Golf around the Gulf

You fly to Oulu and pick up your hire car there. In about two hours you drive to Kalajoki, known for the sand dunes and the wide beach of Hiekkasärkät. In the evening, grab a bite at Sandy Kelt, a cosy Irish pub in the middle of the dunes.

The next day you play your first round at Kalajoki Golf: a green, sandy 18-hole course (par 73) among the pines, with the odd glimpse of the sea. Afterwards you can take a sauna in the clubhouse or enjoy the terrace overlooking the course. End the day with a sunset drink at Beach Rosé.

• Round at Kalajoki Golf (18 holes, par 73)
• The sand dunes of Hiekkasärkät

You stay two nights in a two-bedroom apartment from Hiekka Booking, close to the dunes.

In three quarters of an hour you drive to Kokkola. Kokkolan Golf is a few minutes from the centre: the front nine are flat parkland, the back nine wind through the forest, with plenty of water towards the end. After your round, stroll through Neristan, the old quarter with one of the largest collections of wooden houses in Finland.

• Round at Kokkolan Golf (18 holes, par 72)
• The wooden old town of Neristan

You spend a night in a superior room at Original Sokos Hotel Kaarle, in the heart of the city.

Today you drive an hour and a half to Vaasa, where you take your car aboard Wasaline’s Aurora Botnia. In about four hours you sail across the Gulf of Bothnia to Sweden. Ten minutes from the harbour is Umeå Golfklubb, with 27 holes: in summer you can play here from the afternoon right through to the next afternoon.

The next day you play at Norrmjöle Golfklubb, an 18-hole course that winds through a rolling pine forest, between rocks and small lakes. You have lunch in the restaurant on the course.

• Ferry from Vaasa to Umeå
• Round at Umeå Golfklubb
• Round at Norrmjöle Golfklubb

You stay two nights at Stora Hotellet, Umeå’s classic hotel. Inside it’s a mix of festive and maritime, and the staircase from 1895 was once climbed by King Oscar II. Be sure to eat at Gotthards Krog at least once.

In about two and a half hours you drive along the coast to Piteå. At Piteå Golfklubb the front nine are parkland, with water and bunkers. The back nine are narrower and longer, with the Norra stadsfjärden bay along the west side. In the evening there’s time for the spa.

• Round at Piteå Golfklubb
• Relaxing in the spa

You spend a night at KUST Hotell & Spa, a design hotel with a spa and a rooftop bar overlooking the city and the water.

After a three-quarter-hour drive you’re in Luleå. Luleå Golfklubb is the northernmost 27-hole course in Sweden, with three loops of nine holes: open parkland, a shorter forest course and a newer parkland course. Still have time? Then visit Gammelstad, a church town with a fifteenth-century church, on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Or taste Kalix caviar at Hemmagastronomi.

• Round at Luleå Golfklubb
• Gammelstad church town

You spend a night at Clarion Hotel Sense, including dinner. At Sense Spa you relax in the panoramic pool and the saunas.

In two hours you drive to Haparanda, on the border between Sweden and Finland. This is home to Green Zone Golf, one of the most unusual courses in the world: eleven holes are in Sweden and seven in Finland. The border runs right across the green of hole 6, and because Finland is an hour ahead, a hole-in-one here takes an hour and five seconds. The longest hole-in-one in the world, in other words.

Around midsummer you can play here around the clock. A round at midnight, in the soft light of the summer night, is an experience in itself. The next day you have another day of golf. Fancy something different? At the Kukkolaforsen rapids, fishermen still catch whitefish with dip nets in the age-old way, and you can take a sauna.

• Two rounds at Green Zone Golf
• Golf in the bright summer night
• Kukkolaforsen rapids

You stay two nights at the historic Haparanda Stadshotell, where Lenin checked in back in 1917. Dinner is included on your last evening, with local produce such as reindeer and Kalix caviar.

Today your golf trip comes to an end. You drive about two hours back to Oulu, return the hire car and fly home.

Don’t want to travel with your own bag? At most courses you can hire a set, for example at Kalajoki, Kokkola, Umeå and Green Zone Golf. I’m happy to arrange that for you in advance.

At the Kukkolaforsen rapids, just above Haparanda, there are several saunas, including a smoke sauna. The restaurant grills and smokes the fish caught here.

Ten kilometres from Luleå lies Gammelstad, a church town with a fifteenth-century church and hundreds of red church cottages. A World Heritage Site since 1996.

By arrangement, all accommodation can be upgraded to more luxurious rooms or other places to stay.