The 10 most bizarre golf courses in the world

by tyler | Apr 10, 2024 | CNN, golf

You’d be hard-pushed to call golf an extreme sport. It is a low-risk game played at a leisurely pace in mostly scenic, but ultimately ordinary, locales.

Emphasis on most, because in various pockets around the world – and in one instance, outside it – golf is taken to extremes.

Across these venues, the familiar rules of course design have been shredded; dress codes are exclusively nude, tee boxes require a helicopter journey to access, fairways sit on the rims of active volcanic craters, and water hazards are home to sharks and alligators.

“The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody put a flagstick on top,” celebrated golf course designer Pete Dye once said. The following courses are a love-letter to that ethos.

Fairways to runways

Kantarat Golf Course, Bangkok, Thailand

Generally, golfers like it to be quiet when they swing. At professional events, stewards will hold up signs to instruct nearby spectators to be silent.

Unsurprising then, that no Tour events are hosted at Kantarat Golf Course in Bangkok, where players must periodically tune out the deafening roar of passenger airplanes touching down and taking off either side of them.

Situated between the two runways at Don Mueang International – Asia’s oldest active airport – the 18-hole, par-72 course was was built by the Royal Thai Air Force in 1952. It was the first golf course established in the Thai capital, and the second ever built in the country after Hua Hin Royal Golf Course.

A weekday round for visitors costs 300 Baht, according to the course’s website, a very reasonable $8.62 for those willing to weather the overhead distractions. Air Force personnel can play at the discounted price of 100 Baht – around $2.87.

Demilitarized driving

Camp Bonifas Golf Course, South Korea

Described by Sports Illustrated in 1988 as “the most dangerous golf course in the world,” the course at Camp Bonifas – situated 200 yards south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides North and South Korea – is not a course at all: it is a single, 192-yard, par three hole.

US and South Korean service members stationed at the military post are welcomed to wind down with a venture down a fairway like no other – one bordered with barbed wire and military trenches, and ending with a green made of artificial turf.

At most golf courses, the signs to introduce each hole tend to just show the number and its yardage. Camp Bonifas’ sign follows the same formula, before adding a warning: “Danger! Do not retrieve balls from the rough. Live mine fields.”

A tongue-in-cheek joke? Not according to a 1998 Washington Post article, which said that at least one wayward ball had detonated a land mine.

Helicopter hole out

Legend Golf and Safari Resort, Limpopo Province, South Africa

For 18 holes of South Africa’s Legend Golf course, each designed by a different pro golfer, players enjoy a visually stunning experience. At most venues, it would then be time to retire to the clubhouse. Here though, a helicopter awaits to escort you to what the course claims is the world’s longest par-three hole.

“The Extreme 19th” tee box sits 4,500 feet above sea level on the lip of a sheer cliff face on Hanglip Mountain, some 400 meters (434 yards) above, and 361 meters (395 yards) away from, a green shaped like the African continent. With most drives airborne for over half a minute, cameras and tracking technology are used to spot balls.

It is a challenge that has attracted some of the world’s top golfers and biggest celebrities, with actor Morgan Freeman one of an elite group to record par on the hole, according to South Africa’s official tourism site.

Former Barbados cricketer Franklyn Stephenson made history as the first to make birdie, but spare a thought for musician Phil Collins, who could only manage a double-bogey.

Fins and pins

Carbrook Golf Club, Queensland, Australia

Finding the water with your ball during your round could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. At Carbrook Golf Club in Australia, jaws might just snatch your ball.

Long believed to be a local legend, rumors of bull sharks in the water hazards at the Queensland-based course were proven to be true in 2011 when general manager Scott Wagstaff uploaded YouTube footage of a finned local circling just off the greens.

The arrival of the bull sharks – considered by many scientists to be the most aggressive shark species – is the result of heavy flooding during the mid-1990’s, Wagstaff told Golfing World in 2012. According to Wagstaff, the sharks entered the course’s lake after the nearby Logan River overflowed, and have remained there ever since.

Today, they have become a part of the course’s identity. The club’s logo features a shark, its youth program is coined the Junior Shark Academy, and the “Shark Lake Challenge” is staged as a monthly tournament.

