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E T V ÅRSSKRIFT S A summary of Årsskrift 2008. 2008 Published by The Swedish Society of Historians. Sweden welcomes Grail teams in 2009

The British Society of Golf European team in the last two Collectors has accepted our matches in Kilspindie in Scot- invitation to play the match landd in 2005 and in Brook against USA for The Hickory Hollow, Texas, in 2007. He will be Grail in 2009 at Falsterbo GK. the Swedish Society’s representa- The day after the match we tive on the match committee. will play the 12th Swedish The sixth match for The Hickory Hickory Championship, also at Grail will be played on Friday 31st Falsterbo. July. The Swedish Hickory Sweden’s Grailer Claes Championship is the next day, Kvist will look after the Falsterbo is the premier links Saturday August 1st. teams in 2009. course in Scandinavia, where The Falsterbo links is featured many championships have been in Pat Ward Tomas’ The World Atlas of Golf

MAP BY HELENA FAHLESON played. The Grail match and the on pages 96–97.

Torekov Båstad championship will help the club ”Falsterbo incorporates all the celebrate its centenary in 2009. links qualities of turf, natural haz- Viken Helsingör Helsingborg Europe’s captain David ards and changes of wind”, he ÖR Rya Copen- E SU

hagen N SKÅNE Kirkwood said after the decision: writes. D SWEDEN Roskilde ”We were impressed by Falster- The club’s website is at Malmö DENMARK Flommen bo and by the Swedish presenta- www.falsterbogk.se Falsterbo Ljunghusen tion.” Near Falsterbo, in the district of ”Players who have been over to Skåne, there are several other To golf or not to golf? compete in your Championship prime golf courses. For those who Several courses and have given good marks to Swedish prefer to forget about golf there is Hamlet’s castle in Hel- hickory golf.” much to bee seen around Skåne singør are within reach ”And as golf historians we look and across the bridge in from Falsterbo. forward to take part in the Fals- Denmark. terbo club’s celebration of its cen- Flight connections are excellent tenary.” with Copenhagen’s Kastrup air- Claes Kvist has played on the port, right by the bridge.

...but first we play in Isaberg The 11th Swedish Hickory men and veterans (65 years

PICTURE BY Championship will be played at during the year). We expect a good Isaberg GK in southern Sweden. turnout this year also, led by defending champions Pia Ramel, We will help the Isaberg club to Pierre Fulke and Ove Stenbeck. celebrate its 40th anniversary. Book collector Leif Einarsson The course cuts through the pine has invited everybody to his libra- forests of the district of Småland, ry on Friday evening. the land of Ikea and Emil i Lönne- There are a hotel and cottages The enjoys the berga. for rent near the golf course. company of the Swedish The Championship is on Satur- Interested? Write to Jörgen Hickory Champion’s cup day July 26th 2008. Linse, [email protected], or in Pierre Fulke’s trophy Last year 87 players entered the Pehr Thermaenius, pehr.thermae- cabinet. Championships for ladies, gentle- [email protected]. Hickory celebration in Ljunghusen The Swedish Hickory 71 to beat off fellow tour winner Championship celebrated its Adam Mednick and other players 10th anniversary on the links of with impressive steel tournament Ljunghusen, near Falsterbo. records. Veteran favourite Ove Stenbeck lived up to expectations. The Ljunghusen club celebrated Ljunghusen veteran Sture its 75 anniversary in 2007 and we Svantesson spoke at the dinner played our front nine holes on the about what the game was like original course along the beach. when he was a boy. All three champions won by ”Happiness was a good brassie Chris Deinlein became the large margins. Home player Pia lie”, he said. first US player to enter the Ramel ran away from European ”Lots of things have changed, Swedish Hickory LPGA winner Marie Wennersten but not the flowers along the Championship. From, while 2002 Ryder Cup win- beach. I hope you did not miss ner Pierre Fulke scored a level par them.”

