An article by Stephan Schöttl from Alpengolfer.de in which our hickory friend Ueli Lamm explains a few things in an interview.
1893 is a number that obliges. The four digits are emblazoned large on the coat of arms at the entrance to the club grounds. Nowhere else in Switzerland does golf have such a long history as at the Engadin Golf Club. The course in Samedan, not far from the glamorous tourist centre of St. Moritz, was opened almost 130 years ago. This makes the Engadine Golf Club the oldest golf club in the country. ‘We are naturally very proud of this long tradition. It's our unique selling point that nobody can take away from us,’ says Ramun Ratti, Managing Director of Engadin Golf St. Moritz AG..
And he adds a rather telling sentence: ‘Always remember your roots, but don't close yourself off to the future.’ Words that illustrate like no other the huge balancing act that they have to master in St. Moritz. The balancing act between tradition on the one hand and innovation on the other. Golf, says the Managing Director, is a gentleman's sport. You have to cultivate that. Also with the appropriate etiquette. ‘But we mustn't forget that we also have to be modern in order to survive in today's competitive world,’ he says.
This is what a traditionalist like Ueli Lamm says
Ueli Lamm nods in agreement. He is 73 and has been playing golf on the course in Samedan since 1960. Back then, he was still a young lad himself, travelling with the Swiss selection team at major tournaments. Today, he looks in amazement at the young golfers in the Engadin, who seem to effortlessly chase the little white ball 300 metres out on the driving range. Lamm says: "A lot has changed in golf over the past 60 years. Even here in St. Moritz." Lamm loves tradition. When he talks about the history of the club, about famous guests such as the Duke of Windsor, James Bond actor Sean Connery or major winner Bob Charles, you can listen to him for hours without getting bored. The senior knows countless anecdotes and pretty much every detail of the milestones in Engadin golf history. He raves about his own little golf shop, which he once had in the old caddy hut, and about the first clubhouse that stood on the course.A neat wooden building that had to make way for the current building a good 40 years ago. And in the meantime, it too is getting on in years. ‘It's a topical issue again,’ says Ratti.
How much modernity suits a club with a long history?
After all, the considerations and plans for a new clubhouse are also generally centred around the question: how much modernity is appropriate for this largely still natural golf course, where larch trees up to 700 years old still grow?If it's up to the managing director, it can certainly be a little bolder. Innovation, he says, always has something to do with passion. They see themselves as passionate golfers and passionate hosts. ‘We have always been an open golf club,’ he says. And that is, unsurprisingly, down to history. After all, it wasn't the locals who suddenly took a fancy to golf at the end of the 19th century. In the summer of 1889, a couple of Brits, together with local hotelier Caspar Badrutt, laid out a 9-hole golf course in St. Moritz so that they could also hit golf balls in the mountains. The time-honoured course in Samedan and the course in neighbouring Zuoz-Madulain, which opened in 2003, are now two attractive 18-hole courses belonging to the Engadine Golf Club, and around 33,000 rounds are played each season. Half of these are played by the 1350 members, the other half by guests.
The latter like to come. And again and again. Across all age groups and social classes. They can't get past tradition.Especially not in the clubhouse in Samedan with its fireside lounge, whiskey bar and fine cigars. The shield and trophy of the Engadin Amateur Championship are still kept there. The tournament was held for the first time in 1895 - and it is still part of the club's competition calendar over 120 years later. Although the rough links course of the early years has since been transformed into a well-tended parkland course complete with irrigation system, most of the greens are still almost in their original state. ‘A far cry from modern greens,’ says Ratti with a grin. But that doesn't bother anyone here. Those who tee off in Samedan do so deliberately. For example, the hickory golfers around Ueli Lamm.
Here the hickory golfers, there the modern sky bar above the rooftops
He has been a big fan of this original golf variant, which is played with classic wooden clubs and old rules, for around ten years. And, of course, in a stylish outfit with knickerbockers and a diamond pattern. Lamm says: ‘I love this challenge. The old mallet models don't forgive mistakes. You have to hit it precisely to avoid losing length and scattering the golf ball. Golf is still cosy this way.’ In contrast, he now rarely uses the modern, up-to-date equipment. Lamm appreciates the fact that there is still room for this piece of golf nostalgia in the Engadin. On other days, loud music booms out of the loudspeakers at a young tournament series. There is gin ice cream on the first tee and pink rubber flamingos that stand inflated next to the bunker.
What a contrast. Dominik Zurbrügg thinks that's a good thing. He plays regularly at the Engadine Golf Club himself. Zurbrügg is also a hotelier and runs the Art Boutique Hotel Monopol in the centre of St. Moritz's pedestrian zone. Tradition and innovation have accompanied him in his day-to-day business for years. The four-star hotel is over 100 years old. ‘But with all the remodelling and renovations, we always strive for a young and casual image,’ says Zurbrügg. The entire service organisation in the hotel is traditional. The structures in the restaurant are still quite hierarchical; there is a maitre d'hotel. One who is there exclusively for the well-being of the guests. However, they are also offered modern cuisine in the Monopol. Innovative features can be found in many corners of the Art Boutique Hotel, including recently on the roof: the first and so far only Skybar in town, high above the roofs of the many noble five-star hotels. Zurbrügg says: ‘Thank goodness we had the right instinct. I keep asking myself why someone didn't come up with the idea of building a bar on the roof of a hotel sooner.’ There used to be massage rooms in the same place. The courage to try something new has long since paid off. In St. Moritz, this is by no means the case everywhere. Guests from all over the world don't mind. Not yet. The main thing is the jet set, the main thing is glamour. However, Zurbrügg believes that the basic attitude of ‘never change a winning team’, i.e. sticking to the original strategies, is too simple. ‘Once the train has left the station, it's hard to get back on track,’ he says.
The golf club builds on social media strategies
Ramun Ratti knows this too. Despite all the tradition and respect for the golf club's eventful history, he always has his eye on the next step. For example, the Engadine Golf Club has a training centre at the highest technological level, and extensive courses are offered. It's all about spin rates, launch angles and smash factor. Even in the cold months, and there are plenty of them in the Engadine, you can work on your swing and technique with Trackman and Foresight. Or with Robo-Golf, the only machine of its kind in Switzerland that can be used to physically execute the perfect swing. With their own clubs. Ratti and his colleagues are happy to share all this with the entire golf world. As befits a successful club, of course, also on social networks. Another bridge to the modern age. The Managing Director says: "Social media is very important to us. In this day and age, it is essential for communication and identification with guests and members." And even Ueli Lamm agrees with him. ‘You can do that. You can't close your mind to such things. Traditions or not,’ says the 73-year-old.
Fotos: Stephan Schött/alpengolfer.ch
