World's longest golf course opens in Australia

(All rights reserved - Eyre Highway Operators Association / Kalgoorlie.com)

The world's longest golf course is now open to the public for $50 AUD ($45 / €30) in green fees, or a $200 AUD ($185 / €125) lifetime membership.

The Nullarbor Golf Links in Australia span 1365 kilometers (850 miles) across the arid Nullarbor Plains, following the route of the Eyre Highway, with each hole in handy proximity to a nearby town or service station. It takes an estimated 4 days to complete the course which stretches from Ceduna in the east, tracing a coastal route along the Great Australian Bight to Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the West.

Package tours can also be arranged through either Nullarbor Golf or The Nullarbor Traveller, with prices starting from $1825 AUD and rising to $4975 AUD for an exclusive charter (from $1690 / €1125 to $4600 / €3060).

The Nullarbor Links are not alone in this strange realm of extreme golf courses. The Legends Golf & Safari Resort in Limpopo Provence, South Africa, sports an optional 19th hole whose tee shot is accessible only by helicopter whilst the green lies 430m (1400ft) below. Uummannaq in Greenland hosts the annual 9-hole World Ice Golf Championships, and the lavish golf course at Texas' Ultimate Hideout resort in Lajitas features a cross-border par 1 that starts in the USA and ends 110 yards later in Mexico. The Coeur d'Alene Resort in Idaho features a movable floating green on hole 14, while at the North Star Golf Club in Fairbanks, Alaska, a handy animal checklist is attached to the official scorecards.

An American engineer named Andre Tolmé even golfed his way across 1985km (1234 miles) of Mongolian steppes in 2003 - though as it's unlikely that any of the 18 "holes" met official criteria, Nullarbor Golf can rest easy in the thought that their world record will stand for a while yet.

Useful links:
Nullarbor Golf Links website: nullarborgolf.com
Nullarbor Traveller package tours: thetraveller.net.au