Extreme golf abroad
The incredible 1,365 km course will run from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia, with one hole in each participating town along the Eyre Highway. When it opens in spring 2009 it will be one of the most extreme courses in the world. Here are some other awesome courses and gold resorts you might want to consider for you next golf trip.
Ice golf, Uummannaq, North Greenland
This is golf — but not as we know it. The green is white, the ball is red and the course, carved out of the frozen Atlantic, constantly changes as new jutting outcrops of ice emerge.
The annual World Ice Golf Championship is held here, when 36 amateur and professional golfers compete over two days, playing 36 holes in temperatures as low as -25, surrounded by icebergs and glaciers.
Golf travel packages to the tournament will include excursions such as dog sledding and ice fishing. For more information about participation in the Championship from March 19 2009, go to icegolfgreenland.
Alice Springs, Australia
From one of the coldest courses in the world to the hottest, the Alice Springs Golf Club in Australia's arid heartland is also considered to be one of the toughest. Not only do players have to content with temperatures as high as 50 degrees or more and hot winds sweeping across the fairways, the course also throws up challenging rocky outcrops. The club regularly hosts the PGA Seniors Tour, the biennial Alice Springs Masters Games and the Northern Territory Open Golf Championships.
Visitors are welcome to play on the course and there are some quality hotels right on the doorstep for those who want to turn their golf trip into a longer vacation.
La Paz, Bolivia
This course claims to be the highest complete 18-hole championship course in the world. Situated at a lofty 10,800 feet, it is also the best course Bolivia has to offer. One of the challenges of playing at such a high elevation is, well, the altitude. Without acclimatising golfers can suffer headaches, nausea and even edema, so if you don't want to suffer for your sport, the best advice is to turn this golf vacation into a longer trip and give yourself time to get used to the thinner air.
Though it is unlikely you will suffer anything more than discomfort, this is the sort of trip for which golf travel insurance is essential, especially if the main purpose of your holiday is to play golf.
For more information on the La Paz course, go to lapazgolf, a Spanish language site.
Ushuaia, Patagonia
At a latitude of 54 degrees south, this short, nine-hole layout is the most southerly golf course in the world. Situated in the Argentine part of the Tierra del Fuego, only a short swing from the glaciers in the Beagle Canal, it's an awesome course but the weather is a challenge — Ushuaia has an average of 160 rainy days a year, snow in the winter and the course is often covered in cloud and mist. If that's not bad enough, strong winds make it difficult to make par.
Golf vacation packages to Ushuaia are hard to find, but several tour operators will organise golf trips as a bolt-on to tours of Patagonia. Try yourgolfholidays
North Cape, Norway
Located within the Arctic Circle, only 1,300miles from the North Pole, the North Cape Golf Club is the most northerly in the world. With only six holes it is hardly a challenge for seasoned golfers, but in the summer the sun never sets on the fairways, so you can play around the clock. In winter, there's a chance you'll be entertained by a display of the Northern Lights.
For golf packages, try Scantours
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