[Ivan Lipko]

Dear sirs,

what are the absolute must plays in Sweden? Any architecturally outstanding courses? What would you play, if you it was your first visit to the country?

[Adam Lawrence]

Falsterbo is the one absolute must play, it is a glorious place. The first few holes strike you as rather unlinksy but then you come out onto the open links, and it is pure. Some super holes, but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The seventeenth tee, which is literally the end of Sweden, is one of the loveliest spots in golf.

Ljunghusens I haven't played but if you're in the Falsterbo area it would seem silly to pass it by.

PGA Sweden Links is typically excellent Kyle Phillips work, not a links site but a very solid course.

The Ekerum resort on the island of Oland is worth a visit.

Bro Hof is excellent of its kind, not really my style of course but the drama is undeniable.

Gothenburg GK is the oldest course in the country; plenty of quirk and some interest.

[Ulrich Mayring]

Mølle is pretty darn good.

Ulrich

[Ivan Lipko]

Brian, 100/0

Adam, thanks for advice. From the ones you mentioned I will be able to play only Bro Hoff and Gothenburg. Do you know anything about Ullna ad Bro Balsta (they are in Stockholm area)?

Ullrich, Molle looks like a pretty crazy good and non-ordinary place to go to. Seems to be the southern Sweden is an interesting destination for golf.

[Philip Spogard]

Barsebäck Masters Course and Halmstad (Tylösand) should be on the list. Falsterbo also. Sand GC is a must for many together with Hills GC.

[Phil McDade]

Hi Ivan, our resident Russian GCA'er: what is you ratio of starting advice threads to contributions? Just curious.

Mr. S:

What is your ratio of posting anonymously here on GCA compared to named posts?

[Ivan Lipko]

I just checked again all of the courses named in this thread and I am so pleasantly surprised - so much good stuff. I could have never thought there were so many decent golf courses in Sweden.

Speaking of the advice threads, I would say the good thing about them is that they can be used by future golf tourists like myself. This one is definitely going to be bookmarked.

PS: my personal experience with asking advice on this site says that when I play where you, guys, recommend, I am always leaving the course with a big smile on my face and lust for more golf. So, thanks again for all your kind attention.

[Philip Spogard]

Hi Ivan.

Depending on where you are in Sweden it is also possible to drive to Denmark and play golf. The countries are connected between Malmö and Copenhagen with a bridge (10 minutes to cross). There are a few good courses in the Copenhagen area.

Many people also fly to Copenhagen if they plan to visit southern Sweden as it is much faster.

[Ivan Lipko]

Thanks, another great tip!

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Ivan:

I'm a member of Bro-Bålsta GK and can honestly say that it is a pretty good course. Unlike so many courses that were built in the 80s and 90s, water comes into play at only 2-3 holes. It has wide fairways and large undulating greens. I regard it as a very interesting course from the yellow (6500-m) tees. About 10 years ago it was rated about 30th in Sweden, but since the arrival of Hills, Sand, PGA, Vidbynäs it probably dropped down about 10-15 places. I wouldn't take too muchh notice of the ratings, as I've played a couple of stinkers that are rated above it.

I've also played Kungsängen (Kings) and Arlandastad (right next to Stockholm airport), both of which have held the Scandinavian Masters. I would put Kungsängen (some nice holes through avenues of pine; an EGD/Anders Forsbrand design) ahead of Arlandastad (too much use made of water). Kungsängen (quite a few elevated greens) is a little more difficult than Bro-Bålsta, but not better in my opinion. I spoken to quite a few people that are familiar with both, and I get the impression that Bro-Bålsta is considered more enjoyable.

Bro Hof - which is only five minutes drive from Bro-Bålsta and 10 minutes from Kungsängen - has two courses; the Stadium and the Castle course. Both were designed by RTJ Jnr/Bruce Charlton, and many consider the Castle more interesting. I'm very familiar with both, and I'd probably prefer to play the Castle. I imagine you can play similar courses to the Stadium in many parts of the the US and at places like the K-Club and Celtic Manor. They currently have an offer where you can play both for about 1600 SEK.

There are two courses about 1 hour south of Stockholm at Vidbynäs; both designed by Schmidt/Curley. I haven't played either of them, so cannot comment, but I believe they are quite good.

Ullna was redesigned by Nicklaus and re-opened last year. Looks a bit like other JN courses.

