How Sacramento Golf Is Influencing European Golf Design: The Story of Course Designer Christian Althaus

Marty James Writes About German Golf Course Architect

The connection that Christian Althaus of Dusseldorf, Germany has to the Morton family and the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento began in 1989, when he was 13 years old. 

In the five consecutive summers that he spent as a youth with Ken Morton, Sr. – who is in the PGA of America Hall of Fame and California Golf Hall of Fame – and his family, were not limited to participating in golf camps. It’s the experience of being at the 36-hole facility each day that opened Althaus’ eyes to the game. He continuously learned about golf while developing his swing and getting out and playing in junior tournaments. Althaus worked and spent time in different areas of the complex, including club repair and club fitting, getting to know the staff. He traveled with the Morton family to such places as Meadow Club in Fairfax, Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz, San Francisco Golf Club, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on the Oregon coast, and Stanford Golf Course. 

It was a great time for Christian Althaus, as he saw the remarkable work of some legendary course designers, including Alister MacKenzie (Meadow Club, Pasatiempo), David McLay Kidd (Bandon Dunes), A.W. Tillinghast (San Francisco Golf Club), George C. Thomas and Billy Bell Jr. (Stanford). “I just love the game,” said Althaus, who was influenced by what he said were some of the “architectural milestones, in terms of golf course design.” 

Althaus also stayed with the Morton family in those summer months, waking up in the morning to read notes that Ken Morton, Sr. left for him that had to do with swing thoughts, etiquette, and the mental game. Althaus said those notes were inspirational for him. 

“I cherished a lot from that. Wonderful, wonderful memories,” he said in a telephone interview recently. “They treated me as one of their sons. They were so kind to me. I’m very good friends and very close with the whole Morton family.”

“We would go to the golf course every morning. I was able to get lessons and play competitive golf on a very high level. To see this full facility and how they run it was very inspirational for me.”

“Haggin Oaks is a facility where you have everything. I just learned so much there, which really prepared me for my career. From each person, you got stories. You get to know and appreciate the game and the history of the game.”

“Getting to know that junior golf program, to see how innovative Sacramento junior golf was, playing all the city golf tournaments, that was very special for me.” 

Haggin Oaks is the home of the Alister MacKenzie Golf Course, designed by the famed architect. The complex also features the Arcade Creek Course, Haggin Oaks Golf driving range, Haggin Oaks Academy Holes, MacKenzie Putting Course, Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop, Player Performance Studio, Haggin Oaks Shoe Store, Club Performance & Repair Center, and MacKenzie’s Sports Bar & Grille.

His trips up and down the state with the Morton family during those years gave Christian Althaus a chance to see the designs of some of the top courses in the world. Being able to also caddie during a member-guest tournament at Cypress Point Club, located at Pebble Beach, gave Althaus the opportunity to see one of MacKenzie’s greatest designs. 

“California has a very high standard of golf courses,” said Althaus. “To see these landmarks of golf course architecture, that was very inspirational for me.” 

Those trips to Sacramento and Haggin Oaks, and being with the Morton family, served as a springboard for Althaus, launching him into a career as a golf course designer and architect. He has worked on projects in Germany and throughout Europe. 

His connection to the Morton family and Haggin Oaks came about from a trip to Redding, CA, where he stayed with Mike Wells and his family. Wells is an attorney and member at Riverview Golf and Country Club, who was on the Northern California Golf Association board of directors at that time. 

Althaus’ brother, Mike, stayed with the Wells family through a Rotary program. 

Mike Wells and his family signed Christian Althaus up for a junior golf camp at Haggin Oaks. 

Christian Althaus stayed in the U.S. and attended Robert Louis Stevenson-Pebble Beach for one year. 

“Just seeing all these golf courses over those years just enlightened me. And I thought that is something I want to try building,” he said. 

Althaus studied landscape architecture in Munich. He acquired the “Professional Diploma in Golf Course Architecture” at the European Institute of Golf Course Architects in London. He is a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Architects. 

Due to his work schedule, Althaus only plays a few rounds of golf each year. He is a German university champion, Hessian men’s rankings winner, and state cup winner in Hesse. He also finished fourth at the German Lochspiel Championships at the Frankfurt Golf Club in 2011. According to his website, www.althausgolfdesign: 

“In his enthusiasm for many of the world-renowned classic golf courses, Althaus regularly travels to countries such as the USA, England, Ireland, and Scotland to learn about and play these courses. He is fascinated by the strategic design and the uniqueness of many golf holes and has aroused great admiration for the old masters of this golf course architecture. Today, this is considered to be the main inspiration for his own golf course design, whether for redesign concepts, renovations based on existing historical image material, or for sporty, challenging new facilities.” In his profile, at www.althausgolfdesign, the website points out that Christian Althaus acquired extensive knowledge of plants during his training at Bruns Pflanzen, one of the top tree nurseries in Europe.

As a course designer-architect, he leads operations with Althaus Golfdesign and has managed more than 20 projects, including the Golf Club Fohr, in Nieblum, Germany, and Marienburger Golf Club, in Cologne, Germany. According to his website, www.althausgolfdesign: 

“The golden age of golf course architecture (1911-1937) forms the cornerstone of Althaus Golfdesign’s philosophy. Pioneers such as Alister Mackenzie, Harry S. Colt, and Donald Ross shaped the idea of strategic design. 

“Taking into account the history of golf and the most modern ways of building and playing, our holistic design approach looks like this for you: ‘Classic golf course architecture that reflects the history of golf and responds to today’s requirements.’ ” 

On its website, Althaus Golfdesign points out it has a clear goal with design: “to underline the aesthetics of the surrounding landscape and create an unforgettable golfing experience. To do this, planning criteria such as strategy, rhythm of the lanes, alignment, obstacles, rememberability, visual relationships, bodies of water or shot values must be cleverly combined.” According to his website, www.althausgolfdesign: 

“Landscape characteristics, as well as concerns of nature and environmental protection, are taken into account in the planning by Althaus Golfdesign, so that the golf course can be integrated into the existing nature and form a harmonious unit with it.”

“The detailed, soft, and flowing modeling of game elements such as green complexes, bunkers, or fairways that is typical for Althaus gives your golf course a unique look.” 

Christian Althaus said what has helped him as a designer-architect is traveling the world, to see some of the great courses. He has followed the work of Tom Doak, David McLay Kidd, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, and Gil Hanse. 

Althaus said planning and developing a design for a course project is like creating a landscape painting. 

“What we do is create a foreground, a middle ground, and a background. You have to balance the aesthetics,” he said. “The backbone, obviously, is the routing.”

“You want it so that every club in the bag gets used. With my design nowadays, I try to have wider fairways, so the people have an easy start in the game. They can hit driver, but then it’s really about the angle and having a lot of variety around the green.”

“You put yourself in position with the first shot, so you have a good angle for the second shot or the third shot.”

“I think it’s also about the golfer has to have fun and has to cherish something. He has to have these moments of success. I try to build memorable golf holes which are well-balanced and which are aesthetically pleasing.”

“You create memorability, that every hole asks different questions, and then you want to come back for more. This is like why when people want to play courses like Bandhan Dunes all over again, again and again. Because maybe the first time they didn’t hit the perfect shot. Those are things you remember. I think that it’s very important for the golf course architect to give the golfer a round where he thinks back to certain holes.” 

Christian Althaus also wants the player to be thinking over shots – as far as yardage, club selection, accuracy, and being aggressive. 

“I believe golf is a mental game. And you have to test the player,” he said. 

* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019, after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor, and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. James is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016.

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