Las Vegas Tomorrow Baby !!!

It's below 0* up here today (32* F)

Tomorrow I depart on a multi-club trip to Vegas. This will be my 3rd time going. It's a blast.

112 guys four a 4 round stableford cumulative points event. Caps change daily based on how well, or poorly, you scored points wise

Also daily there are skins and 2 man 1 low net payouts.

This year we aren't doing 2 Pauite courses and I am excited about the tracks

Sunday: Badlands - practice round - only 40 guys in on this

Monday: TPC Summerlin (solid test, played it last year)

Tuesday: Spanish Trail (the weakest course but I have not played it)

Wednesday: Dragon Ridge (looks solid on the web)

Thursday: South Shore (played it 3 years, solid test with mint greens)

Friday: Betty Ford Clinic / flight home

Someone tell me their favorite restaurants? Clubs (for the 30-50 age range) ? Anyone been to the courses above lately and can offer a report on conditions?

wow... that is awesome. I wish I could get 8-12 guys together... but 112?? That is great. Pretty crazy that you can go on a trip with a bunch of guys and more than half you probably won't even see!

FWIW and IMHO I would switch out Dragon Ridge for Cascata... you will pay a bit more but with us Dragon Ridge was a huge let down. For $275 it ain't worth it. Cascata for $100-$200 (with caddie fee) is miles upon miels better. Then again on this short a notice you will be hard pressed to get that many guys on that course.

I think the biggest turn off for Dragon Ridge was the $8 hot dog.... I know it's "Vegas" but, wow.

Also, it is a private course but the members are a-holes. I think they are getting mad that they opened it up to the public

regardless, have a blast!

Joey

I don't organize the trip. That's the 12 pro's going and a golf vacation company.
There's a party suite at the hotel after each round to hand out cash and drink wine and beer before heading out for dinner
I've made some good friends from other courses in my last two outings (12 of the guys are from my home course)

Vegas Baby?

I know a few guys that have gone and have had a great time, and I know a few guys going this year as well. Have a great time.

Nice looks like all the guys from VGC are going and it looks like a few guys from my course in Calgary are going.

I am sure you will have fun regardless of where you play. Enjoy it. If it fancies you, Dragon Ridge does have a sweet PING Performance studio where they hook you up to all the gadgets and what not. I didn't have the time or I would have done it. Then again, with such a group you may not have the time either.

Fwiw, I had a really great time at Dragon Ridge. Solid track that was in great shape. I also didn't pay nearly as much as Joey. You can play there if you stay at an MGM property.

Favourite restaurants? The dining options are endless and there are soooo many great ones. These might not be what you're looking for as a group but...

Steak: SW Steakhouse, Prime, Del Monico
Fine Dining: Picasso, Cirque, L'Atelier

Uncle Cardy,

Would you like to be my rich uncle and have me tag along?

Love,

Your Beloved Nephew

[quote name='rbhan12' timestamp='1416010271' post='10448765']
Uncle Cardy,

Would you like to be my rich uncle and have me tag along?

Love,

Your Beloved Nephew
[/quote]

How are your green reading skills?

Whoa...Uncle Cardie I sincerely apologize for missing your most important email. What time are we teeing off for our practice round?

My MGM status still gets a full suite and other benefits.

Meet you at McCarron?

[quote name='DavePelz4' timestamp='1416016064' post='10449211']
Whoa...Uncle Cardie I sincerely apologize for missing your most important email. What time are we teeing off for our practice round?

My MGM status still gets a full suite and other benefits.

Meet you at McCarron?
[/quote]

You're on Pelzy, I'll be in the 40 seater limo w my sticks and some nice single malts

I really like DragonRidge. Im sure at 112 players you are getting a decent deal there.

[quote name='cardoustie' timestamp='1416015683' post='10449171']
How are your green reading skills?
[/quote]

They're as good as your tipping skills

Really enjoyed Dragon Ridge

[quote name='cardoustie' timestamp='1416693048' post='10489011']
Really enjoyed Dragon Ridge
[/quote]

That's quite the update. Sounds like an amazing trip.

[quote name='cardoustie' timestamp='1416693048' post='10489011']
Really enjoyed Dragon Ridge
[/quote]

That's the level of details we get Uncle Cardie? I get that what happens in stays in...but we need details sir.

