Many magnificant moments in Alaksa. Of course we did more than golf! Scroll down for some amazing pictures of both golf and some of our other adventures. But before that, here are our thoughts on golfing in Alaska!
Anchorage Golf Course
After a rainy start to the day, we moved our 9am tee-time to 5pm when the sun came out and stayed high in the sky until 10pm! One of the top rated courses in Alaska, we played the front 9 with a local resident named Bill who helped us navigate the course. The staff was extremely friendly, but not so much were the Thrips (teeny-tiny flying plant-eating bugs), and we quickly learned like the color white – which was what Liz was wearing! Later we read an article in the Anchorage Daily that this year there was an over-explosion of this creature – great!! Thankfully Liz had a black jacket and we managed through the round. The course was in beautiful condition, well manicured and views of the Chugach Mountains surrounded us on every hole. Thanks to everyone there for welcoming us to our first round in our 50th golf state!
Moose Run – (Creek) Golf Course
Round 2 we were welcomed by the friendliest starter we have ever met – Helen! She regaled us with stories of Bear and Moose sightings, of which we did not encounter – fortunately or unfortunately. Nonetheless, the course was creatively landscaped with flowers sprouting out of tree stumps, boulders and even hanging from tree limbs. A more challenging course than Anchorage it required more creative shot making. The most memorable hole would be the Par 5 9th – a definite 3-shot hole requiring perfect placement, which Jeff happened to do – making par! Liz on the other hand had several layups to cross 2 waste areas and a stream. This is a must play if you get up north!
Midnight Sun Black Diamond Golf Course (9-hole)
Traveling north from Anchorage to Denali State Park we did not plan to golf, but when we heard about the Northern most Golf Course in the world, we had to play! Thankfully we encountered more friendly residents who provided us transportation to and from the golf course (located in Healy) – thank you Annie! We took their “package” which included rental clubs, balls, tees, a souvenir towel and of course the greens fee. It was a crazy links-type course and at times was hard to figure out which green was for which Tee-box! Again we played until late in the evening with the sun shining high in the sky. It’s a very small course with no separation between holes 4 and 9 – so you might want to wear a helmet if you play – we had 2 close calls! And although we did not play it, they also had the most creative miniature golf-course using varied local equipment (dog-sled, boat, plow, and such). Make sure you play late at night and get your Mightnight Sun Golfing certificate! www.blackdiamondgolf.com
Keep scrolling down for pictures from our Alaska adventures!