Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[DavePelz4]

We played Poplar Creek today. Summer rates, no break for walking.

 

The course was in excellent condition. Greens were fast and I don't remember that amount of slope. Bunkers had sand, pace was well under 4 hours. Great day of fall golf.

[Argonne69]

So, I wake up this morning, and there's no email from Harborside. I jump on their website, and there are no warning symbol on the remaining Starboard tee times. So, I head to the course thinking that all is well. I pay my green fee in the pro shop, and nada. Of course I get to the 1st tee, and Hank the starter informs me that it's cart path only. WTF. I'm looking at a 5 hour round easily. Fortunately two of the three other players were no-shows, so it was just me and another single. We get to the 2nd green, having waited for the foursome in front of us on each shot. I take a quick ride up the hill to look what's ahead, and there's a group on the par 5 5th hole's teebox, and nobody on 6. No way I'm following a bunch of foursomes all day. I asked the single if he wanted to skip a few holes, but he declined. I told him, "Sorry", and headed to the 6th tee. It took me just over 2 hours to play the remaining 13 holes on an empty course. Sweet.

 

The course was as wet as I've seen it. The divots were ginormous. Luckily they were so big that they were easily replaced. I could have easily cut another 20 minutes off my round, but I was walking around replacing everyone else's divots. I don't understand why folks don't take a sand/seed bottle with them when they're playing CPO. At a minimum, go fetch your beaver pelt, and repair your divot.

 

The bunkers were total trash. They looked like George Dunne's bunkers before they redid them. Standing water in many of them. The greens on the other hand were fantastic. Speediest of the year by far, and rolling true.

 

Solid round ballstriking, with 11/12 fairways, and 8/15 greens. The winds were light, so finding fairways was fairly easy. However, there wasn't much roll out there, so I was hitting a lot of hybrids on my approach shots. Three birdies definitely helped the cause.

 

Idlewild CC tomorrow morning. Hoping that things dry out a bit.

 

You were probably the guy that caught up to me on 15. I was first man out

 

It's been cart path only for 3 weeks now. I assumed it would be given how much it rained this week

 

Lol. Yeah, that was me. If I would have know it was you, we could have played the final 3 holes together.

[Argonne69]

We played Poplar Creek today. Summer rates, no break for walking.

 

The course was in excellent condition. Greens were fast and I don't remember that amount of slope. Bunkers had sand, pace was well under 4 hours. Great day of fall golf.

 

Wet conditions aside, I agree that it was a beautiful day. Winds were light, and the temperatures only required one extra layer. 'Luv this time of year for golf.

 

I think the pricing is driven by supply and demand. With the mild conditions, I don't see why course would automatically drop their rates unless they had recently aerated.

[MountainKing]

Settlers Hill tomorrow, found something reasonable and I've been wanting to play that course this year.

 

Totally get why courses are keeping the rates up, although there's a lot of empty tee sheets on the high priced courses. I'm just bitching cause I want discounts!!

[VNutz]

Usually October means reduced rates due to aerification and overall lesser conditions and maintenance on the course. I stopped by Sugar Creek last night to take the kids to the range and they had fall rates posted up like they were some great bargain. I swear the weekend rate was higher than I paid in the summer.

[Argonne69]

Weather-wise, it just doesn't get any better than this. Another beautiful fall day. I teed it up at Idlewild CC this morning. 'First visit in two years. The course is tough on a normal day, but with wet conditions, and U.S. Open style rough, it was a real test. Unfortunately, I flunked the test with the worst round of the year. I drove the ball well all day, but my irons were a bit off, which was an absolute no-no with the thick rough around the fast greens. I had more double bogies today that I've had in the past 2 months. Flag high in two. Chunked wedge out of the thick rough, followed by a tricky sidehill putt that winds up 8 feet below the hole. Repeat too many times. I should know by now to keep the ball below the hole, even if it means putting from the fairway short of the green.

 

Hopefully I'll get a chance to redeem myself before the end of the season.