Chilly chipping

Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia

Staging an annual golf tournament on the world’s deepest lake sounds like a recipe for lost balls, but organizers in Siberia have found an unlikely golfing ally: ice.

Every March, Lake Baikal stages the “Baikal Prize Open,” where contestants don coats and gloves to play golf on the water’s frozen surface. Balls are exclusively bright colors – red, orange, or yellow – to ensure they can be spotted amid the endless floor of snow and ice, and holes are made bigger.

In 2020, the lake hosted the World Ice Golf Championship, a tournament long held at Uummannaq in Greenland.

Shoot for the moon

Fra Mauro formation, the moon

Granted, there is no official golf course on the moon, but as far as extreme golfing goes, Alan Shepard’s legendary exploits in February 1971 were out of this world.

Having snuck a modified club in his suit, the Apollo 14 astronaut hit arguably the most famous two shots in the history of the sport, and the only ones ever made on the lunar surface. He might have scuffed the first, and the second may only have traveled 40 yards – not the “miles and miles and miles” he initially claimed – but Shepard’s feats have long since resonated as one of the most iconic, human moments of NASA’s space missions.

Unaffected by wind or erosion, the balls remain frozen in time, unmoved for half a century. With the launch of Artemis I last month, humankind’s long-awaited return to the lunar surface edges closer, but the universe’s most exclusive golf club looks set to stay restricted for a while yet.

“Maybe one day we’ll have colonies on the moon and it’s like Stonehenge – we don’t want to be messing around in the Apollo landing sites,” NASA’s chief historian Brian Odom told CNN.

“I think they (the balls) are where they need to stay and we need to make sure they’re preserved as they were.”

Hot streak

Volcano Golf Course, Hawaii, USA

“Kīlauea ranks among the world’s most active volcanoes and may even top the list,” reads a US Geological Survey report. Sounds like a good site for a golf course.

Situated close to the crater rim of the island of Hawaii’s southeastern-most volcano, Volcano Golf Course brings a new meaning to “playing with fire.” Set 4,000 feet above sea level, the course offers golfers breathtaking views of Mauna Loa – the world’s largest active volcano – to the west and Mauna Kea to the north.

That proximity provided players with a front-row seat to the eruption of both Kilauea and Mauna Loa earlier this month. The eruption of Kilauea in 2018 caused devastating damage to hundreds of surrounding homes, but lava from an ongoing eruption that began in 2021 has been confined to the summit crater.

Gator golf

Kiawah Island Golf Resort, South Carolina, USA

As if taking on one of golf’s most notoriously difficult courses wasn’t daunting enough, players at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course must share the fairways with a crowd of sharp-toothed residents.

Host of the 1991 Ryder Cup and 2012 PGA Championship, the course welcomes an array of wildlife – including turtles, dolphins, and bobcats – but alligators typically steal the show. Be it swimming in the water hazards or basking in the South Carolina sunshine, the reptiles are naturally shy of people and require little management, resort official Bryan Hunter told CNN.

“Really, there’s not much to manage as long as people respect the alligators and don’t feed or harass them,” Hunter said, adding that anyone caught aggravating them is hit with a $2,000 fine.

“Feeding them is equally bad as they soon learn to associate people with food, which is not a good combination, obviously. So, really the key is to observe and appreciate them from a distance.

“They’re truly remarkable creatures, and play a vital role in the ecology of the island.”

The long game

Nullarbor Links, Australia

One hole down, just 17 more and 863 miles to go. At Nullarbor Links in Australia, the world’s longest golf course brings a new whole meaning to “the long game.”

Starting at Ceduna in the country’s west, players stop off at holes spread across nearby towns and roadhouses along the Eyre Highway before finishing up their round – often days later – in the western city of Kalgoorlie.

Taking on the challenge has become a bucket list item for golfers around the world. Each year the Nullarbor Links stages its “Chasing the Sun” tournament, traversing the entirety of the course.

Full-frontal fairways

La Jenny, Le Porge, France

A course in France has adopted a unique approach to the notorious problem of golf’s dress code: no dress at all.

