Settlers Bay Golf Course- Wasilla, AK

This is the only housing development course in Alaska and the course uses that tidbit of information in it's advertising, though this writer is not sure if saying your courses is routed through houses is really a good thing. But that aside, the course is not bad. It has some up and down spots, as most do, but as a whole, it is a fair course. However, it must be said that having the range and first tee occupiying the most scenic part of the property might not have been the best way to route the course. On the front nine, the houses are generally not obtrusive, only coming into play on a single hole. However, on the back nine, they are more in play, indeed it seems that one hole was even altered due to homes being built. This course is certainly not the best course in Alaska, but it'd not a poor choice either.

Holes to Note

Hole #1: Par 4, 429 yards

Occupying the finest piece of ground on the entire property is never really a good thing for the first hole. However, this one does. The hole itself is not a bad hole, quality dogleg left that plays substantially downhill off the tee and overlooks Pioneer Peak in the distance. The best play off the tee is to play to the inside of the dogleg, over the depression. This widens the fairway and shortens the approach. The shot to the green is uphill to a modestly defended green that has some decent interest. Good opening hole in general, but sadly, the scenery never again comes close to matching that from the first tee.

From the tee, the hole opens up nicely for the player with the mountains providing a beautiful backdrop.

From the fairway, the player is left with this uphill approach.

From up close, the interior movements and fall-offs are visible

Hole #7, 630 yards

Playing downhill from just below the clubhouse, this is the longest par 5 on the course. On colder days, this hole would play as a real monster. The hole plays dead straight and really just requires the player hit two solid shots in order to be left with a reasonable shot into the green. But the green is one of the best this writer has played in the state. It sits as a biarritz green (which just warms the heart, naturally) and can be approached either from the air or on the ground, as it should. The green certainly makes up for the otherwise average nature of the hole.

From the tee, the player is not shown any options. The play is simply to hit the fairway as far off the tee as possible.

On the second shot, though it cannot be seen here the proper play is down the left side of the fairway, leaving a better angle into the green. It should be noted that the cart path crossing the fairway is a real eye sore. Why do courses do that?

Once closer to the greenm the bunkers that protect the putting surface are visible. This green is not a 100% biarritz green because it is aligned at a slight angle from the fairway/approach, but it is very close.

Here, the central valley and the front and rear plateaus are visible. The front pin, as usual, offers it's own unique challenges for distance control. The ball seen in the picture roughly a yard off the right fringe landed perhaps 5 yards right and 1 yard long of the flag, then released out to 35-40 feet from the cup. One has to wonder how many of the golfers here recognize the similarity in the green contours?

Hole #13: Par 4, 313 yards

This hole is of note only because it is a very poor hole. The golfer, upon leaving the 11th green, is not given a direct route to the tee. He must walk down to directly in front of the teeing area and then back about 75 yards to get to the back tees. Once there, he finds a teeing area that could have its own postal address. The tee is situated between the back decks of two nice homes and might actually draw a crowd to watch during a tournament. From there, the hole plays downhill. There is a bunker situated on the right side of the fairway roughly 250 yards off the tee. The best play is to play as close to the bunker as possible, or over it for the longest players, to leave the best shot into the green.

From the back tee, there seems to be little room for error, though the opening is slightly wider than it would appear. The bench visible by the forward tee pad is roughly where the player arrives after leaving the 11th green before walking back to the tee. The target bunker is visible in the center of the image with a house directly behind it.

On the second shot, the golfer is confronted with one of the worst hazards this writer has ever seen. The bunker sized hazard on the right is not a bunker, it is a fronting pond. This green is one of the highest points of the course, so there is no need for the pond from a drainage perspective. It is simply there to inflict severe penalty on the golfer. This course had significant potential to be good until this hole. From here, the course just goes downhill.

As mentioned above, the course starts off very well on the first hole and the entire front nine is generally solid. But the back nine is very lacking. Holes 10 and 11 are good, but from there, the course really staggers to the finish. 4 out of 10