Anchorage Golf Course- Anchorage, AK

This course has most of what a person would look for in a very good course. The par 3's range from short iron to hybrid clubs. Par 4's that run from nearly 460 yards (a significant distance given average Alaska temperatures) down to 330 and the par 5's run from easily reached in two shots to a solid three shotter. Given what this writer has seen of courses on the Golfweek Top Municipal course ranking, this course should be on that list, only location is holding it back. The course does seem to be slightly repetitive with the mid-length par 4's, but the holes individually are varied enough to keep them from being boring.

Holes to Note

Hole #2: Par 4, 341 yards
This hole plays straight off the tee and into a sharp dogleg. While the players instincts would tell him to play close down the tree line on the right, no benefit will come from doing that. Indeed the best play is either directly down the center or even favoring the left side of the fairway for a flatter lie.

Into the green, the player is left with a carry only shot to a rather flat green, but one that does slope from back to front. For the player who leaves his shot a little short or a little long of the green, a difficult shot awaits.

From 100 yards out, the depression fronting the green is obvious and the penalty for playing aggressively down the right side can be clearly seen. The green is roughly ten feet above the lowest part of the depression fronting the green.

From the back of the green, in what seems to be an abandoned bunker, the contours in the depression can be seen.

Hole #3: Par 3, 177 yards
This mid length one shot hole features a very interesting green that is shaped rather like a boomerang. In the center of the curve is a deep grass bunker waiting to penalize shots hit to the left of the green. Fortunately for the players who slice the ball (those being the majority of golfers) the penalty for missing right of the green is not nearly as severe.

From up close, the swale is a bold and key feature on the hole.

Hole #6: Par 5, 495 yards
Playing downhill from the tee and seemingly with the prevailing breeze, this is a fine risk-reward par 5. The hole looks tight down to the fairway but once arriving the player realizes that the hole is rather generous. The preferred line off the tee is away from the bunker on the right and down the left side. Playing down the left opens up the hole better for those players choosing to lay-up on the second shot and gives the shorter yardage for those going for the green. The better angle to the green can be had by playing down the right side of the fairway, however; giving the player the ability to run the ball onto the surface in the event that the green is right on the outer reaches of his distance capability.

Of course the scenery in the distance is not terrible either.

From 210 to 250 yards, any player considering going for the green is going to face a tough decision. The green is likely in range for this player but he must consider the water that flanks the green to the left  and the stand of trees that lie not far to the right. The player who played down the right side is not looking at a smaller effective width on the right and also the knowledge that a ball that is hooked more than slightly will end up in the water. But the player who favored the left side has a generous fairway to play to in the range of 75 to 100 yards from the green. Any closer than that and he begins to get a bit greedy. 

The approach to the green is rather open to the player coming in from the right side, inside of 150 yards. The set of bunkers near the water are actually saving bunkers, keeping shots that are slight misses from going into the water. The green is a generous target, especially for short iron approaches, but is large enough that going for the green in two shots can be a sensible play.

Hole #10: Par 4, 419 yards
This hole plays straight off the tee, slight dogleg to the right. There is seemingly nothing going on from the tee that would make the player put much thought into the tee shot.

But after cresting the hill and coming into view of the entire fairway, the entire look changes.

A huge mound guards the center of the fairway. Given the nature of the site and it's location, one would think that this is natural, perhaps a way to cover up some huge boulder that came to rest here many years ago rather than attempting to move it. There is also another boulder sitting right on the rough line down the right side. Any player tempting the right side had better be long enough to carry these features, otherwise he'd better hope for a lucky bounce.

The green on 10 is also one of the best on the course. It funnels into a small neck near the bunker that can be seen in the above image and then into a small back area. The front of the green is quite generous and accepting of most shots. Inside the green lie several interesting features. In the center of the green is a fair sized rise that makes any shots not finding the proper position on the green a very tricky ordeal. Also on the green are two smaller mounds that can effectively segregate a middle pin position as well.

Hole 16: Par 3, 190 yards
This hole is straightforward, as most par 3's are, really just requiring the player to hit a straight shot to a give yardage.

But once on the green, the features that may have seemed small and perhaps insignificant from the tee show themselves to be very bold and any player not taking the proper time to judge his tee shot is going to be in a very difficult situation, with a three-putt, or perhaps even a four-putt, a possibility.

