What goes into a course designed against the mould? Europeantour.com spoke to WINSTONlinks course architect David Krause, who created the unique ‘inland links’ course on which the WINSTONgolf Senior Open is contested on.
“Before we really got started, Mr (Wijnand) Pon (WINSTONgolf owner) took us to play three of his favourite links courses,” said Krause. “We went to Scotland and played Machrie, Machrihanish (both in Scotland) and Silloth on Solway (in England). So, what you see on the WINSTONlinks course is a little bit of each of those courses put together.”
Pon commissioned the creation of the WINSTONlinks course in 2008, and the course was officially opened three years later.
The former CEO of Pon Holdings, a Dutch transport conglomerate, created a 27-hole golf complex in Vorbeck, Germany comprising the WINSTONopen course and an additional nine-hole course.
After inviting Krause to visit WINSTONgolf, the Canadian-born course architect suggested removing the nine-hole course to create a truly unique golfing experience.
“There was a parcel of land that was available on the property, but I saw there was only room for another nine holes,” he said. “I looked at what was available and the land was very open, and the soil on site is very sandy.
“WINSTONgolf had gained notoriety in northern Germany, particularly in Hamburg and Berlin. But we wanted to raise the profile of the course.
“I said if we sacrificed nine holes, we’d be able to create something different and came up with the idea of a links course. The conditions were similar, although we’re not on the sea shore. The opportunity to move earth was helped by Mr Pon’s company. I gave a presentation with some sketches and had a call back a few days later.
“It was a little bit of an experiment at times. We had a bit of freedom and did everything in house, there were no restrictions. Once we started, we would go back to different holes and see how things were going, if we wanted to build higher, we did. We were like kids in a sandbox.
“The most apprehensive moment was after Mr Pon visited. We completed the par three fifth and marked it out with chalk. He came along with his daughter, Fanja, and they said ‘it looks good, keep going’. So we had fun with it.”
The 2016 WINSTONgolf Senior Open is the first time a professional event has been held on the course and, although very familiar with European Tour events, Krause admitted there were some nerves before the professionals teed off on Friday.
“I knew when the contract for the WINSTONgolf Senior Open was signed that we would one day play on the links course, it was just a question of when,” said Krause. “So I had been waiting for it. Now the event is here, it’s a little bit like Christmas for me.
“On Friday, it was the first day that professionals had played the course. We didn’t know what the scoring would be like. We had held the ‘Final Four’ here earlier this year, where the top eight amateur teams played each other, but that was matchplay.
“You could see a lot of great shots, but we didn’t know how it would score. I was happy to see players come in under par, so it shows the course is playable.
“I had previously worked with Robert Trent Jones Senior at Valderrama, and was there during its emergence with the Volvo Masters on the European Tour and eventually the Ryder Cup in 1997.
“A lot of the guys who are playing the WINSTONlinks course this weekend were regulars there. It’s a great thrill to see them out on the course this weekend. I saw Bernhard Langer said it was like being in Scotland when he was out on the course, and you can’t receive much more of a compliment than that.
“I think Mr Pon describes it very nicely. It’s not a true links course because we’re not next to the sea. But it’s the WINSTONlinks, and it’s our vision of what a links course should be.”