Situated near Bordeaux in the country’s southwest, the La Jenny naturist holiday resort lays claim to the world’s only naturist golf course. Weather permitting, nudity is compulsory at the six-hole course.

As well as hosting tournaments and Pro-Am competitions, the course also offers visitors a driving range and golfing lessons, taught by a member of the PGA France, according to the resort’s website.

Why caddies wear white jumpsuits at the Masters

by tyler | Apr 10, 2024 | CNN, golf

The sights and colors of the Masters are what make the premier golf tournament so distinctive.

The pink of the azaleas, the yellow of the delicate jasmine and the green of the jacket worn by the winners.

Another color that peppers the course over the four days are the white of the jumpsuits sported by caddies during the famous major.

But why do those employed to carry the clubs of the world’s best golfers wear those baggy white jumpsuits – adorned with Masters logo – around Augusta National?

Well, they haven’t always been a thing.

After the tournament was established in 1934, caddies in the 1930s wore similar clothing to the patrons who lined the holes.

According to the Masters’ website, the idea for a uniformed caddie first emerged in a letter sent in 1940 by the major’s co-Founder Cliff Roberts.

And it still wasn’t until the late 1940s that the white jumpsuits began to appear, but they differed greatly from the ones worn now.

While current caddies wear jumpsuits made from a lightweight polyester and cotton blend, back in the day, they were made from a heavy overall material, similar to those worn by painters.

Despite the change in materials, Englishman Billy Foster, a former caddie for former world No. 1 Lee Westwood, admitted it’s not the most pleasant of things to wear.

“It can be pretty uncomfortable and pretty hot,” Foster told CNN in 2016. “It’s thicker than they look on TV, like a painter and decorator’s suit. I’d rather wear my own shorts, but it makes Augusta what it is, I suppose.”

Each jumpsuit has a Velcro spot to attach the names and numbers of their player.

Paired with the dark green hats, the caddies cut distinctive figures on the Augusta golf course.

Even during the par-three contest on Wednesday, the family of the player – whether that be wives, girlfriends, brothers, sisters or children – can get their own personalized jumpsuits as they make their way around.

And while a winning player gets the green jacket for a prize, winning caddies can request their jumpsuits be sent to them as a memento of the triumphant effort.

Why do Masters champions win a green jacket?

by tyler | Apr 10, 2024 | CNN, golf

Golfers fall asleep dreaming of securing theirs, Bubba Watson was moved to tears simply reminiscing over his, and one fan was willing to shell out over $680,000 just to own one.

Augusta National’s green jacket – an exclusive prize for Masters champions – is golf’s most coveted fashion statement, and one of sport’s most iconic pieces of clothing.

Sure, the prestige of winning one of the four majors in men’s golf and the trophy, not to mention the prize money, are welcome rewards, but the storied history of the Georgia club’s green member’s jacket earned it a unique reputation among those that pursue it.

Transatlantic origins

The story of Augusta’s green jacket began some 3,900 miles across the Atlantic, in the town of Hoylake in northwest England.

Ahead of hosting its sixth British Open Championship in 1930, Royal Liverpool Golf Club held a players’ reception. In attendance was the most celebrated amateur golfer of the era, American Bobby Jones.

Over dinner, Jones proceeded to pepper former club captain Kenneth Stoker with questions on his red coat, the formal kit of Royal Liverpool captains.

“Mr. Jones, if you’re so fascinated by this, I will give you my coat if you win our Championship this week,” challenged Stoker – according to a CNN interview with club historian Joe Pinnington in 2014.

Naturally, Jones made short work of the wager, clinching the 11th of his 13 career major victories and returning to the US with a trophy – and a red blazer.

After becoming the first and only golfer to complete the original grand slam (Amateur Championship, Open Championship, US Open, US Amateur) months later, Jones stunned the sporting world by announcing his retirement from competitive golf at just 28 years old.

Harboring a passion for course design, Jones had other plans in mind. In 1934, his newly founded Augusta National hosted the first incarnation of The Masters.

Three years later, Augusta members started wearing green jackets to make themselves identifiable to patrons. In 1949 it was decided that year’s victor, Sam Snead, and all the previous champions, would be issued with their own version too.