[MountainKing]

Got out to Settlers Hill this morning, $35 so they at least had some reasonable fall rates. I haven't played the course since high school but I remember it being fun then and it was fun today. Fairways were a bit shaggy in spots but the greens were rolling nice and they had a lot of pace to them. I didn't catch many fairways, not sure how many greens I hit since I didn't check but I ended up with a 78. I missed the couple of birdie putts I had today but overall after not playing nearly a month I'll gladly take a round under 80 and the weather was amazing to top it off. We did get paired with a twosome and the father of the twosome deserves some mention, the guy had some serious pga tour like short game. I've played with some pretty good golfers in my life and this guy had to take the cake with one of the best short games I've seen in person.

 

Tomorrow it's off to Big Run, if the game is okay after the morning there I might try to find somewhere to tee it up in the afternoon.

[DavePelz4]

Got out to Settlers Hill this morning, $35 so they at least had some reasonable fall rates. I haven't played the course since high school but I remember it being fun then and it was fun today. Fairways were a bit shaggy in spots but the greens were rolling nice and they had a lot of pace to them. I didn't catch many fairways, not sure how many greens I hit since I didn't check but I ended up with a 78. I missed the couple of birdie putts I had today but overall after not playing nearly a month I'll gladly take a round under 80 and the weather was amazing to top it off. We did get paired with a twosome and the father of the twosome deserves some mention, the guy had some serious pga tour like short game. I've played with some pretty good golfers in my life and this guy had to take the cake with one of the best short games I've seen in person.

 

Tomorrow it's off to Big Run, if the game is okay after the morning there I might try to find somewhere to tee it up in the afternoon.

 

#11 at SH is one of the most difficult holes in the area. Narrow fairway, not an easy layup and that's not an easy green either.

[MountainKing]

Got out to Settlers Hill this morning, $35 so they at least had some reasonable fall rates. I haven't played the course since high school but I remember it being fun then and it was fun today. Fairways were a bit shaggy in spots but the greens were rolling nice and they had a lot of pace to them. I didn't catch many fairways, not sure how many greens I hit since I didn't check but I ended up with a 78. I missed the couple of birdie putts I had today but overall after not playing nearly a month I'll gladly take a round under 80 and the weather was amazing to top it off. We did get paired with a twosome and the father of the twosome deserves some mention, the guy had some serious pga tour like short game. I've played with some pretty good golfers in my life and this guy had to take the cake with one of the best short games I've seen in person.

 

Tomorrow it's off to Big Run, if the game is okay after the morning there I might try to find somewhere to tee it up in the afternoon.

 

#11 at SH is one of the most difficult holes in the area. Narrow fairway, not an easy layup and that's not an easy green either.

 

It was playing downwind today, only took a driver and a hybrid to get it on the green. We won't talk about the next three strokes I took on that hole which were all putts.......but yeah if you don't hit a good drive there you're screwed.

[DavePelz4]

Walking away with a 5 on that hole is a win. You must have hit a couple of really great shots to be on in two! Well done Sir.

[MountainKing]

The wind helped a lot. At 560 it's not reachable for me without the wind. It just sucks covering that much ground in two shots then needing 3 more from 25 feet to finish up.

[golfer912]

Played Popular Creek yesterday as well. They had a pro-am today so I was told they double cut and rolled the greens all week. Fastest I've ever seen those. 10 has been the one green that has been in rough shape though. But other than that it was in great shape.

 

We played Poplar Creek today. Summer rates, no break for walking.

 

The course was in excellent condition. Greens were fast and I don't remember that amount of slope. Bunkers had sand, pace was well under 4 hours. Great day of fall golf.

[Soxfan21]

Weather-wise, it just doesn't get any better than this. Another beautiful fall day. I teed it up at Idlewild CC this morning. 'First visit in two years. The course is tough on a normal day, but with wet conditions, and U.S. Open style rough, it was a real test. Unfortunately, I flunked the test with the worst round of the year. I drove the ball well all day, but my irons were a bit off, which was an absolute no-no with the thick rough around the fast greens. I had more double bogies today that I've had in the past 2 months. Flag high in two. Chunked wedge out of the thick rough, followed by a tricky sidehill putt that winds up 8 feet below the hole. Repeat too many times. I should know by now to keep the ball below the hole, even if it means putting from the fairway short of the green.

 

Hopefully I'll get a chance to redeem myself before the end of the season.

