Vi er Skandinaviens første golfklub
What we are. Who we are.
We are Scandinavia's first golf club located on the unique and historic Eremitageslette. Member or guest, the course is an experience for everyone, gives greater golfing pleasure and keeps you in better shape, because in Dyrehaven we can play all year round. Although close to the city, yet free from noise in the protected area. Enjoy the view from the terrace over the Eremitage and experience golf history in Scandinavia's first golf club, together with family and friends.
The course is designed for a wide range of handicaps, with strategic play as important as aesthetics. It will challenge you at whatever level your golf game is at, while also providing a fantastic natural experience in all seasons.
The encounter with the game of golf can become a lifelong love, balm for the soul, give you good health and expand your social network, because everyone can play against everyone. Golf can be played throughout life, there is a pleasant atmosphere in the club, and friendships are created when you enjoy yourself on the 19th hole terrace after playing and training.
It's fun to start and with the help you receive from members, coaches and secretariat you'll quickly be well underway.
For new members, KGK creates joy and networking. You feel welcome from Day 1, surrounded by kindness and happy people.
The royal copenhagen golf club
Honorary members
HKH Kronprins Frederik
HKH Kronprinsesse Mary
Unesco verdensarv Dyrehaven
Nordsjællands skove er skøn natur, men også kultur. Skovene er bygget som en scene for den største af alle jagtformer: Den enevældige konges parforcejagt.
Landskabet til jagten bliver skabt af Christian d. 5 i 1670’erne og 1680’erne. Kongen viser, at han tæmmer den vilde natur. Han sætter sig selv i scene. Han er en stor konge, der hersker over både mennesker, dyr og natur.
Han etablerer et system af jagtveje, og benytter tidens bedste matematiske videnskaber. Kilometervis af jagtveje bygges. De skærer sig på kryds og tværs gennem Jægersborg Dyrehave og Hegn. De mange jagtveje er et enormt arbejde. Kongen demonstrerer her både fornem ingeniørkunst og – ikke mindst – magt og rigdom.
Jagtvejene gør det muligt at drive parforcejagt. En med nutidens øjne bestialsk jagtform. Men i 1600-tallet er det stor mode, ikke kun i Danmark, men i hele Europa. I dag bliver vejene brugt af de mange, der færdes i naturen.
Scenen er sat for parforcejagten, hvor kongen spiller hovedrollen. Kongen indbyder til jagten. Under jagten forfølger beredne jægere med hunde en udvalgt kronhjort i timevis. Kongen gør en ende på dyrets liv. Han stikker et spyd eller kort sværd, kaldet en hirschfænger, i dyrets hjerte.
UNESCO verdenskulturarv dækker hele Parforcejagtlandskabet i Nordsjælland. Projektet er betalt af fem nordsjællandske kommuner, Det Grønne Museum og Naturstyrelserne Hovedstaden og Nordsjælland. Museum Nordsjælland fungerer som sekretariat. De varetager de opgaver, der skal løses for at være en UNESCO verdenskulturarv.
Vejen, hvor vi hilser på hinanden
Når vi går ind ad den røde låge til Dyrehaven sker der noget. Vi går fra støj og larm til velbefindende og de bedste tanker. Ind i dette fredede område.
På vejen passerer vi hinanden og hilser.
”Tab for alt ikke lysten til at gå. Jeg går mig hver dag det daglige velbefindende til og går fra enhver sygdom. Jeg har gået mig mine bedste tanker til, og jeg kender ingen tanke så tung, at man jo ikke kan gå fra den”. (Søren Kierkegaard, 1847)
GOLF IS BORN IN DENMARK
Board minutes for Copenhagen Golf Club 1901
Charles R. Jensen demonstrates golf on Eremitagesletten to a number of guests. Charles recommends that they gather in a club. This becomes the beginning of Scandinavia's first golf club – Copenhagen Golf Club (KGK). The club is formed on December 6, 1898 in Copenhagen.
The KGK archive is lost during the war. One June night in 1944, the clubhouse is bombed by a Schalburgtage group. All material in the clubhouse burns down. A little material outside the clubhouse is saved, including a board minutes.
The board minutes state:
“It was decided to send out an invitation to a limited circle – approximately 50 gentlemen who are assumed to be interested in the game, with an invitation to become members and to meet to learn about the game the following Sunday at Lammefælleden.
The following were elected as provisional board members:
Vagn Aagesen, cand. jur.
