual I would think to have the complete set. And I appreciate the work you have gone to in "stitching" them side by side. Very neat stuff.

Do the deer hoof prints come under the ruling umbrella of "rabbit scrapings" and allow for a lift and drop!?

Cheers Colin

[Brad Tufts]

Loving this photo-tour.  The park setting with the trees pulled (for the most part) way back is really cool.  I can't say you find that look in many places around the US.

Is RCGC accessible for overseas visitors?  Can't say I will be getting back to the city anytime soon, as I was just there in January visiting for a couple days, and the people we were visiting are moving back to the US after their year in Denmark.

Thanks Anders!

[Anders Rytter]

Anders,
This seems like a unique course pictorial to me insofar as you have such clear, accurate and verifiable aerials taken approximately sixty years apart. Pretty unusual I would think to have the complete set. And I appreciate the work you have gone to in "stitching" them side by side. Very neat stuff.

Do the deer hoof prints come under the ruling umbrella of "rabbit scrapings" and allow for a lift and drop!?

Cheers Colin

Colin, we use the rules from R&A which i don't recall specifically mentioning rabbits. The free drop aply to all digging animals but not hoof-marks by default. I looked at their local rules and didn't find relief from hoof-marks there! Surprising as they can be quite severe. I guess you have to "play the ball as it lies" here.

From 17th Fairway or Semi-rough ( i don't recall and to early in season to tell )

Insert Quote
Loving this photo-tour.  The park setting with the trees pulled (for the most part) way back is really cool.  I can't say you find that look in many places around the US.

Is RCGC accessible for overseas visitors?  Can't say I will be getting back to the city anytime soon, as I was just there in January visiting for a couple days, and the people we were visiting are moving back to the US after their year in Denmark.

Thanks Anders!

RCGC is open to everybody that are member of a club under one of the regional golf associations. (USGA, EGA etc). hcp restrictions probably aply. (would guess only <30-35ish)

[Gary Slatter]

many moons ago, in the 1973 Danish Open, relief was NOT given for hoof prints.  The course was so firm that there were no fresh marks, just older concrete ones in the rough.

ANDERS, thanks again, great job on a certain hidden gem!

[Cristian]

Anders,

Thanks for a great pictorial.

I keep going over the pictures of this course. A wonderful course on land that seems made for golfing. I wonder if Colt&Co were involved in the design. The older areals show symmetrical bunkering defense on almost every hole, especially around the greens, very un-Colt&co-like I believe. (Perhaps Frank Pont would like to comment on this, as he has reviewed the strategics of so many Colt-Alison-Morrison courses.)

Then again the older areals are from the fifties, so it may very well be that things have been altered in the first few decades after the course was built. Perhaps the older fourties pictures that you mentioned having seen can shed some light on that. The McKenzie Ebert renovations certainly look like an improvement over what was there, aestetically but more important also strategically. The course alone is a good reason to come over to Denmark, so it seems.

It is mind boggling that this course is no longer rated in the continental top 100 of Europe (of which we have discussed its shortcomings), maybe it is the hoof prints that scare off the raters, but it looks like top 20 material to me. Would you rate it number one in Denmark?

[Anders Rytter]

After having searched arround i have to say that it seems very unlikely that Fredrik Dreyer had anything to do with the original 1928 design. Sorry about beeing wrong. At that time he was 19 years old. I've seen him given credit several times but it's seems very unlikely.

One page i found gave Credit to C.A. Mackenzie, younger brother of Alister Mackenzie, who also designed Rungsted Golf klub near by, a club that sprung from Københavns golf klub. Not an experts but isn't it a few years early for C.A. Mackenzie to have done the design? (know he did construction then)

I saw that Fredrik Dreyer wrote a book about the club at a club anniversary, will se if i can get my hands on the book and see if theres any more details.

Anders,

Thanks for a great pictorial.

I keep going over the pictures of this course. A wonderful course on land that seems made for golfing. I wonder if Colt&Co were involved in the design. The older areals show symmetrical bunkering defense on almost every hole, especially around the greens, very un-Colt&co-like I believe. (Perhaps Frank Pont would like to comment on this, as he has reviewed the strategics of so many Colt-Alison-Morrison courses.)

Then again the older areals are from the fifties, so it may very well be that things have been altered in the first few decades after the course was built. Perhaps the older fourties pictures that you mentioned having seen can shed some light on that. The McKenzie Ebert renovations certainly look like an improvement over what was there, aestetically but more important also strategically. The course alone is a good reason to come over to Denmark, so it seems.

It is mind boggling that this course is no longer rated in the continental top 100 of Europe (of which we have discussed its shortcomings), maybe it is the hoof prints that scare off the raters, but it looks like top 20 material to me. Would you rate it number one in Denmark?

Christian,
1. The old areials are here, http://lw1944.flyfotoarkivet.dk/ , Quality is very poor but must of the holes looks much indentical to 1954.

2. The hoof marks is not really a problem later in the season.

3. I certainly think it's a top course. Top100golfcourses.co.uk have it as 16th, i think that's pretty harsh. Everybody is different but this is probably the course i plan the most besides my home courses. Hope that answers your question.

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 10 (old hole 6)

Hole 10 is back along the forrest, and the only hole where the trees rewards shot-shaping. If playing from the tips you drive over the 9th green, i think this tee was added in 2008-2009ish. I recalled it as being slightly older but cant find it on aerials from 2008.

Hitting a Hook (right handed) from the tee is not an option. either a relatively short straight shot or if going for the gold, a fade or slice (again right handed) this is from members tee


The seccond shot is downhill


The bunker short left is not Mackenzie-Ebbert, i've traced it back as far as 1995. must have been added between 1954 and 1995.

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 11 (former hole 7)

A short par five, the drive is hit slightly angled to the fairway. To bunkers guard the left side of the fariway which is the side to be in. the green slopes to the right.

The drive - the fairway is relatively narrow.


The look from mid-fairway


The "hill" short left of the green makes shots from the left rough quite hard. picture is taken from left rough.

[Anders Rytter]

Hole 12 (not original, i think it was build when current hole 7 was created, i.e. ~1994-1995)

A mid-short par three, with quite a bit of elevation change and straight into the wind. very hard to get the lenght right.


Hole 12 is to my knowledge the newest green on the course and a little out of carracter by being a table-top.


both in the back and left you can get some interesting chip-shot from a fringe well below the level of the green