Destination Golf Global Guide - Autumn 2018 Autumn 2018 | Page 54

Silgo Hannes Staff Siglo Hotel Bedroom Segull Beer Dalvik Restaurant A trip to Iceland is not just about cramming in golf: there is too much else to do, too many distractions, too many views. As we left Akureyri and headed west that became abundantly clear as the road twisted along the mountainous coastline and rivers rushed underneath us before exploding into the open air, before dropping to the sea far below. A crumbling fishing boat looks lost and forlorn away from the water but most signs of those difficult years have gone as the town enjoys a rejuvenation, thanks to a long lost son. Robert Gudfinnson left Siglo decades ago with many of the younger generations to find fame and fortune away from a lifeless town… but he has now returned with two goals in mind: to restore the town to its former glory and to develop and sell a product called Benecta www.benecta.com.uk that helps the older generations (yes, think golfers) ‘Defy Your Age’. We passed through three tunnels to reach Siglufjörður – or Siglo for short – Iceland’s most northern town. It sits in a fjord a few miles shy of the Arctic Circle and it has had a tumultuous history… something that the town embraces as it recovers from decades of decline. This was the herring capital of the world in the 20th century but that all changed in 1968, almost overnight, when herring stocks vanished. 54 Destination Golf .TRAVEL We were staying in Robert’s hotel www.siglohotel.is during the trip. It is one of the first buildings you come as you drive down the mountain and his fishing boat rises and falls with the tide against