Ombergs Golf Resort – Review and Rating

Translated by AI

The course was designed in 2002 by Bengt Lorichs and Pierre Fulke. It is carefully laid out in the Östergötland countryside in a varied way. No hole is really like any other, so it may be wise to play the course at least twice.

With a few exceptions the course is not particularly long, but some 50 bunkers and a good dozen water hazards are strategically placed. Tee boxes are clearly marked and in good condition, but without signs. Here, as in so many other places, you are referred to the free stroke saver. The dry summer of 2018 had left its mark on the fairways, though they still passed. The greens, sometimes undulating and a bit hard to read, were in excellent condition.

Just the right length and difficulty

But the fact that the course length is not impressive, 4,863 meters from the red tees and 5,776 meters from the yellow, does not make it easy. Nearly half the holes are banana-shaped or doglegs. Many greens are elevated and sit close to water, and the bunkers guarding the greens are many and filled with light, fine sand.

Omberg has five par 3s that vary from 92 to 156 meters from the red tees. Nine par 4s measure 252 to 349 meters from the red tees, and four par 5s are limited to a moderate 380 to 412 meters from the reds.

From the yellow tees the figures are: par 3s from 121 to 156 meters, par 4s from 281 to 406 meters and par 5s from 446 to 548 meters, in other words just over half a kilometer. After the ninth hole you come back to the clubhouse, which can be handy in many ways, to fill up or to empty out. For the latter need there are also restrooms along the course.

According to club manager Jon Molneklev, the signature hole is a long par 5 down toward Lake Vättern. The hole is lined with forest, streams and bunkers. The hole before it, a short par 3 that is deceptively easy according to the slope index, together with the following short hole and another fine par 5, make a fine four-leaf clover. They feel a bit like the course’s Amen Corner. That is where you have to succeed if you want a good score. All in all the course is fair to your game, but you can’t just bomb away with the driver; you have to think first.

This page by Boje Bengtsson was originally published in Swedish on our sister site Golfjournalen.se. It has been translated by AI.