Xtreme 19: Golfing Can Get Wild in Africa

After 18 holes of golf, it’s time to head to the clubhouse for a beer, right? Not so fast. If you are playing at the Legends Golf & Safari Resort in South Africa, hold off on the beer and make your way to the 19th hole for a ‘bonus round’. Aptly named “Xtreme 19”, this hole sits 1,400 feet over the course, with the tee box perched atop a cliff on Hanglip Mountain. It’s a par 3 hole that floats above a green which is shaped like the continent of Africa. The view is seriously awesome and getting there is more than half the fun: Green 19 is only accessed by helicopter and from there it’s more than 630 yards to the pin. Golfers are supplied with six balls equipped with tracking chips to save you time when searching for balls in the bush and a possible encounter with an angry lion or irritated cobra. All part of the amazing service at the Club.

Once you tee off, it takes almost 30 seconds for the ball to hit the ground- enough time to snap a couple of pictures and post them on Facebook, if that’s your thing. And I bet you would need a shovel to repair the ball mark left behind if you hit the green from that high up (nearly a quarter-mile).

If you pull off a miraculous hole-in-one you’ve won yourself a million bucks (that’s American Dollars, my friends) and bragging rights for eternity. No one has done it yet, but Morgan Freeman managed a par on the hole. Also, surprisingly you don’t need to be a millionaire or academy-award winning actor to play this course. Playing all 19 holes runs 2,000 South African rand, about $220 US dollars at the current rate, and that includes your helicopter ride to the tee and a DVD of your shot. The less extreme but amazing remaining holes at Legends were designed by 18 different top golfers and will surely make for an unforgettable round.