There’s golf, and then there’s risky golf! We all have that daredevil friend who likes parachuting off a skyscraper or paragliding without caring what waits beneath. It also happens in golf when those cousins get off teeing up in dangerous circumstances. It must be the adrenaline because we will show you how extreme golfers can go below.
This is where you switch off your TV and mindset that covers golf with tranquil landscapes, gently rolling hills, and lush green fairways. Please fasten your seat belt and welcome to the other side of life, where golfers defy tradition and take their chances with extreme terrain, climate, altitude, and sheer remoteness. By all means, don’t try this at home, but how would you feel golfing in the scorching deserts of Australia or the icy landscapes of Antarctica? Well, here are some of the world’s most extreme golf courses.
Uummannaq Golf Course – Greenland
America likes Greenland for a reason; imagine ice golf in subzero conditions. Try playing golf at Uummannaq Golf Course in Greenland and write home about it. A frozen landscape with the Northern Lights dazzling overhead might make you realize it was a wrong turn. If you still don’t recognize the venue, it’s the famous home to the annual World Ice Golf Championship.
Amazingly, the course keeps changing with shifting ice conditions every year due to the natural weather conditions. Challenges include strong Arctic winds that make club selection tricky, “greens” being actually “whites” (frozen ice surfaces), and temperatures often dropping to -50°F (-45°C). Prepare to play with bright-colored balls to avoid losing them in the endless snow, and traditional golf rules getting occasionally modified due to extreme conditions.
La Paz Golf Club – Bolivia
We are not scaring you, but forget icy conditions and walk the course (or climb with us) to the highest golf course in the world. We are talking oxygen levels about 35% lower than sea level, with the course sitting at 10,965 feet (3,342 meters). La Paz Golf Club in Bolivia makes physical exertion more difficult, with the elevation thinning the air and allowing golf balls to travel significantly farther than at sea level.
Expect to encounter sudden weather changes, such as thunderstorms and strong winds, and be ready for impromptu adjustments in club selection as the ball travels up to 20% farther. Nonetheless, you will find the breathtaking views of the surrounding Andes mountains soothing.
Nullarbor Links – Australia
We have covered cold and high; now let’s go long. The Nullarbor Links is a monster snake stretching a whopping 848 miles (1,365 km) across the Australian outback. The course literally spans two states – West and Southern Australia. Golfers take some teeing up journey through roadhouses, barren landscapes, and even kangaroo-populated fairways.
No pun intended, but the course takes several days to complete, with players encountering dust storms and wild animals, including emus and kangaroos, harsh desert conditions with minimal shade and extreme heat, and driving extremely long distances between holes. For better visualization, each hole offers a unique Australian outback experience, sitting in a different roadhouse or remote town.