Vasatorp Golfklubb, one of the few venues in Scandinavia with a long tradition of hosting championship events, unveils its new tournament course June 6.
The new course at Vasatorp was designed by Hills/Forrest specifically to host European PGA Tour events. The club now has 54 holes. The original layout, completed in 1974, played host to the European PGA Tour's Scandinavian Enterprise Open (what became the Scandinavian Masters) from 1978 to 1980.
“Attracting top-quality professional tournaments, of course, depends not merely on the quality of the golf course, but on financial support, as well,” noted Ove Sellberg, manager of golf at Vasatorp and the first Swede to win on the European Tour. “There are many fine courses in Sweden — many fine new courses — and several have championship aspirations. However, Hills/Forrest has created for us a golf course difficult enough, strategic enough and beautiful enough to keep Vasatorp in these championship conversations for many years to come, and, most important, they have created a golf course that members and guests will enjoy playing day in and day out.”
Under the direction of Hills/Forrest partner and principal Steve Forrest, ground was broken at Vasatorp in mid-December 2005. Forrest completely reimagined nine existing holes and created nine entirely new ones to form the new 18.
"This project was part renovation, part new design. But our remaking of the existing nine holes is so extensive, it's more accurate to call it a brand new 18-hole course," says Forrest, immediate past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. "As one gathers from Vasatorp's history, the club has maintained an interest in improving the facility, expanding it and attracting prestigious tournaments. The course we've designed here does all three things."
Some 35 Hills/ Forrest designs have hosted PGA Tour, European PGA Tour, Champions Tour, LPGA Tour, USGA and PGA of America events. Most recently, Oitavos Dunes, a 2002 Hills/Forrest design, was named long-term home to the European PGA Tour's Open of Portugal. The firm's 130 renovation projects include the refurbishment and preparation of two U.S. Open sites (Oakland Hills, Oakmont) and another Senior Open venue, Inverness.
"We're helping Vasatorp do something similar to what we helped Inverness do: upgrade its championship-hosting capabilities," Forrest explains. "The difference is that, in order to meet this goal, we're creating a new championship venue as opposed to refining an existing one.”
The course will be long enough to test the world's best players — some 6,700 meters, or 7,300 yards — but Forrest believes competitors, spectators and club members will be most struck by the variety of strategic challenges.
“The two-level green on 8 is neatly positioned at the end of a tranquil lake that lines the entire left side of the fairway, in a lovely wooded setting,” he says. “The bold player can aim for the putting surface and try to avoid the water and a couple gaping bunkers. Others will lay back, but have a much longer approach shot to the undulating putting surface.
Vasatorp presents four distinct golf experiences to members and guests: the club’s classic British parkland 18, a full length 9-hole course with a moor character, a newly opened 9-hole short course (designed by Sellberg), and the new tournament course from Hills/Forrest.
For more information on Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates, visit www.arthurhills.com, or call 419-841-8553. For more information on Vasatorp Golf Club, visit www.vasatorpsgk.se.