Midnight sun golf

When the clock passes midnight – and the round has just begun

Imagine standing on the tee at 11:45 p.m. The sun is still hanging over the horizon. The sea shimmers in gold and copper. The mountains cast long shadows across the green landscape. It's quiet. No queues. No stress. Just you, nature and one of the world's most spectacular golf courses.

Welcome to Lofoten Links – a golf experience that has made the small island of Gimsøya famous among golfers all over the world.

From ASTRA Village In Kabelvåg it is only about a 30-minute drive to the first tee, making the course one of the most exclusive activities available to our guests.

One of the world's 100 best golf courses

There are more than 40,000 golf courses in the world. Yet Lofoten Links has been ranked among the world's 100 best by leading international golf publications. In recent years, the course has climbed rapidly in world rankings and achieved positions that few Nordic courses can match. Golf Magazine recently ranked the course number 66 in the world, while Golf Digest placed it all the way up to number 24 on its list of the world's best golf courses. 

The course has also been voted the best golf course in the Nordic region and is considered one of Europe's premier links courses. 

What makes the achievement extra remarkable is that this is not an old golf institution in Scotland or the United States. This is a course at the far end of the ocean in Lofoten – north of the Arctic Circle.

Golf under the midnight sun

There are many great golf courses in the world.

But there is only one top-100 course where you can play all night long without artificial lights.

From mid-May to late July, the sun never sets on Gimsøya. The result is a surreal experience where golfers can start a round late at night and finish it well after midnight – in broad daylight. 

For many international golfers, this is a "bucket list" experience.

Lofoten Links is often referred to as one of the world's most spectacular golf courses, not only because of the quality of the course itself, but because the surrounding nature creates a setting that is found nowhere else on the planet. 

A course shaped by sea, wind and mountains

The course is located right by the sea on Gimsøya.

The fairways wind between sandy beaches, heathlands and natural dunes. Several holes lie almost right on the shore, while others point straight towards the dramatic Lofoten Mountains rising from the sea.

Golf architect Jeremy Turner described the course as:
"A piece of Scotland washed up in the wilds of Lofoten."

That is perhaps the most precise description there is.

Not just for experienced golfers

Although Lofoten Links is ranked among the world's best golf courses, the experience is far from reserved for professional players.

Many visitors come here primarily for the nature.

The clubhouse, restaurant and area around the course make the place an attractive excursion destination even for fellow travelers who don't play golf. Here you can enjoy the view of the sea, follow the golfers through the landscape or simply experience the midnight sun from the front row.

An experience you will never forget

Many of the world's most famous golf courses are known for their history.

Lofoten Links is known for something even rarer.

The feeling of teeing off on the first hole as the sun hangs over the horizon at midnight.

The sound of the ocean breaking against the beach.
The silence.
The light.
Nature.

That's why golfers travel from the US, Asia and Europe to a small island in Lofoten.
And that's why our guests at Astra Village have one of the world's most unique golf experiences just 30 minutes away.

Facts: Lofoten Links

• Location: Gimsøya, Lofoten
• Distance from Astra Village : about 30 minutes by car
• Above the Arctic Circle
• Midnight sun from mid-May to late July
• Ranked among the world's top 100 golf courses by leading international golf magazines 
• Voted one of Europe's and the Nordic countries' best golf courses