Feature of the Week: Crater in One

Iceland Review: Feature of the Week: Crater in One

In the crater of a volcano, on a black sandy beach, under a glacier… in Iceland, golfing is always in touch with nature.

Published in the No. 3 2011 June-July issue of Atlantica. By Sari Peltonen, photos by Páll Stefánsson.

Waves crash against the rocks. North-Atlantic winds tear at trousers and sleeves. The view from the tee opens onto an 11,000-year-old volcanic crater. High up the hillside, little more than white dots, is the audience—a flock of daredevil sheep. Welcome to golf, the Westman Islands way.

This cluster of 18 islands, located a stones-throw from the mainland, was birthed by underwater volcanic eruptions. The Heimaey fishing community has a dramatic past: One January night in 1973, without warning, the volcano Eldfell erupted. Entirely unexpected, it was only thanks to the town’s fishing fleet that the inhabitants managed to miraculously escape the cataclysm. Nonetheless the village was buried in ash, with some of the houses remaining underground to this day.

Ash also covered the golf course on the outskirts of the village, but it was dug up immediately after the 5-month-long eruption finished. Life only goes on if the golfing does too. Built in 1939, the Heimaey course is one of the oldest in Iceland and hole 17 is a local legend. To reach the green one must hit the ball across the Atlantic, crosswind and all. Reports that golfers can now cross the ocean on a bridge of balls driven too short are unconfirmed.

THE NATIONAL SPORT

An 18-hole course in a volcanic crater outside a village of 2,000 fishermen is the perfect illustration of Icelandic golf culture. The second most popular sport after football, over 10% of the nation tees off five times a year or more (2009). The golf union was established in 1942, and its membership figures have grown steadily ever since. In 2010, there were over 13,000 registered amateur golfers (4% of the population).

Golf courses are built everywhere: in a geothermal valley where hot springs steam on the hillsides; on a beach where rough means one large bunker of black volcanic sand; in the bay of a desolate fjord. In total there are currently 65 golf courses in Iceland. One of them has 27 holes, fifteen are full 18-hole courses and the rest are 9-hole courses. In relation to the number of inhabitants (320,000), there are more golf courses in Iceland than anywhere else in the world; one for every 5,000 Icelanders.

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