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Girdwood DGC reviews
12
0
Forgettable disc golf in an unforgettable area 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Aug 27, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
Girdwood, AK is a small town tucked into the mountains about 40 miles southeast of Anchorage. It used to be a mining community, but is now centered on the lavish Alyeska Ski Resort. The only way to get here by car is to drive the Seward Highway, which carves out a path where the towering Chugach Mountains meet the waters of the Turnagain Arm. I am pretty sure they call it the Turnagain Arm because you are going to "turn again" at every scenic viewpoint that has been thoughtfully constructed along the highway, to take another photo of this incredible landscape.
Girdwood DGC plays around the back portion of a multi-use park that sits a couple miles back from the highway. There is a porta potty at the parking lot and a kiosk that does not show a full course map, but does indicate where the course starts within the park.
The 18-hole course is relatively technical. The main obstacles in play here are the trunks of large, old-growth evergreen trees. The holes are designed so that on most of them, at least a couple of these trees are present to force some degree of shot shaping. It seemed like there was decent variety between hyzer, anhyzer, and straight shots required. The hole lengths range from about 200' to about 350'.
The baskets are all yellow banded DISCatchers. They look like they have been around a few years, but are all still in good shape.
Girdwood DGC plays around the back portion of a multi-use park that sits a couple miles back from the highway. There is a porta potty at the parking lot and a kiosk that does not show a full course map, but does indicate where the course starts within the park.
The 18-hole course is relatively technical. The main obstacles in play here are the trunks of large, old-growth evergreen trees. The holes are designed so that on most of them, at least a couple of these trees are present to force some degree of shot shaping. It seemed like there was decent variety between hyzer, anhyzer, and straight shots required. The hole lengths range from about 200' to about 350'.
The baskets are all yellow banded DISCatchers. They look like they have been around a few years, but are all still in good shape.
Cons:
This course has quite a few potential safety issues. For me the worst one was a hole (I think it was #9) where parked cars were very much in play. But several other issues exist depending on who else is in the park. Some of the fairways seemed close together. Walking paths can come into play on many holes. A few holes play along/across a drive in the back of the park that appears to be mainly for access to a trailhead. Two holes play across a sand volleyball court. A fenced-in baseball field is in play on one hole. I had an unfortunate tree kick and had to vault this fence to retrieve my disc.
The navigation and signage is also poor here. There are no "Next Tee" signs. Little arrows on the basket bands would go a long way. Some of the tees have a color sign showing hole number and a sketched layout of the hole. These didn't really help me much, as they did not shed any light on an intended line to the basket. They felt more like a sketch of a tee and basket with some random trees drawn in between. Many of the tees didn't even have this. Some just had a painted hole number, and some had no sign at all. Hole 2's sign was missing, so after playing just one hole I walked around for several minutes and ended up having to use UDisc to find the next tee location. The locals probably know where to go, but for tourists wanting to get a round in better signage would be a big improvement. Edit: I just noticed that there is a map uploaded here, and I think it is still generally correct. If you don't have UDisc, you should definitely use this map for navigation. I normally catch that when I'm playing, I'm blaming the fact that I was on vacation.
If this were posted at the course I would raise my rating to 2.5.
The tees are natural, and do not have any other amenities like trash cans/etc.
Some holes have almost no obstacles between tee and basket. There are no water hazards. The distances are relatively short, and despite having incredible mountainous scenery on all sides the course itself is almost completely flat. The holes all started to blend together after a while - just 24ish hours (and no more disc golf) later I cannot remember many of them. The area is memorable, but the course in particular is not.
There are long walks between some holes, and a very long walk at the end of the round. I think it is about 1/4 mile from basket 18 back to your car.
The navigation and signage is also poor here. There are no "Next Tee" signs. Little arrows on the basket bands would go a long way. Some of the tees have a color sign showing hole number and a sketched layout of the hole. These didn't really help me much, as they did not shed any light on an intended line to the basket. They felt more like a sketch of a tee and basket with some random trees drawn in between. Many of the tees didn't even have this. Some just had a painted hole number, and some had no sign at all. Hole 2's sign was missing, so after playing just one hole I walked around for several minutes and ended up having to use UDisc to find the next tee location. The locals probably know where to go, but for tourists wanting to get a round in better signage would be a big improvement. Edit: I just noticed that there is a map uploaded here, and I think it is still generally correct. If you don't have UDisc, you should definitely use this map for navigation. I normally catch that when I'm playing, I'm blaming the fact that I was on vacation.
If this were posted at the course I would raise my rating to 2.5.The tees are natural, and do not have any other amenities like trash cans/etc.
Some holes have almost no obstacles between tee and basket. There are no water hazards. The distances are relatively short, and despite having incredible mountainous scenery on all sides the course itself is almost completely flat. The holes all started to blend together after a while - just 24ish hours (and no more disc golf) later I cannot remember many of them. The area is memorable, but the course in particular is not.
There are long walks between some holes, and a very long walk at the end of the round. I think it is about 1/4 mile from basket 18 back to your car.
Other Thoughts:
I had good cell phone service here.
If you stay at the Alyeska Resort itself, as of this writing the resort map shows another course onsite. I personally asked a hotel employee at the on-site sporting goods store and he said that course is now extinct, and recommended this one instead.
I was between a 2.0 and 2.5 for this one. With better signage I would give the 2.5 despite my safety concerns, because I recognize the park is probably not busy often. Overall, Girdwood DGC is an unimpressive course in an impressive location. It is fine for local rec level players if few to no other people are in the park. With better signage it would be fine for visitors looking to get a round in. It certainly is not a destination level course.
If you stay at the Alyeska Resort itself, as of this writing the resort map shows another course onsite. I personally asked a hotel employee at the on-site sporting goods store and he said that course is now extinct, and recommended this one instead.
I was between a 2.0 and 2.5 for this one. With better signage I would give the 2.5 despite my safety concerns, because I recognize the park is probably not busy often. Overall, Girdwood DGC is an unimpressive course in an impressive location. It is fine for local rec level players if few to no other people are in the park. With better signage it would be fine for visitors looking to get a round in. It certainly is not a destination level course.
