Few Swedish cities bring together so much golf within a short drive as Västerås. The city sits on the northern shore of Lake Mälaren, and the surrounding landscape shifts between open plains, deciduous forest and water, giving the courses in the area entirely different characters. Here you'll find everything from an easily accessible course near the centre to a classic club with a long history and facilities out by the lake. Those who live in the area or are visiting can play a new course every weekend throughout an entire season. This guide goes through the courses in and around Västerås and what sets them apart.
The courses in and around Västerås
Within Västerås municipality and a short trip away there are nine courses to choose from. Hälla Golf and Västerås golf club lie closest to the city centre, while Hässlö Golf and Skerikes golf course are also found within the municipality. The rest lie nearby, outside the city itself, and several of them are worth a little excursion. The spread means you can choose a course according to mood and weather. A windy day by the water is completely different from a round in sheltered forest a little further inland. Below, each course is described individually, so you know what to expect before booking a tee time.
The courses closest to Västerås centre
Two facilities lie so close to the city that they work as everyday golf after work or a spontaneous round at the weekend.
Hälla Golf
Hälla Golf is the course many Västerås residents think of first, because it lies conveniently close to the city and is easy to reach. Here golf works as a natural part of everyday life rather than a weekend outing, and the proximity makes it easy to drop by for a quick round or a few hours at the range. The short distance into the centre is the facility's strongest asset, and it suits both those who want to get started and those who want to keep their swing warm between the longer rounds.
Västerås golf club
Västerås golf club is one of the city's established clubs and lies within comfortable distance of the centre. A club in the middle of a city like this is often characterised by a steady flow of members and guests, with an everyday feel where you quickly recognise faces in the clubhouse. For those seeking a home course with proximity and community, this is a natural choice, and the location makes it easy to combine with the rest of the week.
The courses within the municipality a bit from the city
A couple of courses lie in Västerås municipality but a little further out, where the landscape opens up and the feeling becomes more of an excursion.
Hässlö Golf
Hässlö Golf lies in Västerås with a name that brings to mind the area around the old airfield east of the city. Courses in this kind of open setting tend to offer plenty of light and expanse, with less shelter from the wind but all the more space in play. That makes it a course where you really feel how the weather affects the ball, something that sharpens both club selection and concentration. You'll find more about the club on their own page.
Skerikes golf course
Skerikes golf course also lies within Västerås municipality and ties into the landscape north of the city. A course in that setting often moves through a mix of cultivated land and groves of trees, which gives variation from hole to hole. Those who enjoy reading the terrain and adapting their play to how the ground slopes will find plenty of opportunities here. It's a course that rewards thoughtfulness rather than pure length.
The courses near Västerås
Beyond the municipal border, but still within reach of a day trip, lie several clubs that each have their own character.
Tortuna Golf Club
Tortuna Golf Club lies near Västerås and plays as a par 71. That figure hints at a course with a balanced mix of holes, where the par fives and the shorter holes work together to form a round that rarely feels monotonous. A par 71 makes demands on the whole bag, from tee shots to the short game, and suits those who want to test different sides of their play during the same round. You'll find the club on Tortuna's website.
Fullerö golf club
Fullerö golf club lies near Västerås and is a par 72, which is the classic measure of a full-length course. A par 72 usually holds four par threes and four par fives, a layout that gives a complete round of golf with room for both length and precision. For those who want to play a full-scale course, with the kind of challenge that resembles what you meet at the larger facilities, Fullerö is an obvious stop. Read more on the club's page.
Orresta Golf & Conference
Orresta Golf & Conference combines golf with the possibility of meetings and events, which shows in how the facility is laid out. A club with a conference section usually has a well-thought-out clubhouse and an infrastructure that makes it equally suitable for a golf weekend with friends as for a corporate event. The game itself is accompanied here by a whole in which food, lodging and company are woven together, which makes a visit more than just eighteen holes.
Frösåker golf club
Frösåker golf club lies near Västerås, out by Lake Mälaren, and the water leaves its mark on the experience. A course in that setting is affected by the winds off the lake, and the view over the water is part of what makes a round here memorable. Settings near Mälaren are among the more beautiful in the area, and the golf gains an extra layer of nature and light that sets it apart from the courses further inland. There's more to read on Frösåker's website.
Ängsö Golf Club
Ängsö Golf Club lies near Västerås, in the area around Ängsö east of the city, a region known for its cultural landscape and its nature. A course in that environment is often woven into the surroundings in a way that makes the round as much a nature experience as a golf challenge. Here you get to play in a landscape with character, where the surroundings are part of why people return. It's a course for those who appreciate calm and nature around their play.
How to choose the right course for the day and mood
With nine courses within reach, you can let the weather and company decide. A quiet evening after work suits the central courses like Hälla Golf, where you're on site quickly. If you want to make an outing of it, the Mälaren location at Frösåker or the nature around Ängsö beckon. The full-length courses Fullerö and Tortuna give you the complete round when you want to test your entire game, while Orresta works when golf is to be combined with company and food. The variation in the landscape means you rarely have to play the same type of round two weekends in a row.
The right clothes for the Mälaren weather
Golf around Mälaren means changeable weather, and the wind off the water can make a sunny day cooler than it looks. A mid layer that keeps you warm without binding in the swing makes a difference on the courses where it's windy, and a midlayer q-zip fills exactly that role when the temperature swings during the round. If it turns into a completely open day by the lake, a tech anorak is good protection against the gusts without losing mobility in your tee shot. On warmer days a tech polo that breathes and sits right throughout the swing is often enough. If you want to see more options, you'll find them in the polo shirts collection.
Västerås as a golf city
That nine courses gather around a city of Västerås's size says something about how deeply golf is rooted in this part of the country. The proximity to Mälaren, the open plain landscape and the forested areas inland give the courses a breadth that few other areas can match within the same space. The city therefore works as a good starting point for a golf weekend, where you can mix central rounds with excursions to the water and the nature. If you want to read more about golf in the country, there's an overview of the number of active golf courses in Sweden, and for those planning to play in more places there are guides to the golf courses in Stockholm and the golf courses in Gothenburg.
Whichever of the Västerås courses you choose, a good round is as much about feeling comfortable in your clothes as about the game itself. Local Rule makes garments that work both on the course and in everyday life afterwards, and you can see the entire range at Local Rule ahead of the next time you head out into the Mälaren landscape.
