Travel
IC E LAN D
golf on the rocks If you like your golf with a bit of adventure, Iceland combines great courses with some of the most amazing natural scenery found anywhere in the world.
Words by chris jones photography by paul severn, john wycherley
‘I
celand?’ asked one of my colleagues, incredulously. “Seriously? You’re going to Iceland, to play golf? Do they have any golf courses there? Hope your flight doesn’t get grounded...” It’s a fair question. The country more famous for its glaciers than its fairways is a three-hour flight north from London. It’s closer to Greenland than Edinburgh. While many of us seek out the sun on a golf trip, heading for haunts like the Costa del Sol, the Algarve or Turkey, Iceland isn’t exactly on the radar when it comes to planning a break. But how many active volcanos do you see around Malaga? Where are the midnight tee times near Faro? Where is Belek’s 100-foot waterfall cascading from a hole in a glacier? If you like your golf experiences with a bit of adventure thrown in, Iceland must be close to the top of your list. There are more than 65 courses in the country, 50 of which are nine-holers. But that hasn’t stopped the residents taking up the game in droves. There are 15,000 golfers
registered in golf clubs in Iceland. According to a recent survey about 35,000 people play golf every year – 10% of the population. The capital Reykjavik is the epicentre of life in the country, and it’s the obvious base for any golf trip. There are five 18-hole layouts within half-an-hour, plus plentiful accommodation, restaurants and day trips to see Iceland’s natural wonders. The 30-minute drive from Keflavik airport to the city centre in our Jaguar XJ Portfolio – the only one in the country – reveals a surreal landscape of ancient lava fields and steamy fissures. “A tenth of the land is covered by lava”, says our guide, Ingolfur Stefansson, a typically rugged Icelander in a 4x4. Like many first-time visitors, I wanted to know more about the volcano which brought a continent to a standstill in the spring. “Rocks the size of buses were being launched out of the volcano, and landing a mile away. And the noise! This constant dreaded rumbling, like a booming Hollywood sound effect,” says “Ingo”.
This is a land shaped by nature, and the golf potential is evident straight away as you drive past Keiler GC, an 18-hole “links” course right by the Atlantic, where fairways are framed by... you guessed it, lava. Our early August visit precluded the chance to play golf through the night; midnight tee times pretty much stop by July (see separate story). But we do have an 8pm slot at Grafarholt Golf Course, one of Iceland’s top tracks. The story behind the club can be traced to December 1934, when a few distinguished gentlemen gathered for a meeting in Reykjavik to establish the first golf club in Iceland. It only became 18 holes in 1968, and now thanks to its quality and location just outside the capital, it boasts a healthy 2,500-strong membership. It’s hard to pigeonhole the layout, as it’s a mixture of parkland, heather and... more lava. It rises and drops in the hills above ➨
l o c at i o n
Rocky horror Oddur GC is typical of Icelandic courses, with fairways and greens next to lava.
ICELAND Reykjavik