Hills - Sweden
Hills Väg,
S-431 51 Mölndal,
Sweden
+46 (0) 317 271 500
12 km S of Göteborg
Welcome
Mats Sterner
Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest
Daniel Grestam
Hills Golf & Sports Club was one of the most talked about new championship golf courses in Europe when it opened in 2005. In fact, many experienced commentators rated it as one of the top 10 new courses constructed in the world that year. Named after the celebrated American architect Arthur Hills, who co-designed it along with Steve Forrest, the course at Hills Golf & Sports Club can be stretched to nearly 7,500 yards and is laid out over a rugged landscape that veers from marshland to forest ridge, through woodland and over rocky outcrops. Situated just south of Gothenburg, the Hills course begins and ends in an enormous, natural amphitheatre, with the impressive clubhouse, 1st and 10th tees all sitting on a huge rocky promontory overlooking the 9th and 18th, where both of these holes are played either side of a lake. And here’s an old-fashioned twist to a modern design; back-to-back par threes at the 5th and 6th holes. It’s hard to define the exact style of course at Hills as it varies so much over its length. Early holes with their water hazards between the 2nd to the 7th would not look out of place in Florida. The uphill par five 8th doglegs to the right through woodland that could be anywhere in central Europe whilst the par three 13th has the feel of a heathland course in rural Surrey. Hills Golf Club filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and was rescued in 2012 by a consortium of golf enthusiasts fronted by European Tour pro Johan Edfors, who has since implemented a number of changes to the original Steve Forrest design. The 2018 Nordea Masters was hosted at Hills in August 2018. England's Paul Waring won the title, beating South African Thomas Aiken in a play-off to secure his maiden European Tour title after 200 previous attempts. |
Reviews for Hills
Set up for golf with a buggy, which I really do mot like. This means that if you decide to walk anyway, you are in for a real workout as many tees are placed on small hills (of course).
Also, some greens are turning into poa annua, which meant that that they were not that uniform when I visited in July 2016.
So, how to rate it? Putting aside my personal dislike of "buggy-centered" golf courses, it is clearly not in the same league as Bro Hof, Sand and PGA to compare it with some newer courses in Sweden. Actually, the Swedish course I kept thinking of what was Vidbynäs, but Hills offers a better overall experience.
Regionally, I would also place Vallda ahead of Hills.
So, overall maybe correctly valued.
Positives ? It should be possible to play fast...if you take a buggy on a less crowded time. Great clubhouse, good practice facilities. Lots of good golfers at this club....but the course is not my cup of tea.
4 balls it will be.
Hills GC have replaced the grass on its greens since this review was written and the new greens apparently play well, but a little soft.
Many courses which do not deal structurally with agronomy (mainly drainage but also light this far north) end up with poa annua and its related problems (Chambers Bay another example in a similar climate?), but nearby Vallda apparently has managed this issue well and continues to play on great fescue greens all through the course including greens which have rolled true every time I have visited.
The only downside to my experience of the course was the big similarity between the par 3's on the course. They were almost all of them the same length and played pretty similarly to each other. The one exception would be the 4th hole par three which stood out. Overall a great course with a very nice clubhouse and good practice facilities.
