Play golf on Fanø

Among the sand dunes and sand hills winds a Danish beauty, Fanø Golf Club - A unique experience that offers so much more than just golf. Denmark is a country of islands. There are over 400 of them, 100 of which are inhabited. In the context of golf none of them can compare with Fanø. The treasure of the island is an 18-hole course from 1901 - a true links course. The clubhouse is also from 1901, it was expanded significantly for the 100^th anniversary party. The course got its current stretch to18 holes in 1930.

The fastest way to get to Fanø is by ferry from Esbjerg. The journey takes twelve minutes to the capital, Nordby. The island has a beach wider than wide and 14 kilometres long. There is also an inn in a village called Sønderho. Almost the whole village, all of 400 people, is national monument protected. If the expression "Do not go past the inn" ever mattered then it is here and now. Sønderho Cro has been a pub since 1722. Here the memory of the food lingers in the walls.
For those who want to mortify the flesh before visiting Sønderho Cro, we recommend a cycling journey (available for hire) from Nordby. Bike paths without hills, (we are in Denmark) - are broad and distinct.

This is where golf has been played for more than100 years on a course that God created. Most of the holes are between the dunes, placed as if in a pot. You don’t see the ocean but you can hear it, and the ever present wind is saturated with salt. When you are surrounded by dunes, you might as well be in the British Isles. Such is the feeling. There is no equivalent to this link course anywhere in Scandinavia.

A rubber peg is a must. You know, that little rubber plop you put on the mat. That’s right, there are no grass tees and mats are too hard for a traditional peg to be pushed down into. This was the case every time during our visit.

Count on your short game being blind. A clever system with shovels (meaning you can hit!) and warning triangles (meaning do not hit, people on the green!) on bars solves the problem of a blind short game. When you have finished putting you pull the warning triangle and lift the shovel.

You experience the course as being short but it measures slightly more than 5000 metres. What matters here is to think. It is tempting to try to reach the green on short par 4-holes with the wind at your back, but the fairways are not wide. In addition a golfer who hooks or slices from the tee can count on a lost stroke when you’re going to get away from the dunes.

The course is challenging to the highest degree, yet it is the feeling that lingers; a sense of having experienced something unique. For those who collect courses Fanø is a must.

Text: Göran Söderlund
Photo: Fernando Marcial

FANØ GOLF CLUB
Type of course: Links
Number of holes: 18
Length, from the yellow tees (there are no white tees): 5,080 metres
From the red tees: 4,314 metres.
Handicap Requirements, Women / Men: Green card
Practice Area: Putting green
Address: Vester Fanø Sea Carlsbad Golf Club, 6720 Nordby, Denmark
Phone: +45-75161400
Fax: +45-75161401
E-mail: mail@fanoe-golf-links.dk
Homepage: www.fano-golf-links.dk

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