Seward, AK

Seward Community DGC

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2.715(based on 7 reviews)
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12 0
DFrah
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 5.8 years 227 played 225 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Short and sweet! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 29, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Seward, AK is a small city that takes about 2-1/2 hours of scenic driving to get to from Anchorage. It is the gateway to the stunning Kenai Fjords National Park, home of the only aquarium in Alaska, and a port of call for cruise ships during non-COVID times. You may have also heard of Seward if you closely watched or followed the recent Tokyo Olympics. Lydia Jacoby, the 17-year-old swimmer who won the gold medal in the women's 100 m breaststroke, calls Seward home. Writing this approximately a month later, there are still signs congratulating and supporting Ms. Jacoby posted all over town. Well deserved!

A much less noteworthy fact about Seward is that it has a 9-hole disc golf course. The course is listed as "Seward Middle School" on here but it actually plays more around the high school, and according to a kiosk is actually called "Seward Community DGC". The kiosk has a nice color map of the course, as well as distances for all the holes.

Each hole has a yellow banded DISCatcher basket, two small concrete teepads, and one tee sign all in good shape (I did not find a cement pad for the long tee on hole 8, but it may have just been buried under some gravel). The tee signs are generally located somewhere around the longer (dark blue) tee. The signs show the hole number, par (always 3), and layout for both the longer dark blue and shorter light blue tee. There are also Next Tee signs on holes that need them.

From either tee, this course plays as a short, technical round. It runs through a mixed forest with old growth tree trunks, plus thicker younger trees and brush in some areas. The lines through these trees are generally fair but not too easy. A few holes turn left, a few turn right, and a few are straight. The terrain is not extreme here, but most holes play on a slight upward or downward incline. Other than a baseball field well behind hole 8's basket, it honestly doesn't feel like you are playing around school grounds at all.

Hole 7 has a nice view of the mountains across Resurrection Bay. A building in the foreground kind of dampens the visual appeal though.

Cons:

There is a ton of walking between holes. I felt like I did more walking than disc golfing. It seems like it would be possible to reconfigure current holes 3, 8, and 9 to end up near the drive after playing five holes, then cross it only once to play the remaining four. As is, the distances between holes are so long that I was hoping for more Next Tee signs as reassurance that I am still heading in the correct direction (using the map helped me though).

The walk back to the parking lot from hole 9 is up the fairways of holes 2 and 3. If other people were playing those holes it could be a safety concern, particularly #2 where you are walking from basket towards tee.

The course is very short. Even from the "long" tees there are only two holes that eclipse 300'. From the shorter tees the longest hole is only 200'. Experienced disc golfers will probably only need a couple of discs here and get bored easily. It seems like there is more space available (see above), so mixing in a few longer holes would be nice.

Other than that just a few nitpicky things:
- The brush is a little thick in some spots. It could be cut down a little bit to prevent lost discs, without reducing the level of challenge.
- Hole 5 needs a Mando. The tee sign shows that from the dark blue tee you are supposed to throw about 75' forward, then kink sharply right for 100' to reach the basket. Any respectable disc golfer is going to throw it 125' across the convenient gap in the woods and get an easy birdie.
- On hole 6, the path shown from the dark blue tee is misleading and there is also a ton of brush right off the tee that should be cut down.
- No trash cans anywhere on the course.

Other Thoughts:

It is kind of funky getting to this course. The pin location here correctly marks the location of the kiosk and hole 1 tee, but when I played on a Sunday evening there was a fence across the road where Sea Lion Ave meets the drive on the north side of the high school, and no parking lots on that side of the fence. You could either park on the side of the road before the fence, OR come in from the south (Resurrection Blvd to Sherman St), then turn left at the school drive and follow it clockwise around the school, where a lot next to the aforementioned fence can now be reached. Maybe on a school day that fence is open. But you probably shouldn't play during school hours anyways, though there is nothing on the kiosk that bans it.

The cell service is OK here, it seemed a little spotty for me but generally I had it.

With all the walking between holes, this is not necessarily a quick round. It took me about 45 mins to play solo. If you have a group I would plan on an hour or more just to play 9 holes.

Overall this is a decent course. I enjoyed it and would play it again if I make a return visit to the city and national park. I highly recommend doing one of the boat tours to see the park and marine life. If you only have a day in Seward, do NOT forsake the boat tour or Exit Glacier to play this course. But if you have a little more time in town, this course provides a decent and easy option to add a round of Alaska disc golf to your vacation. It isn't bad for introducing the sport to more locals either. The two sets of tees make it possible to get an 18 hole round in. With some of the Cons above addressed I would give this course a 2.5 for sure, or maybe even a 3.0.

