The Scandinavian – Denmark’s Leading Golf Resort
The story behind the creation of The Scandinavian is fascinating: three successful businessmen who loved golf decided to build the best golf facility in Denmark. They found a large plot of land about 25 minutes north of Copenhagen, which had been used by the military as a training camp for many years; the government owned land was sold to the trio on the understanding that it must be used for sport.
The Robert Trent Jones Company was engaged to build two great courses, and Henning Larsen Architects, the designers of the glorious Copenhagen Opera House, were hired to make a very special clubhouse. Both have succeeded in some style and today The Scandinavian is a fabulous place to play, practice, socialise and enjoy yourself.
The courses were laid out on a total sand carpet, with no expense spared. The very finest materials and machinery were used, and both courses offer a selection of tees to match the power and skill of the player to the most appropriate length of course. Either layout is easily capable of holding a major championship: indeed, many Danish events have already been played at the venue.
The clubhouse is like a cathedral of style and was built from just four main materials: glass, Douglas fir, Norwegian slate and a space age metal alloy of brass and zinc called Tombak, which provided all of the necessary fixings, bolts and tensioners. The high vaulted ceilings are hard to reach but, cleverly, there are automated skylights, which open at certain temperatures, to ensure that the atmosphere remains airy and pleasant for everyone.
The building’s elegant roofline is picked out in the club’s logo. The roof angles are pointed and bold and deliberately asymmetric, which can slightly jar with the eye on first glance, but the more you look at the stunning lines, the more enjoyable they become. The slate on the roof is wonderful, changing colour depending on the time of day and the way the light catches it: the slate can turn from a sombre grey to a warm, glowing terracotta when the sun strikes it at a certain angle. Internally, the slate has been piled meticulously to create walls, seating areas, room dividers and pillars. The thickness of the slate layers varies, but is consistent across the entire building, giving a layered effect not dissimilar to a dry stonewall, but trimmed with great precision. The resulting effect is stunning, and I have never seen this in any other building I have visited.
The patio is a superb suntrap and is the perfect place to enjoy an après golf beverage while watching the action on the last hole of the Old course. The patio is multi-tiered and is defined by yet more majestic slate and luxurious outdoor furniture. Fire pits and designer lighting extend the evenings and the patio area links perfectly with the main clubhouse via plenty of doors and the all glass backdrop. Changing rooms are downstairs, accessed by a magnificent spiral staircase dropping from the centre of the atrium into the bowels of the building, with the continued theme of slate, wood and glass throughout. There are no dress regulations, yet everyone dresses in a smart, but casual manner. The staff are warm, friendly, engaging and clearly enjoying their work.
Inside the clubhouse, all the normal functions are performed, but in an understated, elegant way. All visitors are given their own personalised guest tag, embossed with their name; scorecards too are prepared for each booked golfer, with free pin positions and a yardage chart. There is a well stocked shop, catering for everything possible that a golfer could need, with plenty of Scandinavian logoed merchandise, to remember your visit by. Much of the shop turnover is generated from custom-fit sales, which are strong at The Scandinavian. It is always difficult to state without fear of contradiction that a certain course is the best in a country, but it is certainly true to say that no course in Denmark is better appointed or more carefully worked out for the enjoyment of the avid golfer.
The range is a beautiful place to spend time, offering free range balls to all. The balls themselves are good quality Titleists, vended from slate-built dispensers. There are three covered range bays, built elegantly from slate and pine, providing cover for those rainy moments and the chillier times at the beginning and end of the season. For most of the year, the practice tee is outside. A line of Huxley Golf tee turf is available, but the main areas are grass. There are a multitude of targets to aim at and the outfield is interesting and cut perfectly to create good definition, even for those just practising. The headquarters of Trackman are nearby and the club has several of their units in operation, including the 'range unit,' which is attached to one of the bays. There is a great short game area with a top quality green surrounded by bunkers and chipping opportunities; it also has nine full sized flags for maximum reality.
The courses are available to buggies and also to those walking: there is a little distance between a few of the tees, but they are straightforward courses to walk. There are many undulations and the courses are far from flat, but the land is lightly rolling rather than hilly.
Golf Features caught up with David Shepherd, the CEO of the complex to get his views on this remarkable facility:
"I have only been in office for a few months and am greatly enjoying the challenge of attracting more people to the site. I have seen a number of high quality golf courses in my time and worked at many of them too, but this place is really special and everyone enjoys their experience here. We have a fantastic Head Greenkeeper, Russell Anderson, who manages a terrific team of up to 24 greenkeepers, whilst in the clubhouse we have our fabulous chef and his kitchen and serving staff, as well as our golf team who are dedicated to the ensuring that everyone has a great time. My main job is to deliver membership growth and attract enough other events to balance the budget. The cost of membership is good value (at just under £3000 per person per annum), but there is quite a small market for this in Denmark, particularly with a relatively short season. We are thrilled with progress so far and are working on delivering great customer care to all of our clients, and added membership value.”
Both courses finish with a great par five, over water and leading back to the clubhouse. There are deliberately noisy waterfalls on both of the finishing holes, so that golfers can focus on their final putt without any clubhouse clatter putting them off their stroke. This muffling of sound is a clever idea and certainly adds to the enjoyment of the closing holes.
The Scandinavian has just taken delivery of a full fleet of new Toro machinery, which is doing a magnificent job of crisply detailing the Trent Jones lines and providing the best manicured test in the country. These are thinking golfer’s courses and while there are holes that can be overpowered, brute strength alone will not allow for good scoring. The greens are politely contoured and the run off areas are often hand cut to ensure that a slightly misplaced approach is whisked silently away from the flag and the green. Water is a key element and it has been neatly used here to define the challenge and provide options for those that would rather plot than bash their way around the course. The greens are hand cut daily and provide slick surfaces, made trickier by the nap of the grass falling mainly towards the nearest water. Downhill, downgrain putts and chips require a great eye and nerve to judge well.
There are plenty of places to stay close to The Scandinavian and many hotels in Copenhagen have already started to partner up with this exclusive golf complex. For the lucky few, it is possible to stay in the guesthouse, located just to the side of the second fairway on the Old course. This was designed by the same company that built the clubhouse, and it is stunning in every way. There are three double rooms, which are beautifully fitted with elegant en-suite facilities and great views over the course. There is also a spacious living and kitchen area on the first floor with floor to ceiling glass windows, affording guests with stunning views over the course. Guests are given the use of a buggy to get them to and from the clubhouse and the views across the course, including deer at dusk, are a real treat. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are available in the clubhouse and booking a golfing trip at the guesthouse is to be highly recommended.
There are lots of possibilities for the future and David and his team are looking forward to the challenge of meeting them. You will be hearing a lot more about The Scandinavian in the future and it will be for all the right reasons.
For more details please visit: www.thescandinavian.dk/en/
