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Jeff Schley

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CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« on: November 04, 2021, 02:12:43 PM »
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/04/golf/iceland-reshape-living-golf-spt-intl/index.html
I have been to Iceland and it is really a stunning place with expansive beauty. It seems to have huge spaces and vistas everywhere with nature surrounding you. Going inside a dormant volcano, glaciers, clearest water I have ever seen (and coldest). However I didn't even think of golf when I went there 5 years ago as there was too much nature to experience.

This article gives some quite unique information on Iceland as a future golfing mecca. Apparently 12% of the population plays (claim a record), one course uses 30 automated electric mowers (greenest course on earth they say), $10 million dollar underground practice facility at one club with 16 trackmans, putting and chipping area all under the clubhouse. Female golf participation has gone up from 10% to 33% as well in the last 10-15 years.
Overall, quite a bit to get excited about. Who has played in Iceland?  What did you think of the courses there?
"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice your gifts."
- Steve Prefontaine

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2021, 03:59:01 PM »
Iceland is beautiful.  I have only seen 5 courses there and two of them were stunning.


It’s a very short season (with very long days), so, like Scotland, they spend as little as practical on construction.  They are also way ahead of the class on ecological matters, but that’s easier in a cold climate.


The towns are small and the terrain often steep, so the local architect Edwin Ronald doesn’t aim for 18 holes, but just however many will fit!




Thomas Dai

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Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2021, 05:01:38 PM »
Fascinating place Iceland (irrespective of golf).
Somewhere I’d really like to revisit, although with clubs this time.
If a chance to visit Iceland arises I recommend you take it.
Atb

Marty Bonnar

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2021, 05:47:35 PM »
We’re booked for 10 days in May ‘22, covid-permitting. No real plans for any gowf, but if you were to recommend only ONE Round, where would it be?
Ta,
F.
The White River runs dark through the heart of the Town,
Washed the people coal-black from the hole in the ground.

Niall C

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Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2021, 06:08:58 AM »
CNN - are they not the television channel that thought Cop 26 was being held in Edinburgh ? You might want to do a bit of fact checking before taking their word for anything.  ;D

Niall

Brett Meyer

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Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2021, 02:19:25 PM »
We’re booked for 10 days in May ‘22, covid-permitting. No real plans for any gowf, but if you were to recommend only ONE Round, where would it be?
Ta,
F.


I'd recommend Keilir, which is only 15 min. south of Reykjavik and would easily be a top 100 US public course or a top 100 course in England.


I was in Iceland about two months back with a non-golfer but I had seen some great pictures of Icelandic courses and set aside one day for golf. I think that that's perfect if you're doing a 5-6 day trip. I wouldn't privilege golf over a day of glacier climbing or a day at the Blue Lagoon, but the courses tend to be in pretty spectacular settings and you could easily justify it as also being a day of hiking.


The other reason to do it, as I mentioned above, is that there are good courses in close proximity to Reykjavik. I played two: Keilir and Brautarholt, which is the one with the robotic lawnmowers mentioned in the article. It's easy to play both in one day because they're only about 45 minutes apart, the latter being on a peninsula north of and overlooking Reykjavik.


A third reason is that in addition to being spectacular, each is an excellent course in its own right. Keilir is a championship course of ~6,500 yards where they continue to make improvements. It started as nine holes on the cliffs that are now the back nine, then they added a front nine in the lava to the south, then they expanding the cliffside part to nine main course holes (which they're continuing to tweak) and nine relief course holes. Although very different in character, both nines have several memorable holes, with links-like contours in the fairways on the lava nine and several drives over the cliffs on the back nine. The course also has an excellent set of greens.


Heavy contours in the first fairway:





A great green on eight:





A spectacular drive over the coast and fishing (?) houses on fourteen:





Another on sixteen:





And here's the approach to 18, one of the best finishing holes that I've played. It's a long par 4 and there's a wall and road 50-60 yards short of the green which may be tough to carry if you've hit a poor drive. The green is deep but narrow and you can use the area short and the left-to-right slope to feed the ball onto the green. If you carry the wall but hit a weak shot to the right, it can run down the hill and leave an almost blind pitch:





The other course that I played, the 12-hole Brautarholt is arguably even more spectacular. I'd describe this as a nine-hole course with three bonus holes because holes 10-12 are in a flat field and a bit out of character with the rest. I asked if we could play them as the first three and that was a good idea--they made a good warm-up. The course isn't as long as Keilir and the greens are larger, but every bit as interesting. There are a few awkward features, like the excessive bunkering in the first fairway and some long walks from 1-2 and 7-8, but it's a great place to spend a day because you'd want to hike this land even if there weren't a golf course there.


The spectacular approach to the first green:





The green is great too:





One of my favorite par 3s: the ~230 yard fifth. You can go for the green over the black gravel beach or bail out short-left and leave yourself a pitch on:





Another thing to note about golf in Iceland is that because the climate is cool and there aren't a lot of golf carts, fescue grows very well here and the course conditions in early September were excellent. There were several newer greens on Keilir that were all fescue and it's amazing how much smoother and faster good fescue greens are than they look (not like anyone gets to see them, though). The roombas at Brautarholt leave a bit higher cut in the fairways but those at Keilir were in top condition.