The fabric of golf

The green jacket wasn’t a smash hit from the start, though. Originally produced by New York’s Brooks Uniform Company, Augusta members complained that the jackets were overly thick and uncomfortable in hot conditions, leading to a swift change of manufacturer, according to the PGA Tour.

Since 1967, Hamilton Tailoring Company of Cincinnati has held responsibility for making the jacket, the color of which is officially classified as “Pantone 342.”

Production is a month-long process that sees the owners name stitched inside and Augusta National logos emblazoned on both the chest pocket and brass buttons.

As a result, the jacket slipped onto the shoulders of winners on Sunday is simply for presentation, with the real one handed over later.

Terms and conditions

Yet newly crowned champions can’t simply walk away and find a lifetime spot for their new prize in their wardrobe – terms and conditions apply.

For starters, the jackets cannot be removed from – and can only be worn on – the grounds of Augusta National, though winners are permitted to take theirs home for a year on the condition they bring it back at the next edition of the tournament to hang in the Champions Locker Room.

When the defending champion returns a year later, they – along with a host of former victors – will don their jacket for the Masters Champions Dinner. The reigning winner decides the menu, with Scottie Scheffler serving up cheeseburger sliders, ribeye steak, and chocolate chip cookies for this year’s meal. Their final responsibility is to help the new winner slip into his new jacket during a ceremonial “passing of the torch” presentation outside Butler Cabin.

But what if a champion successfully defends his title? That was a question Masters co-founders Jones and Clifford Roberts hurriedly answered in 1966 when Jack Nicklaus became the first back-to-back champion at Augusta.

The pair decided that “The Golden Bear” should put the jacket on himself, and in the two repeat occasions since – Nick Faldo in 1990 and Tiger Woods in 2002 – the Masters chairman assumed responsibility for helping the golfers into their jackets.

Exception to the rule

There is one infamous exception to the rule of returning your jacket.

When Gary Player became the first international golfer to win The Masters in 1961, he jetted home to South Africa with his green jacket tucked away in his luggage. The following year, when he was defeated by Arnold Palmer in a playoff, he didn’t return it.

“I didn’t know you were supposed to leave it there,” said Player. “Next thing you know, there was a call from Mr. Roberts. And I said, ‘Well, Mr. Roberts, if you want it, why don’t you come and fetch it?’”

Roberts saw the funny side, Player added, and allowed the South African to keep it on the condition that he didn’t wear it in public. “The Black Knight” would go on to win two further Masters in 1974 and 1978.

Buying access

Given how hard it is for the game’s finest to get their hands on a green jacket, it’s borderline impossible for non-golfers to do the same – but that hasn’t stopped a select few from trying.

In 2013, the jacket owned by Horton Smith, winner of the inaugural Masters in 1934, sold for $682,229 to an unnamed buyer at an auction hosted by Green Jacket Auctions.

In 2017, Augusta National filed a lawsuit to stop the memorabilia company from auctioning another winner’s green jacket, as well as two members’ green jackets, according to the Associated Press.

The champion’s jacket was purported to have belonged to 1966 winner Byron Nelson. His blazer was marked in an inventory check at Augusta in 2009 before going missing, the lawsuit said.

In January 2019, Augusta National and Green Jacket Auctions agreed to drop their legal dispute, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

One jacket auctioned by Green Jacket Auctions was reported to have been first discovered in a Toronto thrift shop. Purchased for a measly $5, the jacket, whose original owner was undisclosed, was sold at auction for $139,349 in April 2017.

In their own words

From letting friends – and even newborn children – try it on for size, to donning it for barbeques, Masters champions have found various uses for their green jackets during their limited-time home ownership.

“I didn’t take it for granted whatsoever,” 2015 champion Jordan Spieth told reporters upon his return to Augusta the following year.

“I think that I could have taken advantage of having it in my possession more than I did, but you learn and next time I’ll do a little bit better.

“Some of my favorite memories were certainly back home, having a bunch of my friends over and just having the jacket on while you’re grilling out … it was certainly a lot of fun and I don’t want to have to give it back.”

For others, the satisfaction of turning rivals green with envy is enough.

“It’s a great way to give the other guys grief, give them a little jab here or there,” said Phil Mickelson, champion in 2004, 2006, and 2010.

