Santa Claus Golf Club - Here's to a Birdie with Santa Claus!

Santa Claus also needs to relax - after all, his main working hours around Christmas involve a lot of overtime. That's why he set up his own golf club, the Santa Claus Golf Club, a few years ago in Rovaniemi in the north of Finland on the Arctic Circle - the town is also known as Santa's headquarters. However, neither Santa Claus nor his elves are responsible for the maintenance and management of the course, nor do Rudolf and his reindeer friends come by in the summer to cool off in the bunker sand at best. The Santa Claus Golf Club is a classic members' club, but is also open to guest players. In summer, the course is open as a Par 71 championship course with 18 holes, in winter it becomes a winter golf course with 9 holes of snow and Iron. It is currently not possible to predict how long the winter golf course will remain in operation, as the changing climate increases maintenance and operating costs during the cold season.

Santa Claus Golf Club attracts with 24 hours of daylight

The summer course is wonderfully embedded in the Tundrian forests around Rovaniemi. There is also plenty of daylight in the summer, because from mid-May to mid-July Rovaniemi has the famous "White Nights", when the sun never sets and you have 24 hours of daylight. The place combines all the elements that people associate with Finland: green and lush grasses, water, trees and also stones. Mosquito repellent should therefore be part of your standard equipment, especially until spring and early summer; from late summer onwards, there are usually no more problems with the small mosquitoes.

The Santa Claus course has some differences in elevation in its design, so you often have to take the difference in terrain into account when choosing your clubs. Right at the start, a blind tee shot takes you slightly uphill. In the second part of the course, a pond comes into play on the right - you can see that this course combines all the natural elements that make Finland special, especially from a tourist's point of view. However, the par-3 with a significantly elevated green that slopes down the sides on the second hole underlines the fact that even though this is Santa's club, there are no pars or Birdies for free! Hole 3, a dogleg to the right, is as beautiful as it is challenging, not least thanks to the small pond in the driveland area.

"Don't give up"

The start of the back front nine is also as beautiful as it is challenging: the fairway is clearly visible to the right, the green is offset to the left and is additionally defended by tall trees on the Fairway. After this hole, you have earned a refreshment at the Halfway House, where you can enjoy freshly prepared local snacks. On the way to the eleventh tee, you pass a small sculpture with a mirror. "Don't give up" is written above the mirror - and the next two holes show why a little motivation doesn't hurt. The dogleg on the eleventh hole starts with a blind teeshot uphill, the 12th is a long and challenging par-5. The second part of the 13th is clearly downhill and the green is so far below that you should aim for at least two club lengths less. An uphill Par-3 is followed by another Par-4, dogleg left, downhill. However, the 15th is particularly interesting for another reason: here you cross the Arctic Circle on the round - where else are you offered this? That's why there's a selfie spot with Santa Claus to the right of the tee boxes. Water comes into play again on 16 and 17 before you have to plan for around 30 meters of downhill on the long Par-3 at the final hole - and always remember that the green is right in front of the clubhouse.

After the round, you should enjoy the snacks in the clubhouse, buy a souvenir in the pro store - and hope that Santa Claus comes by for a round so you can take a lifelike selfie with him.