Here in Thailand, we thought we had some crazy golf courses. Some have been built around old tin mines, or with boulders on the greens, or have greens in the shape of Thailand.
But have a look at these crazy golf courses.
Nullarbor Links in Australia is billed as the world’s longest layout, stretching a staggering 850 miles through a landscape of Road Warrior desolation. The Nullarbor plains are a great barren expanse in southern Australia. Most of the greens are Astroturf. You can even have a 30-mile drive to the next tee.
Some say it can take over 25 seconds for your ball to reach the green at the 19th par 3 at Legends Golf and Safari Resort at Bosveld in South Africa. Accessible only by helicopter, the tee box of the Legend’s par-three 19th hole hangs on a ledge near the top of Hanglip Mountain, some 1,200 feet above your target, which is a green shaped like the African continent.
In 2004, on the outskirts of the embattled Afghan capital, Mohammad Afzal Abdul scraped and fought to open this dirt-and-rock nine-holer called the Kabul Golf Club. The ensuing years brought death threats from the Taliban, who shot and killed Abdul’s brother, Khan, his hard-working partner on the project. But with war raging around him, Abdul soldiered on, keeping the layout open for those brave enough to play it — a grim-looking golf course, ghostly and grass-less, but a golf course all the same.
On a much lighter note, naturist golfers can feel free with a round at La Jenny Golf Club in Aquitane in France. Said to be the only place in Europe where the sport is practised in a naturist setting, golfers play the 6-hole course (4 par 3, 2 par 4). Here you may be concerned about a full-body sunburn.
Meanwhile, the owners of this airport in Bangkok decided to capitalize on the extra space and place an 18-hole course right beside the tarmac at Don Muang International Airport. Can only imagine how loud it would be to play on this course, but guests seem to love the unique placement and the jets act as a giant air conditioner too.
Finally, if you find yourself getting a lot of back sweat from the heat on the course, playing on a giant iceberg with an orange ball could be better suited for you. Uummannaq GC in Greenland is actually the home of the World Ice Golf Championships. The rules are pretty much the same as your standard game of golf, except you, the holes are a little shorter, the cups are larger, and everything is frozen.
Have a crazy golf course near you? Let us know!