Charl Schwartzel, who mounted a stunning final day charge to seal victory in 2011, said: “To have it with you and to see the people’s faces when you walk in … they always take a second look like, ‘that’s the jacket!’”

Zach Johnson described dressing his four-month-old son in his 2007 winner’s jacket for a picture session, following in the footsteps of Bubba Watson, who did the same with his adopted son after triumph in 2012.

“I wrapped Caleb up in it, that was the only thing I did with it,” a tearful Watson told reporters in 2013.

“Out of respect and honor for Augusta National and one of the greatest clubs we have, one of the greatest tournaments … I didn’t do any of my funny antics that I normally would do.”

The haunting Masters meltdown that changed Rory McIlroy’s career

by tyler | Apr 10, 2024 | CNN, golf

Slumped on his club, head buried in his arm, Rory McIlroy looked on the verge of tears.

The then-21-year-old had just watched his ball sink into the waters of Rae’s Creek at Augusta National and with it, his dream of winning The Masters, a dream that had looked so tantalizingly close mere hours earlier.

As a four-time major winner and one of the most decorated names in the sport’s history, few players would turn down the chance to swap places with McIlroy heading into Augusta this week.

Yet on Sunday afternoon of April 10, 2011, not a golfer in the world would have wished to be in the Northern Irishman’s shoes.

Flying

A fresh-faced, mop-headed McIlroy had touched down in Georgia for the first major of the season with a reputation as the leading light of the next generation of stars.

An excellent 2010 had marked his best season since turning pro three years earlier, highlighted by a first PGA Tour win at the Quail Hollow Championship and a crucial contribution to Team Europe’s triumph at the Ryder Cup.

Yet despite a pair of impressive top-three finishes at the Open and PGA Championship respectively, a disappointing missed cut at The Masters – his first at a major – served as ominous foreshadowing.

McIlroy shot 74 and 77 to fall four strokes short of the cut line at seven-over par, a performance that concerned him enough to take a brief sabbatical from competition.

But one year on in 2011, any lingering Masters demons looked to have been exorcised as McIlroy flew round the Augusta fairways.

Having opened with a bogey-free seven-under 65 – the first time he had ever shot in the 60s at the major – McIlroy pulled ahead from Spanish first round co-leader Alvaro Quirós with a second round 69.

It sent him into the weekend holding a two-shot cushion over Australia’s Jason Day, with Tiger Woods a further stroke behind and back in the hunt for a 15th major after a surging second round 66.

And yet the 21-year-old leader looked perfectly at ease with having a target on his back. Even after a tentative start to the third round, McIlroy rallied with three birdies across the closing six holes to stretch his lead to four strokes heading into Sunday.

The youngster was out on his own ahead of a bunched chasing pack comprising Day, Ángel Cabrera, K.J. Choi and Charl Schwartzel. After 54 holes, McIlroy had shot just three bogeys.

“It’s a great position to be in … I’m finally feeling comfortable on this golf course,” McIlroy told reporters.

“I’m not getting ahead of myself, I know how leads can dwindle away very quickly. I have to go out there, not take anything for granted and go out and play as hard as I’ve played the last three days. If I can do that, hopefully things will go my way.

“We’ll see what happens tomorrow because four shots on this golf course isn’t that much.”

Falling

The truth can hurt, and McIlroy was about to prove his assessment of Augusta to be true in the most excruciating way imaginable.

His fourth bogey of the week arrived immediately. Having admitted to expecting some nerves at the first tee, McIlroy sparked a booming opening drive down the fairway, only to miss his putt from five feet.

Three consecutive pars steadied the ship, but Schwartzel had the wind in his sails. A blistering birdie, par, eagle start had seen him draw level at the summit after his third hole.

A subsequent bogey from the South African slowed his charge, as McIlroy clung onto a one-shot lead at the turn from Schwartzel, Cabrera, Choi, and a rampaging Woods, who shot five birdies and an eagle across the front nine to send Augusta into a frenzy.

Despite his dwindling advantage and the raucous Tiger-mania din ahead of him, McIlroy had responded well to another bogey at the 5th hole, draining a brilliant 20-foot putt at the 7th to restore his lead.

