67 north is a pipe dream) since April 2022. He has built six new holes, starting from a tee high in the rock ridge that marks the north wall of the existing course, working along the coastline for the first three, then turning back inland at the fourth. The fifth is an exciting par three from a high tee, and the new sixth works its way uphill parallel to the first. The connection to the existing holes is not, at the moment, perfect, but Ristola has a solution to that: he plans to build a long par four heading further east, with its green tucked behind a low ridge, creating something akin to Prestwick’s famous Alps, or the Sea hole at Rye. This would then enable the short, and not very interesting, par-three tenth to be removed from the routing, and the eleventh to be lengthened into a challenging par four. It is a neat fix, though it will not be an instant one. Ristola’s holes are built to a significantly higher standard than the existing ones. His greens are more interesting, and his bunkers, which he was just starting to edge at the time of my visit, are much more shapely than the ones in place on the original holes. He therefore expects, once the new holes are open, which will happen in summer 2025, to move onto the refurbishment of the existing course, fixing the drainage and bunkers, and perhaps moving one or two holes even closer to the water – there is certainly opportunity to extend the third fairway almost to the cliff edge. Brautarholt is only about an hour from Keflavik, Iceland’s international airport. Given that Icelandair flies nonstop to 18 different airports in the USA and Canada, and to most key European hubs as well, and is often the cheapest option for transatlantic itineraries, it is very easy to see Brautarholt developing a significant business among travelling golfers from around the world, and especially North America. Iceland, as is well-known, has a vast array of natural treasures to delight tourists, including several interesting golf courses. The natural comparison to Brautarholt, given its high latitude, is Norway’s Lofoten Links, which has established itself in recent years as a destination for golfers from all over the globe. Perhaps the site at Brautarholt is fractionally less spectacular than Lofoten, which, since I went there has always been set in my mind as the most beautiful golf course I have ever seen, but once Ristola’s work is finished, the course will in no sense be inferior to the Norway venue: it might well be more playable, given that a lack of width is the most often heard criticism of Lofoten. It is very easy to imagine, in a few years’ time, that Brautarholt will similarly be a fixture in rankings of the world’s best and most spectacular courses, and that it will be a required stop for many travelling golfers. BRAUTARHOLT GOLF CLUB Photos: Tony Ristola The first of Ristola’s new holes (and inset, the same land before construction) is one of three that play along the coastline
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