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Fore...Alaskan Style!
Jun 6, 2001, 09:43

It's midnight and a foursome has just teed-off in the land of the midnight sun. All across Alaska, summer welcomes extended hours of daylight and die-hard golfers couldn't be happier. While many golfers don't think of alaska as a golfing destination, perhaps some of the following courses would inspire you to pack up the clubs and really "rough" it.

The course in Coldfoot, Alaska features three holes, a driving range and a club rental. This may be the only place in the world where musk oxen are allowed to "play through".

Fairbanks is home to North Star, the world's northernmost USGA regulation golf course. Included with the score card is an animal checklist. And watch out for the cranes, ravens and foxes, they have been know to steal golf balls right off the fairway. Locals allow for a "no-penalty replacement for petty thievery."

In Juneau, local golfers freely advise visitors to the 9-hole golf course to keep your head down and aim for the glacier. It also doesn't hurt to wear rubber boots at high tide.

Perhaps one of the most charming little courses in all of Alaska is not somewhere you are likely to end up. A two-hour river boat journey amidst sandbars in Taku Inlet will take you to the Taku River, sparsely populated by local Juneauites with weekend cabins. These Taku River Rats have established an all and course on the backside of a little peninsula. Each of the nine holes sport a regulation cup and a push broom to smooth the sand. This is an improvement from the sawed off pop cans formerly used. Brown bear tracks are not an uncommon occurrence on this course. There is more than a tiger in those woods, especially when the salmon are running up the river!

Thankfully, no matter which course avid golfers brave, the nice thing to know is that you are never really far from Alaskan beer. After fifteen years of brewing in Alaska, you can find us almost anywhere...so Cheers!

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