Watch islander play ‘extreme golf’ in 70mph winds

Tommy Hyndman prepares to tee off. Picture: YouTube

Tommy Hyndman can barely stand as he is blasted by wind and seaspray on tiny Fair Isle, halfway between Orkney and Shetland.

Tommy - who describes his adopted home as “no squirrels, just nuts” - took ten attempts to tee off on Monday.

Despite the “signature” sixth hole being cut in half by ankle-deep foam whipped up by “raging surf”, Mr Hyndman still managed the par three in four shots.

The Met Office has confirmed that winds hit 72mph in the Fair Isle area on January 12, categorised as storm force.

Mr Hyndman, originally from Saratoga Springs, New York state, can barely be heard in the video above the howling winds.

He yells: “Extreme golf, Fair Isle-style, hurricane conditions,” as he hits towards the green, where the flag is bent back at almost 45 degrees.

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The green itself is just yards from a cliff and as Tommy is preparing to putt he almost disappears behind a wall of spray. Seconds later, the green is inundated with sea water.

But nothing can stop the exuberant American raising his arms in celebration as he hits the target.

He said in the video: “I’m not a very good golfer but this is what you have to do if you want to be a little legend in the world of golf. You play in extreme conditions.”

He added: “It took nine or 10 shots to get one close to the green. The wind was so strong it would blow my shoulders back when I swung at the ball, missing completely.”

Mr Hyndman says that as well as extreme golfer and lighthouse keeper, he is an artist, a designer, a souvenir maker, runs the island’s guesthouse, is a member of H.M Coastguard Search and Rescue team and an avid fisherman and birdwatcher.

He lives in Auld Haa House on the island and reinstated the Lighthouse Keeper’s golf course after moving to the island in November 2006.

Fair Isle, which has a total population of 70, is just three miles long and a mile-and-a-half wide.

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