Oddur Golf Club
Garðabær
About Oddur Golf Club
Urriðavöllur is an 18-hole, par 71 heathland course built across a lava field from the dormant Búrfell shield volcano in Garðabær. The black-rock framing of the fairways gives the course a distinctly Icelandic character rare in European heathland design. Golfklúbburinn Oddur was formally established in 1993 and expanded to a full 18-hole layout in 1997. The club has hosted the 2016 European Ladies' Amateur Team Championship (20 national teams) and the 2022 European Girls' Team Championship — Iceland's most internationally recognised amateur venue outside Reykjavík Golf Club. Urriðavatn lake runs along the course boundary and influences wind patterns on several holes. On-site restaurant Hola Mathús is open daily from 8:00. The course is 20 minutes from central Reykjavík and 45 km from Keflavík Airport.
Course Details
Urriðavöllur is an 18-hole, par 71 heathland course in Garðabær, the municipality immediately south of Reykjavík. The course was built across a lava field produced by the dormant Búrfell shield volcano, and that geological heritage defines the playing character of the course: the fairways are cut through black lava heath, with rocks, scrub, and rough lava formations marking the boundary of almost every hole. The result is a course that looks and plays unlike any other heathland layout in Iceland. Golfklúbburinn Oddur traces its roots to Golfklúbbur Oddfellowa (GOF), which opened the original 9-hole course at Urriðavöllur in 1990. Golfklúbburinn Oddur was formally established in 1993 and expanded Urriðavöllur to a full 18-hole layout in 1997. The club's international profile grew significantly after hosting the 2016 European Ladies' Amateur Team Championship — 20 national teams — followed by the 2022 European Girls' Team Championship, making Urriðavöllur one of the few Icelandic courses with a documented record of hosting European Golf Association events. Urriðavatn lake runs along the western boundary of the course, creating lateral wind exposure on several holes and occasional wildlife sightings in the rough. The on-site restaurant Hola Mathús is open daily from 08:00. Oddur is a 20-minute drive from central Reykjavík and 45 km from Keflavík Airport.
History
The Urriðavöllur site was first developed as a 9-hole course by Golfklúbbur Oddfellowa in 1990 on lava heath adjacent to Urriðavatn lake. Three years later, in 1993, Golfklúbburinn Oddur was formally constituted and took over the course, renaming and registering with the Golfísað Íslands (GSÍ). Expansion planning began almost immediately; the full 18-hole Urriðavöllur was inaugurated in 1997. The decision to route the expansion through the surrounding lava field rather than seeking flat agricultural land gave the course its distinctive character — holes play through and alongside black lava formations that have stood since the Búrfell eruptions of the post-glacial period. The club's international reputation was established by hosting the 2016 European Ladies' Amateur Team Championship, which brought 20 national squads to Iceland for the first time for a major amateur team event.
Story
Búrfell, the low shield volcano visible to the south of the course, has not erupted in thousands of years. Its lava, however, is still everywhere — black, broken, and immediately at the edge of every fairway. At Urriðavöllur, errant tee shots do not find rough in the conventional sense; they find lava rock. This demands a precision and course management unusual for a heathland layout. The course was built to use that constraint as a design element, not to apologise for it. The result is a course with a genuinely Icelandic identity that also happens to have hosted European championship golf.
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Course Info
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 71
- Region
- Capital Region
- Town
- Garðabær
Visitor Tip
45 km from Keflavík Airport — easy to combine with an arrival or departure day without entering Reykjavík.