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Dónal Ó Ceallaigh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Älvkarleby is a small town about 30-km south east of Gävle, which itself is about 160-km north of Stockholm. Gävle - which if not pronounced correctly in Swedish, will almost certainly sound like a common Swedish curse word - is one of the largest ports in Sweden and was also the birth place of the US union agitator Joe Hill (Hillström).

If you're travelling from the south (Stockholm/Uppsala) along the almost empty E4 motorway, and boredom is setting in after miles and miles of continuous pine and birch forest, a surprise awaits you. As you near Gävle, a bizarre sight appears on the horizon. The sign alongside the motorway reads "Welcome to China"!





This is your queue to get off the motorway at Mahadeby and take the 291 road to Älvkarleö.



Älvkarleö sits on the banks of the Dalälven river and is very popular with anglers.





The hydro-electric power station was built in 1915.



Cross the Dalälven river at the Carl XIII bridge and take the 76 road. After a few miles, the golf course will be seen on the right.



Älvkarleby's modest pro-shop and locker rooms.

I don't know that much about the history of the course, other than that it was designed by the Swedish architect Jan Cederholm and opened in 1983. Cederholm has designed, re-designed and renovated over fifty (i.e. over 10% of all Swedish courses) courses during a career than began in the mid-1970s and continued right through the Swedish golf boom years of the 1980s and 1990s and into this century. Jan Cederholm died in 2012.

The course is pretty unremarkable, but does have a few holes that are quite good. Although I made a roundtrip of 280-km to play the course, my efforts (or desperation) for a game of golf should not be interpreted as thumbs up for this course. I enjoyed my round, but after having played the course, I wouldn't be beating down a path to see it again. I'd certainly play the course again, but from an architectural point of view, there isn't that much of interest. My purpose in posting these photos is to give you some indication of what Swedish courses are like. As you can see from the pictures, winter lasts well into April in mid-Sweden.

Just a note about the small flags that are visible in front of the regular greens; these are used for temporary greens when frost prevents play on the regular greens.

Hole 1: 380 Mtr, Par 4, Index 2

The first hole is quite a plain, but gentle opener. A small drain runs across the fairway not so far off the tee. The fairway rises a little in the vicinity of the landing zone for the drive. There is a small pond down the right side of the fairway that shouldn't really come into play. It looks a little out of place.









Looking back down the first fairway.


Hole 2: 425 Mtr, Par 5, Index 16

The second hole is a bit more interesting than the first.



The green lies just in front of the gable end in the distance. A shallow bunker down the left side needs to be avoided with the drive.



The second shot needs to avoid a drain that runs across the fairway just short of the green.



The green is elevated, so the second shot needs to carry all the way to the front.



Looking back down the second fairway.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2013, 04:03:51 PM by Dónal Ó Ceallaigh »

Dónal Ó Ceallaigh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Hole 3: 157 Mtr, Par 3, Index 4

The third hole is short par three, with a large bunker located just in front of the green and a bunker on each side. As the green had not fully recovered after the winter, we played to a temporary green short of the regular green.  





A view of the third green (with protective cover) from the clubhouse.


Hole 4: 415 Mtr, Par 5, Index 18

The fifth hole is a rather mundane affair. The Dalälven river doesn't come into play as much as it could do, unless the drive is hooked badly.





A shallow bunker up the right is not imposing or fierce enough to deter players from playing up the right. The fairway is pretty flat and open all the way to the green, so there isn't much to consider when playing the second shot either.



The green slopes from back to front (a very common theme as we shall see) and is angled a little to the line of play.


Hole 5: 140 Mtr, Par 3, Index 12

The sixth plays uphill a little, with the green sloping from back to front. I have a soft spot for uphill par threes and quite liked this one. There is plenty of room to the left, so the sensible approach is to avoid the bunker to the right.






Hole 6: 311 Mtr, Par 4, Index 8

The sixth hole is quite a good dog-leg par four to the right.











« Last Edit: June 10, 2012, 09:15:37 AM by Dónal Ó Ceallaigh »

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