Caspar Grauballe is nearing completion of a renovation of the West (Västra) course at Isaberg Golf Club in southern Sweden.

The club is located near the city of Jönköping and has two 18-hole layouts. The East (Östra) course opened in 1975, while the West opened in 2010 and has hosted several tournaments on the Swedish Golf Tour.

“The club approached me with the aim of modernising and enhancing the playing experience,” said Grauballe. “They recognised that, given the quality of the site and its natural surroundings, the courses had untapped potential.

“Set beside a large lake and river, the West unfolds across rolling terrain, dominated by mature pine woodland and swathes of heather undergrowth. During my initial assessment, it quickly became evident that several of the issues the greenkeeping team faced with drainage and turf health stemmed from the design of the green surrounds. In many places, water would flow directly onto greens and poorly placed bunkers had created bottlenecks where wear and tear became an issue.

“Water management around the greens is critical in the Nordic climate, where winter ice build-up can significantly impact playing conditions well into the short playing season. The challenge, then, became one of improving strategy for the players while enabling the greenkeeping team to maintain higher-quality surfaces through smarter design.”

Budget constraints meant a full greens rebuild was unfeasible, so Grauballe and the club opted to rebuild green surrounds and bunkers. Isaberg’s in-house team began work in 2018 with the architect regularly visiting the site.

“I focused on reducing the number of bunkers and rethinking the strategic character of each hole to encourage more thoughtful shotmaking,” said Grauballe. “A key objective was to make the course fairer for players with slower swing speeds by opening up ground-based options and removing greenside bunkers that previously blocked running approaches.

“To retain interest and variety, the new surrounds now feature more pronounced undulations and closely mown run-offs. Bunker construction has been upgraded with CapillaryFlow liners and a small Durabunker edge, resulting in vastly improved durability. The bunkers now retain their shape without constant edging and washouts have been eliminated, freeing up staff to focus on overall course presentation and detail work.”

There are five holes left to work on, including building a new fourth green on higher ground that overlooks the Hammarsjön lake.