Well Pelzy,

I blew a disk in my back 2 days beforehand. Spent 10 hours at the hospital yesterday doing 2 CT scans, Xrays, bloodwork etc (docs were scared it was a blood clot as it hurts to take a deep breath)

it was a long fuzzy week of martini's and muscle relaxants. Had to buy a back brace/heat spray/heat pads ... and still had problems staying down on the shots with irons. The back brace did not match my custom wingtips very well

Only went out 3 of 6 nights due to agonizing back pain

Day 1 - Badlands - 40mph winds. Shot 79 on the two harder nines Diablo and Desperado. Fun track. A few very tough holes. it was 45* and we had toques on. My partner and I had 60 points (best low net of 2) combined Stableford points to win over 22 teams
Day 2 - TPC Summerlin. Great day for golf. Back shot. I think I was 83. (it was a Stableford event so I didn't pay too close attention to score, especially when I was rancid. Easy track off the tee ... WIDE OPEN
Day 3 - Spanish Trail. Canyon and Lakes. Canyon was dormant and simple. Lakes was soft and full of hazards. Service was awful. 20 mins for a hotdog at the halfway house. 1 beverage cart for 27 holes (Sunrise nine open for members). I couldn't bend over on the front. Imagine being 120 out and trying to hit a low hook 7 iron around a lake that fronts a green ! Almost whiffed two wedges. Went 47 Lakes / 38 Canyon
Day 4 - Dragon Ridge. Apparently, drinking single malt and playing blackjack till 3am the night before works wonders for your game. Back was manageable. Shot 1 under and I hit 17 fairways and 17 greens (fatted a 6 iron 50 yards on the first hole). It played short so it was driver then max 8 iron in all day. Lots of elevation changes. Three very quirky holes from the tee box. I missed 6 birdies inside 10 feet. I was dialed in. Passed 60 guys with 53 Stableford points that day !! Jumped to 5th place out of 112. Got some dirty stares in the party suite afterwards.
Day 5 - South Shore. Great track and back was way out again ! They backed the tees up to 6700 yards (senior guys went nuts) and it was unmanageable with me swinging at 80%. ie normal wedge is 145 and I was using PW from 115.
One of the par 4's was 484 into the wind. Some very beautiful holes here

My buddy took some great shots. Will post when he sends them over

Quite a bit of controversy as my buddy from the club won it all quite handily. He's a 14 and was in the 70's all 5 days. (Caps were adjusted down daily based on points made)

The 11 guys in our consortium split 10 of the 22 grand in the Calcutta so that was good

Wow...talk about playing injured! And you know what they say, injured animals are the most dangerous which sounds like it fit how you played! Those are pretty freaking amazing rounds considering your physical state. 1 under, 17GIR is nothing to sneeze at and it doesn't matter how perceptually easy a course is set up. Maybe I should try the martini/muscle relaxer combination...and I don't have any back issues. Have to imagine the flights were extremely painful...to have to sit like that for 4-6 hours couldn't have been easy.

Have to imagine the winner will take grief for a long, long time.

Congrats to you UC for great play, winning cash and having a great time. Hopefully everything with the back turns out well and you're already to go for the '15 season. Looking forward to seeing the pics.

Yikes about the 14 in the 70's over 5 days...I don't want to say the s-word...

Sounds like you had a great trip though! I've heard single malt works wonders for back pain.

[quote name='cardoustie' timestamp='1416693048' post='10489011']
Really enjoyed Dragon Ridge
[/quote]

glad you liked it... maybe we just were there on a bad day

[quote name='rbhan12' timestamp='1416861007' post='10497649']
Yikes about the 14 in the 70's over 5 days...I don't want to say the s-word...

Sounds like you had a great trip though! I've heard single malt works wonders for back pain.
[/quote]

He was down to a 5 capper for the last round and still won. This is a guy that was a 7 three years ago and blew a disc in his neck, losing feeling in his left arm. Up to three months ago he couldn't break 90 and was playing off a 17.
He finally healed about two months ago, got down to a 14 and was trending nicely as the season wound down up here

[quote name='DavePelz4' timestamp='1416860228' post='10497581']
Wow...talk about playing injured! And you know what they say, injured animals are the most dangerous which sounds like it fit how you played! Those are pretty freaking amazing rounds considering your physical state. 1 under, 17GIR is nothing to sneeze at and it doesn't matter how perceptually easy a course is set up. Maybe I should try the martini/muscle relaxer combination...and I don't have any back issues. Have to imagine the flights were extremely painful...to have to sit like that for 4-6 hours couldn't have been easy.

