Germany’s Green Eagle targets Ryder Cup with new West course

Green Eagle Golf Courses near Hamburg, Germany, is building a new course and is on track to open the first nine in April 2025.

The club was founded in 1997 by Michael Blesch and Ralf Lühmann with two 18-hole courses, the North and South, both designed by Blesch. The 7,845-yard North has been the venue of the DP World Tour’s European Open since 2017 – following the redesign of six greens by European Golf Design. The North has water in play on 17 holes and the German Golf Association rated the course, from the back tees, as the most difficult in the country.

The 186-acre golf complex also includes a six-hole par-three layout and practice facilities.

In 2024, with Blesch now the sole owner, the club is building a new West course, made possible by redesigning the South as a nine-hole layout.

“The vision is to create a second European Tour course beside the North and to bring the Ryder Cup to Germany for the first time in 2035,” said Blesch. “The strategy is to attract international guests to Germany via the European Tour and achieve high-quality tourism through high-quality golf courses. To this end, the construction of a hotel at the club is also planned.”

By building the West on land formally occupied by nine holes of the South, as well as land that was not previously used for golf, Blesch is able to integrate the existing irrigation system more easily and allow players start and end rounds on all three courses near the clubhouse.

“The idea has been to work out how the greens can best challenge the top players,” said Blesch. “The greens will be more difficult and riskier than on the North course. This makes it more exciting not only for the players, but also for the Ryder Cup spectators.”

A key consideration of the West’s design is to accommodate up to 110,000 visitors, with space for 20,000 of those on natural grandstands on the sixteenth and seventeenth holes. “The West is characterised by a high level of match play,” said Blesch. “This can be seen, for example, in the shorter par four holes, where players can attack directly over water. There is a lot of water on the course and, in contrast to the North, there are only a few bunkers. Heather also lines some fairways – this is more penalising than a bunker for top players.

“Each hole has its own potential, is different, unique and has its own recognisability. After playing it for the first time, every player will be able to remember all the holes, which is rarely the case.”

One of the highlights of the course will be the ‘eagle’ fourteenth green. “It wasn’t my idea,” said Blesch. “I was on holiday at the time when Bernhard Legrand [owner of earthworks company Legrand Erd- und Kulturbau] told me on the phone that he was going to build an eagle green. So, we worked for six months to make this sensational green,” said Blesch. “We have worked with Bernhard and his company from the very beginning. Even at 78, Bernhard himself sits on the excavator and helps to bring the vision to life.”

Blesch says around four million tonnes of sand will be used on the West by 2035 enough lorry-loads to create “a traffic jam 2,808 kilometres long – can you imagine that?!”

Work on the conversion of the South course is in progress. “The par four holes, measuring between 295 to 370 yards, will have very tight landing zones and therefore offer good players a great opportunity for practice rounds,” said Blesch. “The old South was longer, but now it is better designed.”

The club is planning to open the South and nine holes of the West in April 2025. The remaining nine on the West is expected to be complete by autumn 2025. Work is also under way on a new driving range, with the current range to be used for the closing holes on the West.

Richard HumphreysRichard Humphreys

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