Båstad Golf Club
– a club founded in 1930
In the middle of the Bjäre Peninsula, overlooking Laholm Bay, is Båstad Golf Club. In the spring of 1930, the club was founded by Ludvig Nobel. In the same year, the Gamla Banan, which is Sweden’s second oldest 18-hole course, was inaugurated. Although the club has a long-standing tradition, the facility is constantly being developed, something we are proud of.
Old Course is a classic among Swedish park courses with well-bunkered undulating greens and was designed by architects Hawtree & Taylor.
In 1990, the club’s second course, New Course, was inaugurated, which was designed by Tommy Nordström. The new course is an open, hilly and varied course with a park/heath character.
Båstad Golf Club currently has 1,650 active senior members and around 400 juniors. Our aim is for all members and guests to feel at home at the facility. With a good restaurant, well-stocked shop and great training opportunities, we hope to be the perfect place for a full day of golf!
HISTORY
– partake in our history
Båstad began serving as a seaside resort at the end of the 1870s. Our first summer guests, the misses Flink from Ängelholm, could not enjoy a round of golf at the time since it was not until the 1880s that the game was first introduced in Sweden. The scenic location and pleasant climate attracted numerous Scanian noblemen and city dwellers to Båstad for the summer holiday. Especially Ludvig Nobel, who left a larger mark on the town than anyone else.
As soon as Ludvig Nobel arrived in Båstad, he laid the foundations for the seaside resort’s forthcoming international reputation. He purchased a few estates and plots of land in the western area. Hotel Skånegården would become his crowning achievement. Nobel quickly understood the importance sports venues would have at holiday resorts of Båstad’s magnitude. The resort’s first tennis court was founded at his behest in the 1920s and included a grandstand comprised of four rows which would eventually become the centre court we see today.
Around this time, a few English guests inquired over the whereabouts of the golf course. They were disappointed when told by the reception desk that there were no golf courses in the vicinity of Båstad. Being the go-getter that he was, Nobel immediately arranged for a taxi to drive the Englishmen to Falsterbo for a round of golf. It was an expensive affair indeed, but it did help pave the way for a golf course in Båstad.
In the summer of 1928, it was decided that terrain in Boarp, where a few estates were conveniently up for sale, would serve as the site. Once Nobel received assurance that the ground was suitable, he bought the estates at public auction for 60,500 kr. He contacted the English golf course architects Hawtree & Taylor and in October 1928 a company representative came to Båstad. Upon initial land surveying, it was deemed necessary to acquire additional terrain to ensure that the first teeing ground would be a proper one. The entire project would take 10 weeks and cost approximately 200,000 kr.
They pegged out a course with 28 teeing grounds and 170 bunkers. Soon thereafter, in the fall of 1928, they began putting the finishing touches on the golf course. Gardener Ivan Christoffersson was brough in from Båstad to serve as greenkeeper and supervise construction of the course. Around springtime 1929, a few more employees were hired to prepare the ground for Weibull’s special blend of grass seeds. During this time, it was not uncommon to find sheep on golf courses. About 20 or so Oxford Down sheep were procured from Kristianstad and, as early as the fall of 1929, happily went about grazing on the course.
In the spring of 1930, Sweden’s second eighteen-hole course was inaugurated. On the premier day, among the guests who scored a par and bogey was the crown prince, who alongside prince Sigvard and consul general Carl Bergsten, proclaimed with satisfaction: “This is one of the foremost courses in Sweden, well, in all of Scandinavia.” An opinion that still holds true today.
The first ever golf week was established as early as 1930. (It has been played every year since). Both men and women were invited from England to attend the premier golf week. Comprised of eight players, these women’s and men’s teams added excitement to golf week, until the dawn of the war. It should be noted that Henry Cotton and Percy Alliss were part of the English men’s team in the second edition of golf week. They were two of Europe’s leading players during this time.
In its first year, the club even hosted the Open Swedish Championship. Stig Boström, from Falsterbo, was crowned champion after an exciting head-to-head battle with Erik Runfelt. As a result, Båstad Golf Club was rewarded with hosting several international and domestic championship tournaments throughout the 1930s.