With help from its sponsor Icelandair, The Akureyri Golf Club hosted its annual Arctic Open Golf Championship this past week on June 20th– 21st. Akureyri Golf Club, the most northerly 18-hole golf course in the world, welcomed over 120 golfers from around the world who were seeking to play golf during the “Midnight Sun”.
This natural phenomenon occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. As a result, this tournament allows round the clock golfing with players partaking in 18 holes each day (night) as the sun barely dips below the horizon.
Icelandic female golfer Inga Lillý Brynjólfsdòttir from Reykjavik took the overall prize in her debut Arctic Open with Scottish former professional James Wilson up the scratch prize following 36 holes.
Wilson, fresh from his win, commented “The sun doesn’t go down at all, it’s crazy to be able to complete 18 holes through the night! I’ve never played on a golf course in the middle of summer where there are snow-capped mountains in the background, so it’s been amazing.”
The Akureyri Golf Club was founded in 1935, however, the first official Arctic Open Tournament took place in 1986. Over the years, the golf course has grown to become a challenging 18-hole championship course, measuring more than 6,600 yards in length. This unique course is in a natural setting and provides a lovely view of the surrounding countryside.
Footage from the event, is available at the link here while more information can be seen at the official Arctic Open website: https://www.arcticopen.is/en.
About Iceland
Iceland is a Scandinavian country, the world’s oldest democracy but modern in nearly every respect. Unlike most European countries, however, it is ethnically homogeneous, so much so that genetic researchers have used its inhabitants to study hereditary disorders and develop cures for a host of diseases. Although increasingly integrated into the European mainstream, Icelanders take care to preserve their traditions, customs, and language. Many Icelanders, for example, still believe in elves, trolls, and other figures in the mythical landscape of the Norse past, while even Icelanders who live in cities harbor a vision of their country as a pastoral land, in the words of Nobel Prize-winning author Halldór Laxness, The country is located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Lying on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe, Iceland is a land of vivid contrasts of climate, geography, and culture. Sparkling glaciers, such as Vatna Glacier (Vatnajökull), Europe’s largest, lie across its ruggedly beautiful mountain ranges; abundant hot geysers provide heat for many of the country’s homes and buildings and allow for hothouse agriculture year-round; and the offshore Gulf Stream provides a surprisingly mild climate for what is one of the northernmost inhabited places on the planet https://www.visiticeland.com