 

Too bad you couldn't play ICC about two weeks ago before all the rain came. Fairways were in great shape, greens were running even quicker than they were the past few days. Agree that if you don't get your approach shots on the green, and stay below the hole, you are setting yourself up for a long day. Hope you enjoyed your round though.

[Argonne69]

Weather-wise, it just doesn't get any better than this. Another beautiful fall day. I teed it up at Idlewild CC this morning. 'First visit in two years. The course is tough on a normal day, but with wet conditions, and U.S. Open style rough, it was a real test. Unfortunately, I flunked the test with the worst round of the year. I drove the ball well all day, but my irons were a bit off, which was an absolute no-no with the thick rough around the fast greens. I had more double bogies today that I've had in the past 2 months. Flag high in two. Chunked wedge out of the thick rough, followed by a tricky sidehill putt that winds up 8 feet below the hole. Repeat too many times. I should know by now to keep the ball below the hole, even if it means putting from the fairway short of the green.

 

Hopefully I'll get a chance to redeem myself before the end of the season.

 

Too bad you couldn't play ICC about two weeks ago before all the rain came. Fairways were in great shape, greens were running even quicker than they were the past few days. Agree that if you don't get your approach shots on the green, and stay below the hole, you are setting yourself up for a long day. Hope you enjoyed your round though.

 

'Always a good time out there. Nice atmosphere, and some challenging holes.

[VNutz]

Got invited out to Cantigny for a freebie yesterday, can't say no to that!! Hadn't played there in at least 5 years, that place just never disappoints. Lakeside-Woodside, picture perfect day, course was in great shape and the greens were just right, not too fast but not slow. Unfortunately we had a group in front of us that was playing 2 two man scrambles against each other, and they decided their round was more important than letting everybody else finish. These guys showed no interest in hurrying up whatsoever; we had thought there were others ahead of them but that was proved to be wrong a little too late. We were on 15 in full sunlight, but as soon as the sun went down it was over nearly instantly. 16 was playable but hard to see, 17 a little worse, and 18 completely dark. Disappointing, but I can't complain when it's free. But a 2:10 tee off should finish when before it gets dark about 6:30. Had a great front just missing several birdie opps, blew it with a big number on 10 but had a solid round otherwise.

[MountainKing]

Well Big Run this morning was a big mess in more ways than one. First, my game totally disappeared in 24 hours, I couldn't hit a fairway to save my life and only managed to knock the ball onto 5 greens. The course itself was in brutal condition, I love the Run and realize that it's never going to be a pristine club but normally it's passable. Not sure what happened out there this year but there were a lot of bare spots in the fairways and the fairways look like they haven't been cut in a week or two and were starting to blend in with the rough. It does look like the course may have taken on a lot of water recently so that might be part of the bad conditions. To top things off we ended up behind a twosome who insisted on playing the tips and they were just bad and wouldn't let us play through. Oh well, at least the weather was awesome and I wasn't at work so it wasn't all lost!

[adschus]

Highlands of Elgin was great yesterday. Once the dew dried up and the temperatures rose, the greens were fast. Semi-difficult pin placements and the course wasn't wet but fairways were loose. I paid $44 for a 9:30a tee time. Might be the best value out there.

[Scratch2Plus]

Heading out to HoE Thursday morning...new (conforming) putter in play. :)

[geochitown]

Greens at highlands Of Elgin ok?

 

They were to have been punched 10 days ago

[Scratch2Plus]

Highlands of Elgin was great yesterday. Once the dew dried up and the temperatures rose, the greens were fast. Semi-difficult pin placements and the course wasn't wet but fairways were loose. I paid $44 for a 9:30a tee time. Might be the best value out there.

Greens at highlands Of Elgin ok?

 

They were to have been punched 10 days ago

 

Punched 10/3-10/4...but I'm going off of adschus's quote :)

[Argonne69]

First visit to Tuckaway in Crete on Saturday. $30 w/ cart. Hopefully the leaves won't be too bad.

[VNutz]

First visit to Tuckaway in Crete on Saturday. $30 w/ cart. Hopefully the leaves won't be too bad.

 

Should be fine, they tuck them away.

