Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[B-Man]

Lincolnshire Country Club yesterday for a scramble. Course was saturated but we managed a smooth 63 with a bogey! Hit it great all day and made a few putts too.

 

Oakbrook today. First time in about 5 years that I've played two days in a row. What a difference that makes. More consistent. Hit it better than yesterday but could not make a putt. Played off the short whites tees but no roll out there yet still managed to hit every green except 17. 2 putt birdies on 1 and 16 and almost dunking it on 10 and 12. Best round in a year. Off to Melbourne next week for 2 rounds on the sandbelt. Should be a blast.

 

Was Oakbrook as well groomed as in years past?

Haven't had the opportunity to play that course recently and always enjoyed rounds there with friends.

Super convenient meeting point.

 

Oakbrook is always lush but with the rains in the morning and the night before, the greens and surrounds were quite ratty and bumpy. Greens didn't look they were cut since the day before. Lots of splashes when the ball landed in the fairway but I'd say on a dryer day it would have been much nicer. Not my favourite layout but it's close by and convenient.

[jimwgt26]

I got in late Friday night (Saturday morning) due to weather delays, so I took a pass yesterday. My body is telling me to take another break today. I have to imagine it's pretty wet in most areas.

 

'Had a great trip last week in Monterey. My quest to play Pebble Beach as my 400th course was a smashing success. http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1514970-san-francisco-to-monterey-trip-report/

 

Arg's Northern CA thread is great, I encourage everyone to read it.

 

Played Washington County in WI yesterday. The more I play it, the more I really like it. If you haven't played it, it's a prairie/linksy Arthur Hills course, similar to Shepherd's but without the dump. For $60, it can't be beat. If your driving up to play Erin Hills, it should be on your radar.

[geochitown]

Thanks for the heads up, Jim.

Wow, Arg, fantastic report.

 

Hopefully we get some continued drying of the courses around here...

 

Need to get in some practice for Friday at Royal Melbourne

[ldchristopher]

River Pointe had its usual pros and cons. The pros were fairly obvious: $29 at 7:00 am on a Sunday, 2:45 pace, and smooth (though not terribly fast) greens. However, the cons were more plentiful than usual: spongy fairways and water in the bunkers, lots of dead spots in the rough right next to spots that were ultra green and thick, stagnant water that stunk, weeds galore, and fairways that looked like they were cut with a weedwacker. Oh, and horrible ball striking off the tee by me that probably made things seem worse.

 

The Brassie is always a great value ($27 after 12:30 and they let us out at about 12:10 for that price) but it's usually in better shape. The bunkers were all filled with rain water that was a weird green and yellow color, there was lots of standing water, and the greens were chewed up. I'm not sure what happened since I used to love that course. The same company operates both facilities as well as White Hawk so I'm guessing all three are going through a rough stretch. Ball striking was much better, especially off the tee, and I was able to walk off with a 75 from the tips. The Bear started to overheat and both courses' lack of water coolers was ridiculous. At least RP has some shade. The Brassie offers no coverage anywhere.

[TheBear95]

I got in late Friday night (Saturday morning) due to weather delays, so I took a pass yesterday. My body is telling me to take another break today. I have to imagine it's pretty wet in most areas.

 

'Had a great trip last week in Monterey. My quest to play Pebble Beach as my 400th course was a smashing success. http://www.golfwrx.c...ey-trip-report/

 

Arg's Northern CA thread is great, I encourage everyone to read it.

 

Played Washington County in WI yesterday. The more I play it, the more I really like it. If you haven't played it, it's a prairie/linksy Arthur Hills course, similar to Shepherd's but without the dump. For $60, it can't be beat. If your driving up to play Erin Hills, it should be on your radar.

 

Right there with you. Each time I play Washington Co. the more and more I enjoy it. Its a great mix of holes and definitely worth the drive up to play it.

[Scratch2Plus]

Played HoE Sunday @ 11:20.

Greens were chewed up, ball marks everywhere with a 4.45 hr. pace all for $73. No bueno :bad:

[geochitown]

Ouch!

[ldchristopher]

Played HoE Sunday @ 11:20.

Greens were chewed up, ball marks everywhere with a 4.45 hr. pace all for $73. No bueno :bad:

HOE had no business being open immediately after that rainstorm on July 12. The fact that they were not only open but we're letting carts out the next day is the kind of decision that will lead to that place not being able to recover for a solid month. I realize everybody wants to play as long as the weather is good and it's cool that some courses tried to accommodate that. However, maybe facilities like HOE should sit it out for a day or two and leave being open no matter what to Forest Preserve courses.