Go Lydia Go!
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0 1
johno
Experience: 3 played 3 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great views 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 10, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great views. Lot of trees that are challenging to get around. Easy to access

Cons:

In the middle of a hiking trail...but nobody was hiking when we played.

Other Thoughts:

We were on vac from washington state and we had a blast playing on this course. It wasn't too big but was fun.
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8 0
Mr. Butlertron
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.1 years 659 played 131 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Tiny town, tiny course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

- nice tee signs
- clean environment
- bright, well cared for baskets
- close to the docks and restaurant/bars
- multiple concrete tees
- free

Cons:

- on a walking trail
- in a rainy town
- overall, just poor layout
- limited access during school hours

Other Thoughts:

I like my fellow reviewer's course descriptions, but could not disagree more about the ratings that this course is receiving. Basically it's another one of these gym class type setups that is on a local walking trail that Alaskan middle schools are so found of. This one is a putter course on a tight path with blind spots. I'm not really sure what is accomplished by making courses like this. Only skilled players would be good enough to do well on it, but it's too short and technical for them to even enjoy. Poor players are without a doubt going to spend most of their time either searching in the thick (probably wet) brush if they decide to air anything out , or just commit a series of layups until they reach the baskets. No room for error...or much fun. Be careful to stay out of the devil's club, cow parsnip, and rose hip bushes.
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3 3
DiscFlicker77
Experience: 11 years 8 played 8 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Tight, technical course with short holes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 4, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Small enough to get in a quick game. We only had about 45 minutes to play and get back to the local grocery store to catch our shuttle.
The views are awesome.
You might see some moose.

Cons:

The rough will punish you. I jumped in to grab my disc on the 8th hole and got stuck by some kind of sticker bush. I had the thorns in my fingers for weeks after the trip.

Other Thoughts:

I only packed a few discs for the trip because they easily fit into our luggage. If you are going to Alaska, bring your discs. Its better to have them and not use them than to not have them and have time to play.
This course is not far from the port in Seward where the cruise ships dock. I didn't take a cruise ship there but I walked to the course from the main street near the docks.
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3 0
sideshow44
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Cruising from DGC to DGC in AK 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 29, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Secluded, off-the-beaten path course. Gorgeous mountain views. Luckily the distances aren't too long because the fairways are quite narrow and the weeds are Alaska-sized, obviously.

Cons:

It was a little hard to find; it is closer to the High School than the Middle School. Take Hwy 9 out of town. Turn left on Bear, right on Swetmann Ave. This will empty into a parking lot by the High School. There is a sign board there with the course map. Take a photo of the map for future reference; it will hard to find some of the next holes.

Other Thoughts:

We cruised to Alaska and back, brought our discs, and disc golfed through Alaska. Cheap entertainment and a great way to really get a feel for the different locales.
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4 0
KAK3990
Experience: 14.8 years 121 played 10 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Your in Alaska, give it a shot! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 28, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Short, technical course located on the grounds of a local middle school.
-Very narrow landing areas where touch is needed over sheer power
-Wide variety of shots called for
-As far as I can tell only local course in the area
-Awesome views of the surrounding mountains

Cons:

-Punishing and thick rough (I played in July at the height of the growing season)
-Somewhat hard to navigate, I did not find hole #3 until later in my round

Other Thoughts:

If you are in Alaska and you brought your discs you should definitely check this course out. You need to throw many different lines to navigate this course and the views are awesome. The course is short but you can rarely see the basket from the teepad. Each of the holes are sponsored by a local business or disc golf enthusiast, so kudos for getting a course installed in an area that otherwise would not have one. It was a fun play overall, but nothing particularly special. That being said I would play it again and enjoy myself for a second time.
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5 1
Disc90046
Experience: 82 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 23, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is extremely technical. Almost every hole has a narrow (15-30 foot) fairway, lined by very dense trees and vegetation. Fortunately, the fairways were diligently maintained. Moreover, all of the holes were of a manageable distance, which was particularly important because the course is too tight to throw full out. Realistically speaking, experienced players could play with a few mid-range discs that they can turn each way, and putter.

The unbelievable vistas of the surrounding snow capped mountains are what set this course apart from similarly designed and well maintained courses.

If traveling to Alaska, it is worth packing 4-5 discs, and it is worth playing this course.

Cons:

If you don't like tight, technical courses that punish errant shots, this course isn't for you - though the incredible mountain views might still make it worth it.
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