Manufacturer L. Friis
Wholesaler Gustav Hage
Master's degree with Folmer Hansen
Inspector E. Schmidt
The club has then (through L. Friis) acquired the Magistrate's permission to play at Lammefælleden, however on condition that all dug holes are covered again at the end of the game each individual game day.
Ingeborg Scavenius wins Denmark's first golf match in 1899
The newspaper Dagens Nyheder writes on Monday, October 10, 1898, about how golf is played: "Golf is played by 2 or more people, each with his own ball - a white ball the size of a small hen's egg. The players also use clubs that have a rather thin cane shaft and end in a bent vertically grooved plate, made of iron or wood, and of different shapes, depending on whether the ball is to be scraped out of a hole or hit from a free spot, whether it is to be hit long or short, etc. An ordinary player can make do with 3 clubs."
The first golf match in Denmark is held by KGK. It is played on Sunday, April 23, 1999, on a course at Lammefælleden. The course has 8 holes and is played through twice. The ladies also participate. Number one is Ingeborg Aagesen, with a total score of 109 strokes. That is approximately 7 strokes per hole. A lady wins the first Danish golf match.
Later that year, matches are played out on Eremitagesletten. The first match on Eremitagesletten is played on an 18-hole course. However, the course is soon changed to a nine-hole course.
Charles R. Jensen demonstrates golf swings on Eremitagesletten 1898
The newspaper "Dagens Nyheder" writes in an article on Monday, October 10, 1898, among other things, the following:
“The man's name is Jensen, he is Danish by birth, expatriated to America, where he learned the game very quickly and trained as a Professional, i.e. Teacher at the Golf Clubs in New York.
Mr. Jensen showed a small group of sportsmen out on the Hermitage Plain how to hit a golf ball. And he did it really nicely. With a quick, agile movement of the wrist, he alternately made the ball fly very considerable distances and slowly sneak down into its hole, and showed how finely and accurately the game can be played.
With regard to playgrounds in the city's vicinity, he believes that Eremitagesletten is the best for now. The commons could probably be used, but as long as the game is new, there won't be enough spectators who would "play along."
He speaks with great skepticism about the future of the game in this country, knowing full well how long it takes before any new sport gains traction. In addition, he intended to stay at home for the time being, especially if he could get students or become a club golf instructor.
So, if anyone wants to learn, now is the time. Henry”
KGK subsequently notes in its board minutes:
"The club has also hired Mr. Charles R. Jensen, who during a several-year stay in America has trained in the game and has, among other things, served as a professional teacher at several clubs, to arrange the playing field and provide instruction in the game. According to the agreement, he must, for a fee of 25 kroner per month, ensure that the course is laid out (holes laid) every Sunday, and must be active…."
The playing field, which is called the pitch, must be large. The holes are dug either in a circle or in a row. Each hole is 5 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep. The distance between the holes is about 400 meters.
Charles R. Jensen becomes Copenhagen Golf Club's first coach and head greenkeeper.
THE OPEN DESIGN
Danmarks første 18 hullers golfbane
The original drawing of the golf course, showing the course's general layout as it was completed in 1928.
The first playing course is built in Fælledparken in Copenhagen in 1898. It is not a real golf course. It is called a playing course. The course has eight holes and is used for a few months. Every Sunday the same method. You dig out eight holes, and after the game the eight holes are covered over again.
In the autumn of 1898, interest in Eremitagesletten began. For several reasons. The open, gently undulating landscape on Eremitagesletten is suitable for golf. In addition, the grass turf on Eremitagesletten is unique. The king is the reason. He moves the last Stokkerup farmers away in 1670. After that, the grass carpet spreads. Only disturbed by grazing deer and riders on horseback. The deer prevent Eremitagesletten from turning into forest, as they eat the young beech shoots.
In 1899, KGK therefore asked Dyrehaven for permission to play golf on Eremitagesletten. They received word from the forestry department that everyone had access to the plain. This was the start of the first golf course on Eremitagesletten in 1899. The golf course was located in a triangular area: between Eremitageslottet, Hjortekærvej and the road to Fortunen. The club regularly changed the course of the golf courses.
The story of Denmark's first real 18-hole golf course begins in the 1920s. KGK lacks a real 18-hole golf course. Chairman Frederik Hegel proposes building a real 18-hole golf course north of Hjortekærvejen. The area on the northern side of Hjortekærvejen is better suited for a golf course. A more undulating landscape with fewer bumps.
Denmark's first 18-hole golf course was inaugurated on May 4, 1928 on Eremitagesletten.
