Hot: Flammable iron
A golfer from the Californian Shady Canyon Golf Club set the entire golf course in a frenzy with just one golf shot. His shot with the iron, set in the parched rough, struck small stones. Sparks struck and set the parched grass on fire. A short time later, ten hectares of the golf course were in flames, requiring the deployment of 150 firemen and several fire-fighting helicopters. Nobody was injured.
Cold: The Ice Golf World Championship
The official Ice Golf World Championship takes place every March in Uummannaq (Greenland) around 600 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. Here it can get as cold as -50 degrees. The rules are similar to those of conventional golf, except that the balls are not white, but brightly coloured. The nine-hole course is always laid out just a few days before the World Cup because the ground is in constant motion due to the glaciers.
Happy: But would you rather play the lottery?
The chance of beating two aces on one round of golf is 1:67,000,000, and the chance of winning the lottery with a six is 1:14,000,000.
Rich: Millionaire with one shot
A big reward awaits the lucky player who completes the 19th hole of the South African Legend Golf & Safari Resort as a hole-in-one. The tee shot of the par 3 hole is located on a 430 metre high cliff, the green at the foot of it at a distance of almost 400 metres. The green fee for this hole is 175 Euros, helicopter transfer and special ball included. The reward of 1 million US dollars for a direct hit has not yet been paid out.
Gluttonous: Fatal error of a snake
At the beginning of 2008, an Australian bought four used golf balls at the online auction house eBay for a record price of 1,401 Australian dollars. Of course these were not just any balls, but the indigestible prey of a carpet python. The hungry constrictor snake thought that the dummy eggs laid in the henhouse to calm brutish hens were freshly laid delicacies. Schwuppdiwupp the eggs were swallowed. But what went in easily at the front did not want to come out at the back. So the plastic balls had to be removed surgically. The patient – appropriately named Augusta after the famous golf course – survived the operation unharmed. The proceeds of the sale went to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Animal Hospital.
From the highest point: Green in the White House
US President Barack Obama is an avid golfer. He owes it to his predecessors Dwight S. Eisenhower and Bill Clinton that he can also indulge in his favourite sport at home. The former had the White House fitted out with a putting green and mini-bunker in 1953. In the era of Richard Nixon, however, the practice facility was removed again. It was not until 1996 that a new putting green was created south of the White House on Bill Clinton’s behalf. It was built by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the son of the original builder.
Far-sighted: A solution for every problem I – Turtles
The rules experts of the United States Golf Association are never at a loss for an answer. Question from an amateur: “What happens if a ball lands near a water hazard under the shell of a turtle and then the turtle dives with the ball?” Answer: “No penalty shot, you drop the ball as close as possible to where the turtle was before.” Another question: “What happens if the ball lands in the shell of a turtle that’s on land but is dead?” Correct answer: “You can either play the ball unpunished as it lies or you declare it unplayable and take the penalty shot.”
Fearless: For every problem a solution II – war
At the Richmond Golf Club in the county of Surrey, there was a course rule for playing during the Second World War from 1940, which stated: “The player whose shot is hit by a simultaneous bomb explosion can play another ball from the same place – with a penalty shot.
Cool: Easy Rider
From 1963 to 1969 the motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson built three-wheeled Golf Carts with petrol and electric engines. One of these carts was owned by Elvis Presley.
Alien: Golfing on the moon
The commander of the Apollo 14 mission, Alan “Big Al” Shepard, played golf on the moon on April 6, 1971. He used a converted stick from a rock sample collector with a six iron at the end as a club. Because of his special suit, the astronaut had to play one-handed. In the third attempt, the feeling of success came: According to Shepard, the ball flew over “miles and miles and miles”. Scientists doubt this distance – despite the low gravity on the moon. Presumably Shepard hit the ball about 400 meters on his third attempt. His golf balls are said to still be on the moon today.