 

Sorry, bored this morning.

[B-Man]

First visit to Tuckaway in Crete on Saturday. $30 w/ cart. Hopefully the leaves won't be too bad.

 

Should be fine, they tuck them away.

 

Sorry, bored this morning.

 

You here all week?

[Argonne69]

First visit to Tuckaway in Crete on Saturday. $30 w/ cart. Hopefully the leaves won't be too bad.

 

Should be fine, they tuck them away.

 

Sorry, bored this morning.

 

[ldchristopher]

Played Big Run yesterday. I couldn't turn down the $19 hot deal and they let me walk. I'm not a huge fan of that course because it's carts only from mid-April through September and I prefer walking whenever possible. The course was in pretty good shape but the greens were like sponges. However, I can deal with slow greens as long as they are consistent, and the ones at Big Run ran at about the same pace on every hole. I still can't make par on the ninth hole there, but managed a 76 by shooting even par on the back. I'll take that score from the tips, especially this time of year when the ball isn't flying like it does during the summer.

[VNutz]

First visit to Tuckaway in Crete on Saturday. $30 w/ cart. Hopefully the leaves won't be too bad.

 

Should be fine, they tuck them away.

 

Sorry, bored this morning.

 

You here all week?

 

[Buddha]

I managed 2 rounds of golf so far this week, and hoping to possibly get out tomorrow.

 

Played Mt Prospect yesterday, and it did rain a bit off an on, but overall, not bad. Played Arlington Lakes today (hot deal + $10 promo = cheap (sub $6) round).

 

Now, for those few that I have played a round with, can easily verify that I'm a hack that can occasionally hit the ball like I know what I'm doing. That said, my back nine, tee'd off the back yesterday, so it was the front nine, might have been the best nine holes of golf I personally have ever played. Granted, it was only 8 holes because I had to pass a group. I tee off on one, didn't see anyone, get to my drive, and see a group ahead of me. Wait for them on 1. Get to 2nd tee, have to wait to hit my tee shot. After they get off the green (had to wait again), I hit my approach and take my 2 putts. As I am walking back to the cart, they are walking to theirs and pull off. By this time, it had sprinkled a bit already, and I wanted to get the round in, so I just drive through the 3rd and go the 4th tee. I double one, par 2, par 4-7, birdie 8, and double 9 (4 putt, yikes). +3 for 8 holes, and I was excited.

 

Today, of course, I couldn't play for ish and shot horribly, but still happy with yesterday's back nine.

[geochitown]

What a beautiful afternoon it was today

 

Played a round at white deer run and it was in great shape

 

To be clear, they have not aerated their greens

 

I was a little tired after having flown in from Honolulu last night, but what a beautiful fall day

 

Tough rough...they had cleaned up leaves, but I don't know what it was, but it was hard to find my ball in the rough

 

Lost 2 and almost a third that way

 

Gotta wring out the last bits of our golf season!

 

 

 

 

[Buddha]

Deerfield Golf Club with leric90 today. Was a gorgeous day, though a bit of a breeze. I felt that I was hitting the ball well, but the overall score didn't show it (it did take about 5 or 6 holes to get used to the speed of the greens). Just couldn't believe how nice a day we had, being the 2nd week of October. Hope we get a few more days like this during the fall.

[Argonne69]

First (and last) visit to Tuckaway GC in Crete this morning. The course is a short, parkland style course built on a decent piece of rolling terrain. Unfortunately, the conditions were well below par, even for this time of the year. The minuscule greens were slow, bumpy, and beat up. The fairways were shaggy, and beat up. The wet conditions didn't help matters much. I'd have to honestly say that I've seen Jackson Park in better condition, especially the greens. If there was any consolation, the leaves were nicely tucked away, and weren't a factor. Lol. There are only a few groups on the course when I headed out as a single, so the round was a quick one at 1:50. 'Just not a lot of difficulty here.

 

Given the narrowness of the fairways and size of the greens, it was really a day to work on the short game. I scrambled for 4 out of 8 pars, and had two birdies on the very short par 5's.

 

'It's fairly easy to say avoid this one. With Balmoral Woods only a mile away, and Longwood not too far, this course is best left to the locals.