{"id":15062,"date":"2012-09-28T17:08:40","date_gmt":"2012-09-28T15:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/09\/travel-picks-top-10-most-hazardous-golf-courses\/"},"modified":"2012-09-28T17:08:40","modified_gmt":"2012-09-28T15:08:40","slug":"travel-picks-top-10-most-hazardous-golf-courses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/travel-picks-top-10-most-hazardous-golf-courses\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel Picks: Top 10 most hazardous golf courses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

LONDON, Sept 28<\/span> (Reuters) – As teams from the United States
\nand Europe prepare to go toe to toe in the next chapter of Ryder
\nCup, it’s a good time to reflect on the civilized – and
\nuncivilized – elements of golf. To celebrate golf’s most
\nadventurous side online travel consults cheapflights.com
\n(www.cheapflights.com) have come up with a list of the top 10
\nmost hazardous golf courses in the world. Reuters has not
\nendorsed this list:
\n1. Prison View Golf Course, Angola, Louisiana, USA<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The Louisiana State Penitentiary is the largest
\nmaximum-security prison in the United States. It is a working
\nfarm and runs both a radio and TV station. To top it off, it
\nalso has a 9-hole golf course, complete with practice facilities
\nand a clubhouse, for use by the public for $10. There are a few
\ncatches: Playing this course requires some advanced planning, as
\nyou must allow 48 hours for a background check before you can
\neven schedule a tee time. The course is on the grounds of the
\npenitentiary, so you must also be willing to submit to personal
\nand vehicle searches. Finally, leave your firearms and alcohol
\nat home (always a wise idea in a place where play can be
\nsuspended in the event of a riot or attempted jailbreak).
\n2. Singapore Island Country Club, Singapore<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

This historic club, the oldest and one of the most
\nprestigious on the island nation of Singapore, will always be
\nassociated with wild animal encounters after the infamous 1982
\npro event where Jim Stewart came face to face with a 10-foot
\ncobra. He killed it, only to watch in horror as another snake
\nemerged from its mouth. While much has changed in Singapore
\nsince 1982, a round at the Singapore Island Country Club can
\nstill be an adventure. Members are now warned of wild boar
\nencounters, with advice to walk calmly away when crossing paths
\nwith one. The official “local” rules of the course include the
\naddendum that any area damaged by digging from wild boar,
\nmonkeys or other non-burrowing animals may be considered “ground
\nunder repair.”
\n3. Lost City Golf Course, Sun City, South Africa<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

A relaxing round of golf in the wild beauty of South Africa
\nsounds ideal, right? Certainly it does when the course is
\ndesigned and built by South African golf superstar Gary Player
\nand showcases the desert, the mountains, the parklands and
\n28,000 square meters of water features. But don’t be lulled by
\nthe scenery as danger and excitement lurk alongside hole 13.
\nHere, the water hazard guarding the green is home to roughly 40
\nNile crocodiles, some six feet or more in size. Players are
\ncautioned to bring extra balls and take a drop rather than
\nventure after a shot in or near this imposing crocodile pit.
\n4. Merapi Golf Course, Yogyakarta, Indonesia<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

People visiting this public course on the outskirts of the
\nancient city of Yogyakarta report beautiful weather, stunning
\nviews and an almost mystic feeling from the location. It’s an
\nawe-inspiring round, especially when you realize the mountain
\novershadowing the course is Mount Merapi, an active volcano that
\nlast erupted in Dec. 2010. The wave of ash that blew over the
\ncourse and the surrounding area has been cleaned up and play has
\nresumed. Just keep an ear out for the emergency warning alarms!
\n5. Camp Bonifas, Panmunjom, South Korea<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Camp Bonifas is home to a single hole, par-3 “golf course”
\nabutting the most heavily fortified border in the world. The
\ncamp, the base for the United Nations Command, is 400 meters
\nsouth of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that serves as a buffer
\nbetween North and South Korea. The 192-yard hole is lined by an
\n18-foot security fence and unexploded mines that can be
\ntriggered by errant shots. Players report wild animal encounters
\ntoo, including brushes with local “vampire deer” and a creature
\ndescribed as a “man-bear-pig.” When you have only one hole to
\nplay, at least it’s good to know every time out is an adventure
\nin the making.
\n6. Carbrook Golf Club, Brisbane, Australia<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

