Introduction to the history of Rømø golf
We will be playing Rømø as a part of our Danish Island golf Tour on 22nd and 23rd of June.
Below a picture showing the two islands that we will play.
Looking forward to telling you about the experience.
But first an introduction to the history of Rømø golf course and the golf club.
“Once upon a time . . . “
Perhaps it is with Rømø golf a bit like it is with the introduction to many of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales.
Several of them start with “Once upon a time . . . “.
There was also a “Once upon a time . . .“ on Rømø.
It started when some far-sighted and ambitious people in the company, Rømø Golf & Wellness, decided that all of Denmark and half of Germany should also enjoy the Wadden Sea, which, with its 146,000 hectares constitutes Denmark’s largest national park.
The Wadden Sea was added to UNESCO´s World Heritage list in 2014.
On the southern tip of Rømø, they therefore invested millions of kroner in a golf and wellness resort of 24,000 square meters containing 200 exclusive houses, an 18-hole, and a 9-hole pay & play course.
Establishing the golf course went according to plans, but the sale of the many homes went very slowly. From the start, only 60 of the holiday homes were sold, which is why the place went bankrupt in 2008.
After 2 years without any activities, new owners joined in 2010, who after a deficit of 12 million and less than 120 full-time golf members, again changed owners.
Today it is running well. We have been told.
Everything is in great condition. And especially after the Corona crisis, both golf and wellness activities have taken off. We are looking forward to seeing!
History repeated
If you have read my account of Fanø’s history, Rømø’s history is a mirror image of what led to Fanø’s flourishing 100 years ago, when the royals and the upper layer of the Danish bourgeoisie went to Fanø for sea baths, wellness and playing golf.
But even though Fanø’s success in attracting the better bourgeoisie declined in the mid-1900s and therefore left the golf course without maintenance and finances, Rømø tried to repeat the early Fanø success, but now with wealthy Germans (not the Danish bourgeoisie) as the target group.
But why target the German bourgeoisie knowing about Fanø’s decline?
Because the owners looked at the German island of Sylt, which is just a few kilometers south of Rømø. See illustration.
Rømø is approx. 130 square km and has just under 1000 inhabitants. Sylt is smaller, just under 100 square km, but now has about 18,000 inhabitants.
The big difference between the islands is that for generations Sylt has attracted visitors from the wealthier segment of the German population. They have been successful.
Today there are 4 golf courses on Sylt.
The ambition of the Rømø investors were to attract this segment, the richest Germans who still make pilgrimages to Sylt.
The 40-minute, almost exotic, ferry ride between the 2 islands most probably helped to give the investors a great belief that they could attract many of Sylt’s golf and wellness tourists.
But here also ends the fairy tale “Once upon a time . . .”.
After several years of marketing, in the late 2010s, they gave up changing the German upper-class tradition. They could not convince the Germans to buy luxury homes, play golf and get wellness on Rømø instead of on Sylt.
Why this difference in success? The nature, the landscape, the beaches, the North Sea, the weather are the same.
I think that the only difference is the tradition. The Germans stick more to their traditions than the Danes.
Anyway, with that expensive experience, the Rømø owners focus changed.
With more moderate prices and less luxury, they are now trying to attract more Danes, and parts of the German middle class, who were and still are quite good summer customers on the coast of South and West Jutland.
At the same time, they worked and are still working to promote the golf course by making agreements with the Ecco tour (a professional tour at the level below the Challenge tour), various golf travel agencies and Danish elite tournaments.
Hope they will be successful. Looking forward to telling you about it.