Have to imagine the winner will take grief for a long, long time.

Congrats to you UC for great play, winning cash and having a great time. Hopefully everything with the back turns out well and you're already to go for the '15 season. Looking forward to seeing the pics.
[/quote]

Too funny, my playing companions from day 2 (have to play with guys from a diff course on alternate days) told me it was painful to watch and that I looked like a "wounded animal" trying to stay alive out there

Sorry to hear about the bad back cardoustie, but it still sounds like you made the most of it. Thanks for the proper update.

[attachment=2518775:badlands.jpg]

OK here is a pic of a cool shot from Badlands. Pin high left on a par 3. Borrowed my buddies "desert club" .. an Old Cobra 8 iron

Bellied it, 1 hop off cartpath, boing onto green to 8 feet. Par of the trip

Well done Uncle Cardie! How's the back doing?

Nice.

In all my travels to the Vegas/Scottsdale it seems like there is almost a universal local rule allowing 15 clubs with the extra one being a "desert" club...lol.

Makes sense to me, considering you can be a yard off the fairway and playing out of pure rock or gravel.

[attachment=2519515:south shore sheep.jpg]

Here is a pic from South Shore my bud just sent over

You can see our tees way up in the back left. Had to carry a large canyon, and also the sheep, to reach the fairway

Two or three really cool holes at this track. It played tough based on my back and the tee blocks. One of the par 4's played 484 into the wind. I got home with a 4 wood on my second shot. Can't remember the last time, in good weather, I had to hit a fwy wood into a par 4

Just found this thread......you're like Jordan playing with the flu in the finals back when he was with the Bulls (DP knows what I'm talkin about). I'd be thrilled to shoot 79 and you do it with a back torn to shreds, muscle relaxants and some good liquor! You're a machine, Cardy. A machine, I tell you.


Jealous of your trip, glad you played well. I hate to hear about the back though man, hopefully you're on the mend soon!

[quote name='Duffner's Waggle' timestamp='1417555102' post='10532677']
Just found this thread......you're like Jordan playing with the flu in the finals back when he was with the Bulls (DP knows what I'm talkin about). I'd be thrilled to shoot 79 and you do it with a back torn to shreds, muscle relaxants and some good liquor! You're a machine, Cardy. A machine, I tell you.

Jealous of your trip, glad you played well. I hate to hear about the back though man, hopefully you're on the mend soon!
[/quote]

The 71 at Dragon Ridge was quite a day. Probably one of the best ball striking days of my life. Turns out I was low that day, beat all 12 pro's as well. If I didn't have my putter extended to 52" I could have set a lifetime PB, missed so many short ones for birdie

(Vodka and electrolytes at 7am with left over pizza probably got me off on the right foot)

The dryness in Vegas is hard to manage when you're not used to it. Some guys had nosebleeds daily and we all had chapped lips that looked like we'd been at sea for 2 weeks

I am on the mend now. Toradol is a great anti-inflammatory drug for a blown disk .. it doesn't hurt to breathe anymore

Haven't hit the 915f yet, it is taunting me in the man cave

[quote name='cardoustie' timestamp='1417555663' post='10532743'][quote name='Duffner's Waggle' timestamp='1417555102' post='10532677']
Just found this thread......you're like Jordan playing with the flu in the finals back when he was with the Bulls (DP knows what I'm talkin about). I'd be thrilled to shoot 79 and you do it with a back torn to shreds, muscle relaxants and some good liquor! You're a machine, Cardy. A machine, I tell you.

Jealous of your trip, glad you played well. I hate to hear about the back though man, hopefully you're on the mend soon!
[/quote]

The 71 at Dragon Ridge was quite a day. Probably one of the best ball striking days of my life. Turns out I was low that day, beat all 12 pro's as well. If I didn't have my putter extended to 52" I could have set a lifetime PB, missed so many short ones for birdie

(Vodka and electrolytes at 7am with left over pizza probably got me off on the right foot)

The dryness in Vegas is hard to manage when you're not used to it. Some guys had nosebleeds daily and we all had chapped lips that looked like we'd been at sea for 2 weeks

I am on the mend now. Toradol is a great anti-inflammatory drug for a blown disk .. it doesn't hurt to breathe anymore

Haven't hit the 915f yet, it is taunting me in the man cave[/quote]

Well if you need someone to hit it and tell you how it is.... Im a heck of a club - sitter