Christmas Island Golf Club, Australia

If you fancy hitting a club amidst a spectacular backdrop with little red crabs crawling the greens, the Christmas Island Golf Open is the right place to be. Where else is there a local rule regarding land crabs taking your golf ball?

The Christmas Island golf course is Australia’s northernmost golf course. Situated 2600 kilometres Northwest of Perth in Western Australia, Christmas Island is one of Australia’s jewels in the Indian Ocean. The course is set atop a volcanic plateau pushed up many thousands of years ago, the course is a 9 hole par 64 layout. With fully grassed fairways and greens the course is situated on an eastern facing gently sloping plateau. The golf course is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east and tropical jungle terraces to the west.

The course was first established in 1955 by Jack Pettigrew, who years before had cleared the land whilst he was held prisoner by the invading Japanese forces. Run entirely by volunteers, the course is ideally located to capture the south east trade winds.

The majority of the holes run north – south which requires you to adjust your golfing technique to compensate for the ball being regularly above or below your feet. With the comfortable club house majestically overlooking the course and ocean, it is a great location to enjoy the climate and sights of Christmas Island.