The world's most extreme golf courses
Golf

The world's most extreme golf courses

Updated 1159 GMT (1959 HKT) November 17, 2021
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The World Ice Golf Championship takes place in Greenland in temperatures which plummet to -50 Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit). Getty Images
Set 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, players have to cope with freezing glaciers and huge icebergs. It gives a whole new meaning to 'finding the rough.' Alex Livesey/Getty Images
A winner is lifted atop a traditional dog sled after victory... Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
But it's certainly not a tournament for the faint-hearted. Alex Livesey/Getty Images
In the far warmer climes of Indonesia, a golf course can be found in the shadow of active volcano, Mount Merapi. Getty Images
Indonesia raised its alert for the volcano to its highest level in October 2010 and ordered people living nearby to evacuate. It last erupted in June 2006, killing two people, but its deadliest activity occurred in 1930 when more than 1,300 people died. AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Kabul Golf Club describes itself as the "best and only" course in Afghanistan and promises "golf with an attitude." An armed security guard stands beside the entrance. SHAH MARAI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
An Afghan player takes a swing during a tournament at the Kabul Golf Club. The nine-hole course, which first opened in 1967, became a battlefield in the 1990s when rival Mujahideen factions fought among themselves after overthrowing a Soviet-backed regime. AFP/Getty Images
To play the 19th hole at Legends Golf Resort in South Africa, you have to take a helicopter to the tee, which is perched on top of a mountain. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
The green below is in the shape of Africa ... Getty Images
...This par-three is 631 meters (690 yards) long. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
As well as a regular 18-hole layout, New Zealand's Arikikapakapa Rotorua Golf Club also has a nine-hole thermal course where hot springs bubble, geysers spring and the smell of sulphur fills the air. The course sits alongside the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve. Getty Images
Brickyard Crossing Golf Club in Indianapolis has four holes inside the circuit that the famous Indy 500 is staged on. Brickyard Crossing Golf Club
Located on New Zealand's North Island, the Cape Kidnappers Golf course is considered one of the most beautiful and enchanting in the world. High up on the cliffs with a picturesque view, players must negotiate the deep gullies and crevices between each hole. Getty Images
Not all extreme golfing venues are so formal. Here a US Army soldier hits a golf ball at his forward operating base in Paktika province, situated along the Afghan-Pakistan border. David Furs/AFP/Getty Images
Before his death in 2011, British-American photographer Tim Hetherington spent time taking pictures of a US contingent of soldiers establishing an outpost in northeastern Afghanistan. Now on display at the Open Eye gallery in Liverpool, Hetherington's work explores how these soldiers cope with their emotionally draining existence -- in this case by playing on a makeshift driving range. © Tim Hetherington / Magnum Photos
Mention the words "sand" and "golf" together, and the chances are you'll leave many players shuddering at the memory of being trapped in bunkers after another wayward shot... Al Ghaza
...But in other parts of the world, sand golf is a version of the game in its own right. Padraig Harrington of Ireland putts on the 17th hole during the Abu Dhabi World Sand Golf Championships at the Al Ghazal Golf Club in 2004. Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Bolivia's La Paz Golf Club is considered to be the highest in the world, with parts of the course 3,342 meters (almost 11,000 feet) above sea level. AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
An indigenous Aymara woman plays an approach shot as her colleague holds the flag. AFP/Getty Images
Situated on the edge of a canyon and surrounded by the snow-capped Andes mountains, the altitude means it's a course to quite literally take the breath away. What's the craziest golf course you've ever played? Have your say on CNN Sport's Facebook page AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images