St Andrews, Pebble Beach, Pyongyang? North Korea invites foreign golfers to play on ‘world’s most exclusive course’
- Foreigners allowed to enter biannual tournament at state’s Pyongyang Golf Course, where former leader Kim Jong-il once claimed to have carded a 38-under-par 34
- DPR Korea Tour hopes foreigners will head to the country and ‘develop a friendship with Korean amateur golfers’
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North Korea might not be on every golfer’s bucket list, but now the world’s amateurs are being invited to play the best course in the secretive state.
Billing itself as the “world’s most exclusive” facility, Pyongyang Golf Course would not often feature alongside the likes of St Andrews and Pebble Beach on a golfer’s top 10 of “must play” venues, but those that do have a certain sense of adventure are being offered the chance to try their luck on the 7,700-yard track.
According to the hermit state’s official DPR Korea Tour website, the capital city’s course hosts a twice-yearly tournament, and foreign amateurs can take part in future editions to “develop a friendship with [North] Korean amateur golfers”.
Those willing to make the journey this time may have a lot to live up to.
Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, father of current supreme leader Kim Jong-un, allegedly carded a 38-under-par round of 34 at the course, with 11 holes in one – in his very first round of golf. That would beat Al Geiberger’s world-record lowest score by 25 shots.
Aside from the invitation for amateur foreigners – and there was an emphasis on “amateur” – few details about the tournament have been released, with no date revealed. The website did, however, include an email address and phone number.
State agency Ryomyong Golf Travel Company, under Pyongyang’s official tourism administration, has also developed an underwater golf course, archery ground and boating ground, for those not swayed by the promise of friendship.
“North Korea has designated golf as an important means of earning foreign currency,” said An Chan-il, a defector turned researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies.
The regime has even established a department of golf at a sports university in Pyongyang, he added.
Pyongyang’s course was reportedly built in the early 1980s, and was officially opened in 1987 to celebrate the 75th birthday of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung.
In 2005, during a period of better relations with the outside world, the course hosted a Korean Ladies’ PGA event.
The winner, South Korea’s Song Bo-bae, told media at the time: “The greens were much slower than the ones in South Korea, which made it quite challenging.”
