Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[disk]

Played Ravisloe for the first time yesterday and I would put it in my top 3 favorite courses I've played in Illinois. First of all it is absolutely lush right now, it might be the best conditioned course I have played all year. Tee boxes were full of divots but that is the end of the complaints, fairways were immaculate and the greens were soft and receptive but fast which made for an interesting day as I spun off at least two greens and putted off the par 3 6th. They apparently had a three hour frost delay in the morning so it was jam packed and there was a lot of waiting but we still got a round in 3:30 which was amazing. I really dig the old country club vibe and will most definitely be making it a go to course.

[jimwgt26]

Fun day with Gary and Ryan at Prairie Landing.

 

Kind of humbling to lose four balls and watch the guys your playing against have multiple eagle putts.

 

I haven't played Prairie Landing in years. Despite recently aerated greens, it's a fun track. I'll make the effort to get out there next year.

[St Jimmy]

Shepherd's Crook this morning.

Greens and course in general were in great shape.

Fall rates/very few leaves=win

[geochitown]

Fun day with Gary and Ryan at Prairie Landing.

 

Kind of humbling to lose four balls and watch the guys your playing against have multiple eagle putts.

 

I haven't played Prairie Landing in years. Despite recently aerated greens, it's a fun track. I'll make the effort to get out there next year.

 

I was hoping to play there this year

 

I also haven't been there in 7 or so years

 

I'm looking forward to playing it after they replaced and reduced bunkers with bent grass

 

Jimw. - was the change in number/size of bunkers readily apparent, or not so much?

[geochitown]

Shepherd's Crook this morning.

Greens and course in general were in great shape.

Fall rates/very few leaves=win

 

How early did you play?

 

I was south of you and there was a lot of dew on the greens with our 8:15 or so start

[jimwgt26]

Fun day with Gary and Ryan at Prairie Landing.

 

Kind of humbling to lose four balls and watch the guys your playing against have multiple eagle putts.

 

I haven't played Prairie Landing in years. Despite recently aerated greens, it's a fun track. I'll make the effort to get out there next year.

 

I was hoping to play there this year

 

I also haven't been there in 7 or so years

 

I'm looking forward to playing it after they replaced and reduced bunkers with bent grass

 

Jimw. - was the change in number/size of bunkers readily apparent, or not so much?

 

I really didn't notice much difference.

 

Not sure I'd go back this year, it's going to take a few weeks for the greens to recover.

[DavePelz4]

Probably the biggest benefit from the removed bunkers is the remaining ones have actual sand in them.

 

Fun round yesterday and it was amazing to see VNutz pipe a drive that went almost 380 yards. Seriously.

[St Jimmy]

Shepherd's Crook this morning.

Greens and course in general were in great shape.

Fall rates/very few leaves=win

 

How early did you play?

 

I was south of you and there was a lot of dew on the greens with our 8:15 or so start

 

I started at 8:20 and there was a bit of mist in the air, but the greens were pretty dry by the third hole.

Must have been the 15mph winds drying it up.

[Argonne69]

I caught a bit of a break with the weather this morning at Wilmette. I arrived just as the rain was stopping, so I was able to walk the round rain-free. The course itself was quite wet, but still playable. The greens are in really nice shape. I hope it dries off soon so we can enjoy a few dry days on some decent greens. The leaves were manageable. I went out as a single after the two I was paired with failed to show. I played through a handful of groups, and made the turn with the back nine open in front of me. Another benefit of fall golf is the sparse crowds, and the two hour rounds.

 

Decent day ball striking. Still trying to work on a fade off the tee, so I hit a few errant shots that I normally wouldn't try. Otherwise, a solid round.

[jimwgt26]

Probably the biggest benefit from the removed bunkers is the remaining ones have actual sand in them.

 

Fun round yesterday and it was amazing to see VNutz pipe a drive that went almost 380 yards. Seriously.

 

Driver 380, 140 wedge over the flag.

[DavePelz4]

It's a different game when you have that kind of length!

[adschus]

Played Ravisloe for the first time yesterday and I would put it in my top 3 favorite courses I've played in Illinois. First of all it is absolutely lush right now, it might be the best conditioned course I have played all year. Tee boxes were full of divots but that is the end of the complaints, fairways were immaculate and the greens were soft and receptive but fast which made for an interesting day as I spun off at least two greens and putted off the par 3 6th. They apparently had a three hour frost delay in the morning so it was jam packed and there was a lot of waiting but we still got a round in 3:30 which was amazing. I really dig the old country club vibe and will most definitely be making it a go to course.

 

Nice review. I plan to play there Friday late morning. Can't beat a Ross course for $40

[VNutz]

Played Prairie Landing on Saturday with Gary and Jim. What was supposed to be 70 and sunny was mostly cloudy, cooler and very windy. Wind was a factor on putts early on. Holes 3 and 4 were dead downwind and made things interesting. Course was in nice shape aside from aerated greens. They still rolled pretty consistently, just bumpy. I have the hardest time chipping on aerated greens as low spinning chips don't check and pitches don't roll out as expected. Not a single up and down all day. Good ball striking but short game and scrambling were crap. Fun round though, only my 2nd time out on that course and I'm still learning how to play some holes.

[B-Man]

GDN tomorrow just after 12pm. October golf is rough.

[Joe Roe]

Guess I should've yelled "fore", but I thought I was alone on the course. And yes, that's exactly how I found my ball - albeit in the rough...

