57 The greens sit nicely in their (created) environments, and are relatively quiet. This is not uncommon on ‘real’ links courses: given the high winds often present on the links, less radical greens can be a sensible choice to remain playable in wild weather. The two later phases of work are in more mature golfing landscapes, with water hazards and trees, and thus required a gentler touch. The transition in and out of the different environments feels seamless: the holes at the south of the site are lower, and consequently have to deal with a higher water table, and those at the eastern end are the most heavily treed. The architect’s growing confidence can be seen from the bolder greens he built in the later phases, culminating in the quite radical, but entirely successful surfaces on holes eight and nine of the Red course. The eighth on Red, in particular, is stunning. The best green on the course, it sits completely at home on a green site that slopes from high right to low left, and the contours, including a significant internal mound at left centre, protect the different pin locations remarkably well. As well as their excellence from a golfing point of view, the greens are also a case study in sustainability. They were all built with sand sourced on the site itself. Not having to truck in sand to build greens is a huge environmental gain, particularly in this island location. The whole course is now a sustainability success story: the landscape has been restored so golfers experience a much more natural environment and, as a part of that, the reconstruction created a wide range of habitats: dry grasslands, heath, wetlands and sandy wastes. This variety of habitats is a big boost for the flora and fauna of the island. Across the site, the bunker work is excellent; with eroded edges in the style of architects like Tom Doak and Bill Coore, it naturalises the holes still further. Because the work was done in three phases, there are some differences of style in the bunkers. In particular, the bunkers built in the second phase, shaped by the late Mick McShane, an undeniable artist, are more ‘muscular’ and less sinuous than those done earlier or later. The club’s greenkeeping team will need to keep on top of the vegetation that was planted, especially in the first phase. A large amount of gorse was included in the planting scheme, and it is easy to understand why – it GOLF CLUB FÖHR “ The transition in and out of the different environments feels seamless” Photo: Stefan von Stengel Föhr’s landscape has been restored from farmland to a more natural environment
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