[chisag]

... We played Cog Hill #2 today and it was in surprisingly good shape. Greens were smooth but very s-l-o-w. First time my son has played the course and the Ravines is now his favorite. Father-Son moment on the 5th, a par 4 that played 484 for him and 467 for me. Two mediocre drives left a 5 wood for me and a 5 iron for him, both of us coming up about 20 yards short, him in the fairway and mine in the thick rough. He pitched to about an inch and I holed mine. Toughest hole on the course and it doesn't get any better than that. He shot his career low of 93 so it was a good day. I just couldn't make a birdie putt on those crazy slow greens and ended up with a bogie on the easy #13th going from sand to sand to compliment my birdie on #5 along with 16 pars.

[Scratch2Plus]

Played HoE Sunday @ 11:20.

Greens were chewed up, ball marks everywhere with a 4.45 hr. pace all for $73. No bueno :bad:

HOE had no business being open immediately after that rainstorm on July 12. The fact that they were not only open but we're letting carts out the next day is the kind of decision that will lead to that place not being able to recover for a solid month. I realize everybody wants to play as long as the weather is good and it's cool that some courses tried to accommodate that. However, maybe facilities like HOE should sit it out for a day or two and leave being open no matter what to Forest Preserve courses.

 

HoE drains EXTREMELY well. I was actually out there on the 13th and couldn't believe we were playing with carts. (Took the day off so we played 45 holes that day)

Yes, there were the saturated parts of the fairway but nowhere near what you would expect to see after the amount of rain we got on the 12th.

With all the rain we got Friday and Saturday, I'm sure they didn't cut-roll the greens and that's where I think the greens really suffered. People dragging their feet and not fixing ball marks really took a toll.

7/13 being a Thursday, the greens didn't get the amount of traffic a Sunday would normally get.

[TheBear95]

... We played Cog Hill #2 today and it was in surprisingly good shape. Greens were smooth but very s-l-o-w. First time my son has played the course and the Ravines is now his favorite. Father-Son moment on the 5th, a par 4 that played 484 for him and 467 for me. Two mediocre drives left a 5 wood for me and a 5 iron for him, both of us coming up about 20 yards short, him in the fairway and mine in the thick rough. He pitched to about an inch and I holed mine. Toughest hole on the course and it doesn't get any better than that. He shot his career low of 93 so it was a good day. I just couldn't make a birdie putt on those crazy slow greens and ended up with a bogie on the easy #13th going from sand to sand to compliment my birdie on #5 along with 16 pars.

 

The greens are always super slow on Ravines. Doesn't matter the time of year, weather, etc.

 

I played there 2 weeks ago, and I agree, the course was in excellent shape. It had been a few years since I played it and I thought the greens were "speedier" than past years. Maybe running a 7 to the 6 or 6.5 of years past. But, I too struggled to make putts. Just too slow.

[chisag]

... We played Cog Hill #2 today and it was in surprisingly good shape. Greens were smooth but very s-l-o-w. First time my son has played the course and the Ravines is now his favorite. Father-Son moment on the 5th, a par 4 that played 484 for him and 467 for me. Two mediocre drives left a 5 wood for me and a 5 iron for him, both of us coming up about 20 yards short, him in the fairway and mine in the thick rough. He pitched to about an inch and I holed mine. Toughest hole on the course and it doesn't get any better than that. He shot his career low of 93 so it was a good day. I just couldn't make a birdie putt on those crazy slow greens and ended up with a bogie on the easy #13th going from sand to sand to compliment my birdie on #5 along with 16 pars.

 

The greens are always super slow on Ravines. Doesn't matter the time of year, weather, etc.

 

I played there 2 weeks ago, and I agree, the course was in excellent shape. It had been a few years since I played it and I thought the greens were "speedier" than past years. Maybe running a 7 to the 6 or 6.5 of years past. But, I too struggled to make putts. Just too slow.

 

... Thanks, good to know. It has probably been a good 3 or 4 years since I played #2 and just don't remember them being this slow. What a shame as that layout is just spectacular. Faster greens would make the Ravines one of the top courses in Illinois imo.

