The Masters is over and while it was nice to see the ultra-green grounds at Augusta National again, the tournament was a bit uninspiring. The factory-made golfers appeared a bit wooden on their march around the course and nobody really seemed to be exerting themselves to catch the eventual winner, Hideki Matsuyama. There’s definitely a […]
Still waiting for snow to melt
If Alaska had a Masters, it wouldn’t be happening this week, the same week as the real Masters. Easter Sunday is upon us and usually that means spring is pretty much here in Anchorage. Often, the Masters on TV, which happens Thursday through Sunday, serves as inspiration for us Alaskans to get out and start […]
What to look forward to in 2021
Us golfers were lucky in 2020. We got to play our sport when most all other sports were cancelled or marginalized. The forecast is for 2021 to be better for the other sports, so it might as well be better for us golfers as well. Golf in Alaska is still at least four months away, […]
Shadow Creek, part 3
Shadow Creek is ranked No. 81 by Golf Magazine in its 2020 list of the top 100 golf courses in the United States. That rank marked a slip of 20 spots from the previous year. Augusta National is ranked No. 6, Pebble Beach is No. 10. When we finished playing Shadow Creek, Sean Walsh said […]
Shadow Creek, part 2
Before I played Shadow Creek, I barely knew it existed. The whole thing was set up by Sean Walsh and when he told me where we were going to play, I said I had never heard of it. Then he reminded me it was the course Tiger and Phil played “The Match” on and where […]
Shadow Creek
While among some golfing friends recently, each golfer was asked to quickly name their favorite golf course. Names like Wolf Creek, Pebble Beach and Kingsbarns were tossed about. The conversation begged another question: how does one quickly determine the best golf course they’ve ever played? Shadow Creek is currently my favorite golf course, but the […]
Paiute punishes, but in a good way
I’m walking down the steps at the Paiute clubhouse, taking in the vistas that surround the enormous golf facility and an elder gent tells me I should be glad I wasn’t there the day before. “It was awful,” he said. “50 mile per hour winds and freezing. This is nice today.” With that, our Paiute […]
The Vegas vagabonds hit Royal Links
The second leg of the Vegas vacation took us to Royal Links, a course designed to include a variety of replicated British, Scottish or Irish golf holes from historically renowned courses like St. Andrews. For example the 10th hole at Royal Links was a replica of the Old Course’s Road Hole, while the 18th hole […]
The philosopher
Our first round of golf in Las Vegas was at Bali Hai, a golf course that prides itself on being on the Vegas strip. While this seems convenient, it also brings some unexpected characters into play. We were standing on the putting green. Another group of golfers was teeing off on the first tee, about […]
Vegas recap, part 1
The AGB Tour’s week in Las Vegas has come to an end. Chris Watson may not think he played very well, as he tends to be one to lean toward the self-deprecating style of humor, but he played well enough to move back onto the AGB rankings. If you want to see where he landed, […]