Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[geochitown]

nice round stasek!

haven't played mistwood since 2009, I think (need to get back down there).

 

Looking forward to White Deer Run on Monday (they've got some nice $49 deals).

 

They've aerated fairways and tee but not greens fortunately.

 

FYI, I saw that Wilmette will close Oct 2 for aerating greens, and then re-open.

[cane700]

Making the trek to Oak Grove tomorrow for 17 holes of great golf and the most f'd up hole in Chicago.

 

#11 is goofy, but the honor of most f'd up hole or holes in Chicagoland must go to Lost Marsh.

 

I'll nominate #4 at Sanctuary

 

The short par 3??? Are you thinking of #3, the short par 4? That hole is somewhat tight target golf, but nowhere near the madness of Lost Marsh.

 

Sorry I meant #5, the terrible par 5 with a landing zone the size of a picnic table. The landing zone for the 2nd is honestly 10 yards wide maybe? I don't know if it is "fair" or not because everyone plays it, but it's just not a well designed hole. The green is small and crowned, so it's not like it's easy to run one on there when you are blocked out.

 

I don't mind #3 that much. It's a little tight with no real bailout, but a long iron is all that's needed on that tee. I agree that the first 6 at Lost Marsh are about as crazy as target golf can get.

 

Lol. I love #5 at Sanctuary. I've had so many eagle opportunities on that hole. I love trying to thread the needle on the second shot. #3 is a b**** of a hole for me. #4 is the most boring par 3 in golf

[St Jimmy]

Making the trek to Oak Grove tomorrow for 17 holes of great golf and the most f'd up hole in Chicago.

 

 

Break it down to three par 3's.

[jimwgt26]

A special thanks to Arg for inviting me to play with him and Shardersr at Twin Orchard. It's a fun course, in great condition. Our host was both a pleasure and real good player.

[MountainKing]

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Lol. I love #5 at Sanctuary. I've had so many eagle opportunities on that hole. I love trying to thread the needle on the second shot. #3 is a b**** of a hole for me. #4 is the most boring par 3 in golf

 

 

That hole is ridiculous, that hole contains one of my design pet peeves. If you hit a drive in the fairway you should be playable, the fact that if you hit it on the left half of the fairway you are totally blocked out from even a decent lay up shot is wrong. You should not have a better shot from the right of the bunkers than you do from anywhere in the fairway. With that said, if I hit a decent drive on that hole I always go for it, there's surprisingly a lot of room around the green which makes laying up pointless since the layup requires a ton of precision. Lots of good holes on that course, that hole isn't one of them.

[propman]

Played Prairie Bluff today. Shot an 85. Wasn't too windy but boy the ball was going high and far. Probably going 15-20 yds further than my usual 240 yd pokes.

[Argonne69]

A very enjoyable afternoon at Twin Orchard CC playing with Jim, Shardersr, and our host. The red course is a challenging parkland layout with beautiful rolling terrain. 'Plenty of trouble off the tee makes scoring difficult if one isn't hitting it dead straight. It had a nice combination of short and long holes, and required quite a bit of thinking with the tee shots. 'Definitely one of those courses you'd have to play a few times to know where not to hit it. The course was in great shape. Bunkers were very fluffy. The greens rolled nicely, but unfortunately they were very inconsistent. Left a lot of putts short on a number of holes, and ran them way past on others. For me, that was the only downside of the round.

 

Ugh. Here's an important tip. Don't schedule a driver fitting in the morning when you plan on playing a round in the afternoon. Oh my. I had forgotten how tiring hitting 60+ full speed drives are. I really paid the price in the afternoon. My lower back was toast, and it showed. Mediocre day at best ballstriking. I actually thought I hit some good tee shots, but seemed to find too many fairway bunkers, and one hazard. I still managed to have quite a number of chances at saving par, but I just couldn't get a feel for the greens. 'Had a handful of good putts, including a nice 18 footer for birdie on the 17th, but otherwise it was a struggle all day to get the ball in the cup.

 

Oh well. It was still a great day out on the course. The light breeze helped make the temperature and humidity bearable.

[Argonne69]

I've never had an issue with #10 or #14 at Lost Marsh. #10 simply requires one to hit a fade with a driver, or poke a 3 wood out there. #14 has a generous landing area if you hit a three wood, and since it's a mid-iron to the layup area, it doesn't really matter where you put your drive. The trick to the hole is getting the right target line on the 2nd shot, as most players hit it too far left, and too far. Given that it's Z shaped, an extra 20 yards really gains you little, as you're coming into the green from the side.

 

I agree that #17 at Sportsman's is a joke. I was never a fan of #5 at Sanctuary.

[jimwgt26]

Anyone play Blackstone today? They have an aeration alert on their site. I'm wondering if it's worth playing tomorrow? Thanks.

[Holy Moses]

From my experience they aerate on Mondays and the greens heal really quick

[Well Played]

Just finished up at Highlands of Elgin, my first trip out here. Love, love, love the layout... What a great layout. But OMFG stop with the water!!!! It was actually soggy the entire round, two plugged drives and one plugged green... in late September... with hardly any rain the last month or so... 80-90 degrees... just weird. And when you put that much water on the greens, every shot in is going to leave a crater on the green, making it bumpy and slow as hell. Sigh. Would love to play this course when it's fast and firm... Awesome layout.

 

And the Grumpy Goat has to be mentioned, as it's a bourbon lover's dream. Very cool place, and they list their bourbons similar to their craft beers. Very cool.

[Argonne69]

A very nice morning at Ravisloe. It's been a few years since I played it last, as they finally changed their booking policy for singles on the weekends. No significant changes other than moving the halfway house to the 10th tee box area, rather than the 11th. The course was in nice shape, although it too seems to have been overwatered. The greens were soft, and way too slow. Pace was very good, as we finished in 3:50. Nice.

