Fossatún Country Hotel Mini Golf – Iceland

Reviewed by Mr. Tee

Played October 31, 2022

Post-pandemic, I was eager to get back overseas, especially to Iceland. I had attended the annual Airwaves music festival in Reykjavík each October between 2015 and 2018. I took 2019 off and didn’t know that I would end up not going back until 2022 due to COVID. In addition to trying to pick up some of the language, I was especially keen on exploring new areas in the country and hopefully finding some additional mini golf courses along the way. In my pre-trip research, I found some information about a possible course at Fossatún Country Hotel that looked like it may be a Swedish felt style course. The location was just about an hour north of Reykjavík, and since I would end up having a lot of time between when I landed in the country at 6 am and when I could check into my hotel at 3 pm, I figured I would opt to rent a car immediately and venture out to seek mini golf.

Rating

If you’re looking at my photos of the course in its delapidated condition, you’d be surprised that I would be so generous in giving this course a Par rating. Maybe it’s because I find something charming in courses in the middle of nowhere, or that I lit up immediately after seeing pictures of the windswept landscapes of Iceland. This course appears to be a portable CityGolf-designed felt course meant more for novelty than competition. This course has seen far better days, and while I was reluctant to share a course in such bad shape, I do feel like you can see the promise and fun of the style. The severe and harsh climate of the landscape wreaked havoc on the lanes/holes, and given how challenging some of the holes already are, they became nearly unplayable. When I visited, some of the props appeared to be missing, such as the basketball shot-style hole. It’s not clear whether this is a permanent issue with the course or if some of the obstacles were taken off the course during the off-season for tourists. Do I recommend driving out of your way just to play this course? No. But if you’re in the area exploring the vast beauty of Iceland, I’d say give it a whirl. The setting is incredible, and I hope that the folks who set up this course consider doing some much-needed repairs to make it much more fun and less challenging to play.

Try to pronounce this location on my map

Tired but thrilled to have found this course

Swedish felt style lanes with metal tee off mats

A few of the the lanes were a bit crooked

and just a little bit of overgrowth but it was the offseason

There is something charming about how these lanes blend into the landscape

Not sure if I even attempted to play this hole

I imagine this course might be in better condition during the peak tourist season

Fun one to ace if you can avoid the grass on the lane

Can’t get enough of the wild Icelandic landscape

Basketball style hole missing the jump but I imagine it may have been out during normal tourism season

Simple and fun design. Would love to play this in working condition

Making that small gap has to be quite difficult for the general public

These little lodges look adorable. Definitely want to stay over here.

HCVC+2XR, Fossatún, 311 Borgarbyggð, Iceland

Comments

Lanes/holes are in very rough condition
Several obstacles are missing
With a normal golf ball and putter, these are some very challenging lanes for the public unless there are add-ons for novice players that you can find on other felt courses
Rare to find mini golf, especially felt lanes outside of continental Europe
Unsure how old the course is
Location and setting are incredible. It’s Iceland!

Nerdy Notes

Not sure of the price or if there are scorecards. I may have just popped on the course with my own putter and ball
There is an adjacent place to get food called the “Rock´n´ Troll Café” that I’d love to hear more about
CityGolf built felt course, but not a competitive level course
Hard to find much information on the status of the course. For all I know, it’s non-existent but last look on Google Maps and it showed up.