Kytäjä (North West)

Finnish industrialist Yjro Laakkonen knew there was only one person fully equipped to develop his golf project on rugged terrain to the north west of Helsinki. That man was Canadian architect Thomas McBroom, a designer well used to fashioning courses on challenging landscapes like that found in Ontario’s Muskoka region.

McBroom’s experience of routing holes through deep woodland and over rocky outcrops was just what was required to turn such tortuous terrain outside the Finnish capital into championship golf course material and so the South East course came into being in 2003, followed by the North West in 2004.

Already hailed as one of the best Scandinavian golf facilities, the Kytäjä facility, and the North West in particular, can only improve as it matures. Its overall length can be extended to a massive 7,145 yards from the back tees – even the par threes are huge with three of these four “short” holes in excess of 185 yards – so big hitters will flourish if they can keep the ball straight.

The North West (like its older sibling) is maintained to a very high standard and exceptional green keeping during a short playing season (where Kytäjä is open for only half the year, from mid-May to mid-October) ensures putting surfaces are kept in pristine order.