HITTING THE LINKS IN IRAQ

GIs - they sure are adaptable.

The 1,493-yard, par-29 course will challenge most golfers.

There’s an old Iraqi obstacle course on the third hole that golfers must hit over, and Hole 5 features a rock pit. There are even a few bomb craters.

The course has no water hazards and the fairways aren’t green — the course’s maintenance crew is waiting for a good rain — but there are plenty of sand traps.

“Oh yeah, the whole thing is a sand trap,” Bohonek said...

Still, everyone is invited to play and equipment is available, courtesy of donations.

“We’ve got about 200 to 300 clubs and balls with us,” Brown said. “We’ve got score cards.”

Residents of Prairie du Chien, Wisc., where the unit is based, donated the clubs and balls. Brown placed an advertisement in the town’s paper earlier this year, having planned to make a course wherever they ended up...

There are no club dues or greens fees at UXO 9, but there is a dress code.

“You can go out in PT gear but you still have to carry weapons,” Brown said. His M-4 carbine fits in a golf bag but the M-16 and M-249 don’t. Camouflage uniforms also are allowed.

The course is open every day and closes only during mortar attacks. “We’ve had to come off the course a couple of times when they were banging away,” Brown said.