LONELY GOLF CO High on a hill t
Riederalp lies at 8,000 feet on the south facing side of the Alps, not far from the world renowned ski centre of Zermatt. From sometime in early November their course will disappear under the snow not to be seen again until the following May. This is not a sprinkling. At its worst we are talking about three metres of snow. The top is used for six months by skiers and snowploughs going to and from the ski runs. Riederalp is a pointer to the boom in golf in Switzerland, which has seen the number of courses treble in recent years. This expansion is riding on
increased numbers of summer visitors wanting to pursue their golfing hobby whilst in the Alps. It also offers an extra source of income to skiing resorts in the relatively lean summer months. The nine hole course lies in a shallow basin in the middle of the village with an amazing view to the mountains across the valley. Created out of former grazing land the course includes several converted Swiss style farmhouses and a nuclear bunker now used for storing equipment and stores. The idea of a course was put forward in the early 1990s by a local hotelier who
enjoyed playing golf. Along with several others he bought up the, by then, redundant farmland and began the transformation. As usual, there was some early resistance, but now most residents see the course as having saved the centre of the village from hotel developments. Head Greenkeeper, Willy Kümmer,
explained his approach to coping with the snow. “The best situation is when the snow falls in early November and stays there until the spring. The snow blanket protects the greens in the winter. The real problems come in the
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