A visit to Nyköping
If you fly Ryanair to Stockholm, you don’t actually land in Stockholm (what’s new?). Instead, you end up in the small town of Nyköping, about an hour and a half south of the Stockholm city center. But don’t despair, there’s a nice golf course just a few minutes from the Skavsta Airport, Nyköpings Golf Club.
When we arrived at Nyköpings GK on a nice, sunny summer Tuesday just after noon, it looked quite busy. The parking lot was nearly full, and there seemed to be golfers everywhere. However, this turned out not to be a problem. With two full 18 hole courses, Nyköpings GK has that capacity to accomodate a lot of players, and we did not have any problems getting a tee time.
Before teeing off, we decided to try the restaurant. As at most Swedish golf clubs, the lunch restaurant is cafeteria style. You stand in a (short) line with your tray, order your food, get your drink, and head off to the salad bar. And don’t forget to grab some bread. It’s all self serve, but once you have your bread and salad, the food is brought to your table by a waiter.
The menu was also typically Swedish. You have two dishes to choose from as “today’s lunch special”, at a very attractive price, in this case just over 10€, including salad, break, a non-alcoholic beverage, and coffee. The specials were either fish or pasta. There was also à la carte, at slightly higher prices.
The food (I chose the fish) was perfectly prepared and tasty, which is really all you can ask for. The environment was clean and basic, but not exactly very special. Again, cafeteria style, or maybe high-end cafeteria if such a concept exists.
Before our tee time, we had time to look at the practice facilities and pro shop. There’s a full length driving range, as well as short game practice areas and a large putting green right next to the clubhouse. Also next to the clubhouse is the pro shop, which is part traditional and part outlet style. The shop is run by Englishman Alan Harris, and you will find everything you need for a round of golf, and some bargains to boot, as well as some friendly advice from Alan.
Today we teed of on the west course, the slightly more challenging of the two.
The course starts, somewhat unorthodoxically, with a short, downhill par three. Personally, I don’t like to start on a par three, but it turned out to be quite a forgiving hole. After the first jittery performance, you get the chance to calm down, as the following few holes are fairly straight and flat. Not entirely uninteresting, but not very exciting either, except on windy days, as the holes are wide open to the prevailing wind.
The first nine are fairly flat, but there are a few challenging holes around a small lake at the outward turn. Hole six is a dogleg left par 4, well guarded on the left by the water, and the seventh is a challenging par three with the green surrounded by water on three sides. Two holes that can make or break your round.
The second nine are much more interesting. The 10th and 11th are two par fours that take you up in the forest, followed by the 12th with an elevated tee with a panoramic view of the course. The remaining holes are the best on the course, rolling through the meadow landscape, each with a new twist. A very varied back nine.
The atmosphere at Nyköpings GK is very laid back and relaxed. The majority of the players on the course are club members, although there are a significant number of greenfee guests. All in all it was a very enjoyable golf outing.
If you find yourself in Nyköping, don’t miss out on this course. We recommend it.
Read the full review of Nyköpings GK golf course –>