Friday 23 June 2017

Falsterbo Golf Club, Sweden

www.falsterbogk.se

White tees par 71, slope 129, 6157 metres
Red tees par 71, slope 129, 5001 metres

Falsterbo is situated on the southernmost tip of Sweden where the Baltic Sea meets the Oresund.  The club was founded in 1909 but for the first two years golf was played to the east of the current course until nine holes designed by Robert Turnbull, Copenhagen's golf professional, were opened in 1911.  In 1930 the course was expanded to eighteen holes by Gunnar Bauer, a local doctor, at which time horses and cattle were banned on the course.  The only change since then was the rebuilding of the green complexes in the late 1990s.  Falsterbo has hosted a number of professional tournaments, most recently a Challenge Tour event in 2003. 
The clubhouse with the 9th green
in the foreground

On arrival at Falsterbo the first impression is of peace and quiet - it is situated in a nature reserve established for its rich flora and fauna and in particular because of the large numbers of migrating birds..  We had a friendly welcome in the quintessentially Swedish timbered clubhouse which dates 
back to 1914 and availed ourselves of the advice to go to the first floor and admire the views across the sea to Denmark.  The Falsterbo lighthouse, built in the late 18th century on the site of the oldest known beacon in Scandinavia, dominates the course.

The 1st to 6th holes are on the inland side of the course in a wetland area.  As a consequence there are a number of water hazards and the fairways and greens do not have the typical hard and fast running nature of links greens.  However the rest of the course is a typical links course and the whole is a pleasure to play.  The hazards are the many bunkers (nine greenside on the 7th and sixteen on the 9th hole) and the punishing rough which appears benign from afar but not when a shot has to be played from it!  The 11th is a standout par 3 with water
The 11th green is almost totally
surrounded by water

surrounding the green on three sides.  Concentration is required not just for the shot to the green but also to cross the narrow wooden bridge from the tee to the green.  The course then turns to run alongside the sea  The 12th is the only blind drive over a ridge but is a lovely hole heading towards the lighthouse.  The par 5 13th is a bit contrived around the lighthouse and will punish a slice which results in a blind second shot.  The 14th has the lighthouse as a backdrop and is a tricky par 3 with a difficult green to hold. 

There is then a delightful finishing stretch with the 16th green and 17th tee being in the tip of the peninsula.  The 18th hole is a lovely short par 5 with its green nestled in sand dunes next to the clubhouse. 
The Falsterbo lighthouse behind the 14th green



Worth playing?  Yes.  It is in a beautiful area
.

Thursday 22 June 2017

Viken Helsingborg Golf Club, Sweden

www.helsingborgsgk.com

Yellow tees par 68, slope 112, 4542 metres
Red tees par 68, slope 118, 4144 metres

Helsingborg golf course lies between the lovely old village of Viken and the Oresund, which is the strait between Denmark and south-west Sweden.  To get here we flew to Copenhagen and then crossed the Oresund Bridge which links Denmark and Sweden and is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe.

The thatched sheep shelter which was
built for a rescue boat and later
accommodated the club repair shop.


The course is set out on a narrow slip of links land on fairly flat terrain with views over to Helsingor in Denmark.  Golf was played on the land in the late 19th century but it wasn't until 1924 that the course was opened.  It was designed as a nine hole course by William Hester from Hoylake, Liverpool who had been the Professional and greenkeeper at Falsterbo from 1912 and who trained Sweden's first golf professionals.  The greenkeeper told us that the course has not changed since then and aims to be as close to playing golf in the 1920s as possible.  We even saw some players with hickory shafted clubs.
The 6th green with Denmark on the horizon

We played with Lynn and David Lawson on an overcast summer's day with a light breeze.  The tees are mats, the fairways are somewhat worn but the greens were in good condition althoug perhaps not as hard and fast running as classic links greens.  Fortunately the course was quiet as a number of holes cross each other which must give rise to a lot of shouts of 'fore!'.  There are no particularly memorable holes but some quirky ones, which is probably a good description of this club.  The clubhouse is delightful and feels as if it hasn't changed since the 1920s with many historical photographs and an honesty box.

The black timbered clubhouse overlooks the 9th green
Worth playing - Yes if you are in the area for the step back in golfing time.