Stockholms GK has lost a lot of its land and has had to adapt by rerouting and shortening holes. Their practice ground is a lake The club's website claim that it is a Colt design, but there's no evidence of this.

Send me a PM if you want a game at Bro-Bålsta.  

[Ulrich Mayring]

Why go to Sweden to play a Nicklaus or RTJ course? I'd look for layouts that couldn't be anywhere else except on that very soil where they are. Courses you have to go to Sweden for to play them. I think Falsterbo, Ljunghusens and Mølle make this cut. Halmstad and Barsebäck are just tree-lined affairs you could build anywhere where there's a forest.

Ulrich

[Alan Strachan]

I've spent some time out in Falsterbo, and just as everyone says, it's a very special place, very few nicer spots to be to be honest. They're greens are a fantastic fescue dominated turf so always play firm and fast.
Due to it lying just about at sea level, it can get flooded by high tides, but they're hopefully going to get permission to put in a sluce gate which should help prevent most future floodings.
Llunghusen is also nice and a wonderful location also, they are constantly improving things under the guidance of Peter Chamberlain.
Another nice links course which borders Falstebo is Flommens, so you could have a great w/end of golf down in this lovely part of Sweden.

Some other nice courses-Torekovs, approx and hour north of Malmo, quite linksy in places blessed with some wonderful sea views.
Bastad has two courses, the old one was laid out by Hawtree snr and has some amazing green complexes combined with wild bunkers considering the vintage these were laid out. Again it's a special place blessed with a great typical Swedish clubhouse and great membership

Something that I find really refreshing about the Swedish club is there fantastic attitude to Junior golf, they  have great coaching, actively encourage the juniors to have fun, while learning, I never see an empty practice ground, they're always full of a mixture of all ages.

[Ulrich Mayring]

I'll second Torekovs. Great sea views, but I don't remember enough from my one round to say how linksy it really is or if the holes are any good.

Ulrich

[Ivan Lipko]

Thanks again, everyone.

Speaking of why go to Sweden to play the mainstream courses. This trip isn't directly GCA related. I am playing the courses that are accessible to me on the dates when I can play golf. What I saw from this thread is that Sweden is a serious golfing destination worth of a special trip. I will definitely concentrate more on the southern part of the country next time I am there.

And the advice to fly to Copenhagen and drive from there seems really good to me. The good thing it is only 2 hour flight from Moscow, so there can be some weekend trips in the future, a la fly and play on the same day.

Cheers!

[Anders Rytter]

Copenhagen airport is the last exit on the high-Way before the bridge to Sweden. I guess Falsterbo is half an hour from the airport.

I seccond most of the courses already mentioned in the south

[Ivan Lipko]

So, here is a brief report on the courses I got to play.

Bro Balsta - a very nice course, very picturesque, especially the front nine. The back nine though, loses a lot of interest due to the fact that the golfing terrain is more average and the holes are arranged in a more standard way. Still a very good golf experience.

Ullna GC - beautiful location, quirky greens and the design that doesn't fit the  surroundings. The course looks too artificial, too polished and quite simply our of place. The hole #5, par 5 is a very strange hole design wise, because the longer your drive the harder the second shot is. If you hit around 250, you have a 150 meter shot to the green over tall trees. If you hit it 210, to the right side of the fairway, you get a pefect clear line to the green, that is around 190 meters from you. The Lake is beautiful though, and the course is very demanding around the greens, especially if you miss them.

Taby GK - boring and indiferent front nine, with holes number 1 and 9 being the only exceptions as they possess some very interesting terrain movement. The back nine is quite simply a stunner, especially holes 11 thru 17. Good angles, good strategy, exceptional natural terrain movement, scenic views of the lake. It has it all.

Bro Hof Stadium - Huge course, epic scale of the layout. Seems to promote long and straight shots mostly. The ever present wind and the picturesque surrounding make the experience all the more pleasant. At the same time, I would say the course will be more interesting were the conditions firmer. They had a lot of rain in the last two weeks which may explain the fact that the course was really soaked, especially around the greens.

Bro Hof Castle - nice course, with some pinevalleyesque features that seem to be out of place in this environment. Was also very wet and soft. I wouldn't say it is a great course, but definitely a good one.

PS: basically all the courses were very green, very soft and very wet.

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