Viktor Hovland spends most of his year shuttling between airports, courtesy cars and practice tees, the regimented life of a modern Tour pro. Which is why it stood out when, a couple of summers back, he stuffed his bag into the trunk of a car in Oslo and set off with three pals on a 16-hour road trip to Lofoten Links. No appearance fee. No prize money. No sponsor obligations. Just a world-class player doing what the rest of us do for fun: logging miles with buddies to check out a buzzy, far-flung course.
Hovland is not your standard superstar. He favors ear-bleed death metal and mainlines podcasts on eclectic topics. And Lofoten Links is not your standard layout. It occupies an improbable perch above the Arctic Circle, where the sun barely shows its face winter but stays out pretty much all summer. In recent years, the course has become an “it” destination for daydreaming golf junkies around the globe, partly on the strength of bedazzling photos of rock-fringed greens lapped by waves in a mountain-meets-coast backdrop that seem computer-rendered.
On the ground, the drama proves real. Lofoten gets off to a rousing start that includes one of the world’s most Instagrammable par-3s, its green jealously guarded by the Norwegian Sea.. The par-4s that bracket it are just as stirring. Each invites a bold line over water. Hoven Mountain overlooks the course, and several holes climb toward it, including uphill 5th and the stout par-4 14th.
As much as the setting feels otherworldly, the origins of the course are down-to-earth. In the early 1990s, British architect Jeremy Turner was invited by Tor Harald, a local farmer with a golf habit, to route a few holes across family land. After Harald’s death, the property passed to his son, Frode Hov, who kept up the passion project with Turner. A six-hole curiosity became nine, then more, until a full 18 emerged in 2015. The years since have brought further refinements. In GOLF’s latest World Top 100, Lofoten jumped 22 spots, rising to No. 66.
Additional energy behind Lofoten has been come courtesy of Cabot, the global developer whose portfolio of marquee properties spans from Canada to the Caribbean and beyond. Cabot’s investment promises upgraded lodging and infrastructure, aimed at fleshing out Lofoten as destination.
Getting there takes commitment, though the trip doesn’t have to be as hard as Hovland made it. Regional flights and ferries can shorten the journey considerably. The reward is the splendor of the setting, the complexities of the challenge, and memories that linger more than any score. If, however, you insist on keeping count, here’s something to shoot for. On his visit, Hovland matched the course record with a tidy 63.