 

[geochitown]

We've got spots for 2 at the crook tomorrow at 1250

 

29 bucks for unpunched greens

[ldchristopher]

I played Marengo Ridge this morning and followed it up with Blackstone. Marengo Ridge was exactly what I expected for the $20 walking rate: bumpy greens and fairways in so-so condition. However, discount golf means no whining. Blackstone seems to have recovered from their recent punching. The course was in great shape and the greens were running at about a 10.5. That's not too bad for a Monday. I'd appreciate a fall walking rate from them but $38 is reasonable. It was ridiculously windy for both rounds but I'll take high winds if it means more 80 degree days.

[Scratch2Plus]

 

GD Wednesday and Ruth Lake Thursday...

[DavePelz4]

Guess I should've yelled "fore", but I thought I was alone on the course. And yes, that's exactly how I found my ball - albeit in the rough...

 

So the kids ate well that night? You could turn that into a hybrid cover.

[Joe Roe]

Guess I should've yelled "fore", but I thought I was alone on the course. And yes, that's exactly how I found my ball - albeit in the rough...

 

So the kids ate well that night? You could turn that into a hybrid cover.

 

Would've eaten it but my Uncle Eddie recently read they're high in cholesterol. #xmasvacation

[propman]

Played Big Run today. Waited on almost all our shots, A 5 hour 20 minute round-longest I ever remember playing. Beautiful day but windy. Shot a real bad 97, Seems I always play bad when I have to wait to hit my next shot. Guess I not mentally tough enough.

[ldchristopher]

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.

For the budget-conscious looking for golf in that neck of the woods, I'll also throw out Deer Creek in University Park. It's not great but it can be played from 6400 or 6900 yards, has a full range, is open year-round, and despite being really cheap, is well-maintained. I've played too many early morning rounds at low-priced courses where the trade-off for the low rate is that they don't remove the dew from the greens (looking at you, Redtail and Highland Woods). Deer Creek, on the other hand, actually gets out ahead of the super early times to get the moisture off the putting surface. It's also as flat as the courses off 41 (Glencoe, Winnetka, Sunset Valley), which makes Deer Creek a very easy walk.

[atn86]

Harborside starboard on Sunday. The course was deeply discounted, but extremely wet and playing cart paths only. Also, I knew the greens were aerated before the round, but these were some of the most severely aerated and sanded greens I've ever seen. Puting was a joke. The icing on the cake was the restaurant/bar area and halfway house were completely shut down. Kind of annoying to not be able to get a bottle of water on a 70* day in mid-October. I could deal w the horrible course conditions, but have no idea why the operations were basically shut down on a great weather weekend day.

[Buddha]

We've got spots for 2 at the crook tomorrow at 1250

 

29 bucks for unpunched greens

 

Tempting, but after working last night, not sure I can make it all day today too :)

 

Seem to recall hearing good things about the course.

[Argonne69]

Harborside starboard on Sunday. The course was deeply discounted, but extremely wet and playing cart paths only. Also, I knew the greens were aerated before the round, but these were some of the most severely aerated and sanded greens I've ever seen. Puting was a joke. The icing on the cake was the restaurant/bar area and halfway house were completely shut down. Kind of annoying to not be able to get a bottle of water on a 70* day in mid-October. I could deal w the horrible course conditions, but have no idea why the operations were basically shut down on a great weather weekend day.

 

Yeah, when they aerate, they really aerate.

 

They generally shut down the halfway house on October 1st. However, I'm surprised there was no beverage cart on the course.

[zonacats23]

Just finished playing Dubsdread this morning. Tee to green was in great shape! The greens and greenside bunkers however, were very poor. Traps were full of leaves and grass clippings. And greens have not recovered from plugging. Not here to complain, just giving information.

[Argonne69]

I just received an email from Midlane CC. They're rolling the greens, and will be charging $20 w/ cart this Friday. 'Seems like a great deal.

[Waterboy]

Strawberry Creek yesterday. Course was in great shape. They had just finished sanding some of the tee boxes but the greens were punched a couple weeks ago and nearly recovered.

[B-Man]

Well didn't exactly expect that. GDN yesterday. Teed off 11am and it was slow. 5hr round. Lush fairways from Sunday's rain but not wet other than a few patches. Green were lightly punched early last week and well sanded but rolled a good pace and were generally firm. A byatch to chip on with a lot of skidding and no spin. Not many leaves to contend with as most were blown away. Birdies on 1, 5 and 6 on the front and bogeyed 9. More birdies on 12 and 14 with a bogey on 15 for a 69. Didn't hit it super great but it was playing fairly short and all birdies were from hitting it close to the pin with gap wedge or less. Probably last day in shorts for a while.

[Argonne69]

Well didn't exactly expect that. GDN yesterday. Teed off 11am and it was slow. 5hr round. Lush fairways from Sunday's rain but not wet other than a few patches. Green were lightly punched early last week and well sanded but rolled a good pace and were generally firm. A byatch to chip on with a lot of skidding and no spin. Not many leaves to contend with as most were blown away. Birdies on 1, 5 and 6 on the front and bogeyed 9. More birdies on 12 and 14 with a bogey on 15 for a 69. Didn't hit it super great but it was playing fairly short and all birdies were from hitting it close to the pin with gap wedge or less. Probably last day in shorts for a while.

 

I thought 5 hours at GD was considered a lightning quick round? :taunt:

 

Seriously, I love the layout, but I don't know how you guys deal with the pace there. Other than my Christmas Day round there last year, I've given up on the place.