Keilir golf club is a links golf course located by the sea side.
The Hvaleyrarvöllur course of Keilir Golf Club is located in Hafnarfjordur, a 25-minute drive from the international airport and 10 kilometres south west of Reykjavik.The course started with six holes, then grew to nine, then 12, all carved around the lava. Finally, 18 holes were completed in 1985, and, in 1992, a new modern clubhouse was built. In 1996, the club added a further nine holes and this slightly shorter loop is called Sveinskotsvöllur.
There is a vast difference between the front nine and the back nine. The front nine is surrounded by lava but the back nine are placed on a small peninsula at the entrance into the Hafnafjördur harbor with a spectacular view to the Alftanes peninsula and the famous Snaefellsglacier. The Keilir golf course is more about skill and accuracy than power and distance particularly the front nine in the lava field.
For us the most difficult hoes on the course are :
Hole 2 (377 yards, par 4)
The toughest hole on the card is played before you have had a real chance to warm up, at the 384-yard, par four, 2nd where a decision must be made on the tee. Play safe down the left with a fairway metal, leaving a long approach to the small green, or take out the driver and aim the tee shot right, over a lava ridge to a very tight landing area which then allows an easier second shot to the green?
Hole 7 (512 yards, par 5)
This is not a particularly long par 5, but it’s a tricky hole to play, as it is a crooked dogleg right and slightly left. The fairway undulates, and you need to carry a huge swale (lovingly known as the “Valley of Death”). You must clear this depression to have any hope of reaching the hole in par. Hitting this green is possible if the wind blows in your favor, but the shot to the green is blind and if you’re a first-timer at Keilir you’ll find positioning difficult. On your lay-up, stay away from the left side as there is lava and rough. Right offers you a better shot to the green, which is tucked inside a “Roman amphitheater” of lava cliffs.
Note that the midnight golf is open upon request.
