Swedish Golf Report #2--Halmstad Golf Klubb North Course--very long w/pix!

[Peter_Herreid]

Now on to Halmstad GolfKlubb, in Tylosand, outside of Halmstad north of Helsinborg and south of Goteborg, but still along the southwest coast of Sweden, less than a few hundred yards from the sea, but without ocean-front holes.  The golf course and clubhouse date to 1935, when construction began under the direction of Rafael Sundblom, perhaps the Swedish golf course architect (“banarkiteckt’) or most renowened.  I believe that Sundblom worked for a while for Colt and Alison, during their Wentworth period, etc, but perhaps the rest of the Treehouse can chime in…

Sundblom laid out 18 holes that opened for play in 1938.  In 1967,  nine new holes designed by Nils Skold were added to nine of Sundblom’s original holes to form the North course (“Norra banan”).  The new holes are what is now #5-13 of the Norra Bana, very similar to what was done many years later at Blackwolf Run!  In my opinion, while the stand-out holes are from the original 9, there are at least 3 holes (#5, #10 and #12) from the newer 9 which are terrific.  In 1979 the final 9 holes (designed by Frank Pennink) were added to the other 9 original holes to form the South Course (Sodra Banan).  Pennink and Donald Steel has overseen changes to both courses since that time…

“The sea was dark and stormy, my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at the deli…”

This is more a travelogue that “play of course” review, the reason for which will be obviously shortly.  As I noted in the Falsterbo report, this has been an early summer of epic rainfall in southern Sweden.  Nevertheless, I had a Swedish native call the club on my behalf the morning of the tee time, and the club gleefully assured us that the club was open, and that they recommended I arrive about an hour before hand to prepare for my 13.30 tee time (that’s 1.30pm to us Americans!)….Over I drove the 2.5 hrs from the southeast coast of Sweden where we were staying to Halmstad GK.   Interestingly enough, I had to detour numerous times for wash-out and flooded roadways, and there were two lightning strikes during the drive, but I trundled on.  Ariving at the course, there was a prominently displayed “ABSTANGT” sign at the front gate, which I can assure you is the exact opposite of “OPPET”, which is what every golfer hopes to see!  There was water, water, water everywhere the eye could see!  Of course, there was no way the course was playable, and I don’t see how it could have been for at least the past week, so I still don’t know why the folks on the phone said to come on over, but perhaps they knew of my pro shop tendencies in advance!!!

Nevertheless, I waived my Golfclubatlas Raters Card in front of them and said I had a holy mission to at least walk the course on behalf of GCA.  They graciously allowed the crazy American to continue to walk the course in the howling wind and pouring rain, periodically sending a kayak out to check and see if I needed assistance….What follows is the photographic record of that journey…


Normally, those hoping to reach this 540 yd par 5 in two look to run their seconds up through this neck in the green----not today, apparently!


All of the 3-pars on the North Course are very strong.  The volcano-like 4th, at 180yd from the back, has a steep fall-away front and right, and lesser drop-offs to the rear and left.


Two of the 5-pars are incredibly fine golf holes, and here is #5.  At 602 yds from the backs it is a block-buster double dogleg hole, which bends gently right, then left, the back again to the right, with several copses of trees forming the right-hand hazards.  The tee shot is deliciously blind, as it is gently uphill, and the well-struck drive leaves roughly this second shot…


At this point, my umbrella blew inside-out and broke, so you may see more raindrops in the remaining shots!

The approach to the fifth green…


I thought you might enjoy this shot of the approach to the 6th green, on this 358 yd par-4.  Just goes to show you that the old “Double Hazard” technique is not unique to the States!

Nevertheless, this green was a great surprise with a delightful fallaway back half, which ran down to the edge of the forest…

#8 (426 yds par 4) is not supposed to be a Cape-like hole with a carry on the tee shot!


What kind of sign should I have taken it that even the sea gulls and crows were flying in the opposite direction off the golf course!

#9, 469 yds par 4…

More to follow...

[Peter_Herreid]

At this halfway point, I would love to report to Tiger Bernhardt, et al, that one of Sweden’s finest sights was there to greet me with a warm pastry and coffee when I got to the halfway house, as truly the Swedish women are, as a broad generalization, gorgeous as advertised.  Unfortunately, they were safely ensconsed back in their villages, and resisted the opportunity to come out and laugh at the American.  This lovely halfway house was, therefore, “ABSTANGT”


Shallow, circular bunkers???  Where have I seen these before???


