Ólafsvík Golf Club
Rif, Snæfellsnes
About Ólafsvík Golf Club
Golfklúbburinn Jökull has played golf on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula since 1973. In July 2026 the club relocated from the former Fróðarvöllur site near Ólafsvík to a new 9-hole course, Rifsvöllur, in the village of Rif — directly at the foot of Snæfellsjökull glacier. The new course plays across open coastal farmland with the glacier and the North Atlantic as the permanent backdrop.
Course Details
Golfklúbburinn Jökull — the glacier club — has operated on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula since 1973, making it one of the older golf clubs in the West Iceland region. For most of its history the club played at Fróðarvöllur, a 9-hole course a few kilometres outside Ólafsvík town. In July 2026 the club completed a full relocation to a new site at Rif, a small fishing village 8 km west of Ólafsvík, and opened Rifsvöllur. Rifsvöllur is a 9-hole, par 36 course laid out on flat coastal farmland at the base of the Snæfells Peninsula. The setting is among the most scenically distinctive of any golf course in Iceland: Snæfellsjökull, the glacier that crowns the extinct volcano at the tip of the peninsula and inspired Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, is the dominant backdrop. The course plays across open land 1–2 km from the coastline, with clear sightlines to the glacier in one direction and the North Atlantic in the other. Rif is a small community of approximately 200 residents, served by Rif Airport (a short grass strip). The village has basic services; the nearest full town facilities are in Ólafsvík, 8 km east. There is no dedicated club website; the club’s canonical online presence is its Rastimar listing.
History
Golfklúbburinn Jökull was founded in 1973, in the early years of golf’s expansion beyond Reykjavík and a handful of regional centres. The club played at Fróðarvöllur for over fifty years, a 9-hole course on farmland near Ólafsvík. The decision to relocate was taken after Fróðarvöllur became unviable, and the club identified a new site at Rif — closer to the tip of the peninsula and directly beneath the Snæfellsjökull glacier. Rifsvöllur opened in July 2026, giving the club a new course with a significantly stronger scenic position than its predecessor.
Story
Iceland has scores of small golf clubs that have been quietly operating for decades on the margins of farming communities. Golfklúbburinn Jökull is one of them — but in 2026 it did something unusual: it moved. The new site at Rif is where the peninsula narrows towards the glacier. On a clear summer evening, standing on the 1st tee at Rifsvöllur, Snæfellsjökull is directly ahead. The same glacier that sailors used for navigation for centuries, that Verne placed at the entrance to the earth’s interior. It is a 9-hole par 36 course, modest in scale. The setting is not.
Course Info
- Holes
- 9
- Par
- 36
- Founded
- 1973
- Region
- Snæfellsnes
- Town
- Rif, Snæfellsnes
Visitor Tip
Combine with a full Snæfellsnes Peninsula circuit — Kirkjufell mountain, Djupalonssandur beach, and Snæfellsjökull National Park are all within 20–40 minutes of Rif.