Our last round in Alaska was at Settlers Bay Golf Course. The course is located in Wasilla, about an hour from Anchorage. Personally, Settlers Bay was the 1,100th golf course I’ve played and I’m happy to have accomplished that milestone in such a beautiful part of the world.

I’m not sure that many people visiting Alaska would be interested in 36 holes in a day at two different courses, but in case you are – Settlers Bay pairs well with Palmer. The two courses are about a half hour from each other.

From what I could find, Settlers Bay started as a 9-hole course and was later expanded to the current 18 holes. I’m not sure which nine opened first, but the nines here are quite different. The front nine has a number of interesting holes, good views, and some elevation change. The back nine is flatter, plays through some homes, and has an odd routing.

Even though I didn’t play my best, I thoroughly enjoyed the front nine. The opening hole at Settlers Bay is the course’s signature hole. From the black tees it is a 429 yard par-4 with an elevated tee shot. Woods line the fairway and mountains are visible in the background. The rest of the front nine has some up and down to it and the holes have adequate separation. There are back to back long par-5’s that are a tough test. The 9th is a 400 yard par-4 that plays uphill and has a green tucked into a hillside.

The back nine is shorter with multiple short par-4’s and two reachable par-5’s. Certainly easier to score on, but this nine felt crammed in between the homes. There is a long cart ride to get to the 16th hole, which I think must have been shortened to the current par-3 at some point.

We played the black tees which are 72.2/131/6450 (par-71). There are a variety of different challenges here. Areas of target golf on the front nine can make things interesting. The greens have some tricky undulation. There is a good mix of yardages and the longer holes can be tough. The 18th is a difficult closing hole. It is a 441 yard par-4 that is tree lined and has a fairway that slopes hard to the right.

If you’ve made it this far reading about my Alaska golf adventure, then I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn the conditions here weren’t great. Certainly not worth the $75 afternoon green fee. The fairways had many inconsistent spots. Some areas were lush while other areas had plenty of winterkill. The greens rolled at a medium pace and were bumpy. For whatever reason, the conditions on the back nine were a step below the front.

My $0.02 is that for the price, Settlers Bay can be skipped unless you are looking to play as many Alaska courses as possible. There are some solid golf holes, but the back nine was a bit of a letdown. Personally, I enjoyed the layout of both Anchorage Golf Course and Moose Run’s Creek course more.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):