Profile

Line Mortensen is a Danish golf course architect and the first woman to be admitted to the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA). She is a former international golfer and lecturer in golf course architecture and design at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland.

Line started her golf career in 1975 at the tender age of four and went on to play for the Danish Junior and Youth teams before choosing to fully concentrate on her studies.

Combining her interests in design, natural sciences and environmental issues, Line studied landscape architecture at the Royal Veterinarian and Agricultural University in Copenhagen.

From the outset, Line was determined to specialise in golf course architecture. Apprenticeships in Germany and UK followed including a summer working as a green keeper and a year of studies under the British Institute of Golf Course Architects (BIGCA). Line was awarded her MSc. in Landscape Architecture in 1998.

Since then, Line has worked as a consultant to The Danish Landscape Contractors Association and as a golf course architect with two UK-based golf course architect companies. In 2003, Line took up the position of Course Coordinator and Lecturer in golf course design at Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland and it was at this time she established her own golf design business – Line Mortensen Ltd.

After some hectic years of trying to combine teaching and the running of a small but successful business, Line decided to concentrate all her efforts on golf design. Being very busy meant that she had to take on staff but Line soon had to face the fact that this did not allow her to work in the way she truly wanted – hands on.

Line has worked on several projects in other European countries but has been especially busy in her native Denmark where golf is a fast growing sport.

Business has been very forthcoming and her Danish project – Gyldensteen Golf – was voted into the top 5 courses in the “International Category of the 2007 Golf Inc. Development of the Year” contest – a huge recognition for a young architect and very promising for the future.

Line Mortensen in person

Besides her architectural qualifications and skills, Line is often described as an idealist, a perfectionist and a straight talker with plenty of spirit. But don’t be fearful, she has a great sense of humour, an ability to make things happen and a flair for getting a team to work together towards a common goal.

Her enthusiasm for what she does and her passion for golf are contagious and the demands she makes on others during a project are never higher than those she sets for herself.

If you are looking for a project, which is everything except run-of-the-mill, why not go ahead with the unique designs of Line Mortensen.

How she works

With a background in landscape architecture, laced with plenty of technical talent, Line Mortensen takes great pleasure in being involved in all aspects of the design and construction of a golf development. – “I know from experience that the more I am involved in every aspect of the project, the better the job will turn out.”

None-the-less, when it comes to successfully completing a project, Line believes very much in teamwork and using “the best person for the job” whether it is engineers, agronomists, biologists, contractors or green keepers. - “By working together, I believe in the probability of finding a better 3^rd option rather than a vague compromise.”

One of Line’s strengths is her talent for putting her ideas on paper. Each contour and every spot height is carefully thought out and drawn up and before construction commences, every detail in the project is conscientiously planned. – “This way we can all concentrate on the construction itself and on improvements instead of having to deal with issues which could have been handled at an earlier stage.”

During the construction process, Line does not operate the machinery herself but depends on the work of a skilled “shaper” to create her designs with all the architectural flair she puts into them. – “I would love to do this “shaping” myself but even if I had the talent, it would take for ever to get as good at “shaping” as I would like a “shaper” working on my designs to be.”

Line is happy to take on all projects – from remodelling to new courses and from low to high budget developments. Budget size is of lesser importance as long as a realistic relationship exists between budget, site and the developer’s ambitions and expectations