The 4th, 5th and 6th holes are interesting dogleg right holes. 4 (a par 5) and 5 both play up over hills and utilize right side fairway bunkering to challenge the tee shot. Long hitters can take on the bunkers to gain significant distance advantage by landing tee shots onto the down slope of the backside of the hill, but a very aggressive line is required. The 5th and 6th vary greatly in length as well as the angle of the dogleg, the first playing at a much sharper angle. The 6th plays steep uphill for the approach.

Note that significant tree removal would benefit all these holes. Then you arrive at the 7th which may receive the award for the hole most in need of significant tree removal on the entire course. Colt would be rolling over in his grave to see what’s become of this hole. Otherwise, it’s an excellent short par 4. A strong drive down the middle leaves a semi-blind uphill approach to a wonderful green full of undulation and left to right movement with the right side being guarded by 3 deep bunkers.

The 8th hole is a beautiful mid-length par 3 that is befitting of a Colt 1 shot hole though it seems the green has been heavily modernized and reshaped in places, possibly due to drainage measures. It plays slight downhill over a large field of heather which was fortunately in bloom during our visit.

The 9th takes the player back to the clubhouse with another blind tee shot that plays up over a hill. This one is also playing rather tight in the trees and would hugely benefit from significant tree removal. The green complex was really interesting and blended into the dune on the left-hand side. It’s also very well protected with bunkers and plays from a right to left sloping fairway to a right to left sloping green, a tough shot given the draw lie.

The 10th is another excellent mid-length par 3 as previously mentioned playing from the dune in the opposite direction of the first hole.

The course then goes on an interesting run of 4 par 4’s. 11 being a long one, 12 a mid-length and 13 and 14 being short holes that play from elevated tees down into fairways then up hill to the greens. These represent quite interesting usage of the natural contours of the land.

The 15th is the last par 3. It’s a dynamic drop shot par 3 playing over a hill of heather. Interesting is that this hole very much reminds the player of Simpson’s par 3 – 4th hole one the Valliere Course at Morfontaine. I’ll admit to being quite a fan of this hole and it caught me by surprise at this point in the round. It only plays to 142 meters but given the level of drop can easily be a wedge.

The 16th is also a bit of an odd hole for me, it’s a dogleg left but one that plays over a tree on the left side but also has a couple large trees on the right side that are in the fairway leaving the feeling from the tee that you either need to hit up over the trees or keep the ball under them which is definitely something that would not be common for Colt. This hole and the par 3 – 3rd were my least favorite holes on the course.

The last two holes provide a really strong and interesting finish. The par 5, 17th requires a really good drive and then a careful decision of whether to take on the field of heather and go for it in two or lay back safe. It’s a 437-meter dogleg left par 5. Quite short by today’s standards so playing more like a par 4.5 which is fine for players of my length and ability, I’d say, and makes for a really fun hole. However, for long hitters this hole could be too easy as a par 5 given they could with the right line hit 3 wood or even 2 iron around the corner and get a favorable bounce and run out leaving them with a mid-iron into this green. Nevertheless, a hole that I really liked.

The course finishes with a solid dogleg left part 4 taking the player back towards the clubhouse.

Hamburger Falkenstein is truly a classic, currently, as mentioned, they are undergoing significant improvements and I’d hope that some of the mentioned points will be taken under consideration which would be to the benefit of all players and condition of the course, at least when it comes to tree removal. This is a brilliant course and a must visit, it sits on the cusp of being recognized as one of Colt’s great legacy courses but would hugely benefit from some proper loving in terms of a thoughtful renovation.

The bones and the potential are certainly there and it’s worth a trip to Germany just to play it.