Bordered by Turkey on one side and the former Soviet republic of Georgia on the other, Armenia is a rugged land with a long and complicated history that recently has included a fierce rivalry with another former Soviet state, Azerbaijan. In the midst of all this change and tension, golf has certainly not thrived, but it is not entirely absent either. The Ararat Valley Golf Club opened its 9 holes in 2001 near Yerevan, and this remains the only course in the country, and really in the entire Caucasus. Hope for the future was signaled by the founding in 2006 of the Armenia Golf Federation.