Unusual and distinctive: natural monuments on golf courses

They are often powerful and impressive, sometimes delicate and widely branched. There are over 14,000 natural monuments in Germany. They are each expelled by the lower nature conservation authorities. Sometimes there are moors like the Kiebitzmoor in Hamburg, sometimes poor meadows like those in Bad Schönborn in the district of Karlsruhe. Erratic boulders, oaks, summer linden trees, slate walls – the variety is huge. In general, the term is understood to mean a landscape element that is under nature protection.
Golfers will certainly find some of the natural monuments on their own courses. The old linden tree on the Chieming golf course in the Bavarian town of Kötzing is considered to be the largest and most beautiful of its kind in the Traunstein district. A huge tree that, like many other natural monuments, has already undergone a sonic tomography, which should clarify the condition of the tree. With this method, data such as trunk rot or trunk strength can be determined.
Namely, the issue of safety risk is inherent in many trees categorized as natural monuments. Which is why the oak on the Feldafing golf course , which is listed as a 280-year-old Bavarian natural monument, is secured by a larger barrier. The Lippe Golf Club in Cappel even has two natural monuments on the course with its two oak trees, and the lush lime tree in the Freiburg GC creates an aha effect.
The so-called Sandberg, on which the clubhouse of GC Hubbelrath was built, is special. The wooded hilltop is one of the so-called area natural monuments in Germany, which – as the name suggests – extend over a smaller area of up to five hectares. The Sandberg, which still stands out from the landscape of the Niederbergische Höhenterrassen, became a natural monument because it is unique in terms of natural space.
For golf courses, the natural monuments mean a unique selling point that often arouses interest, creates atmosphere and is worth seeing. On the other hand, their status is not always easy: natural monuments must not be altered . Restoring the centuries-old trees can cost thousands of euros.
Nevertheless, their fascination remains: Each of the natural monuments provides a special moment on the round of golf . In any case, the sight of the huge trees makes the golfer feel very small.