I've written more extensive reviews of both of these courses on my website if anyone's interested in exploring them a bit further:


http://www.brettandrewmeyer.com/golf-course-reviews/kellir


http://www.brettandrewmeyer.com/golf-course-reviews/brautarholt

Jeff Schley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2021, 02:25:05 PM »
Brett thanks for taking the time to write up and post. You are the Iceland resource.
Brautarholt looks great. Hole 1 reminds me of 18 at Cape Wickham as the green looks similiar in shape and right next to the ocean. and the long par 3 fifth is like the Cypress Point #16 of Iceland lava golf.  Beauty abounds in Iceland. Thanks.
"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice your gifts."
- Steve Prefontaine

Ally Mcintosh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2021, 02:45:55 PM »
Edwin Roald used to occasionally show up on these pages… calling Edwin?

Garland Bayley

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"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

Thomas Dai

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Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2021, 03:25:32 PM »
Nice reviews Brett. Thanks for posting the links to them.
One thing there aren’t many of on Iceland is trees. However, I recall driving past some inland courses and guess what, yip, they planted rows of trees between adjacent fairways!
I also recall a course on the south west coast, not too far from where a volcanic cone and lava flow appeared a few months ago, where when we stopped nearby it was so windy as to make opening/closing car doors physically challenging.
Fascinating place though.
Atb



Jeff Schley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2021, 03:34:23 PM »

I also recall a course on the south west coast, not too far from where a volcanic cone and lava flow appeared a few months ago, where when we stopped nearby it was so windy as to make opening/closing car doors physically challenging.

Thomas yes I agree with the wind. You couldn't wear a brimmed hat without a chin strap!  Yep our guides for our ATV tour had them and said you might as well take off your baseball caps as they are no good in Iceland wind.
"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice your gifts."
- Steve Prefontaine

Jason Hines

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2021, 04:35:53 PM »
Played Keilir and Oddur many years ago and would love to go back but life keeps getting in the way.  My customer had a joke about what do you do if you get lost in a Icelandic forest?  You stand up...

Marty Bonnar

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #12 on: November 05, 2021, 04:54:23 PM »
Thanks Brett. I’m sure we could fit in 12 or 18 holes at some point. 4 of the 6 going are golfers, so maybe we can make it work. Are hire clubs readily available?
Cheers,
F.
The White River runs dark through the heart of the Town,
Washed the people coal-black from the hole in the ground.

Brett Meyer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2021, 07:28:46 AM »
Brett thanks for taking the time to write up and post. You are the Iceland resource.
Brautarholt looks great. Hole 1 reminds me of 18 at Cape Wickham as the green looks similiar in shape and right next to the ocean. and the long par 3 fifth is like the Cypress Point #16 of Iceland lava golf.  Beauty abounds in Iceland. Thanks.


Jeff,



5 definitely reminded me of the pictures that I've seen of 16 at Cypress Point and I'm sure that this crossed the architect's mind a few times too! Apart from the great setting and thrilling shot, what I really appreciated about it was that you can play it almost anyway you want. Some of the people coming up behind us only hit the ball about 150 yards and it's a great short par 4 because there's a lot of room to the left. But the further left you go, the blinder the shot becomes. For those going at the green, it's large and receptive. It's just about the perfect long par 3.


Thanks Brett. I’m sure we could fit in 12 or 18 holes at some point. 4 of the 6 going are golfers, so maybe we can make it work. Are hire clubs readily available?
Cheers,
F.


Marty,


Each has rental clubs/trolleys available and that's what I did. Not sure if either place has 4 sets, though.


My rental clubs were a bit of an issue at Keilir because the driver was 11.5 degrees...I couldn't make the 225 carry from the back tees over the cove on 14!

Gib_Papazian

Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2021, 05:00:25 PM »
I've been told Antarctica's Amundsen-Scott station is hurting for recreational options - it's a long way from Christchurch CC - so maybe we you can make a southern hemisphere version of your Icelandic Lido.


All bullshit aside, my latest protege went there with his parents (now in film school) on vacation. He brought along his 6D and used it to shoot and edit (& wrote the music) a piece about their trip - really just sequences of the sights and sounds.


WTF, that is some of the most fantastic scenery I've seen in my life . . . . . and I'm that idiot who eschewed the Ring of Kerry - and instead toured the Dingle Peninsula - which I USED TO THINK was the most beautiful place on Earth not called Yosemite.


   


« Last Edit: November 06, 2021, 07:31:56 PM by Gib Papazian »

Wade Whitehead

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2021, 05:44:56 PM »
A few years ago we laid over in Reykjavík en route to Munich.  We landed in Iceland after 11:00 p.m.  As we made final approach, with weather in the high 30s and rainy, I saw a two some playing down below (I think at Hólmsvöllur).

WW

Will Thrasher

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Re: CNN - How Iceland could reshape the world of golf
« Reply #16 on: November 08, 2021, 08:07:35 AM »
Iceland is beautiful.  I have only seen 5 courses there and two of them were stunning.


It’s a very short season (with very long days), so, like Scotland, they spend as little as practical on construction.  They are also way ahead of the class on ecological matters, but that’s easier in a cold climate.


The towns are small and the terrain often steep, so the local architect Edwin Ronald doesn’t aim for 18 holes, but just however many will fit!


Edwin is a good twitter follow

https://twitter.com/EdwinRoald
Twitter: @will_thrasher_

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