The Open Banedesign
KGK wants a course in the classic English style, and contacts a well-known English course architect. The course architect arrives from England in 1926 and designs the course in 14 days. Two years later, Denmark's first 18-hole golf course is ready. The course has narrow fairways, thick rough and firm greens. A style known from The Open Circle golf courses in Great Britain.
The Open design is enhanced during a major restoration of KGK's course. In 2008, KGK contacted Scottish course architect Tom Mackenzie, from the firm Mackenzie & Ebert. The firm is working on seven out of the ten Open Circle courses. Tom is both designing and carrying out the restoration of KGK's golf course on Eremitagesletten. The crew and machinery are the same as Tom uses on The Open courses in Great Britain. The restoration will take place over the two winters of 2008/2009 and 2009/2010.
Fem-dobbelt The Open vinder Peter Thomson spiller på Eremitagesletten
In the years 1946-1973, Copenhagen Golf Club held a tournament for professionals – Copenhagen Cup.
Famous foreign professional golfers come and play the Copenhagen Cup. They use the tournament as a warm-up for playing The Open later in the summer. The similarity between the golf course at Eremitagesletten and The Open courses gives the same playing style. The Copenhagen Cup is therefore a good warm-up for The Open.
Peter William Thomson is the greatest of these professional golfers. Thomson was born on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, in 1929. He won three consecutive Majors in the 20th century. The only golfer ever to do so. The three victories were in 1954, 1955 and 1956. He won The Open twice more in 1958 and 1965. In 1965 he defeated Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Thomson qualified for The Open for the last time at the age of 49.
Thomson won ten national championships in his career. He played on the PGA Tour from 1953 to 1954 and again in 1956. He won the Texas International Open in 1956. Thomson also had a successful senior career. He won nine times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States and finished at the top of the money list. He was inducted into The World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.
Peter Thomson dies in 2018 at the age of 88, leaving behind four children.
GOLF PÅ EREMITAGESLETTEN
Kongelig befaling: Falder en eg, skal der plantes en ny
Dyrehaven er rig på ældgamle kæmpeege, som med tiden står som krogede skulpturer. Mange af dem har fået eget navn. Træerne kan blive op til 1000 år, hvis de får plads og sollys, og det får de ikke mindst takket være hjortene, der græsser frit. Især under egetræerne, der lader lys passere ned i skovbunden. Hjortene spiser de bøgeskud, der ellers vokser op, og med tiden skygger for egetræet.
To af de ældste egetræer står i nærheden af golfbanen. Ved Femvejskrydset nordøst for Eremitagen står den eg, hvor Kong Christian 5. blev sparket af en såret kronhjort under en parforcejagt i 1698. Kongen kom sig aldrig, og døde året efter. Egen er opkaldt efter ham og hedder Christian den 5.s eg.
Englænderegen ved Eremitageslottet var ved at gå ud for et par hundrede år siden. Men en af de soldater, der havde været med til belejringen af København i 1807, hvor englænderne bl.a. slog lejr i Dyrehaven, tilstod på sit dødsleje, at han havde været med til at dræbe regimentets kassemester. De havde røvet kassen med lønnen til soldaterne og gravet den ned ved det karakteristiske gamle træ nordøst for Eremitageslottet.
Det startede en sand skattejagt, hvor der blevet gravet rundt om træet, og det gav så meget luft til rødderne, at det begyndte at skyde friske skud. Skatten derimod blev aldrig fundet….
En del af træerne er plantet i årene efter 1669, hvor Kongen gav ordre til at plante 12000 ege og bøge i den ny dyrehave. De mange ege er også bevaret, fordi Dyrehaven ved kongelig bestemmelse er en lystskov, og ikke er anlagt med indtægter for øje. Det betyder, at Dyrehavens blanding af træer skal forblive den samme – falder noget, skal der plantes nye i stedet.
Den kongelige forordning har sikret, at Dyrehavens egetræer er bevaret, for egetræ har været meget efterspurgt gennem århundreder. Derfor blev der også for 200 år siden plantet 16000 egetræer rundt omkring i Nordsjælland. Baggrunden var tragisk: I 1806 bombarderede englænderne København og efterfølgende stak de af med hele den danske flåde. 90.000 fuldvoksne egetræer gik dermed tabt, for hvert skib var bygget af 2000 egetræer. Det var en national katastrofe. Derfor og meget fremsynet blev de mange egetræer plantet, for at Danmark 150 år efter skulle have træ nok til sine krigsskibe.
