LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – As teams from the United States
and Europe prepare to go toe to toe in the next chapter of Ryder
Cup, it’s a good time to reflect on the civilized – and
uncivilized – elements of golf. To celebrate golf’s most
adventurous side online travel consults cheapflights.com
(www.cheapflights.com) have come up with a list of the top 10
most hazardous golf courses in the world. Reuters has not
endorsed this list:
1. Prison View Golf Course, Angola, Louisiana, USA
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is the largest
maximum-security prison in the United States. It is a working
farm and runs both a radio and TV station. To top it off, it
also has a 9-hole golf course, complete with practice facilities
and a clubhouse, for use by the public for $10. There are a few
catches: Playing this course requires some advanced planning, as
you must allow 48 hours for a background check before you can
even schedule a tee time. The course is on the grounds of the
penitentiary, so you must also be willing to submit to personal
and vehicle searches. Finally, leave your firearms and alcohol
at home (always a wise idea in a place where play can be
suspended in the event of a riot or attempted jailbreak).
2. Singapore Island Country Club, Singapore
This historic club, the oldest and one of the most
prestigious on the island nation of Singapore, will always be
associated with wild animal encounters after the infamous 1982
pro event where Jim Stewart came face to face with a 10-foot
cobra. He killed it, only to watch in horror as another snake
emerged from its mouth. While much has changed in Singapore
since 1982, a round at the Singapore Island Country Club can
still be an adventure. Members are now warned of wild boar
encounters, with advice to walk calmly away when crossing paths
with one. The official “local” rules of the course include the
addendum that any area damaged by digging from wild boar,
monkeys or other non-burrowing animals may be considered “ground
under repair.”
3. Lost City Golf Course, Sun City, South Africa
A relaxing round of golf in the wild beauty of South Africa
sounds ideal, right? Certainly it does when the course is
designed and built by South African golf superstar Gary Player
and showcases the desert, the mountains, the parklands and
28,000 square meters of water features. But don’t be lulled by
the scenery as danger and excitement lurk alongside hole 13.
Here, the water hazard guarding the green is home to roughly 40
Nile crocodiles, some six feet or more in size. Players are
cautioned to bring extra balls and take a drop rather than
venture after a shot in or near this imposing crocodile pit.
4. Merapi Golf Course, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
People visiting this public course on the outskirts of the
ancient city of Yogyakarta report beautiful weather, stunning
views and an almost mystic feeling from the location. It’s an
awe-inspiring round, especially when you realize the mountain
overshadowing the course is Mount Merapi, an active volcano that
last erupted in Dec. 2010. The wave of ash that blew over the
course and the surrounding area has been cleaned up and play has
resumed. Just keep an ear out for the emergency warning alarms!
5. Camp Bonifas, Panmunjom, South Korea
Camp Bonifas is home to a single hole, par-3 “golf course”
abutting the most heavily fortified border in the world. The
camp, the base for the United Nations Command, is 400 meters
south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that serves as a buffer
between North and South Korea. The 192-yard hole is lined by an
18-foot security fence and unexploded mines that can be
triggered by errant shots. Players report wild animal encounters
too, including brushes with local “vampire deer” and a creature
described as a “man-bear-pig.” When you have only one hole to
play, at least it’s good to know every time out is an adventure
in the making.
6. Carbrook Golf Club, Brisbane, Australia
While shark sightings on the Great Barrier Reef are
certainly an expected thing, golfers are now spotting them with
increasing frequency some 10 miles inland from the 15th fairway
at Carbrook Golf Club. Apparently, when the nearby Logan River
flooded the course in the early 90s, it carried varieties of
fish and even some young sharks along for the ride. Now, the
course’s lakes are home to these stranded species and, given the
rise in fin spottings, the bull sharks are thriving and
multiplying, giving new meaning the term “water hazard.”
7. World Ice Golf Championship, Uummannaq, Greenland
This Greenland golf course changes annually, dictated by the
moods of nature and the shape of ice. Each March (climate
permitting) the nine-hole course is laid out across a field of
fjords and icebergs. Players then face off against each other
and the elements in a 36-hole tournament, the only one played in
the Arctic Circle. With ice as the” green,” golfers play with
red balls and may scrape the surface to smooth the putting line.
Otherwise, it’s a regular round of golf, if you don’t mind -50
degree Celsius temperatures, periodic shifts in the course as
you play it and the potential for crossing paths with a polar
bear.
8. Ocean Course Golf Course, Kiawah Island, S. Carolina, USA
This course was a battleground in the 1991 Ryder Cup, where
the final putt decided it all. But the blood, sweat and tears of
that competition pale compared to what the unprepared golfer
faces when tackling this course. Players of any skill level can
try their hand here, but they must be ready for more than just a
course tough enough to challenge the pros. They must also face
Mother Nature. Built above the sand dunes at the farthest point
of the island, the course is exposed to gusty or even whipping
ocean winds that stretch a typical round to five-and-a-half or
even six hours. Playing that long in the heat and humidity of
South Carolina’s low country might seem the scariest part, but
really it’s the creatures waiting for you to come searching for
your windblown, off-course ball. You’ll hope it’s a gator and
not a copperhead, rattlesnake or a water moccasin.
9. Skukuza Golf Course, Kruger National Park, South Africa
Here’s your chance to combine a safari with your round of
golf. This course backs up to Kruger National Park, one of the
largest game reserves in Africa. Lions, elephants, leopards,
warthogs, buffalo and more wander onto the course regularly.
Don’t really believe it? Read the information sheet (and the
indemnity form you are required to complete) before heading out.
It will tell you what to do when you come across these animals
(hint: don’t run!). Stay clear of the water; it’s ripe with
hippopotamus that are big, fast, lethal and not scared of you,
or your golf club.
10. Cape Kidnapper’s Golf Course, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Don’t play this course if you are scared of heights. The
cliff-top course offers a breathtaking, 180-degree view of the
Pacific Ocean and the miles of coastline. Six of the holes,
though, walk you along the edge of a 550-foot (183-meter) sheer
drop into the sea. Steel yourself in particular for 15th hole,
known as the “Pirate’s Plank.” Here you walk an increasingly
narrow fairway down to the 60-foot-wide green, featuring a
plunging drop with no protection. Don’t walk backward lining up
that putt!
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
