We all have our favourite golf destinations that we journey to for a golf vacation, but there is one that is not on the top of many lists but should be: Iceland. Yes, Iceland! It is well worth the long journey to play golf in this wonderful country.
Iceland has the highest number of golf courses per capita in the world plus short summers that allow you to play golf 24 hours a day. And Icelanders love their golf.
The highlight of a golf trip to Iceland must include the Arctic Open, which is conducted evach June at Akureyri Golf Club. The event has a long tradition as the course is the most northern golf course in the world and the long summer days allow you to tee off as late as 1am and finish in time for breakfast!
I had the opportunity to play in this year’s Arctic Open with a field of in excess of 200 gathered from many parts of the globe, but being the only Australian was a unique experience. My tee-times were 4.40pm, 7pm and 11.30pm – fair to say not your usual Saturday rounds back home in Australia. The event is played in brilliant sunshine with few clouds and the Stableford event attracts a strong field, particularly from the locals.
The course has all the features you would expect, with a strong layout and design with generous greens and putting conditions similar to Queensland.
Highlights include hot chocolate and shot (rum), local sausages and great fellowship, laughter and mirth. The 19th hole provides wonderful opportunities to share stories, watch your fellow competitors tee off and come in, and when the sun is at its lowest at 4.30am (it never sets) you get wonderful views of the midnight sun.
Separate to the Arctic Open there are many other golf courses that will test your skills and delight your senses, such as Keilir Golf Club in Reykjavik, but the standout is Brautarholt Golf Course, which can only be described as the Pebble Beach of Iceland. The layout, the views and the risk-and-reward are a must for any golfer. There are 12 magnificent holes to play currently, with the final six – which are even more spectacular – to be completed by the end of the year.
In addition to golf there is spectacular hiking, car journeys, fjords, glaciers, waterfalls and tremendous Icelandic hospitality. And for those that love food, the freshness and quality of the local offerings in itself is a gastronimical journey of delight.
A golf adventure to Iceland truly is a “journey to the centre of the earth”, as Jules Verne promised many years ago. You will not be disappointed.
bless og gangi þér vel
