Golf in Denmark Golf Course Architecture By Caspar Development of golf in Denmark Early clubs in Denmark: Københavns - 1898 (The first golf club in Scandinavia - current course allegedly designed by C H Alison) Aalborg - 1908 Esbjerg - 1921 Helsingør - 1927 Odense - 1927 Aarhus - 1931 Kolding - 1933 Rungsted - 1936 (Designed by Charles MacKenzie brother to Alister) Asserbo - 1946 Fanø - 1948 (The course is older. The first Open Danish Championship was held in 1901) Golf Course Architecture By Caspar Development of golf in Denmark Architecture in Denmark Up until very recently all the best courses in Denmark had a strong reference to the classical British courses. Many of the oldest courses are also some of the best courses as they have clearly been designed with a classical approach. However from the 1970’s through to the 1990’s a lot of new courses were built with “happy amateurs”as architects and unfortunately this has left a lot of courses with much to be desired in all aspects. Unfortunately it is very costly to re-develop these courses. The 1990’s saw the first international golf development, but it took about another 10 years before more projects turned to international architects. Recently quite a few American architects have created projects in Denmark with quite an impact as they display a very different attitude to the use of the existing landscape and the traditions sur- rounding golf in Denmark , but also adding a new variety of golf course design to the Danish players. Golf Course Architecture By Caspar Development of golf in Denmark Members Clubs 160000 200 180 140000 160 120000 140 100000 120 80000 100 Members Clubs 80 60000 60 40000 40 20000 20 0 0 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Golf Course Architecture By Caspar Current golf in Denmark in numbers 187 clubs 152.972 members (approx 2,7% of population) 2nd largest sport in Denmark 70% male golfers 30% female golfers Average club 818 active members - high in European context 99 passive members Average annual subscription : 720 EUR - low in European context Average green fee: Weekdays 40 EUR / weekends 50 EUR - also low in European context Estimated annual number of rounds per course: 23.431 - about average for Europe Golf Course Architecture By Caspar Denmark and the environment Denmark has been on the front line in the battle to make golf courses (even) more environmental friendly. Very strict legislation on the use of water and pesticides. New law from 2013 limiting the use of pesticides severely. Through the past 7 years clubs in Denmark have reported their annual use of fertiliser, pesticides, wa- ter and their energy consumption. It has been mandatory for 119 clubs to submit these data, but actu- ally 135 clubs have done so. (2011) Results Kg active/ha 0,45 A reduction in use of pesticides 0,4 A very low consumption of water for irrigation - 7000m3 in 2011 0,35 Only 20% have fairway irrigation 0,3 0,25 Research in grass species and weed control 0,2 STERF - Scandinavian Turfgrass Aand Environment Research Foundation: 0,15 Turf Grass Guide for the Nordic Countries 0,1 0,05 Red Fescue Management 0 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Kg active/ha 0,39 0,39 0,39 0,38 0,38 0,35 0,32 0,28 0,25 0,24 0,23 0,23 0,19 0,16 Golf Course Architecture By Caspar The Players During the 1990’s the increasing popularity of golf in Denmark reached new heights when Thomas Bjørn won his first tournament on the European Tour. Thomas Bjørn (The first Danish winner on the European Tour - 1996, Ryder Cup) Anders Hansen Søren Hansen Søren Kjeldsen Iben Tinning (The first Danish winner on Ladies European Tour, Solheim Cup, Order of Merit winner 2005) Steen Tinning Mads Vibe-Hastrup Thorbjørn Olesen (6th at Masters) Golf Course Architecture By Caspar The European Institute of Golf Course Architects Following the proud tradition of Danish architects and designers four Danes are now members of the EIGCA and have all gained international experience. Three now have their own practices and one is working for the Danish Golf Union. Line Mortensen, associate member - Line Mortensen Ltd Thomas Hoffmann Jepsen, associate member - Danish Golf Union Philip Christian Spogárd, associate member - Spogárd & VanderVaart Caspar Bay Grauballe, senior member - Golf Course Architecture by Caspar Line Mortensen Philip Christian Spogárd Golf Course Architecture By Caspar .