Lofoten Links in Norway shines brightly among Northern Lights
Think “arctic” and snow, polar bears and igloos likely come to mind. Not surfing, sunbathing and golf. Surprisingly, depending on where you are in the arctic, all these are possibilities.
True, the northern stretches of Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia rarely yield to balmy temperatures, but the comparable parts of Scandinavia, warmed by the Gulf Stream, often enjoy tropical warmth over the summer months. One such location making a splash in the golfing world is on Gimsøy Island, home of Lofoten Links. This beauty commands a piece of rugged Norwegian Sea coastline on the Lofoten archipelago in far northern Norway, some 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle and fully 250 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska.
It has a good story, too. “The course is built on an old Viking burial ground, and there’s a spiritual element to Lofoten you simply cannot escape. It is truly, truly, magical,” said Lofoten golf course architect Jeremy Turner. In fact, there are two Viking-era graves on the course.
But Lofoten had a rocky (pardon the pun) start. Returned from visiting Scotland, a friend suggested to Gimsøy farmer Tor Hov that Hov’s seaside plot, which his family has owned for more than 400 years, would make a great site for a golf course. Hov was intrigued and started making inquiries. A non-golfer, Hov thought it would be interesting to bring golf to the island. He also had a noble goal: a hope that golf might produce some local jobs for this small coastal area.
Unfortunately, Hov’s health was failing and he passed before realizing his dream. His son, Frode Hov – flush with a university degree in golf and travel and having recently canvassed the great courses of the United Kingdom – was willing and eager to take the project’s reins. Teamed with Turner, Frode Hov quickly laid out and built six holes that opened for play in 1998. But Hov needed capital to expand his project and quickly discovered there weren’t many willing investors for such a remote golf venture in a country with only 100,000 golfers.
Through the 2000s the project suffered a number of starts and stops, finally expanding to a new set of nine holes in 2001, built atop the original six. It took another 14 years for the course to grow from nine to 13 and finally to 18 holes, opening for play in 2015 as a par-71, 6500-yard layout.
The tone at Lofoten – which ties for No. 72 on Golfweek's Best ranking of courses outside the U.S. – is immediately set from the first tee ball. A sweeping par 4 cape hole hugs the shore; any miss of the fairway will end up in the rocky surrounds.
The second hole, a tribute to some of the famous Monterey par 3s in California, is perched on a narrow spit jutting out to the ocean. It is vital for your tee ball to find this rather stingy green – if you miss in any direction, you likely will need a new ball.
The result of glaciation, the coastal regions of northern Norway have little sand and are much rockier than similar coastal regions of the UK. This, along with the far northern latitudes, makes the environment tundra-like. Trees are stunted along the windswept coast. In bloom, arctic heather – called fireweed and used by Vikings to dye wool and in juice or tea – adds a stunning purple hue to the landscape. Much of the adjoining chiseled shorelines consist of shades of green peat and low-lying moss, lichens and fern-covered rocks. With the blue of the sky and sea, the view is a rainbow of brilliant color.
No. 3 offers a bit of a breather as the course turns with the coast for a hole featuring wider landing areas. From there Lofoten transitions inland, gently climbing before crossing the road that cuts the course in half. The remaining outward holes overlook the property’s higher points, offering tactical and strategic variety while affording magnificent views of the ocean and distant seaside peaks – even sometimes a parasailer.
The inward half begins with a pair of medium-length, friendlier par 4s that work back down from the higher points. Across the road again to 12 tee and a 230-yarder – in a stiff breeze, you will be hard-pressed to find a more difficult par 3 anywhere in the world. As a collection, three of the four Lofoten one-shotters are truly a stern set.
A dramatic sweeping par 5 follows, cut around an inlet to a well-contoured green complex. While theoretically reachable by long hitters in two, the target at No. 13, even in benign conditions, is stern enough that few will try. The following three-hole stretch stays oceanside and features the serpentine 14th, maybe the best hole of the eighteen with a tight landing areas, stunning backdrops and nearby crashing waves. A chip-shot-short 17th is then followed by a strong par-4 finisher, with metered penalty, that narrows the closer you get to the green. No. 18 is certainly one of many holes of strong character at Lofoten.
