Angry polar bears and blizzards don't worry most golfers but Jason Nicholls prefers his sport a little more extreme.

Instead of driving and putting his way round grassy greens, Jason braved sub-zero temperatures to be one of 36 competitors in the annual World Ice Golf Championships, held in the Arctic Circle.

The greens were white, the balls orange and the usual weird and wonderful golfing outfits hidden underneath bulky jackets, thick leggings and gloves.

Jason, 33, from Worthing, found out about the competition through a golfing magazine.

He said: "It sounded like a great idea and something completely different.

"My family thought I was absolutely crazy but I was determined to do it."

The event took place at Svalbard, 300 miles inside the Arctic Circle, halfway between Norway and the North Pole.

The course was built on a frozen fjord and had to be patrolled by rangers with rifles to ensure the local population of polar bears kept their distance.

Jason, who is married to Cari and has a seven-month-old daughter Anjelica, said: "Playing golf in a blizzard in temperatures of minus 30 degrees on a frozen snowfield in the Arctic is the hardest thing I've ever done.

"The major problem with ice golf is that the farther you hit your ball, the less chance you have of finding it.

"You arrive at the spot you think your ball landed only to find the snowdrifts have consumed it, never to be found again - well, not until summer anyway."

John Wells, a golf pro from Yorkshire, won the event with a respectable 36-hole score of +12. Jason finished 28th.

Jason, who runs a PR agency and plays for Findon Cricket Club, is now keen to find other extreme ways to enjoy a game of golf.

He said: "I'd love to play a tournament in the Sahara. That would make a nice contrast."

For more details about the 2005 ice golf tournament, log on to www.drambuie.com