Erect a six-metre safety fence at Keili
Six-metre-high fences are being erected at the Hraunkot driving range to improve safety at the site. Up to 35,000 practice shots are hit there daily.
Security increased at Keilisfjall golf course
Work has begun to erect a safety fence at the Keiliskot golf club's driving range. It is much needed. A total of 25,000 to 30,000 shots are hit on the practice ground every day, and there is a danger when the balls go astray. These tens of thousands of balls are then collected at the end of the day.
„Attendance at the driving range has doubled in just two years,“ says Ólafur Þór Ágústsson, managing director of Keilir. „There have been occasions when people have hit balls at staff, visitors and passers-by. The new fence ensures safety,“ he says. „We are preventing balls from flying into people, animals, houses and cars.“
Yes, it's popular to stop by Keili Field, get a bucket of 30, 50 or 70 balls and head out to the driving range. The view from the course is spectacular.
Urgent to improve security
The Municipality of Hafnarfjörður agreed that urgent improvements were necessary and is covering 80% of the cost of the safety fencing. The cost estimate is 39.4 million króna. The work is scheduled to be completed next year. Operations will continue uninterrupted in the meantime.
„The situation is challenging but it's progressing,“ says Ólafur Þór. „The security fences will be ready in a month. The preparation and other work has taken much longer,“ says Ólafur Þór. The fence is manufactured abroad but will be installed on site in about a month; it is six metres high.
„Part of the project is then to replace the doors that close off the silo.“
Olafur Thor Agustsson, CEO of Keilir, and Valdimar Vidisson, the mayor, sign an agreement for a new security fence at the golf club's practice area.
Ólafur Þór says the facility is fully utilised all day, from morning to evening, even at night. But what explains this huge increase in practice shots?
„The reason is that analytical equipment was installed in each bay, which increased its popularity. It's more fun because you can now see how far the ball flies, whether fast, wildly or accurately. This is modernisation and it has increased people's interest at all ages,“ he says.
„This is proper rock, and the pitch is white with balls after the day.“