Stokkerup bøndernes højagre dukker op
Man fjerner knolde og klipper græsset til fairway, da KGK bygger den 18 hullers golfbane fra 1926-1928. Op af jorden dukker Eremitageslettens historie. Byggeriet af golfbanen fremtryller Stokkerup bøndernes agre.
De højryggede agre fra Stokkerupbøndernes tid kommer til syne. Hver bonde har sin egen ager. Den er 15-16 meter bred og højest på midten. De højryggede agre sikrer høsten både i tørre og i fugtige somre. I de tørre somre er der lidt fugt i bunden af agrene. Planterne i bunden klarer sig derfor bedre. I de fugtige somre klarer planterne oppe på højryggene sig bedst. De undgår at blive oversvømmet. På den måde sikrer Stokkerup bønderne sig. Både mod tørke og mod oversvømmelse.
Højryggene af to agre ses når solen står lavt over 17 fairway og green.
Hjortene indtager Eremitagesletten
Kronhjorten kommer til Danmark for 10.000 år siden, og bliver vores største vilde pattedyr. Hjorten, hannen, måler 140 cm og vejer 230 kg og udvikler et stort gevir hvert år. Hunnen, hinden, er noget mindre. Hinderne og deres kalve holder mest til i den sydlige del af Dyrehaven. Hjortene i den nordlige. De mødes kun i brunsttiden i september og oktober. Den samlede bestand er på ca. 300 krondyr. Mange af de overskydende eksporteres. Dyrehavens kronvildt er eftertragtet over hele verden. Nogle græsser i dag på New Zealand.
Krondyr er som regel mørkebrune, men vi finder også hvide krondyr i Dyrehaven. Christian 6. fik 12 hvide krondyr af kurfyrsten August af Sachsen i 1737. De hvide krondyr vi ser i dag er efterkommere af disse. Den hvide bestand holdes nede på 15-20 dyr.
Hverken Dyrehavens hvide krondyr eller dåvildt er albinoer. De har grå snuder og muler og gråblå øjne, ikke røde som ægte albinoers. De er en variant af den almindelige kronhjort.
Dådyret forsvandt fra vores breddegrader i istiden, men blev genindført som pryddyr i 1200-tallet. Hjorten kan måle 95 cm i skulderhøjde og veje 100 kg. Dåen er noget mindre. Dådyr kan være sorte, hvide eller brune. Deres spejl er hvidt med tre lodrette sorte striber, der ser ud som nummer 111. Dådyret er i brunst fra oktober til november. Der er cirka 1600 dådyr i Dyrehaven.
Sikahjorten stammer fra det østlige Asien og blev indført i Dyrehaven i 1923. Hjorten måler op til 80 cm i skulderhøjde og vejer 50 kg, hinden kun 35 kg. Sikahjorten adskiller sig fra dådyret. Den er mørkere og uden de sorte striber der danner nummer 111 hos dådyret. Brunsttiden er fra september til januar. Der er cirka 100 sikahjorte i Dyrehaven.
Gule engmyrer bygger tuer ved 12 hul
Den gule engmyre har en gullig farve hos hannerne, deraf navnet den gule engmyre. Hunnerne er mere brunlige.
Hannerne er mindre end hunnerne. Hannerne måler ca. 2-4mm, mens hunnerne er over dobbelt så store og måler 6-8mm. Den gule engmyre er en smule mindre end en normal myre.
Den gule engmyre bygger deres myrebo i områder med sol. Skråningen ned mod 12 green passer dem fint. De kommer sjældent op til overfladen og lever under jorden, medmindre de skal på parringsflugt.
Den gule engmyre kan siges at have opfundet det moderne landbrug. Gul engmyre lever hele sit liv under jorden. Hernede holder den bladlus som malkekvæg. Bladlusene får deres føde fra rødder, og udskiller en sukkerholdig væske som kaldes honningdug. Denne honningdug spiser den gule engmyre. En evighedsmaskine indenfor landbrug.
Gul engmyre og alle de andre myrer arter er koldblodede. De får al deres varme fra omgivelserne. Derfor holder de lav profil vinteren igennem. Så når det er koldt udenfor, går landbruget i stå.
Myrerne bor omkring 25. 000 i hver myretue. Afmærker vi et område på 5 x 5 meter langs vejen ned til 12 green, finder vi omkring 20 myretuer. Vi har cirka 0,5 million gule engmyrer alene indenfor disse 25 kvadratmeter.
Den verdensberømte restaurant Noma har haft den gule engmyre på menuen.