Incredible photos show golfers playing through Hawaii volcano

Why let a deadly volcanic eruption stop you from squeezing in a sneaky nine holes?

One general rule of thumb in life is, if there’s a volcano exploding nearby, you put as much distance between yourself and said volcano as possible.

But another general rule of life is, play golf whenever possible.

So what happens when those two imperatives collide? Well, you can see for yourself in the following photos.

The snaps, taken by Getty Images’ Mario Tama, depict golfers still trying to sneak in a quick nine even as ash rises from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island.

It’s reminiscent of a stunning photo from last year of golfers in Washington playing while the fires of hell raged behind them:

“Ballistic blocks” the size of microwave ovens shot from Kilauea volcano on Wednesday in what may be the start of explosive eruptions that could spew huge ash plumes and hurl smaller rocks for kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

Such eruptions, last seen nearly a century ago, have been a looming threat since Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted nearly two weeks ago.

Explosions in Kilauea’s crater sparked an aviation red alert due to risks the ash plume could blow into aircraft routes and damage jet engines.

More explosions are expected and may be more powerful, the USGS warned. These steam-driven blasts could send a 20,000-foot (6,100-meter) ash plume out of the crater, hurling 10-12 ton boulders up to half a mile (800 meters) and scatter pebble-sized rocks over 12 miles (19 km), the USGS has said.

This type of eruption has the potential to carpet the Big Island in much thicker ash than current dustings and possibly spread the powder and volcanic smog across the Hawaiian islands and farther afield if it enters the stratosphere.

“This morning dense ballistic blocks up to 60 cm (2 feet) across were found in the parking lot a few hundred yards (meters) from Halemaumau (Kilauea’s crater),” the USGS said in a statement. “These reflect the most energetic explosions yet observed and could reflect the onset of steam-driven explosive activity.”

with Yahoo Sports and Reuters