Sweden & Denmark

published 23 July 2007

GETTING THERE

Fly to Copenhagen with Scandinavian Airlines (0870 607 27727 www.flysas.com); British Midlands (0870 607 0555, www.flybmi.com) or British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.britishairways.com)

Skåne is serene, its countryside gently undulating, its beaches deserted. A great mix of layouts can be found here, but the most famous is the Masters Course at Barsebäck, which hosted the Solheim Cup in 2003 and will do so again in 2007. The Masters is one of two great layouts here and is set up for big, accurate hitters. Good course management is essential here as trees encroach on several holes, leaving little room for manoeuvre.

To give you an idea of how much the Swedes love their golf, there are about 60 clubs within an hour?s drive of Malmö, Skåne?s major city. All are unpretentious and offer a welcoming atmosphere. Bokskogens Golf Club is a typical example.

The course at Helsingør, north of Denmark?s capital city Copenhagen, is heavily wooded and you may find it prudent to leave your driver in the bag for the most part. The 9th is the most difficult hole on the course ? the fairway is just 10 yards across at its narrowest point. Respite arrives in the form of the more open 10th and 11th holes.

Golf in Sweden and Denmark offers remarkably good value. Barsebäck, for example, is the Swedish equivalent of somewhere like Turnberry but a game costs a fraction of the price ? between £29 and £40.

Both Solheim Cup teams stayed in the Järavallen Conference & Country Club close to the fairway last time round ? the Americans on the Red floor and the Europeans on the Blue. The rooms are simply furnished, Scandinavian style, and families or larger groups may prefer to stay in the villas that are available for rent.

IKEA and H&M have already put Sweden on the map but designer ceramics and glassware are also very popular and can be found at bargain prices. Some shopping terms you should accustom yourself with in Sweden are ?REA? which indicates a sale, ?Extrapris? alongside a red price label which means a discount of at least 10% and ?Fynd? which is a special offer. Copenhagen has Europe?s longest shopping street.

BarsebÄck (Masters)

Falsterbo

Ljunghusens

HelsingØr

Noble House Hotel (0046 4066 43000, http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=88158) is a modern hotel in the centre of Malmö.

JÄravallen Conference & Country Club (0046 4677 7050; www.jaravallen.se) offers packages to include a round of golf, breakfast and two-course dinner.

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