During the final round of the 1993 European Masters, Severiano Ballesteros sliced his drive on the 18th hole into a cluster of trees beside a swimming pool. His ball came to rest five feet from an eight-foot-high concrete wall, with a gap between the wall and overhanging branches the size of a dinner plate. He was 130 yards from the green. He had room for half a backswing.
His caddie, Billy Foster, pleaded with him three times to chip out sideways.
Foster admitted he guessed at 130 yards because he never believed the shot was possible. Seve opened the face of his sand wedge, threaded the ball through the tiny gap, over the wall, and landed it just short of the green. Then he chipped in for birdie. Foster called it the best shot he’d ever seen. It wasn’t caught on camera. A stone plaque with a gold inscription now marks the exact spot on the 18th at Crans-sur-Sierre.
The story would be remarkable enough on its own. But Seve didn’t just play this course. He designed it. After winning the European Masters three times as a player, he was commissioned in 1995 to redesign the layout. When the greens deteriorated after 70 years of use, he came back in 1997 to rebuild every green on the course. In 2002, it was renamed the Severiano Ballesteros Course, making Seve both the most legendary player and the architect of the same course. Few golf courses anywhere carry that distinction.
Crans-sur-Sierre sits at 1,500 metres above sea level in the Swiss Alps, and the altitude changes everything. The ball flies approximately 10 to 15 percent further than at sea level, turning a typical 150-yard iron shot into a 130-yard club selection. At roughly 6,800 yards and par 70, it’s one of the shortest courses on the European Tour, but the altitude more than compensates. On a clear day from the 7th hole, you can see both the Weisshorn (4,505 metres) and Mont Blanc (4,807 metres), the highest peak in central Europe.
The course has hosted more than 40 European Tour events, reportedly more than any other venue on the circuit. It spends half the year under several feet of snow, and the annual Omega European Masters draws 50,000 spectators to a course that doubles as a ski resort in winter.
The legendary Gaston Barras, president for 40 years until his death in 2021, convinced the European Tour to brand the tournament as the “European Masters,” a deliberate reference to Augusta. He also personally persuaded Jack Nicklaus to design an adjacent 9-hole course that has been named the most beautiful nine holes in Switzerland.
When we play the 18th, you’ll see the gold plaque. And you’ll understand why Seve just liked to keep going forward.
Fairways & Frontlines plays Crans-sur-Sierre during the Swiss Alps portion of the tour.