Crans-Sur-Sierra Golf Club: History and Profile of this Omega European Masters 2010 venue
Crans-Sur-Sierra Golf Club is the venue for the sixth edition of Omega European Masters 2010. This is the same golf course where Miguel Angel Jimenez posted the lowest ever score of his entire European tour career (61) on Friday.
Here is a brief history and profile of the course:
The history of golf being played at Crans-Sur-Sierra dates back to 1905 which means that the course foundations had probably been laid by then. It was the private property of Arnold Lunn, owner of Palace Hotel, who had some pasture land to the west of his hotel that seemed ideal for a golf course.
Soon, two architects from Wales were commissioned and the front nine holes of the course were marked and opened for the public in 1906. Two years later, the back nine were also developed. However, during the First World War the area was abandoned and it was not until 1921 when the land was leased to Elysée Bonvin, the owner of Hotel du Golf and Albert Bonvin, the owner of Hotel Beauséjour.
The same year, nine-hole course was laid out for the hotel guests while in 1924, the Crans-Sur-Sierra Golf Club was founded along with a plan of 18 holes to be launch by 1926. The English architect, Harry Nicholson was given the commission to renovate it. The result was the present day Plan-Bramois, with huge greens and bunkers stretched on the course of par 71.
However, Severiano Ballesteros was hired in 1995 and was given the responsibility to ultimately make it suitable for the professionals and the European Masters. It was then, that the present day venue for Omega European Masters came into being and was named after its architect. The Seve Ballesteros Course at Crans-Sur-Sierra is one of the finest golf courses of the Alps, which is known for its famous par 72, 6341 meter, 18-hole championship layout and also its magnificent beauty.
Now, coming to the description of three most dreadful holes at the course:
Hole 1
This is a par 5 hole that is stretched on 494 meters and is surrounded by trees on all sides. It is considered to be one of the toughest holes because of its par and the number of hazards present on the course. There are overall six sand bunkers present, out of which three are located near the pin. The approach to greens is by taking two shots. First shot is taken with the help of a driver aiming straight into the fairways while from there another shot is taken with the help of a mid iron right into the greens. The trick is to keep the shot straight and accurate.
Hole 7
This is a par 4 hole stretched on 290 meters. The tee shot taken here is the most crucial one as a short game is required here. Make sure the shot taken is aimed towards right or else the ball will get stuck in the rough and a definite bogey will be posted on the scorecard. The approach to greens is by aiming the second shot uphill with a medium wood and making sure that the ball doesn’t falls short of length.
Hole 14
This is a par 5 hole stretched on 544 meters. The problem here is the length and the hazards surrounding the green. The pin is surrounded by trees on the left with a sand bunker, whereas, on the right is a water hazard with a sand bunker. The approach to greens is a shot cut towards right plunging over the roughs into 192 meters and then from there another shot taken uphill with the help of iron ranging from 5 -9.
To wrap it up; this was the history and profile of Crans-Sur-Sierra Golf Club, where the 6th Omega European Masters 2010 is taking place from the 3rd-6th September, 2010.
Tags: