59 grows quickly, helps to naturalise new shaping, and gives important vertical texture to the holes. But there is no doubt that gorse is a double-edged sword. Not only is it a savage hazard – with its spiky branches, a ball that goes into a gorse bush of any size is irretrievably lost – but gorse is an incredibly aggressive plant. Once it gets established, it grows and spreads very quickly, and what is supposed to be merely a part of the landscape ends up dominating it. As well as gorse, a lot of heather was planted, both in the form of shredded ‘brashings’ (which contain seed), as well as 30,000 small plants. Heather is an important plant in this context, partly because it is a much better hazard than gorse – balls can usually be found in it, and generally advanced from it, though not always that far – but also because part of the planning application for the new ground included changing its landscape designation from parkland to heather grassland. Dune heath is a rare and precious ecosystem, and this is central to the Föhr project’s importance. The project has also included the installation of Rain Bird’s IC System to improve irrigation across the 27 holes. “The system was a clear choice for the club,” says Althaus. “The head greenkeeper has control over every single rotor while information from the field ensures that only the required amount of water is applied with impressive accuracy and uniformity.” All across the property, but most obviously in the dune holes, there are tiny saplings springing up in their hundreds. Heath is not a wholly natural landscape, but was formed thousands of years ago by early farmers clearing (generally poor quality, because of the sandy soil) woodlands to provide pasture for their flocks. In place of the trees, fine grasses and heather grew, and were kept in check by the grazing animals, who also ate all the sapling trees that emerged. But once the land ceases to be grazed, there are only greenkeepers to stop the trees coming back. Sand dunes and forest are not compatible. Also, Föhr is a very compact course, quite remarkably so for 27 holes, and though it does not feel crushed into the site, there is, in places, not a lot of room between holes. Tree growth has the potential to make the course undesirably narrow. On the beautiful par-three Blue sixth, the last of the dune holes on that nine, an elegant bunker created by the architect has already been wholly obscured by tree growth. Mention of the size of the property brings us to one of Althaus’s greatest achievements at Föhr. It is simply remarkable to get 27 holes of this quality onto a property of 80 hectares GOLF CLUB FÖHR Photo: Fabian Sixt The first and seventh holes on the Yellow nine share a wild and undulating double green “ It is simply remarkable to get 27 holes of this quality onto a property of 80 hectares and for the holes not to feel squeezed together”
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