Overall, this is a very solid golf course. They are apparently making an effort to host a USGA championship and based on the courses this writer has played that have also hosted USGA events, outside of the flagship events, this course compares favorably; the logistics of getting people to the event, however, are a drawback. But this course has what anyone would want in a golf course, variety in the holes, variety in clubs hit both into the green and off the tee, great scenery and good turf conditions. 6 out of 10.

P.S. Just because this is Alaska, during the round, one of the natives decided to come out of the forest and mosey about the fairway.

(Apologies for the poor image quality, iPhones take quality pictures at a distance, not so quality when zoomed in) 

Why I Walk

I almost always walk the course when I play. Some courses are very easy to walk. Others are rather difficult. But in the end, the rounds are always enjoyable. In the end, the reason I walk when I play can be boiled down to three reasons. First, I feel like I play better golf when I walk the course. Second, walking gives me a few hours of much needed exercise. And finally, I am generally too cheap to pay the additional money for a cart.
My first reason for walking is that I feel I play better golf when walking. Who wouldn't want to play better? By walking, rather than riding in a golf car, I feel that I have more time to relax myself and clear my mind between shots. This lets me go into each shot with a clear head and determine what I need to do. I am also able to prepare myself for the shot as I am walking up to the ball. I am able to determine the yardage prior to getting to my ball, something I would not be able to do were I riding in a cart, at least not with any accuracy. I am also able to look at the hole and determine what kind of shot I need to play into the hole, high, low or whatever the case may be. Being able to do these two things allows me to make my club selection within 5-10 seconds after arriving at my ball and from there I am ready to play. When riding in carts, I tend to feel rushed and when I feel rushed, I begin to make poor swings. So I have long felt like I play better when I walk and that playing better on the course tends to be a good reason to do just about anything while out there.
But, of course that is not the only reason I walk. I also walk to get exercise. I, like just about everyone, tend to eat a little too much, drink a few too many sodas, and do not go to the gym enough. But by walking the course, I am afforded anywhere between 1 and 5 hours of rather vigorous exercise. Let's just face it, walking a full golf course, probably 4 1/2 miles with a bag of clubs on your shoulder, is no easy task. Add in the fact that many courses have some substantial hills and walking a golf course can be pretty strenuous. Going out when I play and walking the course allows me the exercise to keep myself in reasonable condition, something that is always a good thing.
Finally, the reason that really should have come first, I am simply too cheap to pay for carts. I feel certain that my home club, with three definite cart tailored courses, somewhere, deep down, dislikes me. In thirteen months as a pass holder at the club, I have taken a golf car once, and then only because I was part of a tournament and the cart was included. In general, I take carts only when they are mandated. Thus far in 2012 I have probably played a total of fifty or more rounds. I have used a golf car in five of those, each time either because my playing partner wanted to or because it was mandated. So that's at least forty-five rounds played without a cart, given the average cart fee is $15, that amounts to $675 saved just in the first two-thirds of this year. All because I choose to walk rather than ride.
Some people I know like to talk about how they choose to walk the course to keep with the traditions of the game or some other noble goal. There is no such nobility in why I walk. I don't look down upon people who choose to ride, not those who are able to walk but choose to ride and certainly not those who are unable to walk. Nor do I put the walkers up on some high pedestal. Walking is nothing more than a choice. A choice that I choose to make the vast majority of the time because I feel like I play better, I get good exercise, and because I'm cheap. Golf owners and operators love me.

The Evolution of the Best Course I've Played

Everyone who plays golf has a "best" course. And of course what makes that is different for everyone. As people play new courses, the "best" likely changes, either due to playing a new, better course, or a person's tastes in golf courses change. I, of course, have seen an evolution in the course I have thought to be the best I have played. The evolution goes something like this:
1997: Star Hill
1997: Silver Creek
1997: Bryan Park (Players)
1999: Bryan Park (Champions)
2005: Tobacco Road
2007: Eagle Point
2010: Old Town
2011: Pacific Dunes
2011:  Pebble Beach

I am fully expecting another large gap before another course comes up that can take Pebble Beach down from the top spot. Without a trip to the UK, Ireland or Australia, the options are limited to some very private facilities. But I'm not losing hope.