Frode Hov’s idea was to create a course that was both unique and spectacular. “Not St Andrews, not Pebble Beach, but something in between,” he said.
Natural and local elements were used throughout construction. “All fill dirt and sand were sourced from surrounds within a mile of the course,” said Lofoten marketing manager Katie Martynowicz. Hov and Turner were able to cap the native terrain with fill to create tee-to-green pathways for each hole. The surrounding rocky tundra was left untouched.
With balmier summers, growing cool-weather grasses was not difficult. Hearty fescues and rye grasses were used for the tees, a mix of poa pratensis and fescue for fairways and fescues for putting surfaces and surrounds. All thrive well over the Scandinavian summers and comfortably go dormant during the colder seasons. “Only tees and greens are irrigated, as natural rainfall is sufficient for the fairways,” said superintendent Jerry Mulvihill.
During the six “dark” winter months, the course is closed, left unattended and unmaintained.
“At 68 degrees north, Lofoten resides inside the Auroral Zone, a luminous belt encircling the geomagnetic poles,” states the Lofoten brochure. For two months the sun never sets, bouncing up and down above the horizon over a 24-hour period. Likewise, the Lofoten pro shop is continuously open in those months. Grab a cart (solar powered, of course) and the 12:45 a.m. tee time, and you may find a crowded course with foursomes all around. It’s one of the more unusual facets of golf in Scandinavia’s northlands and the perfect arrangement for the few hundred members and resort guests that log some 12,000 rounds annually.
If you can believe it, there are courses even farther north than Lofoten. Norwegian towns of Bodø and Narvik boast 18-hole courses north of the 67th. There are also a few nine-hole Norse and Finnish courses with arctic addresses. The most northern 18-hole course in Norway (and the world for that matter) is Tromsø Golf Club, some 220 miles north of the Arctic Circle and nearly level with the northern tip of Alaska.
But unlike other arctic courses, Lofoten has considerably more to offer than just golf. As the course slowly took shape, Hov also fashioned an adjacent resort to complement the links. Comfortable multi-unit cabins (some with grass roofs), an RV park, campgrounds and saunas are all situated around a sandy beach just a mile from the course. The Låven restaurant serves an excellent menu – don’t even think about scoring a table there without reservations. The restaurant is known to occasionally hold small concerts, as well. And no visit to the Hov Resort is complete without a guided seaside trail ride on Islandic horses. Of course, the Lofoten shores are a prime spot for viewing the Northern Lights during non-summer months.
If getting there is part of your golf travel enjoyment, then prepare for something way beyond a treat. Narvik – the closest significant airport – can be, after several stops, a full 10 hours from major European cities. From the U.S. ... well, Asian destinations may be closer.
Once at Narvik you still have a three-hour drive through some of the most jaw-dropping scenery you’ll ever see. The one and only land route is a seaside two-lane highway that winds around snowy mountains, over bridges, through tunnels, about charming maritime hamlets with unpronounceable names, past fisheries and along dense forests with occasional glimpses of precipitous waterfalls. It’s simply a glorious ride, adding a whole new meaning to “getting there.”
The Canadian-based Cabot group, with its growing stable of successful golf properties around the world, recently announced it is teaming with Lofoten. Improvements are already underway. Work, including expanding teeing areas and potentially modifying the front nine routing, is either planned or under consideration.
“We feel proud and are excited that with such a partner as Cabot investing in us, our prospects couldn’t be better,” said Frode Hov, who will continue his personal involvement and serves as general manager of the property.
Tor Hov would certainly be proud of his son Frode’s stewardship of Lofoten and the coming enhancements. And, like all proud dads, he would commend him for doing a “great job.” Only Tor would say, “Bra jobbe!”
We sure concur.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lofoten Links offers 24-hour golf along a stunning, rugged coastline