[ldchristopher]

... We played Cog Hill #2 today and it was in surprisingly good shape. Greens were smooth but very s-l-o-w. First time my son has played the course and the Ravines is now his favorite. Father-Son moment on the 5th, a par 4 that played 484 for him and 467 for me. Two mediocre drives left a 5 wood for me and a 5 iron for him, both of us coming up about 20 yards short, him in the fairway and mine in the thick rough. He pitched to about an inch and I holed mine. Toughest hole on the course and it doesn't get any better than that. He shot his career low of 93 so it was a good day. I just couldn't make a birdie putt on those crazy slow greens and ended up with a bogie on the easy #13th going from sand to sand to compliment my birdie on #5 along with 16 pars.

 

The greens are always super slow on Ravines. Doesn't matter the time of year, weather, etc.

 

I played there 2 weeks ago, and I agree, the course was in excellent shape. It had been a few years since I played it and I thought the greens were "speedier" than past years. Maybe running a 7 to the 6 or 6.5 of years past. But, I too struggled to make putts. Just too slow.

 

... Thanks, good to know. It has probably been a good 3 or 4 years since I played #2 and just don't remember them being this slow. What a shame as that layout is just spectacular. Faster greens would make the Ravines one of the top courses in Illinois imo.

There's 7 Jemsek courses in the Chicago area and only one (Dubs) has fast greens. Actually, I take that back. The greens at Pine Meadows run quick when the course first opens and from October to closing. They're almost as slow as Cog 1-3 and both courses at St. Andrews from May - September though. I'm guessing the ones at PM are slowed to speed up play but for the other courses, the clientele is generally not the type that enjoys fast greens. I agree with you that at Ravines the rest of the layout is so good that the greens really should have more pace to them.

[Argonne69]

IMHO, very slow greens can slow play just as much as fast greens. With slow greens you're almost assured of having a lengthy 2nd putt.

[jimwgt26]

Ravines is weird because the greens on "the new" 9 and 10 are faster than the others.

[chisag]

IMHO, very slow greens can slow play just as much as fast greens. With slow greens you're almost assured of having a lengthy 2nd putt.

 

... That is exactly what happened yesterday. Course was not crowded after the rains, but a 3 some teed off in front of us and when we were putting on 12 they were hitting iron shots on 15. Thankfully there were only two teenagers walking and carrying behind us and they never caught up other than a few holes were my pards lost balls and spent too much time searching. But I adjusted pretty quickly to the slow greens although I couldn't sink any birdie putts, they struggled with the speed all day because they usually had lengthy putts. Shooting 93 and 102 they had more than a few first putts they left around 10 feet short or worse. And a few times hammered it 10 feet past trying to correct.

[leric90]

oh man, just spent an hour practicing putting at deerfield - the greens were a bit slow, maybe a lot of the public courses are being careful about rolling them since there has been so much rain during the past couple weeks.

Generally, do you guys have any suggestions on where they have fast practice greens. Thanks!

[geochitown]

white deer run is one option

chevy chase?

[chisag]

... If you are ever down SW, Dubs Dread's practice green is pretty fast. That was part of the problem playing #2 as you warm up on #4 practice green which s about an 11 compared to the 6 on #2. Bolingbrook GC usually has pretty fast practice greens as well as Seven Bridges.

[leric90]

... If you are ever down SW, Dubs Dread's practice green is pretty fast. That was part of the problem playing #2 as you warm up on #4 practice green which s about an 11 compared to the 6 on #2. Bolingbrook GC usually has pretty fast practice greens as well as Seven Bridges.

 

thanks for the response! yeah i've played at all 3 courses, i wish i lived closer to the SW - currently I'm in Vernon Hills so sometimes I practice at white deer run but even they're not that fast.... :(

also anyone here play competitive golf? i still have a ways to go but hoping to get there one day!

[Well Played]

... We played Cog Hill #2 today and it was in surprisingly good shape. Greens were smooth but very s-l-o-w. First time my son has played the course and the Ravines is now his favorite. Father-Son moment on the 5th, a par 4 that played 484 for him and 467 for me. Two mediocre drives left a 5 wood for me and a 5 iron for him, both of us coming up about 20 yards short, him in the fairway and mine in the thick rough. He pitched to about an inch and I holed mine. Toughest hole on the course and it doesn't get any better than that. He shot his career low of 93 so it was a good day. I just couldn't make a birdie putt on those crazy slow greens and ended up with a bogie on the easy #13th going from sand to sand to compliment my birdie on #5 along with 16 pars.

