Golf and golf equipment

[Lat34]

First, I have to declare that Golf is not my thing at all - @Happy Dude suggested I post some brief info in this thread about Iceland as a golf destination after I mentioned a "fun" course on Heimaey island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the Iceland south coast.

Basically we were just keeping a look-out for any interesting course locations during our recent Iceland road circumnavigation for a golf-loving Aussie friend and her English husband.

Home - Golficeland

golficeland.org

(some) General Information

'There are 65 golf courses throughout the country whereas 15 of them are 18 hole golf courses and 50 are 9 hole golf course, all of them are available to visitors. In Greater Reykjavík area there are 10 golf courses whereas 5 of them are 18 hole courses and 5 are 9 hole courses.

Akuyeri Golf Club is the second oldest in Iceland (formed in 1935) and it's reckoned to be the most northerly 18-hole layout in the world, according to the R&A.

Golf players:
There are 24.000 golfers registered in golf clubs in Iceland. According to public surveys from Capacent Research about 45.000 individuals play golf every year or more than 12 % of the population in Iceland.

Length of the golf season:
The golf season in Iceland generally runs from late May to early September.

Midnight golf:
Midnight golf is generaly playable between early June and later part of July.

Handicap:
Handicap according to EGA (European Golf Association) regulation is required by some of the 18 hole golf courses, usually 36 for men and 36 for ladies. See further information about those requirements on the individual pages of the golf courses.

Dress code:
Dress code on golf courses in Iceland are the same as all over the world. No jeans and T-shirts without a collar are allowed.

Enjoy!

 

[Scarlett]

65 golf courses hey? More than I thought, especially with the limited season.

I’ve played two of them:
Hólmsvöllur out past Keflavik airport, and
Golfklúbbur Hellu a rural course an hour and a half from Reykjavik towards the waterfalls and fjords attractions in the direction of Vik. I think it was too late in the season for midnight golf though.

 

[Happy Dude]

Midnight golf - super interested to add to the list of golf experiences I need to do. Great info @Lat34. Ta!

 

[Scarlett]

I posted some shots in the trip report thread but thought I might comment here as well, mind you I suspect I’m in a pool of single digits of Australians who have bothered to play here: Addis Ababa GC, Ethiopia. It’s the only real golf course in the country, although there is apparently a little pitch and putt course within the grounds of the British Embassy.


Wet season meant significant long grass and those plethora of yellow flower shrubs everywhere as the rough. There was no ‘first cut’ just fairway followed by lost ball rough.


Par 5 11th approach view, first time around (only holes 10-18 open due to the wet season having not concluded yet). The area beside the green was mud.


Same approach view second time around, with added hazards.


Greens were really soft. Every approach or decent length pitch was leaving craters. Greens very basic too with minimal contouring, but putted reasonably consistently.

I played poorly as first game in a month meant little touch around the greens. The heavy conditioning didn’t help. One birdie to keep me coming back!

My Garmin did actually have the course available but some of the distances seemed a little ‘variable’.

My golf bag travelled for free courtesy of the following status and class of service:
CBR-MEL on QF. Y - QF Gold
MEL-SIN-BKK on SQ. Y - TK Elite (*A Gold)
BKK-ADD-CAI on ET. J - TK Elite
CAI-ATH-LIS on MS/A3. J - TK Elite

The check in lady at CAI did have to check to see what the deal was with carriage of ‘special items’ but eventually agreed with me that golf clubs are considered part of regular baggage allowance. That does seem pretty consistent across *A.

Today I’m taking them LIS - Ponta Delgada (PDL - the main city in the Azores islands) on SATA Azores Airlines (code S4) and they carry one golf bag for free in addition to regular baggage allowance, but I did have to email them beforehand and let them know I was bringing a golf bag and get an approval email in return.

 

[zig]

First, I have to declare that Golf is not my thing at all - @Happy Dude suggested I post some brief info in this thread about Iceland as a golf destination after I mentioned a "fun" course on Heimaey island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the Iceland south coast.

Basically we were just keeping a look-out for any interesting course locations during our recent Iceland road circumnavigation for a golf-loving Aussie friend and her English husband.

Home - Golficeland

golficeland.org

(some) General Information

'There are 65 golf courses throughout the country whereas 15 of them are 18 hole golf courses and 50 are 9 hole golf course, all of them are available to visitors. In Greater Reykjavík area there are 10 golf courses whereas 5 of them are 18 hole courses and 5 are 9 hole courses.

Akuyeri Golf Club is the second oldest in Iceland (formed in 1935) and it's reckoned to be the most northerly 18-hole layout in the world, according to the R&A.

Golf players:
There are 24.000 golfers registered in golf clubs in Iceland. According to public surveys from Capacent Research about 45.000 individuals play golf every year or more than 12 % of the population in Iceland.

Length of the golf season:
The golf season in Iceland generally runs from late May to early September.

Midnight golf:
Midnight golf is generaly playable between early June and later part of July.

Handicap:
Handicap according to EGA (European Golf Association) regulation is required by some of the 18 hole golf courses, usually 36 for men and 36 for ladies. See further information about those requirements on the individual pages of the golf courses.

Dress code:
Dress code on golf courses in Iceland are the same as all over the world. No jeans and T-shirts without a collar are allowed.

Enjoy!

Iceland is on my to do list and I love the idea of midnight golf.