Golfing the Inside Passage

Golfers don't normally think of golfing when they take a cruise, especially to the far north of Alaska. However with a little ingenuity I had three rounds of golf on my cruise. Here is the itinerary, I was on the Celebrity Cruise ship Infinity, sailing on 27th June 2003. All the pictures were taken by me during the same week, the weather was a little variable. My thanks to Celebrity Cruises for a wonderful voyage.

The Club House

Celebrity Cruises Infinity 'parked' in Ketchikan

Day 1 Leave Vancouver BC

A typical start to a golf trip.

Day 2 Cruise the Inside Passage. Found the golf simulator. What a great way to work on those swing problems. Instant feedback helps you to see those flaws.

Looks like I might need the rain gear.

Day 3 Juneau. I took a cab to the Mendenhall Golf Course (cost approximately $25 each way). This is a nine hole course, close to what I believe is called a meadow course. The holes are short and the greens small. The view of the Mendenhall Glacier is outstanding. Click here to view the scorecard.

The Club-house at Mendenhall GC	Mendenhall Glacier from the course
No comments on the swing, please.	Certificate to prove I was there.

The cruise line does not take you to this course, you need to make the arrangements yourself. Please note, cash only at this course. Visit their web-site . I really enjoyed my experience here, the owners are very friendly, they even give you golf balls. Rental clubs available.

Day 4 Skagway

Most people off the cruise ship took the train ride to White Pass Summit. By taking the organized golf trip to Meadow Lakes Golf and Country Club, Whitehorse, Yukon (60 degrees North latitude), you will be given a narrated tour that follows the same route as the train but be given more opportunity to see the countryside (our driver stopped a couple of times to show us bear on the road). You will also get 9 holes of golf on a par 36 course (2825 yards from the black tees). We were also fed with a wonderful home made lunch before departing on our way back to the ship. Click here to go to the tour organizers web-site. View the scorecard.

Bear	Hole 1, a tough first shot.
Hole 3, Lots of elevation change on this par 3	Elevated tee, wide open fairway. What can go wrong? See the tree.

Day 5 Hubbard Glacier The day is spent on board ship, got to the golf simulator early so that I could be on deck for this view.

This is why non-golfers go to Alaska, beautiful.

Day 6 Ketchikan. No golf again today, so we walked around Ketchikan and then took a flight to Misty Fjords. This looks like a good place for a course!!

Approach to landing on a lake in Misty Fjords

Day 7 Inside Passage again. Try the golf simulator again.

Day 8 Vancouver, B.C.. Vancouver has many beautiful golf courses to play. Unfortunately my wife limited me to one, so we went to Whistler, a very scenic drive, and a place where my non-golfing partner could find plenty of sight-seeing. I played the Arnold Palmer Signature Course in Whistler Village. I recommend it. View the course web-site or the scorecard

The drive to Whistler	Whistler Golf Club - Hole 7
Whistler Golf Club - Hole 8	Whistler Golf Club - Hole 16

And it did not rain the whole week.