Another First for Icelandic Golfer Olafur Loftsson

Ólafur Björn Loftsson Courtesy:  Charlotte Sports Information

A few months ago Ólafur Björn Loftsson, hit his first hole-in-one, in round 1 of the A-10 Championship.  His ace helped the Charlotte 49ers make history, winning a League-Record Sixth A-10 Men's Golf Title.

Then... just yesterday... the young man from Gardabaer, Iceland captured another history-making win at the Cardinal Amateur in Greensboro, NC.  That victory secured him a spot at this week's Wyndham Championship where he'll be the first Icelandic golfer ever to compete in a PGA Tour event.

Though not yet known for its professional golfers,  Iceland does have a unique and vibrant golf culture, with 65 courses, and an active national golf union.  The season...which generally runs from late May to early September... is somewhat short, but the days are long.  In fact, midnight golf is generally playable all over Iceland between June and the later part of July.

By the way, here's the video of Ólafur Loftsson's awesome ace.

...and for more on golf in Iceland check out the following:

The Iceland Open Experience: An Awesome Adventure

Golfer's Lament: When Iceland Lives Up to Its Name

Golfer's Lament: When Iceland Lives Up to Its Name

One of my golf goals, as I've said before, is to play a round under the midnight sun... in Iceland.

The numerous courses and uniquely dramatic landscape are said to offer an exotic and varied experience for golfers of all levels... and a 10:00 PM tee time would only add to the awesomeness.

Okay, I realize a country called Iceland might sound a bit frosty for some, but the island nation in the North Sea is actually warmed by the Gulf Stream, so despite its high latitude... just outside the Arctic Circle... it normally boasts a temperate climate.

Sometimes however, things happen that defy normal. That was the case this morning in the northern town of Akureyri.


Earlier today, I received a brief message from Kjartan Ólafsson, an Icelandic friend who manages the global golf networking site GolfPlanet.net.  "This is northern Iceland this morning!" was the extent of the text, however it linked to a video taken earlier today at Akureyri Golf Club, and, well, Iceland was living up to the its chilly name. And then some.

The clip features Skapti Hallgrímsson a journalist with Icelandic daily Morgunblaðið interviewing Akureyri GC's head greenskeeper, Steindór Ragnarsson... in a full on snowstorm.  A copy of the day's paper is displayed, presumably as proof for future generations of this 2011 meteorological anomaly.
The less than stellar weather conditions are expected to continue throughout the weekend,  but the outlook will undoubtedly improve soon, as normalcy returns and temperatures rise, and just over a month from now... as its done for almost two decades... Akureyri GC will host The Arctic Open, an international event which attracts golfers from all over the world.

It sounds to me like a perfect time to head north... way north... for a singular golf adventure.

Special thanks to Kjartan Ólafsson, Golfplanet.net 

The Iceland Open Experience: An Awesome Adventure

Here in CT, we're just coming out of a long, cold winter, so it may seem counterintuitive to be talking about golf in iceland. Or any other place with ice in its name.

However, this is all about planing ahead which is often a good idea when it comes to a golf trip, and the Iceland Open Experience is more than just a golf trip.  In fact, it's a full-on sporting adventure that happens over four days in early October.

The golf takes place at Keilir Golf Course; a Scottish style links course, with nine holes playing directly along the ocean, and nine surrounded by lava fields, making it feel like Hawaii and Scotland rolled into one.

In addition to golf, The Iceland Open Experience includes salmon fishing, geothermal swimming, cave exploring, and glacier snowmobiling... that's what I mean by full-on adventure. There are myriad ways to customize your trip the details of which can be found on the Iceland Open site.

To me it looks like the perfect way to mark the end of an Indian Summer.