of palm trees, manicured greens, short sleeve shirts, sunny skies and, of course, warm weather. However, a handful of diehards from around the world are being left in the cold—andthey’re loving every minuteofit. Ice golf is just what it sounds like, and the premier event is played amidst frozen glaciers and spectacular icebergs at The Drambuie World Ice Golf Championship located nearly 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle. “Ice golf is golf stripped down to its essence,” says Tom Ferrell, runner-up in the 2001 championship. “You have to forget about your actual score and just focus on hitting the best shot you can, stringing shots together and seeing howit all adds up in the end.” Ferrell— a golf writer and marketing consultant from Colorado— will return to the town of Uumannaq, Greenland,for the 2002 championship, where he and four other Americans will tee off against the two-time defending champion Annika Ostberg of Denmark. The architect of the course is Mother Nature and an everchanging frozen ocean. The course is laid out on a fjord covered by a three foot sheet of ice and is completed only days before the tworound tournament. Of course mastering the frozen seascape is not the only task at hand. Coping with extreme temperatures challenges players both physically and mentally. The average temperature in March is Lg The frozen landscape of Greenland serves as the setting for an unusual golf championship. around 23 Fahrenheit. However,it can drop down to as low as 58. Another important factor facing the players is that the fairways and “greens” are white, frozen ice and snow, which means they must play with fluorescent orange balls. Plus not all holes in the ice are marked with official Drambuie flags. Players contend with occasional air holes used by seals swimming in the icy waters below the surface. A misplaced step can result in an unexpected dip. The fourth annual Drambuie World Ice Golf Championship— recently held in mid-March—was opento all golfers with a handicap of 20 or better. To learn more about upcoming tournaments, visit www.greenland-guide.gl/ice golf or www.drambuie.com.
