- Free course with plenty of parking
- 18 holes
- High quality baskets
- Baskets are easy to see in the woods
- Outhouses on location
- Well landscaped fairways
- Quiet tranquil atmosphere
- Decent mix between short and medium/long holes
- Harvestable berries on the course
- Pet friendly course
- A couple ace run holes

- Natural tees
- Missing signs
- Navigation signs needed
- Walking trail and dirt road go through course
- Fairways lacked shape, sometimes obstructions
- Girdwood is a rainy place
- Flat course

Girdwood DGC has received a major face-lift since the last time I played the course. It went from a short 9 hole pitch and put course to a legit full 18. Most courses I've played in the greater municipality of Anchorage area have been either wooded and short or wide open and long, this course is sort of a compromise of both. The Girdwood DGC is a very tranquil woodsy setting with generally open straight fairways that are shaped with monstrous cottonwoods along the edges. Being in the forests of Girdwood totally reminds me of the forest moon of Endor.

There's a decent mix of hole lengths, but it's not a long course necessarily. I used my my mids and fairways off the tee mostly. Girdwood DGC is a wooded course that uses distance as more of a difficulty factor rather than tight technical lines. Beginners will appreciate how forgiving and throwable the fairways are, while seasoned vets will enjoy the length of most holes. The innocent looking fairways lure you in, but only when you come up short of the pin will you realize that some holes are longer than they appear. I blame the giant trees for messing up my sense of scale.

As far as negatives, there are a few things that could be improved. The natural tee pad thing kind of sucks, considering how much precipitation "The Wood" gets annually. Less than half the course had tee signs indicating distances. Finding basket 1 was easy, finding the tee pad was not. Navigation between holes on the front side was doable, where it transitioned to the other half of the course was a bit confusing. Soggy weather, park pedestrians walking through fairways, the sometimes merciless mosquitoes, and lack of elevation changes can't really be helped, but are cons nonetheless.

Girdwood DGC has instantly become one of my favorite courses (#2, behind Kincaid) in the state. I personally would much rather drive south to Girdwood from Anchorage than throw on the pay to play courses in town or drive north to throw the tight technical short courses. Most Alaskan courses don't harness the full potential of the awesome wilderness that surrounds our cities and towns, fortunately Girdwood DGC does.

Other Other thoughts:
The town of Girdwood, which is actually still part of the municipality of Anchorage, is home to some of the best restaurants in the state. I used to live there, so I should know. If you're traveling all the way out there, do yourself a favor and try some of their local cuisine. You can't go wrong with the following restaurants (in order of my most favorite to still really good):

The Bake Shop (breakfast & lunch)
Jack Sprats (gourmet lunch and dinner)
Chair 5 (pizza and beer)
Double Musky (lunch and dinner)

Seriously, I've been know to travel all the way out there from Anchorage for the grub alone. Along the way it's also common place to see mountain goats, beluga whales on incoming tides chasing salmon, and even the occasional bear.

Real baskets with the numbers facing the right way, marked tees with maps at most tees, interesting shots, reasonable distances.

Some safety concerns; throws across roads and areas that other park users are likely to be. Dirt tees are getting worn.

You'll have fun at this course. The love of throwing a disc accurately on different paths comes through in the design. Take on the responsibility to avoid throwing when your disc may hit or scare others.