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Konstanzer Golf Club, Insel-Mainau. (1931 - WW2)
In 1931 a nine-hole golf course was opened in Constance just on the shore of the lake that also bears this name. The course was situated just south of the dam connecting the island of Mainau with the mainland. Few people leaving their car on today’s visitor’s car park for Mainau Island will have an idea that there had been a golf course there.
Layout of the nine-hole Konstanzer course.
In September 1930 a lease contract was made between the newly founded Konstanzer Golf Club and Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, the landowner. An 18-hole course was designed by John Nicholson from Manchester and in July 1931 9-holes playing 2.250m for gentlemen and 2.064m for the ladies were available for golf. The course was officially opened on August 1st, 1931. With most of the 35 club members being Swiss nationals it is probably not a coincidence the official opening took place on the date of the Anniversary of the (Swiss) Federal Charter of 1291, which today is the national holiday in Switzerland.
Below is the proposed 18-hole course layout, which, as far as we know, never came to fruition.
The proposed 18-hole layout.
A small club house was also built, but due to the low membership the second nine holes were never constructed. Nevertheless there was quite an influx of visiting golfers; by September 1939 more than 900 golfers had played the course on a daily ticket.
The modest Konstanzer clubhouse.
It is not exactly known when golf was played on this course for the last time. By the end of the war the French Occupation forces had confiscated the golf course and it was used by troups from Morocco and their horses. In 1946 parts of the golf course were used to grow potatoes even though it seems that two families still played golf on the course or the remaining holes for 2 seasons.
A new golf club was founded in Constance in 1965 at a different location (Langenrain); interestingly this club still annually plays out the “Bodenseepreis”, a cup initially donated by the city of Constance to the old golf club in 1937.
View over the former Konstanzer course.
The Google Map below pinpoints the location of the former course.