#12 is one of the signature holes on the North Course, and I would agree that it is a very fine hole.  Perhaps I am happy I didn’t have to play it!  444 yds from the back tee, gently uphill swinging right to left off the tee…


… then barreling downhill over a creek to the green, which is also protected left and back by another creek/pond.  From the club’s Website, this is what the approach is supposed to look like:


Something was different today, perhaps the green had just been mowed???

Really a beautiful green surround, though, and I think everything rolls methodically back toward the water…

One of the joys of discovering a new course is seeing if one can define the dominant terrain and roll-offs and see if there are any hidden slopes.  See if you can determine which way is the dominant slope in this picture…

Now here’s your dilemma…

You’ve just walked 12 holes in the pouring rain out to the furthest point on the course.  You have to get past that raging river to get to the final 6 and back to the clubhouse, or retrace your steps (which weren’t all the dry anyway!!) to go back…What to do, what to do, what to do….

C’mon, this is GCA and I have a report to file!  I soldiered on, although my methods will remain known only to me for now…

#13, 173 yd Par 3, looking back from the side, with the tee at the top right

Another fun-appearing par 3, with distance control on this uphill par 3 seeming to be the greatest challenge.  Again, nice mix of par 3’s on the course, with the most well-known par 3 to follow…

The other stout par 5 is #14, 565 yds into the prevailing westerly wind.  This hole goes straight out from the tee…

…until the 185 yds mark in, where one encounters a steep fall-off and rough-covered slope, essentially forming a ravine, which normally has only a thin thread of a stream running throughout it.  This day, the “creek” required every measure of a broad jump that this endomorph could manage…

#15, 335 yd par 4…Who knew toward the end of this journey I would find a hole channeling the spirit of Shoreacres/Seth Raynor???

A wild SSS-shaped ravine system cut off this fairway at the 50 yd mark in, creating all kinds of wild recovery shots from short of the green—a real treat…


Here is the glorious 180 yd 16th, from the club’s website, a stunning downhill “drop shot”  over a diagonal creek….at least it is supposed to be diagonal…


OK, what joker put the pin in the middle of the lake???  Perhaps this guy is going out to mark the “temporary green”??

The home hole, a dogleg right 400 yds par 4, is something of a let down after the pretty wild and woolly back 9.  I suspect they will not have to deal with the standing water during the 2007 Solheim Cup in September…


However, I was not the only fool on the course this day.  Note the flash of red over on the practice green!


I was going to ask this gent to join me for a beer so that we could chat about his course, but he said he had to leave when his dad was done cleaning up the pro shop, and that—at 7 years old—he wasn’t allowed to drink anyway!  How can you not smile at a kid enjoying slopping around the practice green without a care in the world!  That kind of fun is universal, no matter what the age or what the country…

Thanks for allowing me to indulge you with the silly tale of my afternoon on the North Course at Halmstad GolfKlubb.  In all seriousness, I got a feel very similar to the Orchards Golf Club in Massachusetts, or one of the other New England-type courses.  The greens, in particular, seem to have a lot of internal character, although I can’t say the bunkering was striking.  Any further discussion seems ludicrous, given the nature of the day…

[Michael Christensen]

very good report.......for a minute there I thought a boat might be involved along with a 3 hour tour!  

All seriousness....we all appreciate the pics and description of these far away places.  Maybe some day....

[Phil McDade]

Peter:

Great report, but I find one part missing...How's the shirt?

[Peter_Herreid]

Phil--I don't exactly to which shirt you are referring, but I will take a few stabs...

#1)  One of the potential space-saving ways to pack is to bring along those clothing items who have come to the end of the line, so to speak, and then dispose of them along the way.  This frees up space traveling home for newly purchased items.  In this instance I had worn just such a shirt, a near thread-bare Pumpkin Ridge Cutter & Buck, that " gave his life for tourism", not unlike King Tut!  and never made it back from Halmstad, replaced for the ride home by a nice clean and most importantly DRY one!

#2)  The new shirt I did not buy at Halmstad!  One of the few things more expensive than 95 Octane and rental cars in Sweden is golf logo-wear, and then add onto that the paltry selection of fashionably logoed items.  Oh sure, I could get all the J. Lindberg and Jesper Parnevik wear I could stand, but I think we both know that I don't belong anywhere near that stuff.  Of the few logoed items available, the rare shirts were a heavy weave type golf polo that sold for a mere 750 SKr, or approximately $110!!!  The Lyle and Scott wool sweaters, not cashmere, were north of $150---

Of course, I could get all the 2007 Solheim Cup that I could ever want, or at least that gear which was not still available at Crooked Stick, home of the 2005 Solheim Cup, for 50-75% off!!!