Golf in a sports handbook in 1796 A sports handbook, with four dead for 21 years. His name still pages of golf, was read in had pulling power and the publi- Sweden around 1800. sher kept on using it. JCF Guts- There is nothing to suggest that Muths had Leif Einarsson, who specializes in GutsMuths ever played golf or a chapter on early Swedish golf books, found even saw it played. He could not golf in his this, until now, unknown book in read English, so he had an 1796 sports the Royal Library in Stockholm. English pupil, 16-year-old Sam handbook. He learnt about the book in 100 Glover from Birmingham, to Jahre Golf in Deutschland, translate Hoyle’s golf chapter. It was written in German by Another book by GutsMuths JCF GutsMuths (1759–1839), who was published in Swedish a few is known as the father of gymnas- years later. Unfortunately there is tics in Germany. no golf in this book. He wrote his book – the title is Still we believe that the golf too long for this summary – to chapter in German was read by reform youth. It was printed in the educated Swedish public 1796. He got his information around the turn of the century. about golf from ’s most There are three copies in the widely used betting handbook. Royal Library, so the book might This book was published in well have had a good circulation 1790 under the name of whist in Sweden. champion Edmond Hoyle, The big questions are: Who read although Hoyle by then had been it? And did they start to play? Viktoria is the star of the Museum The club carrier Viktoria has other sports. The golf club was come to reside in the Swedish started by A.V. Despard, who was Golf Museum in Landskrona, pastor at the city’s Church of near Falsterbo. England congregation. When Despard’s club failed, PICTURE BY VIKTOR SETTERBERG Viktoria is a club carrier made of Setterberg carried on. He started wood. She can be seen in a photo- Gothenburgh Golf Club in 1904 graph taken by Viktor Setterberg and was the first secretary of the in 1892 on the links of Arendal in Swedish Golf Union. Gothenburgh. He himself estimated he wrote Viktoria has her name cut in 40 000 pages on golf. He transla- runes under her handle. But we ted the rules, biked along the do not know to whom she coast to find suitable golf land belonged. and he was an enthusiastic pho- The club carrier Viktoria Viktor Setterberg was the first tographer. His papers and pictu- was used in Arendal in Swedish golf nut. He saw golf res are kept in the collection of 1892 – but by whom? being played at Arendal, where the Gothenburgh Golf Club. the gentry of Gothenburgh, on the If only he had told us who car- west coast, enjoyed sailing and ried Viktoria. Hasse took over from Åke Åke Skeppare, who took the ini- Uppsala in the 1940’s. He is also tiative to start our Society in a driving force in Jeeves, the 1996, retired as president last Swedish Wodehouse Society. year. Our new president is Hasse In the yearbook Åke has written Bergdahl, professional at an article on W.E Norris article Elisefarm GC in Skåne. The Apotheosis of golf, published in 1892. Hasse is one of Sweden’s most Åke would have liked to play a Åke Skeppare, founding respected golf teachers. His aim match against the author and he president of the Society, for the Society is to help Swedish quotes Norris’ conclusion: was succeeded by Hasse golf-players so that they can also ”I cannot pretend to explain how Bergdahl at the 2007 become golfers. it is that you can play golf day AGM. ”We need to spread knowledge after day and year after year with- about the history of the game and out growing tired of it; I know no the spirit of the rules”, he writes other game of which as much in the yearbook. could be said: but, Heaven be Åke has been a student of the praised! so it is.” history of golf since he started to ● The Swedish Society of Golf play in the university town of Historians has 630 members. Ågesta girls are part of our history The Ågesta GK girl’s team won covers this important part of the the 2007 ”Tjejligan”, a team history of golf in Sweden. It will be matchplay competition among a good read. Stockholm clubs. Ågesta GK is Visby GK, on the Baltic island of 50 years old this year and the Gotland, also celebrates 50 years girls are important in the club’s in 2008. The club has published a history. long club history on its website. It tells of financial difficulties at the Tove Sundquist and Sara Committee member Annika start. The committee introduced Ericsson played for Åges- Lindström writes that she thinks life membership for the price of ta GK when the club won Ågesta was Sweden’s first club to just over 100 pounds. But no one the 2007 Tjejligan. set up training groups for girls to took the offer. encourage them to take up golf. This year’s third club to celebra- Next year we will know if this is te 50 years is Västervik in the right. The Society has invited southeast. The club history tells clubs to write and tell us about about Malte Nilsson who as presi- their veteran girls. In Årsskrift dent worked for the club for 14 2009 we will have an article that years, but he did not play golf. Too wet? Not for me! On the cover this year is Our cover picture was taken on Sweden’s prince Bertil, photo- a miserable September day when graphed in 1972 by Ronny the Prince performed his duty in

PICTURE BY RONNY KARLSSON Karlsson. He is Sweden’s most Sollentuna, just north of experienced golf photographer Stockholm. Club officials wanted with pictures from 30 or so to cut the round short to save the Scandinavian Masters in his Prince from getting soaked, but files. Bertil would have none of it. Ronny was then new in golf but Prince Bertil (1912–1997), the he was an experienced sports pho- uncle of king Carl Gustaf, was an tographer. He saw the potential for enthusiastic golfer with a single a good picture and kept his focus Prince Bertil, in his trade- figure handicap. When golf on the Prince. He got his chance mark beret, splashed his boomed in Sweden in the 1970’s, on the second tee, and he took it. way round the new new clubs asked the Prince to Ronny later became the club’s Sollentuna course and come and play the opening round president. provided a photo-op for on their courses. Bertil obliged. Ronny Karlsson.

Årsskrift 2008. Editors: Åke Skeppare and Pehr Thermaenius, [email protected]. David Pihlblad kindly helped us process the pictures. Swedish Society of Golf Historians. President: Hasse Bergdahl, [email protected]. Hon Secretary: Bosse Wickberg, [email protected].