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Unique Golf Course #2

November 25, 2015 by Dianne Hutton

snow golf1The change in our temperatures and the snow on the ground gave me the idea for this month’s unique golf course article. Golfing in snow at below Celsius temperatures would make most of us shudder especially the fair weather golfers but for the hardier sporting souls a sub-zero round in the Artic snow could be the perfect winter off-piste adventure. Welcome to a world where the greens are “whites”, where snow plows not mowers groom the fairways and ski jackets and mitts are par for this course. This winter wonderland is the perfect setting for the World Ice Golf Championships which unfold in Uummannaq once a year. The tiny village with a population of  1,400 on the West Coast of Greenland, 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 300 miles south of the North Pole, has been hosting this event since 1999.  Orange balls are used for easier spotting and the holes are cut larger than regulation cups. You will find brooms on each green to sweep off your path to the hole and as in a bunker where you use the rake, you use a broom to flatten the “green” before you leave. The Uummannaq course has more than five miles of space so there is plenty of room for a regulation length nine-hole course with two par 3s, one par 5 and four par 4s. It is laid out on top of the local port so it changes every year depending on the movement of the many local icebergs. The port stays frozen until mid-May and then refreezes again for play by the end of November, leaving locals and visitors a new golfing challenge each year. The many icebergs, which dot the layout, are treated as ground under repair and golfers are given a free drop with no penalty.  Surprisingly, a well-struck ball off the tee will fly as far near the top of the world,  as it does where we live. Where it lands, either on solid ice or in a snow bank, will certainly determine its post-shot roll. Putting and chipping are another matter, as the hard-frozen greens, whites, don’t lend themselves to any feel putts. The harder the better is the key to putting success on the Uummannaq links. This event has been cancelled for the past couple of years as Uummannaq are experiencing the impact of climate change. Not only is the massive Greenlandic ice sheet melting,  sea ice is starting to disappear also. If this destination doesn’t tickle your fancy there is also snow golf offered at Björkliden, a ski resort in Swedish Lapland as well as locations in Austria and Switzerland. Not sure if we could swing this, remember how chilly our night golf was?

Filed Under: News

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