20 Städler & Reinmuth Golfdesign has completed a new layout for Bades Huk Golf Club, near Wismar on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, on the site of the abandoned Golf Club Hohen Wieschendorf course. “Golf has no history in Eastern Germany,” said architect Christoph Städler. “Before World War II, there were only a handful of golf courses in that area. When the German Democratic Republic was founded after the war, these courses were abandoned and used for other purposes, because golf was not compatible with the ideology of the workers’ and farmers’ state. Golf had ceased to exist there – until the reunification of the two German states in 1990.” The Hohen Wieschendorf course was established in 1991 on a peninsular location jutting out into the Baltic Sea. “The budget for the original course was obviously very limited because the construction quality was very simple, with tiny push-up greens and tees, small flat bunkers and fairways without shaping,” said Städler. “Maintenance was also limited to the bare essentials, which had a negative impact on the quality of play.” Ultimately this led to the club’s collapse. “By the end of 2018, operations and maintenance ceased and the golf course became overgrown and lay abandoned for some time,” said Staedler. “Some holes were only recognisable by the trees and hedgerows on their sides and almost had the character of ‘lost holes’.” Austrian investor Oliver Soini acquired the land in 2019 and began plans to renovate the course to accompany the resort development he had built in the corner of the site. Soini invited proposals and selected Städler & Reinmuth for the project. “We decided to disregard the original layout and create completely new, more challenging holes,” said Städler. “In doing so, we made optimal use Städler and Reinmuth revive neglected site in Germany TEE BOX
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