Hella - Iceland

The Hella course at Golfklúbbur Hellu is set 15 kilometres from the Icelandic coast, but despite its inland location, the layout has, in places, the look of a links course. Founded with 9 holes in 1952, the 18 holes in play today date from 1986 and are located between Hella and Hvolsvöllur.

Today, the course extends to 5,658 metres from the back tees, playing to a par of 70, with holes laid out as two returning nines. A winding creek runs through the layout, coming into play at several holes (#7 and #8 on the front nine then #13 and #18 on the back nine). Overall, the layout is configured with five par threes and three par fives and there are two short par fours located on the inward half at the 263-metre 10th and 301-metre 12th.

Notable holes include the right doglegging par five 3rd (stroke index 2) and the par four 14th (stroke index 1) which veers left from the tee to the green. The best of the five par threes on the scorecard is kept until last at the 149-metre 13th, where the elevated green lies to the right of the creek as it meanders through the layout – there’s no bailout to the left so tee shots must be pretty precise if they’re to remain dry.