While shark sightings on the Great Barrier Reef are
\ncertainly an expected thing, golfers are now spotting them with
\nincreasing frequency some 10 miles inland from the 15th fairway
\nat Carbrook Golf Club. Apparently, when the nearby Logan River
\nflooded the course in the early 90s, it carried varieties of
\nfish and even some young sharks along for the ride. Now, the
\ncourse’s lakes are home to these stranded species and, given the
\nrise in fin spottings, the bull sharks are thriving and
\nmultiplying, giving new meaning the term “water hazard.”
\n7. World Ice Golf Championship, Uummannaq, Greenland<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

This Greenland golf course changes annually, dictated by the
\nmoods of nature and the shape of ice. Each March (climate
\npermitting) the nine-hole course is laid out across a field of
\nfjords and icebergs. Players then face off against each other
\nand the elements in a 36-hole tournament, the only one played in
\nthe Arctic Circle. With ice as the” green,” golfers play with
\nred balls and may scrape the surface to smooth the putting line.
\nOtherwise, it’s a regular round of golf, if you don’t mind -50
\ndegree Celsius temperatures, periodic shifts in the course as
\nyou play it and the potential for crossing paths with a polar
\nbear.
\n8. Ocean Course Golf Course, Kiawah Island, S. Carolina, USA<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

This course was a battleground in the 1991 Ryder Cup, where
\nthe final putt decided it all. But the blood, sweat and tears of
\nthat competition pale compared to what the unprepared golfer
\nfaces when tackling this course. Players of any skill level can
\ntry their hand here, but they must be ready for more than just a
\ncourse tough enough to challenge the pros. They must also face
\nMother Nature. Built above the sand dunes at the farthest point
\nof the island, the course is exposed to gusty or even whipping
\nocean winds that stretch a typical round to five-and-a-half or
\neven six hours. Playing that long in the heat and humidity of
\nSouth Carolina’s low country might seem the scariest part, but
\nreally it’s the creatures waiting for you to come searching for
\nyour windblown, off-course ball. You’ll hope it’s a gator and
\nnot a copperhead, rattlesnake or a water moccasin.
\n9. Skukuza Golf Course, Kruger National Park, South Africa<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s your chance to combine a safari with your round of
\ngolf. This course backs up to Kruger National Park, one of the
\nlargest game reserves in Africa. Lions, elephants, leopards,
\nwarthogs, buffalo and more wander onto the course regularly.
\nDon’t really believe it? Read the information sheet (and the
\nindemnity form you are required to complete) before heading out.
\nIt will tell you what to do when you come across these animals
\n(hint: don’t run!). Stay clear of the water; it’s ripe with
\nhippopotamus that are big, fast, lethal and not scared of you,
\nor your golf club.
\n10. Cape Kidnapper’s Golf Course, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t play this course if you are scared of heights. The
\ncliff-top course offers a breathtaking, 180-degree view of the
\nPacific Ocean and the miles of coastline. Six of the holes,
\nthough, walk you along the edge of a 550-foot (183-meter) sheer
\ndrop into the sea. Steel yourself in particular for 15th hole,
\nknown as the “Pirate’s Plank.” Here you walk an increasingly
\nnarrow fairway down to the 60-foot-wide green, featuring a
\nplunging drop with no protection. Don’t walk backward lining up
\nthat putt!<\/p>\n

(Editing by Paul Casciato)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[830,2370,183],"class_list":{"0":"post-15062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-news","8":"tag-reuters","9":"tag-south-africa-2","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}