The Weirdest Golf Course in America Is Inside a Prison

Imagine standing on the first tee, looking down the fairway—and seeing prison fencing and guard towers in the distance.

That isn't the setup for a golf-themed movie.

It's Prison View Golf Course in Angola, Louisiana, a nine-hole golf course located on the grounds of Louisiana State Penitentiary.

And if you're looking for the weirdest golf course in America, it's tough to come up with a stranger setting.

Welcome to Prison View Golf Course

Prison View is located at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola. The course has been featured by golf publications as one of the world's most unusual golf courses because of its extraordinary setting.

Yes, people actually play golf there.

The course is maintained by inmates, and authorized golfers can play the nine-hole layout. But this isn't your typical municipal golf course where you pull into the parking lot, grab a cart and head to the first tee.

Golfers must arrange their visit in advance, undergo a background check and follow the prison's security procedures. Vehicles are subject to searches, and play can be suspended because of institutional needs.

In other words, this might be the only golf course in America where your tee time comes with prison security protocols.

What makes it so strange?

It's the contrast.

Golf is usually associated with country clubs, resort communities, manicured fairways and peaceful walks through the woods.

Prison View is associated with razor wire, security fences and guard towers.

And that makes for an unforgettable golf experience.

The course itself isn't necessarily what makes it bizarre. It's the location.

You're playing a familiar game in a place that most people would never associate with golf.

That's what makes Prison View so fascinating.

It's not the only weird golf course in America

There are plenty of contenders.

There's Furnace Creek Golf Course in Death Valley, which sits about 214 feet below sea level and is surrounded by one of the most extreme environments in the country.

There's Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis, where holes are laid out around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

And then there's Rock Island Arsenal Golf Course, located inside a U.S. Army arsenal on an island in the Mississippi River. The property also contains the graves of nearly 2,000 Confederate prisoners of war.

Those are all pretty strange.

But Prison View takes the cake because of one simple fact:

You're playing golf inside a maximum-security prison.

Would you play it?

That's the real question.

Would you tee it up at a golf course surrounded by prison grounds and security infrastructure?

Or does golf belong as far away from a prison as possible?

Either way, Prison View proves something I've always loved about golf:

You never know where you're going to find a golf course.

And sometimes the strangest courses make the best stories.