Sadly this was not a trip for reckless pro shop damage--a few hats, and some DivIx repair tools were about it...

[Phil McDade]

Peter:

It was #2 -- boy, that is steep. But I've heard that about traveling in Scandanavia (re. price...).

[JMorgan]

Peter,

Does one fly into Stockholm for Halmstad and the others?  

Thanks for the pictures.  (That's what I call taking one for the team!)

[Peter_Herreid]

No, by a wide margin the closest international airport would be Copenhagen's Kastrup, only 20-30 minutes to Falsterbo, 30-40 minutes to Barseback and maybe 45-50 minutes to Halmstad.  These three courses are on the southwest coast of Sweden, whereas Stockholm is on the central Eastern Coast, approximately 4.5-5 hrs away by car, at normal speeds...

I think Malmo has a smaller airport that might be served by RyanAir, but don't hold me to that...

[Mark_Rowlinson]

There used to be an hourly bus from Copenhagen Airport to Halmstad via the ferry at Helsingborg.  

Thanks for the most entertaining report.  I look forward to more of them.

[Philip Gawith]

Peter - I feel for you going all that way and getting the course in that shape! Memorable, but not in the way you would choose. Your commitment to the cause is very impressive. Maybe one of us closer based can follow your footsteps and try to get some sunshine!

[paul cowley]

Peter....thanks for the reviews and your time spent creating them. I have found them enjoyable, especially as they are of places I might not get to see otherwise.

This is the second one no?....or did I miss some.

[Eric Franzen]

What a mess... I am really sorry that you had to experience Halmstad North Course in this state. I played there around six weeks ago and have never seen the course in better shape.... and then the rain happens.
The latest reports says that the course is open again, but they are still basically pumping water out of the bunkers.

There is an airport in Halmstad which have daily connections to Stockholm. But it is also very convenient just to drive over the bridge to from Copenhagen to Malmo and then continue to Halmstad.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

It isn't only Sweden which is in this state.  I walked nine holes with my son as he played at Wilmslow (the best-drained course in this area) tonight.  Fortunately he only went into one bunker (a hard-packed cake) off which he chipped rather than exploded.  In some twenty of the other bunkers on this nine he would have lost the ball - deep water.  The rough is deep (club policy - cf MacKenzie) and with weeks of downpour......

Global warming?

[JMorgan]

I've heard the courses like Visby and Gotland on Gotland Island are hidden treasures with nice doses of wind?  Anyone have first-hand experience?

Opinions on the following?

Bastad - Taylor/Hawtree design

Around Stockholm: King's and Queen's courses; Akersberga; Drottningholms; Brollsta

Skovde?  Rya?

If Falsterbo is the third oldest course in Sweden, which ones are #1 and #2?

Any recommendations for someone heading for Kosta and environs?

[Eric Franzen]

I've heard the courses like Visby and Gotland on Gotland Island are hidden treasures with nice doses of wind?  Anyone have first-hand experience?

Opinions on the following?

Bastad - Taylor/Hawtree design

Around Stockholm: King's and Queen's courses; Akersberga; Drottningholms; Brollsta

Skovde?  Rya?

If Falsterbo is the third oldest course in Sweden, which ones are #1 and #2?

Any recommendations for someone heading for Kosta and environs?

Visby is being renovated by Pierre Fulke, who will add some Royal Melbourne-influenced bunkering and move a couple of the holes closer to the sea. They will start working there on August 13th.

Båstad Old is a quite charming old school parkland course with varied topography.

Stockholm: Kings Course at Kungsängen is a modern american styled parkland/forest layout. They have been struggling with the condition ever since the Scandinavian Masters was played there in 2005. Go to BroHof (the new Robert Trent Jones 2 layout) or Ullna instead.

Åkersberga and Queens Course at Kungsängen: No!

Drottningholm has a few charming holes but mainly lives off it's former glorious past when it was a regular stop on the European Tour.
Brollsta: one of Tommy Nordstrom's challenging layouts with emphasis on demanding approach shots. Don't expect TPC Sawgrass but still worth playing if you are around in the neighbourhood.

Rya is a seaside parkland layout with some stunning views and a couple of interesting holes. Weak start and finish though.

Ryfors is Sweden's oldest course. Lidingö, Sweden's first 18-hole layout, is the second oldest.