Located half an hour’s drive north of the capital metropolis Reykjavik is Brautarholt Golf Course. Laid out throughout a dramatic cliff-lined peninsula, Brautarholt is the brainchild of founder Gunnar Palsson.
Do programs want 18-holes?
Opening initially as a nine-hole course in 2011 earlier than increasing to 12, Brautarholt was designed by famend Icelandic architect Edwin Roald.
“It’s the similar as writing books, or making motion pictures. Think about if all books needed to be precisely 200 pages, or a movie needed to final 95 minutes. Would they be pretty much as good?”
A blueprint?
With a brief golf season in Iceland and lengthy winters, golf golf equipment within the nation need to discover modern methods of extending the season and making golf accessible to youth gamers all 12 months spherical.
A lot of the nationwide group’s exceptional success has been attributed to the nation’s funding in cutting-edge, indoor services and wonderful teaching, a blueprint which will find yourself being replicated in golf.
The GKG Membership in Reykjavik is one in every of Iceland’s largest golf golf equipment, comprised of an 18-hole course plus a nine-hole, par-3 course. With a thriving junior program and lively membership, the membership has just lately invested in a cutting-edge $10 million indoor facility to permit members to follow all year long.
Located beneath the clubhouse, the indoor facility consists of a placing inexperienced, chipping space and 16 Observe Man golf simulators, permitting customers to play roughly 100 programs from world wide.
Ulfar Jonsson is GKG’s Sporting Director and has seen firsthand the influence the power has made. “We see our youthful gamers are getting technically extra superior and higher. So we’re seeing higher swings.
“We encourage clearly all our gamers to play as a lot as they’ll out on the course over {the summertime}, however then they’ll are available right here and work on the approach in the course of the winter.”
Having had restricted success on the world’s greatest excursions, Haukur Orn Birgisson — the president of the Icelandic Golf Union and the European Golf Affiliation — believes that the funding in services just like the one at GKG may result in outcomes for Icelandic gamers on the highest stage.
“When you consider it, we’ve got a {golfing} season that spans for about 5, six months. So having indoor follow services means rather a lot and with new expertise, these services have change into so superior. GKG is an ideal instance of that. So now you will have membership members taking part in golf in wintertime, albeit indoors and in simulators, nevertheless it’s necessary for his or her growth.
“It is necessary for the junior growth as effectively. You possibly can have a look at soccer, for instance. Fifteen years in the past, they began having these indoor soccer services and some years later, our nationwide groups certified for the European Championship and the World Cup. So there you go, it is necessary,” he says.
The ability at GKG has additionally offered a beneficial social ingredient to the membership. “Now, we’ve got an all-year facility — earlier than, it was primarily a summer season sport … Now, all of the golfers are available they usually’re taking part in with their pals within the simulators, having fun with a meal and a drink afterwards. So it has been implausible for the morale of the membership,” Jonsson explains.
Sustainability
“Right here in Iceland, kind of all of our power is renewable, so we thought it might be a good suggestion to maneuver in that course right here,” Palsson explains.
Having embraced hydro and geothermal power, almost 100% of Iceland’s electrical energy comes from renewable sources. Seeking to benefit from the nation’s clear power, Palsson has invested in a fleet of 30 automated electrical mowers.
“We’re at some extent now the place mowers operating on electrical energy handle roughly 98% of the golf course,” Palsson says.
Managing the fleet of small, orange mowers is the job after all supervisor and head inexperienced keeper Einar Jonasson. “Sure, our little pals. They’re only a completely different mind-set of reducing the grass.”
With a collection of cables laid out across the course, the mowers are programmed to remain on the fairways and will be in motion across the clock. In addition to offering an environmental profit, they’ve additionally allowed Jonasson to focus on different components after all upkeep.
Along with a carbon footprint that’s near zero, Brautarholt can be maintained with out the usage of chemical compounds and with Iceland’s year-round rainfall, there’s no use for any irrigation.
“Our golf course is in a spectacular location and guests come right here to take pleasure in that nature. We do not wish to hurt the surroundings within the anyway doable, so we do not care for those who see any weeds within the fairway, we do not wish to hurt something,” Jonasson explains.
Having just lately invested in a cutting-edge, electrical, ride-on-mower for tees and greens, Brautarholt is seeking to set a brand new, sustainable normal for golf course administration.
“I feel we’re the greenest golf course on this planet,” Palsson says with delight.
One in every of a sort
Regardless of Iceland’s inhabitants of lower than 400,000, the nation is house to a exceptional 65 golf programs — and amongst them are among the most spectacular programs you are prone to discover anyplace on this planet.
“I might encourage everybody to come back to play right here,” says Birgisson.
“The character right here is second to none … Once you play golf in Iceland, you get to expertise that nature as effectively. You possibly can play golf in lava fields, you possibly can play golf in volcanic craters, on the banks of glacier rivers, with scorching springs blowing up like Geysir proper subsequent to you with water hazards which are made out of boiling water. You possibly can’t get nearer to nature whereas taking part in golf.”
With the nation located nearly equidistant to the US and Europe, is there any likelihood of one in every of golf’s main excursions taking a match to Iceland sooner or later?
“In the future, it might be doable. Think about a PGA Tour occasion being performed within the midnight solar that we’ve got right here in June and July, it might be implausible,” says Birgisson.
Vibrant future
Given the usual of the programs in Iceland, it is little marvel that golf has skilled enormous development within the nation and now ranks as probably the most widespread sports activities.
“Golf has risen enormously over the previous 10-15 years, and we have truly nearly tripled our numbers up to now twenty years,” says Birgisson, “However the final two years have been explosive and now we’ve got over 6% of all the inhabitants which are truly members of a golf membership.
“However on the similar time, we’ve got in all probability about 40,000 that really play golf. So 12% of the inhabitants performs golf and that I feel that is — that have to be a world document.”
“It is also value mentioning that the extent of feminine participation has arisen from 10% to 33% in that point,” he provides.
With participation persevering with to develop and modern new programs and services, Iceland is shortly turning into probably the most thrilling {golfing} locations on this planet. With momentum on his facet, Birgisson is assured that issues are simply getting began.
“We could not be happier, it is protected to say that the way forward for Icelandic golf is trying very brilliant.”
