Latvia, Riga - Golf in Riga

Latvia offers a real gem, a stone's throw from the bustling streets of a growing Riga. Riga’s pride, Sandis Ozolinish, did a Peter “Foppa” Forsberg and built his own dream course, Ozo Golf Club.

Peter Forsberg pumped hockey millions into what became Veckefjärdens GK outside of Örnsköldsvik in Sweden. His former team mate, Sandis Ozolinsh, did the same thing back home in Latvia with Ozo Golf Club as the result. It’s the country's first eighteen-hole course and a really, really nice one; something that Riga’s growing number of golfers appreciate – as well as those of us who like to go there. The advantages of Riga as a golf destination are many, where prices of green fees, accommodation and food dominate. The prices are really wallet friendly.

After independence in 1991, when the Soviet Union gave up its occupation, the ambition has been to restore the old while building the new to become the centre of the Baltic it once was. While neighbour Tallinn in Estonia often gets- and wants - the stamp "cute and cosy", Riga would rather be associated with the word "metropolis" and "vibrant". Somewhere in between the need for a golf course was born.

Construction began In April 2000 and in May 2002 it was completed - ten minutes from downtown. Sandis Ozolinsh, who in the summer can be seen on his golf course as often as "Foppa" is on his, pumped in big money. Not for a castle of a clubhouse, but for the course itself. He has been a professional hockey player in the NHL for fifteen years (San Jose Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks) since he left Dynamo Riga and the Russian league at age nineteen.

When we were there one June day, it was super nice. It’s obvious that there is big money behind the course in Riga.

The club has high ambitions. The plans are many and more courses are planned as there is money in town, though far from all benefit from them. Taking the trams out of the centre is in many ways a journey through time - from the present to the past, from wealth to poverty.

On the outskirts, furniture stores, department stores and car showrooms are growing faster than a two metre downhill putt when you are in a position to lower your handicap on the eighteenth green.

Restaurant and cafe life is big in Riga. Hotel Latvija’s sky bar, 26 floors up, is a must. Since the area is flat, the view is wide, so you get a good grasp of the town with the Daugava River as a vein through everything. There are new, exclusive and excellent gourmet restaurants with virtually all the world's cuisine and, of course there are the major chains in the middle of a pending invasion of the city. If you want to become a metropolis you do it, but if you are not keen on eating at places like TGI Friday's - which in itself is not wrong, quite the opposite - but looking for Latvian food, you’ll find that too.

At Dzirnavas and Staburags, for example, a big place that the hotels gladly recommend to tourists, with lots of chefs and self-service and menus and entertainment. The food is reliable. A lot of pork, Latvian sausage, varieties of dumplings, stewed cabbage...

For those who want to get a cheap golf trip, Riga is perfect. Not just because the journey there is cheap and the food and accommodation can be cheap, but also because smart shopping saves money. On the ferries and flights from Riga you see many people with well-filled bags, which obviously is not a coincidence. Alcohol is, as in many places, cheap especially vodka and Russian champagne.

Many also buy up clothes and shoes. Shampoo and that type of product practically fall out bags. A little planning can "earn back" a portion of what the golf trip costs.

If you really want to. If not, you can just enjoy a really nice and fascinating city - with a brilliant golf course in, actually, our neighbouring country.

Text: Ola Liljedahl