Almost every golf resort designs their courses to include hills, ponds, sand pits, and other obstacles to add additional challenges and excitement to an otherwise slow game. These 'hazards' can halt the progress of both professional and amateur athletes by obscuring the hole, slowing a player's movements, and physically preventing the ball from going anywhere. Some golf resorts, however, take their courses to dangerous extremes. Thrill seekers can check out these courses for a lesson in fear and fun. 1. Merapi Golf Club, Indonesia The Merapi Volcano in Indonesia is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. Though it hasn't erupted since 2010, smoke seeps out of the mountain peak on an estimated 300 days per year. It thus makes perfect business sense to build and run a golf resort at its base. Visitors can take breathtaking photos against the ashen sky while they casually complete an 18-hole game or eat at the club restaurant. In the event of another eruption, visitors can have a front-row seat to one nature's most devastating spectacles. 2. Lost City Golf Course in Sun City, South Africa Tourists can immerse themselves in the animal kingdom at this wild, desert-style resort. Surrounded by the African wilderness, various creatures are free to walk the premises and watch as you move from hole to hole. Animals actually become the hazard in some areas of the course. For example, the 13th hole is home to an entire float of Nile crocodiles, providing ample motivation to make a hole-in-one. Tread carefully so as not to wake the sleeping reptiles, and bring several extra golf balls, clubs, and caddies just in case. 3. Camp Bonifas, South Korea Located less than 200-feet from the border of the Korean demilitarized zone, this course is surrounded by three minefields. This course only features three holes, but its location offers enough thrills for a full eighteen. While there are no land mines on the green, a misjudged swing can send a ball into dangerous territory. Sports Illustrated named this course "the most dangerous hole in golf," and in its history at least one shot has had explosive consequences. 4. Legends Gold and Safari, South Africa At first glance, there is nothing particularly harrowing about this golf resort. After reaching the 18th hole, however, visitors have the opportunity to go for the Extreme 19th. This is the highest par three hole in the world. The tee box is reachable only by helicopter, and the hole is located 400 meters below a cliff. Visitors must swing atop the cliff without plummeting to the ground. So far no players have made a hole-in-one or died trying. To learn more about their options a golf resort, Michigan residents should visit http://www.bucksrun.com/.
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