Budersand, Germany: making a new links on old dunesland

Over a long period of time on the prominent island of Sylt, in North Germany, an old military base surrounded by a rusty fence was subject to speculators and investors. The former Pidder Lüng area, with its barracks, had been empty for almost fifteen years, abandoned and overgrown with undesirable vegetation. And, occupying seventy-three hectares on that famous resort island, this object filled the newspapers with various speculations and plannings.

In the spring of 2003, I jumped over the fence and explored the area, gaining my first vision of the planning and development of the land. It quickly became apparent that to develop eighteen holes on this land would be no easy matter. In addition to the thirty hectares of roads, ramshackle buildings and bush encroachment, the property’s remaining forty three hectares comprised highly protected dunes and heathland. It was partly declared as a Fauna-Flora-Habitat (FFH).

As a local golf course and landscape architect, having a comprehensive knowledge about the ecology of Sylt’s different landscapes, I witnessed many housing developers attempting to get a foot in the door. In spite of each offering high financial benefits, none of them would address or solve natural and ecological requirements. With the promise of a compassionate fan of Sylt as the owner, the ‘big hit’ started. The authoritative bodies sympathetically agreed to plans for an eighteen-hole links, with an adjoining hotel of the highest category. Steps to comply to the most stringent nature conservation legislation requirements were put in place.

Fortunately, the whole planning area was environmentally classified as nothing but rugged, worthless terrain. Any plan at that time for such a project would have been unthinkable, and I stress that I am deeply respectful of environmental and nature-protection interests. So, military structures found on the area were utilised in the design of the golf course. For instance, old bunker entrances and infrastructures of the military base—such as underground tanks, cellars and tunnels—were documented meticulously in order to incorporate them in the design; but also to justify the golf course in such an ecologically explosive setting. A puzzle of military relics lay within a flattened landscape, surrounded by high dunes, and these had to be cleverly combined into a fine routing in order to be granted the final construction permit. The mere act of constructing the golf course brought 25,000 square metres of old barracks and 100,000 square metres sealed areas of roads and concrete surfaces back to nature. Unwanted vegetation, such as the Kamchatka Rose (Rosa rugosa) and White Poplar (Populus alba), habituated just over eighteen hectares; it was cleared to form the rough and new dunes.

The areas of the golf course in the south of Sylt are completely linksland; not only at the narrow strip along the coast, but also extending far inland. Surrounded by the North Sea, the southern tip of Sylt presents an amazing landscape of endless beaches, ancient dunes and rich-species heath vegetation. Against this backdrop, I was able to design the course with two loops ending near the clubhouse, which capitalised on a variety of different playing directions. Unusually strong winds prevail, so much thought went into Budersand’s routing to ensure that shotmaking variety existed to attract and maintain the technical interest of the players. A total of forty-two hectares were converted to land for golf course purposes, to produce and integrate existing border areas such as dunes, heath and grassland with a fantastic variety of species. The personal degree of challenge and fun this produced is still difficult to describe. The driving force, given the limited amount of space at my disposal, concerned the creativity of the design. For this reason, I created a links where variety, combined with strategic elements, was the top priority. My main target was to design challenging and demanding golf holes amid the dunes; to identify and separate the fairways; and to develop an ecological network within the golf course. Importantly, less powerful golfers and those on high handicaps haven’t been forgotten, as we strived to provide an avenue of negotiation when playing more defensively and trying to avoid the risk. No hole at Budersand is similar to another; the par-3s and par-5s, especially, play in opposite directions and have their own distinct character.

To build on pure sand is a wonderful condition, even when the grasses and plantings have initially struggled to get established. A new links on such a site needs at least five years after the opening to establish and mature, until all surfaces are fully developed to the contentment of the designer. In particular, the plantings of the newly created sand dunes—an area of 190,000 square metres (nineteen hectares)—required protracted attention for a satisfying expansion without being irrigated. Overall, besides the hydroseeding for the dunes and rough surfaces, 11,250 dune roses (Rosa pimpinellifolia), 7,250 gorse (Ulex europaeus), 100,000 beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) and 5,000 beach rye (Leymus arenarius) were planted to consolidate the surfaces quickly and to prevent erosion.

I was particularly delighted about the results of the newly created heathland. Many patches of the small-scale heath vegetation, which had spread like a mosaic on the military terrain, were rescued, transplanted and joined together successfully to form 17,400 square metres of heathland. Even in the mid-summer the transplantations could have been done with a special technique and the heather sods implemented successfully.

Excellent greenkeeping takes a considerable share in the credits for Budersand’s quick success. Certainly, one must acknowledge the encouraging circumstance of constructing on pure sand, but much emphasis was placed on finding a suitable course manager—one, who was a well-qualified expert to tackle the grow-in on such a natural site. Jim Ellis, the course manager from Scotland, commenced his tenure at an early stage of the project, and I made a point of including him in all communication during the construction. With Jim’s knowledge, Budersand has matured to the point of being an astounding golf course. For me, the symbiosis of design and maintenance has been exemplary. The fine work of Bruce Jamieson, our agronomist, must also be acknowledged. His astute decision making, especially on grass species and maintenance during growing-in, was instrumental in Budersand being what it is today.

I would also like to thank Claudia Ebert for her efforts. From the outset, this golf-mad lady shared my enthusiasm and closely followed the vision and dream of creating the first authentic eighteen-hole links in Germany. Her belief was all the more important, given the course was designed and constructed in an area that had been tormented with many conservation laws and regulations.

With the desire to integrate some water in the design— although I am an opponent of artificial water hazards on links sites—and to develop a similar par- 3 as the seventh hole in Lahinch, I could have easily accepted. I designed a water hazard, a stream of 335 metres in length on the last three holes, as a kind of reminiscence of the old links along the coastline. It wends its way from the back of the property, to the sea, in the form of a small ditch. This ditch, at the sixteenth hole, has been strategically positioned on the diagonal, through the fairway, in front of the landing-area for the tee-shot. At the seventeenth hole, the ditch runs terrifyingly through the fairway, behind the tee-shot, in the form of a horseshoe. The feature was especially designed with the professionals in mind, as they play this par-5 (as they do at the third hole) as a long par-4 hole. It is sophisticated and demanding. On the eighteenth hole, this ditch is placed tactically to cause problems, especially for long-hitters and to upset plans for lay-ups. Budersand’s course yardages, and the corresponding par-values, take a few by surprise, especially those schooled on the belief that everything must be long. But, in this windy environment, you don’t need a long course to get by. Indeed, from the White tees, Budersand’s par-72 layout is a moderate 6,020 metres. For the professionals, barely thirty-five metres are added. Forget length: the layout is bolstered in another way, being reduced to a par-70.

It is hard to go past Dell, at Lahinch, as one of the best and most interesting short holes in links golf. The Postage Stamp, at Royal Troon, is another standout short hole. Budersand’s thirteenth hole may, in time, be spoken about in this illustrious company. It has received its mystical number, because it unites happiness and misfortune. Standing on an elevated tee, which is set into fantastic old dunes, the golfer is confronted by two towering dunes to the front-right and left of this par-3 of 155 metres, with a little small gap between them. If one cannot see the flagstick in the middle of the green, or to the left, rest assured that it is locatedon the right, hidden behind a dune crest. At 155 metres, you will either love or hate this par-3. My hope, of course, is that you love it!

This article appeared in Golf Architecture: A Worldwide Perspective, Volume 6, published 2013, edited by Paul Daley.