I returned to Juneau Alaska a few months back, and had not lived here as a golfer before, so there was some golf-exploring to do. Well there are slim choices for a round around Juneau*— just a small, privately owned place called “Mendenhall Golf” in a wetland area near the airport, which has a nine-hole “executive course” (these are all par-3’s) plus three holes (two par-4’s and a par-3) to either take-on after the nine, or repeat three times. Here is the course layout.

A friend (terrific guy) and I went out for the regular nine on my first outing (unaware of the alternate-three), and we had a great time, but the course itself was a new-beast for me— the fairways and greens were very “prairie-golf-” style as I recall, and this coupled with short distances, thin paths and soggy land made for a tough challenge. I was dismayed about the course but took heart that golf can be played well in any open space, and that adverse settings have their own rewards.

A week or so after that round I went to Mendenhall’s driving range after work, and as I was walking back to the car I saw this big broad fairway pointing to the glacier— the first hole of the alternate three, and a surprise that felt made out of my golf dreams. I/we played those alternates instead of the main-course for the next few rounds, and I have enjoyed them greatly.

Well today I played the regular nine again, and am glad to report that they were much better than my recall of that first outing— the greens were very sharp** (though small), and staff has cleared out a lot more space than we had before (there was well-trimmed fairway space and more of it, esp. on hole 5).

I really like the younger guy who seems to be running the place— he seems to work hard to improve things— and I’m sure the weeks of dry-ness also helped a lot. So it was great fun today— the scenery’s always great but even better with so much sun lately and plant-flowering, and brought my Ipod along with some ELO and John Cale. Juneau golf is looking better and better— a good and often-familiar-feeling (executive-) course layout on the main-nine.


*And there aren’t any roads-out, so regular treks out of town aren’t feasible.**And I felt they were generally pointing south, similar to Ben Hogan’s prediction (though his was west) in Harvey Penick’s “Red Book.”.

I’ve been reading Harvey Penick’s (renowned) Little Red Book, and second to The Underachiever’s Manifesto (which isn’t about golf at all, actually, but is for me), I’d say it’s my favorite non-fiction golf book. The Little Red Book is made up of a long series of one- or two-page lessons and stories— all fun to read. Here are some of my favorites (incl. the most useful and the most enjoyable):

What’s the Problem
Golf Medicine
Take Dead Aim
Beware
The Left Heal
Swing the Bucket
The Weed Cutter
The Prettiest Swing
The Magic Move
The Stance
Chip or Pitch
Long and Short
Learning
Warming Up in a Hurry
Easy Bunkers
Some of the Women in My Life
And Some of the Men in My Life

A golf episode of a new favorite show:

Watch Corner Gas SE05E03 - Whiner Takes All in Comedy | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

This is my kind of golf— I was lucky to come across it recently (and just in time for a trip near Annie Lake)— have been looking for one like it for years actually— wish I’d seen it when I was still in CO, as there were a few there, and one pretty nearby. Hopefully the site will get maintained and not forgotten.
www.PastureGolf.com