Where Is The World's Hottest Golf Course?

It's officially The Dog Days of Summer here. Some may say that the south is "sultry" but in reality, the better word is sweltering. Or miserable. Take your pick. Thermometers are straining to hold the ever-swelling mercury inside them, people tend to find indoor activities, and an afternoon outdoors means taking only slightly fewer precautions than NASA does as it prepares to blast astronauts into space. One needs to have a change of clothes, more than plenty of cool water, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc. etc. in order to make the day safe and successful.

With temperatures soaring well past the 100° (43C) mark here, and golf has not only become a tad unpleasant but also dangerous -- heat advisories are warning people to watch over the young and infirmed and to take special precautions when undertaking any outdoor activities. In other words, it's hotter than the Devil's Frying Pan and woe be to those who don't drink a lot of water while they are in it.

After going to the driving range to work on a couple of things last evening, a friend of mine told me he had just finished 18 holes -- walking at that -- and that Eagle Ridge had to be the hottest golf course on the Earth on days like this. I laughed, immediately remembering a couple of rounds that we squeezed in at Greyhawk in Arizona in late summer, and pointed out that North Carolina was a cool drink of water compared to Scottsdale in August. Now that was HOT.

So Where IS The World's "Hottest" Golf Course?

That conversation set off my curiosity, so I decided to see what golf course bears the moniker of the world's hottest. So I went and did a tad of research and came up with the Alice Springs Golf Course, located in the Northern Territories of Australia. There, a round in the summer might see temperatures of 122°F (50°C) and a roaring desert wind to accompany the warm afternoon temperatures. Sounds a little hotter than NC to me.

Alice Springs Golf Club might be hot, but it is also the site of important tournaments, and regularly plays host to the Australian PGA Seniors Tour, the biennial Alice Springs Masters Games, the Northern Territory Open Golf Championships, among others. Designed by legendary golfer Peter Thomson, ASGC opened in the early 1980's and is currently rated one of the world's top ten desert courses and one of Australia's top 25 golf resorts. In winter, no doubt, just like Arizona here in the US.

In the meantime, if you are planning to golf in the heat, take a few moments to read my Hydration Tips.