Wrangell, a tiny little stain of awesome deep in Alaska's inside passage. Super unlikely setting for a golf course. A bit of sweet talking with our ship's captain and we docked at the island for a cheeky 9. In summer. In the rain. This is par for the course, apparently. (ZING!) The tees are astroturf. The greens are astroturf. And the course is astooundingly green, lush and forest-y, built as it is on 15 feet or more of muskeg (Alaska's version of mossbog). This is the kind of character-filled regional golf course I adore. Utterly unique, with bear and deer droppings littering the long springy fairways, and huge patches of chopped up ground that kinda resembled a pig sty. What caused these brown mires, we pondered? Ravens are the culprits. They only started turning up this year and nobody knows why, and they chew the shite out of the ground looking for grubs. Club even imposed a Raven Rule, which states that a ball stolen by a raven may be replaced, with no penalty, provided there is a witness! If you're ever up Wrangell way, it's mandatory to get a round in here. An experience Ill never forget. read more

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