Christian Lundin of (re)GOLF has overseen a bunker renovation on the front nine at Laholms Golfklubb in southern Sweden.

Following a tender process where architects were asked to create a long-term master plan with a focus on making the most of the club’s small budget, Laholms chose Lundin after seeing his bunker remodel at Sölvesborg Golfklubb.

“Our brief was to propose a plan where the old layout could make better use of the great land it sits within,” said Lundin. “We proposed a full bunker renovation and a few routing changes so as to take better advantage of the river that runs through the site.

“There was no general look to the bunkers and the quality was quite bad. Actually, they were way overdue to be re-done from a maintenance point of view. Some were also in the wrong position considering where the tee locations are.”

Construction work on the renovation was completed in two phases by team from Nelson & Vecchio, led by Graham Foster, with Better Billy Bunker lining installed in bunkers.

“We proposed a more rugged style, with an ‘organic’ look to the edges to minimise maintenance,” said Lundin. “The look makes the bunkers blend into the landscape better and their new positioning gives the golfer a more strategic golfing experience.”

The course opened on 4 April for the season and most of the front nine bunkers will be in full play.

In autumn, the club is planning to start work on a new par-three course to appeal to golfers of all ages and abilities. Lundin is currently evaluating whether the routing can be made reversible.

“The par-three course is an addition that the club has worked on as a side project,” said Lundin. “I was brought in last year to review its original location and recommended against building it there. Following that, we were hired to find a more suitable location, purely from a synergy and efficiency point of view. Happily, the club accepted the new location we proposed, and we are now finishing some exciting drawings for it!”

Lundin says they’ll do a full revamp of the back nine within two to three years and, after that, some routing changes that will take advantage of the beautiful landscape.