Bakki airstrip is certainly no Heathrow
Terminal 5. With our golf clubs stored safely
in the hold of the eight-seater plane we are
ready for one of the world's shortest ights.
ere's no in- ight service and entertainment
on the trip to the Westman Islands... and at
only six-minutes in length, there's barely time
to buckle up the safety belts, before the plane
is humming low across the Atlantic and
angling in toward the island's runway.
ere are some places in Iceland that
simply have to be experienced and the West-
man Islands are one of them by virtue of
their natural beauty and by being historically
and geologically one of the country's most
distinctive destinations. ey are a group of
fteen islands with the main island, Heimaey
(with a population of about 5,000) being the
only one that is inhabited.
On the night of January 23 1973, the
volcano Eldfell erupted in the eastern part
of Heimaey and lasted for over 5 months
burying houses under lava and ash and
added an extra 2.3km of land to the island.
Fortunately almost all of the inhabitants
were safely evacuated to the mainland, and
a movie about the eruption and rebuilding
of the town can be seen at the Folk and Art
Museum and should not be missed.
e Westman Islands are simply buzzing
with sea and bird life and the islanders have
made their living from the sea since the days
of the rst settlers in 930 A.D. e perfect
natural harbor and soaring cli s teeming
with multitudes of seabirds such as fulmar,
guillemot and pu n are two important fac-
tors in the community's prosperity.
Every spring and
summer millions of
Atlantic pu ns return
to the islands (the
world's largest pu n
colony) and provide a
base for a traditional,
seasonal industry. To
this day local men hop
expertly from ledge to
ledge collecting eggs
and hunting birds using nets, according to an
elaborate and age-old set of rules and ethics (an-
nual catches do not exceed 1% of the total puf-
n population). For adventurous golfers, pu n
is available at some of the local restaurants and
hotels during the season.
But we are hoping to catch some di erent
birdies for ourselves at the Westman Island
Golf Club (the third oldest in Iceland founded
in 1938), host to the annual Volcano Open.
Nestled in the crater of an extinct volcano, it's a
wonderfully quirky and demanding test of golf,
especially the back nine. ere are no obsessive-
ly manicured fairways here, but there's a series of
spectacular holes that play alongside and across
the ocean to take your breath away.
As we prepare to hit our drives from the tee
of the par-4 15th, the sun casts long shadows
across the velvet green fairway bordered by sea
cli s on one side and a ridge of lava on the oth-
er. A backlit red ag utters on the distant green
set against a backdrop of soaring volcanic walls
glowing pink, and gold in the late afternoon
light. Leaning on our drivers we take a moment
to take in this classic scene - one that provides a
tting nale to our Icelandic golf journey.
international travel
TRAVELERS' FYI
HOW TO GET THERE
Iceland's national carrier, Icelandair (www.
icelandair.net), operates regular flights
from a number of European cities (London,
Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris included),
and direct flights from Boston, New York
and Orlando.
WHERE TO STAY
IN REYKJAV�K Hotel Loftleidir (part of the
Icelandair Hotels group) is an excellent and
comfortable base in the capital featuring:
indoor swimming pool and sauna,
massage, restaurant, bar, high-class
design boutique, free city centre shuttle
and wireless internet access.
www.icehotels.is
IN THE WESTMAN ISLANDS Hotel
Porshamar is conveniently located in the
centre of town and only a 10-minute walk
to the golf course. The hotel offers wireless
internet access, Jacuzzi, sauna and
recreation room. Tel: +354 481 2900
WHERE TO PLAY
Dial 011 first for International Access Code.
Reykjavik Golf Club Tel: +354 585 0210
Keilir Golf Club www.keilir.is
Tel: +354 565 2560
Suournesja (Keflavik ) Golf Club
www.golf.is/gs
Tel: +354 421 4103
Westman Islands www.gvgolf.is
Tel: +354 481 2363
Akureyrar Golf Club www.golf.is
Tel: +354 462 2974
Setbergs Golf Club www.golf.is/gse
Tel: +354 565 5690
Odd Fellow Golf Club www.oddur.is
Tel: +354 565 9094
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.visiticeland.com
www.golf.is
Caribbean Sea
South Carolina
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
PORTUGAL
Haiti
Santo Domingo
Antigua
Venezuela
Colombia
Guyana
Suriname
Dominica
Guadeloupe
St. Lucia
St. VincentGrenada
Jamaica
ras
Costa
Rica
Spain
Morocco
Algeria
France
Italy
Slovenia
Hungary
Germany
Czech Rep.
Switzerland
England
Ireland
Norway
Greenland
The Bahamas
Cuba
Florida
AUSTRIA
ICELAND
Lisbon
Porto
Kitsbuhel
Munich
Salzburg
Vienna
Reykjavik
ICELAND
Location Europe
Situated North Atlantic Ocean between
Greenland and mainland Europe.
Capitalcity Reykjavik
Population 320 000
Area 103 000 km2
Currency Icelandic krona (225 krona = $1)
Language Icelandic
Climate Iceland has a temperate climate
relative to its latitude, although
the maximum temperatures are
much cooler than Californians
are used to.
Far left The
spectacular green
of the 294-yard 15th
at the Westman
Islands Golf Club, with
soaring volcanic walls
as a backdrop. Above
left Visitors swimming
in a waterfall at the
Blue Lagoon. Above
right The Gullfoss is
the largest waterfall in
Europe and is one of
Iceland's most famous
attractions.
SPRING 2009 NCGA Golf 41

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72Page 73Page 74Page 75Page 76Page 77Page 78Page 79Page 80Page 81Page 82Page 83Page 84 Produced by PageSuite