Lausanne

Golf Club de Lausanne was founded in 1921 with nine holes and was expanded to eighteen in 1931 by Hermann Narbel. During WWII the course was reduced to nine holes, before going back to its original design in 1947. In 1962, the club was able to buy an abutting farm and land, which allowed Hermann Narbel and Donald Harradine to redesign the course by lengthening some holes, planting most trees seen nowadays and creating three new holes (today’s 11th, 12th and 13th). The club finally brought in Jeremy Pern in 1996 to modernise the layout.

“The renovation saw the complete reconstruction of all eighteen green complexes,” said Jeremy Pern, “the creation of a new putting green, installation of a new irrigation system and associated drainage works, the enlargement and lining of existing ponds, some tree clearance and refurbishment of several tees and fairway bunkers.”

The clubhouse was recently renovated over a period of fifteen years finishing in 2012 with the extension of the restaurant, and in 2015 the irrigation system was totally updated.

Golf Club Lausanne maintains a very traditional club philosophy. Its 1,000 members are pampered, and encouraged to practice golf as a sport. The club has very few buggies but maintains 500 electric trolleys in a very impressive, 1,000 square-metre underground garage. The junior section is 150 members strong, and there are still five permanent caddies on the premises (there used to be 40-60 caddies up to the mid-nineties when members would take caddies out systematically). The current Director of the golf club started as a caddy and was the caddy master for twenty years before becoming the Director in 2005.

Situated only a few kilometres outside Lausanne near the north shore of Lake Geneva, this hilly parkland course has most holes routed through woods of majestic chestnut, birch and fir trees. Old-fashioned short par fours at the 7th and 12th holes are more than matched by long par fives to close the front and back nines, giving the course an overall length of 6,197 metres from the tips. The views to the distant Alps add a thrilling perspective to playing at Lausanne, contributing greatly to the experience of teeing it up at such a classical parkland golf course.

Lausanne has hosted a number of important amateur tournaments, including the 1982 Eisenhower Trophy and the 2002 St Andrews and Jacques Léglise trophies. The club has also staged professional events, including the 1997 Ladies Swiss Open and the 2008 Swiss Omnium, which was won by Switzerland’s Ken Benz when he was an amateur. Lausanne intends to continue hosting such events every few years.