Ekerum (Långe Jan)

The island of Öland in the Baltic is not only the home for 26,000 permanent residents but also a summer paradise for many more, including the Swedish royal family, whose summer residence, Solliden, is located not far north of Ekerum.

Långe Jan is a 1990 creation, named after the lighthouse at the southern end of the island. Peter Nordwall’s trademark style with large, undulating greens is still in evidence today and any golfer escaping with less than 36 putts has probably had an above average day on the greens.

Originally conceived as a heathland course, Långe Jan changed significantly in 2014, when the fertile topsoil was removed next to the fairways and replaced by large sandy waste areas with native vegetation, in a similar change to that made on Pinehurst’s No. 2 course. Långe Erik, the other course at the resort, still retains the original style with wispy rough and fairway bunkers.

Most leading courses in Sweden are still operated by traditional member clubs, but Ekerum is one of the exceptions. The ability to not just play golf but also eat, drink and socialise in numbers on site is not available in many places in Sweden. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the owners of Skistar (the proprietors of most leading Swedish ski resorts) are also the owners of Ekerum since 2007. The resort targets both the corporate market for conferences and the growing number of informal golfing societies, but there are also many members who live on Öland permanently or have a summer house in the vicinity.