Rather than piggy-back on Eric Franzen’s post from two weeks ago, I am starting a separate thread about Falsterbo GolfKlubb in southwestern Sweden. This is a course that is rarely discussed on GCA, but often seems to bubble up as one that folks are interested in seeing once during their lifetimes.
Eric provided a brief history of the course in his previous post, but golf has been played continuously in this location on the very southwestern tip of Sweden since 1911, and the current routing was provided in 1930 by Gunnar Bauer, a local doctor. I suspect this is the same Gunnar Bauer noted in Swedish medical literature as one of the fathers of vascular surgery and thrombosis research, which would mean he has two claims to fame in very different fields!
As one can see from this diagram, the course is surrounded on three sides by the Oresund (the narrow channel between Denmark and Sweden) and the Baltic Sea. The magnificent Oresund Bridge linking the two countries lies 20-30 minutes to the north and is visible from multiple locations around the course. It is linksland in the sense that it has been reclaimed from the sea, and the course is pocked with small marshes and ponds and channels which are a mix of seawater and freshwater. The recent drenchings in southern Sweden has resulted in many other areas of standing water, unfortunately. Please note that the 17th and 18th holes look as if they are labeled 7 and 8 at the bottom and bottom right of the diagram.
This is the view of the sand spit and dunesy land immediately adjacent to the 17th tee…
Eric and I played on June 30th, on a delightful Saturday morning, in less than 3.5 hours, in a break during a string of dramatic rainstorms in this part of Sweden. It was great fun to meet and golf with Eric, and I hope you all can meet him on one of his trips over here, if you can't make the voyage over to Sweden...
A few holes of note...
#4 Par 4 #1HCP hole 405m/360m/320m/310m
Water channels all the way down the right and this mix of heather, fescues and a pair of hidden bunkers in the left rough. The textural and color differences are some of the hallmark features of Falsterbo. This monster hole plays most frequently into the wind, which is essentially always present in this “wind tunnel” between Denmark and Sweden.
#5 Par 4 “Chicago” 370m/365m/325m/325m
Perhaps the good Doctor knew of CBM, or had visited the States as I suspect that must have been the motivation for the hole’s name. The preferred line is tight to the insidious pair of ponds barely visible down the left side, as the right sideof the fairway (which is only slightly more forgiving) requires a carry to the green over a pair of very deep bunkers.
The heavily undulating 5th green is in the foreground (along with a deep cut-out bunker filled with crystal clear Scandinavian rain-water!), the 10th green is in the middle and then the majestic 11th hole ( par 3 over water) is in the top right corner. This green demonstrates another devilish feature of Falsterbo, in that nearly all of the greenside bunkers are tight to the green surfaces and balls run freely down into them. Apparently this was a near-historic amount of water all week in southern Sweden. Do not let that factor discourage a visit in the future….
#7 Par 4 290m/265m
Drivable par-4, but the fairway ends at about the point from which this picture was taken, with the last 30 yards or so filled with gentle dunes, bunkers and tall grasses. The green is massive, at about 34 meters long and nearly 30 meters wide. This backdrop is just one of the reasons I felt the course had a vaguely Maidstone-like feel. There are no holes to compare to #8, #10 and #14 at Maidstone, but I think Falsterbo compares favorably to Maidstone elsewise…
The 7th green and the distinctly southern Swedish-styled clubhouse
#10 Par 4 350m/350m/330m/295m
Another view of the run-offs around the greens and the beautiful color differences around the course. The lighthouse visible from so many points was built in 1795.
#12 Par 4 370m/350m/305m/305,
What a terrific golf hole! This is a variation on the Bottle theme, as the preferred angle into the green is to attempt to carry just a bit futher to the left side of the split fairway. Doing so means challenging a narrow channel/wetland that cuts in at the 225 yd mark, and keep in mind this hole plays into the prevailing wind most frequently. Playing more safely over to the right leaves a 185+ yd carry over heather, dunes, bunkers and a green which falls away to the right—simply great stuff…
#13 Par 5
The green end of this into-the-wind 565+ yd (510 m) Par 5, which is gently uphill and blind from the tee and gently curving left-right around a copse of trees surrounding the lighthouse. Everything from here on in is completely exposed to the elements.
#14 Par 3 “Lighthouse Hole” 210m (233yds)/195m/180m/170m
The majestic par 3, with a ridge traversing about 145 yds out which cut off the comforting view of the fairly generous run-up area in front of the green. Another massive green, but with several knobs to complicate lag putting. One can see a walker/bird-watcher, another distinguishing feature of Falsterbo, as it is a very popular place for bird-watching, given its unique location in the crossing of several fly-over zones.
A view across the 15th green and down the length of the 16th hole in the distance to the very tip of the course and the edge of the Baltic Sea…
#16 Par 4 “Gunnar Bauer” 355m/340m/290m/275m
The green-end at 16, so that one can see the proximity to the Oresund Bridge, which links Denmark and Sweden by car and train. This hole is completely exposed to the swirling winds and elements out on the very tip of the course.
#17 Par 4
This hole really gave me a Carnoustie feel around the green, this one is usually dead downwind, and I wonder if it might be reachable at 345m (375 yds) in the right conditions. It’s fairly open in front
#18 Par 5 440m (484yds)/440m/395m/395m
Green-end of the reachable-in-two 18th—next stop over that dune line is Germany/Poland, depending on your line!
The course plays as a (34-37) par 71, 6080 meters (roughly 6700 yds) from the back tees, and 5810 meters (roughly 6350 yds) from the regular tees. Falsterbo holds a special place in Swedish golf history and, if not the most loved, is almost certainly the most revered course in Sweden. As the years have passed, courses such as the Masters course at Barseback and the North course at Halmstad have been deemed more tournament-worthy in Sweden, but (according to many friends, cousins and other relatives) Falsterbo is the one people keep trying to get back to…
Under normal conditions, the course is open year-round, and will most typically play appropriately firm and fairly fast. The greens fees were 600 Swedish crowns, or roughly $90 US. Tom will have to eventually visit to give Falsterbo an appropriate rating on the Doak Scale, but I would give it a 75 on the Golf Travel Inducement Scale.
More to follow on Halmstad and Barseback…