HISTORY OF GOLF DE CLERVAUX

The idea to provide the abbey town of Clervaux with a golf course came from the ranks of the hotel owners, who hoped that this project would make the region even more attractive to domestic and especially foreign guests.

The Golf Club de Clervaux asbl was founded on 21 January 1988 and given the task of assessing the support required from the relevant authorities. Initial contacts were made with the relevant ministries and local authorities to discuss how to finance this promising but costly project. An initial attempt to finance the costs half from public funds and half from the municipality of Clervaux fell through, but financial and moral support was then forthcoming from the banks BIL, Trinkaus and Burkhardt AG. Construction of the Clervaux golf course could then begin.

Lyon-based architects Green Concept, who specialize in golf course development, were commissioned to draw up a project that took full account of the specific topographical conditions. All 53 different landowners were particularly cooperative, so ministers Jacques Santer and Robert Krieps commissioned Society du Golf de Clervaux SA, founded on 9 January 1989, to purchase the land concerned on behalf of the State. The Luxembourg banking sector offered 17,000 shares for sale, representing a total capital of 86 million Luxembourg francs, in the form of a public subscription. At the instigation of the two bank representatives, the 10-member Board of Directors decided to list Society du Golf de Clervaux SA on the Luxembourg stock exchange.

1991 – first golf coach

After various modifications were made to the plan submitted by Green Concept for ecological reasons, work finally got under way in mid-1990. The excellent collaboration between the French architects’ office and the German construction company Jürgen Mokinski, which also specialized in golf, enabled the Clervaux golf course to be built on schedule. The official inauguration of the driving range took place on 19 October 1990, while the first nine holes were opened on 6 June the following year. The first golf instructor took up his duties in September 1991 on an 18-hole course that had been completed in the meantime, to familiarize new golfers with the fundamentals of the sport. The clubhouse, designed by architect Pierre Stumper, was also soon ready in all its glory to accommodate the crowds of domestic and foreign golfers.

The Clervaux golf course now employs 14 people, and the business is certainly contributing to the economic development of the region, whose main source of income comes from the tourism sector, in addition to agriculture. Alongside the abbey, the castle and nature, Clervaux now has an additional attraction, and as Fernand Boden, the minister responsible for tourism at the time, pointed out, the golf course also attracts visitors to the region outside the tourist season itself, which benefits the regional hotels, restaurants and bars.

The inauguration of the 18-hole golf course, the driving range, the 3-hole driving range and the clubhouse took place on 22 May 1992 in the presence of the Hereditary Grand Duke Henri and many guests of honor.

As a founding member of the Luxembourg Golf Federation (FLG), which was established on 11 June 1991, Clervaux Golf has also contributed to making the formerly elitist sport of golf accessible to a broad public. It’s the perfect place to get away from the stress of work and take advantage of the interesting offers of the golf school from the Golf Club Clervaux asbl.

Through local, national and international tournaments, Clervaux Golf has been able to constantly increase the number of its members far beyond its borders.

2015 – pesticide-free care

The hotel was extended in 2010, increasing the number of rooms from 8 to 23, not forgetting the construction of 2 restaurants with conference rooms, new changing rooms for members and a garage for 40 electric golf carts.

The Clervaux golf course has always been designed in harmony with nature, with rainwater used exclusively for irrigation, numerous local trees planted and pesticide-free maintenance since 2015.

When golf became Olympic again in 2016 after more than a hundred years, the then Minister of Sport, Romain Schneider, decided to open a national golf centre in Clervaux to create optimal conditions for the training of the national squads of the Golf Federation and to make golf more accessible to the general public.

On 30 March 2017, the hotel-restaurant was leased to Excellence Hôtels Clervaux. With its 23 rooms, the Golf & Country Hotel is open to the general public and spoils golfers and out-of-town guests with very good quality cuisine in the restaurant “The View”.