 

That's a great story! I have a 10 yr old and he's been getting into it, and I long for those father-son moments. I've been trying to focus on the short game, cuz that's where the money's earned ;) and recently he holed a chip from about only 5 yds off the green and you would've thought we won the lottery! I had many of those moments with my dad who taught me everything I know about the game. Thanks for sharing.

 

Btw, what's the lesson learned? Doesn't need to be that difficult - i.e. 3 wood for dad and a 3 iron for the boy. Hahaha!

 

[chisag]

... I tried to get him involved with golf but football was his first love and he was just never interested in playing more than 2 or 3 times a season. He is 26 now and 2 years away from college football and is really missing the competition so golf is a great game for him as he is competing with himself. I am glad I never gave up on him but never pressured him either. We have played more this year than his entire life combined so I am a very happy Dad. Good luck with your 10 yr old. It sounds like golf already has it's hook in him!

[MountainKing]

Arg - that write up on your trip is something else. You always have some of my favorite recap posts on this forum but that brought it to a new level. Congrats on PB and making that a milestone course in multiple ways.

[Voltron]

playing Pine Meadow in Mundelein this Saturday. The last time I was there was probably 10 years ago, and I stopped playing there because the greens just got way too shaggy, but I love the layout. Has anyone played there recently? How were the greens?

[geochitown]

I played twice 3 weeks back.

Greens should be better than you recall

[Voltron]

I played twice 3 weeks back.

Greens should be better than you recall

 

Good to hear, thanks for the info

[propman]

Played Naperbrook yesterday and shot an 83 which would (coulda) been much better if I would have gotten out of 6 greenside bunkers without either skulling or chunking. Highlights of the day chipping in for a birdie on the par 3 8th hole and getting within 5 feet (birdie)on the 15th hole which was probably playing around 215 (uphill against the breeze). Best 3 wood I've ever hit.

[chisag]

Played Naperbrook yesterday and shot an 83 which would (coulda) been much better if I would have gotten out of 6 greenside bunkers without either skulling or chunking. Highlights of the day chipping in for a birdie on the par 3 8th hole and getting within 5 feet (birdie)on the 15th hole which was probably playing around 215 (uphill against the breeze). Best 3 wood I've ever hit.

 

... Awesome! One of the hardest par 3's I play. Uphill and judging the windy conditions is alway amazingly difficult. I feel like a birdie is almost a 1.5 stroke hole as par's feel like birdies. With no wind it can play pretty easy, depending on pin placement, but with the wind which always seems into you and swirly a 3 wood par is very impressive. So many birdie holes at Naperbrook but #3 and #15 are not on that list.

[ldchristopher]

IMHO, very slow greens can slow play just as much as fast greens. With slow greens you're almost assured of having a lengthy 2nd putt.

I agree with you and most people who play as much as the people on this thread would also concur. However, in my experience the bulk of the customers who play Cog 1-3 are the type who generally get out no more than 5-10 rounds per year. Their mindset generally is, "If we're gonna play golf, we might as well play Cog." Those golfers are not comfortable with fast greens or even ones that run at around a 9 so they slow them up quite a bit. It's a smart business move and I get why they do that, but in the case of #2 it feels like a waste of a great layout. As for Pine Meadows, I have no idea why they don't speed them up. However, from what someone recently posted, maybe they changed things up this year. If so, I need to get back to Mundelein when I get home from Los Angeles.

 

Excellent post on your round at Pebble Beach. Only the rarest of courses are good enough to make a 5:30 pace enjoyable.

 

 

[VNutz]

From what I've seen with the guys I've played with, slow greens help the average golfer and pace. It's simply easier to control, not just on putts but controlling chips as well. I've played rounds on fast greens with guys that chip back and forth over the green, then their first putt runs 10 feet by, 2nd putt goes 5 feet past and they're still grinding on their 3rd putt. Longer putts are going to be a struggle for some guys no matter what, but with slower greens the 10-15 footer is more of a guaranteed 2 putt at worst vs the fast greens. On fast greens the easy tap ins or gimmes depending on how you play aren't as abundant. Just what I've seen in my time, a lot of it going back to high school golf. The slow greens courses were normal pace, when our home course was lightning fast we were in for a long round. More time in both the extra putts and the extra attention given to reads and approaches.