Golf In The Shadow of A Volcano

The Golf Merapi club in Indonesia is located just five miles from the crater of an active volcano (Merapo, shown in photo) on the “Ring of Fire”, the most active geologic region on the planet.

Merapi means “Mountain of Fire” and has had at least 12 eruptions resulting in human deaths. It’s in the geologic area as the infamous Mt. Tambora which blew its lid in 1816 and killed 92,000 people and Mt. Krakatoa, which killed 36,000 in 1883.

But the danger apparently is what makes this golf course so popular. Where else can you take your life into your hands for a round of golf. Ok, there’s Florida and its gators, but that’s another story. You could theoretically beat one of those off with a four iron … but when the mountain blows, it’s goodbye world and even a TaylorMade Rescue Wood won’t get you out of that kind of trouble.

There’s a great article on the course here.