The fist pump that followed marked the high-water point of McIlroy’s round, as a sliding start accelerated into full-blown free-fall at the par-four 10th hole.

His tee shot went careening into a tree, ricocheting to settle between the white cabins that separate the main course from the adjacent par-three course. It offered viewers a glimpse at a part of Augusta rarely seen on broadcast, followed by pictures of McIlroy anxiously peering out from behind a tree to track his follow-up shot.

Though his initial escape was successful, yet another collision with a tree and a two-putt on the green saw a stunned McIlroy eventually tap in for a triple bogey. Having led the field one hole and seven shots earlier, he arrived at the 11th tee in seventh.

By the time his tee drive at the 13th plopped into the creek, all thoughts of who might be the recipient of the green jacket had long-since switched away from the anguished youngster. It had taken him seven putts to navigate the previous two greens, as a bogey and a double bogey dropped him to five-under – the score he had held after just 11 holes of the tournament.

Mercifully, the last five holes passed without major incident. A missed putt for birdie from five feet at the final hole summed up McIlroy’s day, though he was given a rousing reception as he left the green.

Mere minutes earlier, the same crowd had erupted as Schwartzel sunk his fourth consecutive birdie to seal his first major title. After starting the day four shots adrift of McIlroy, the South African finished 10 shots ahead of him, and two ahead of second-placed Australian duo Jason Day and Adam Scott.

McIlroy’s eight-over 80 marked the highest score of the round. Having headlined the leaderboard for most of the week, he finished tied-15th.

Bounce-back

Tears would flow during a phone call with his parents the following morning, but at his press conference, McIlroy was upbeat.

“I’m very disappointed at the minute, and I’m sure I will be for the next few days, but I’ll get over it,” he said.

“I was leading this golf tournament with nine holes to go, and I just unraveled … It’s a Sunday at a major, what it can do.

“This is my first experience at it, and hopefully the next time I’m in this position I’ll be able to handle it a little better. I didn’t handle it particularly well today obviously, but it was a character-building day … I’ll come out stronger for it.”

Once again, McIlroy would be proven right.

Just eight weeks later in June, McIlroy rampaged to an eight-shot victory at the US Open. Records tumbled in his wake at Congressional, as he shot a tournament record 16-under 268 to become the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods at The Masters in 1997.

The historic victory kickstarted a golden era for McIlroy. After coasting to another eight-shot win at the PGA Championship in 2012, McIlroy became only the third golfer since 1934 to win three majors by the age of 25 with triumph at the 2014 Open Championship.

Before the year was out, he would add his fourth major title with another PGA Championship win.

And much of it was owed to that fateful afternoon at Augusta. In an interview with the BBC in 2015, McIlroy dubbed it “the most important day” of his career.

“If I had not had the whole unravelling, if I had just made a couple of bogeys coming down the stretch and lost by one, I would not have learned as much.

“Luckily, it did not take me long to get into a position like that again when I was leading a major and I was able to get over the line quite comfortably. It was a huge learning curve for me and I needed it, and thankfully I have been able to move on to bigger and better things.

“Looking back on what happened in 2011, it doesn’t seem as bad when you have four majors on your mantelpiece.”

The missing piece

McIlroy’s contentment came with a caveat: it would be “unthinkable” if he did not win The Masters in his career.

Yet as he prepares for his 15th appearance at Augusta National this week, a green jacket remains an elusive missing item from his wardrobe.

Despite seven top-10 finishes in his past 10 Masters outings, the trophy remains the only thing separating McIlroy from joining the ranks of golf immortals to have completed golf’s career grand slam of all four majors in the modern era: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.

A runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler last year marked McIlroy’s best finish at Augusta, yet arguably 2011 remains the closest he has ever been to victory. A slow start in 2022 meant McIlroy had begun Sunday’s deciding round 10 shots adrift of the American, who teed off for his final hole with a five-shot lead despite McIlroy’s brilliant 64 finish.

At 33 years old, time is still on his side. Though 2022 extended his major drought to eight years, it featured arguably his best golf since that golden season in 2014.

And as McIlroy knows better than most, things can change quickly at Augusta National.