I don’t have to travel too far to play extreme golf these days. It’s right down the street at my home course. Sure, the course is open most days, but with weather just above freezing and that ever present north wind, it still takes a leap of faith to get out to play eighteen holes. A few of my friends have braved the links a couple of times lately; me, I’m still huddled in front of the fireplace, reading golf magazines. The good part is, I haven’t missed a putt or dumped a chip.
If braving late winter weather to play golf in southern New England doesn’t offer enough of a challenge for you, try these suggestions for playing extreme golf.
Become an Inaugural Member of the Longest Golf Course in the World
Nullarbor Links - an 18-hole, par 72 golf course - will span 1,365 kilometers (just over 848 miles) with one hole in each participating town or roadhouse along the Eyre Highway, from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia. Expect to travel about 80 km (almost 50 miles) between each hole. You’ll need a cart - I mean a car. From tee to green, a golfer will cross fairways similar to rugged Australian outback terrain. Eleven new holes are planned, with the remainder of the holes “on loan” from already established courses. Billed as the “quintessential Australian experience,” you’ve never driven a highway - or fairway - like this. In the planning stage since June of 2005, there is still time to book your advance tee time. Completion is estimated for July 2009.
Win $1million at the Legend Golf And Safari Resort
The Legend Golf And Safari Resort in South Africa lies within the Entabeni Safari Conservancy and winds through open grasslands and dense bush. Consider that the design of each hole was constructed with individual input from eighteen different golf professionals and you’ve really found a special venue. However, it is the spectacular Extreme 19th hole that makes the Legend course exceptionally unique.
You may choose to play the 19th in addition to your round or all on its own. You will arrive via helicopter at the tee box, high atop Hanglip Mountain. The vertical drop of 430 meters (470 yards - good thing it’s all downhill) makes it the longest and most dramatic Par 3 in the world. State-of-the-art cameras and tracking equipment allow golfers to follow the ball flight - and if your tee shot rolls into the cup, you’ve won yourself a handy one million dollars!
The World Ice Golf Championships
There is evidence that ice golf was played as long ago as the 17th century. Yes, golfers have always been that crazy. The World Ice Golf Championship has been played annually on the island of Uummannaq off the coast of Greenland for more than a decade. Every golfer knows that every time he or she goes out for a round, it’s a whole new course. Playing ice golf gives that thought an entirely new meaning. The nine hole course is not laid out until one week before the Championship. Ice flows of the fjord shape the fairways and greens - referred to as “whites,” by the way - and, as the icepack shifts, new outcroppings continually alter the course. The average temperature for the March tournament stand at minus 13.9 degrees Celsius. That’s just about 7 degrees Fahrenheit; no problem for a hardy New Englander, right? After all, it’s only nine holes.
Golf Fore the Good thanks Ross Marshall, managing director of www.yourgolftravel.com for his input and suggestions of these extreme golf venues.
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Those descriptions can make even a non-golfer want to golf - snow here is probably making all our golfers sad.