 

Another mediocre day ballstriking. Ugh. I'm still feeling the affects of the driver fitting yesterday. 5 fairways and 9 greens. Irons were simply awful. I think I chunked 4 of them when my lower back quivered. Couldn't buy a putt, leaving nearly every one short.

 

OK, what happened to our great September golf with cool temps and fast greens. It's been kidnapped. I'll pay any ransom. Please bring it back soon. Lol.

[MountainKing]

This has not been my year for golf, I'm finally healthy in terms of my wrist injury, have a good weekend for golf and I caught whatever death plague has been going around. Love reading all the round reports since I can't get out myself!

[TheBear95]

Played a very enjoyable round at Shepherds this morning. Course is in great shape and the greens were excellent. Even the Cliffs of Zion behaved....The smell was barely noticeable, surprising given the heat.

[geochitown]

Good to hear about shepherds

 

Could you see any remaining damage from the flooding 2 months back?

[Waterboy]

I did a double yesterday at strawberry creek and the crook.

 

It was hot. Played well.

 

I thought crook was playing hard and fast. Lots of run out on fairways. Could tell there have been a lot of rounds out there this year.

 

I could easily play strawberry every day. Great course, fun and always in great shape.

[TheBear95]

Good to hear about shepherds

 

Could you see any remaining damage from the flooding 2 months back?

 

No. Nothing stood out.

[geochitown]

Thanks for the reports guys

[St Jimmy]

I did a double yesterday at strawberry creek and the crook.

 

It was hot. Played well.

 

I thought crook was playing hard and fast. Lots of run out on fairways. Could tell there have been a lot of rounds out there this year.

 

I could easily play strawberry every day. Great course, fun and always in great shape.

 

 

Can I ask how you got out on Strawberry Creek?

I was under the impression it was a private course for residents only.

 

I have half the course memorized just from driving by.

[Waterboy]

I did a double yesterday at strawberry creek and the crook.

 

It was hot. Played well.

 

I thought crook was playing hard and fast. Lots of run out on fairways. Could tell there have been a lot of rounds out there this year.

 

I could easily play strawberry every day. Great course, fun and always in great shape.

 

 

Can I ask how you got out on Strawberry Creek?

I was under the impression it was a private course for residents only.

 

I have half the course memorized just from driving by.

 

I'm good friends with a few members out there. Usually it's just a phone call for me.

 

You don't have to live in the neighborhood to be a member.

[Scratch2Plus]

Foxford Hills...5.25hr round. F this place.

[zer0]

Sportsman today and Thursday, also overwattered. got me thinking, do you guys think maybe they are watering the courses excessively because of the heat? 2 weeks ago Sportsman was hard as a rock and the greens were lightning quick. This week balls are practically plugging on the greens. Also noticed some wet spots around the green. Hearing that other courses are doing the same got me thinking that maybe its intentional to combat the heat?

[Holy Moses]

Played Randall Oaks then Highlands of Elgin. Randall Oaks was in great shape. Firm and fairly fast. Couldn’t buy a putt and I shot 76. I ran over to Highlands of Elgin 20 minutes later to redeem my putting. Made some putts and was -2 headed to 16. Pushed my drive in the junk and ended with a 74 despite 3 penalties. Pace of play is usually slow, but we zoomed around in 3:50. Great day for golf. Probably the hottest day of the year, but I don’t mind the heat.

[stasek]

Another mediocre round of golf, this time at Cog #2. 5 hour round + meh driver, irons, and putter resulted in 12 pars and 6 bogeys for a rather disappointing 78. Couldn’t buy a birdie all day long. Lipped our an 8 footer on 16 and then lipped out a 4 footer on 18. Greens were lightning fast... for the Ravines.... Rollled maybe 9-10 and pretty bumpy (played in the afternoon). The approach shots were bouncing like crazy yet anything short would almost plug OR release maybe couple feet (overwatered). Very frustrating...

[ldchristopher]

Just finished up at Highlands of Elgin, my first trip out here. Love, love, love the layout... What a great layout. But OMFG stop with the water!!!! It was actually soggy the entire round, two plugged drives and one plugged green... in late September... with hardly any rain the last month or so... 80-90 degrees... just weird. And when you put that much water on the greens, every shot in is going to leave a crater on the green, making it bumpy and slow as hell. Sigh. Would love to play this course when it's fast and firm... Awesome layout.

 

And the Grumpy Goat has to be mentioned, as it's a bourbon lover's dream. Very cool place, and they list their bourbons similar to their craft beers. Very cool.

Don't hold your breath on playing it when it's fast and firm. They always drench that place. It's my only critique of HoE.

[Waterboy]

Sportsman today and Thursday, also overwattered. got me thinking, do you guys think maybe they are watering the courses excessively because of the heat? 2 weeks ago Sportsman was hard as a rock and the greens were lightning quick. This week balls are practically plugging on the greens. Also noticed some wet spots around the green. Hearing that other courses are doing the same got me thinking that maybe its intentional to combat the heat?

 

I have no agronomy background but:

 

I think some places are watering because weather now is so uncharacteristic for the time if the year. While most places are going to be aerating soon or have they need to keep grass alive the impacts of the process take place. If they were to aerate, top dress and then not water the impacts wouldn't carry forward.

 

Also I have had a beer or two tonight so I might be way off.

[Holy Moses]

It hasn’t rained much in 6 weeks and it’s record-breaking hot out. You have to water a ton or you’ll lose your grass. Gotta water the greens after an aeration to help them heal. I did have a little mud on the ball after tee shots, but nothing major. I was happy with HOE’s conditions. Greens weren’t fast, but nothing horribly slow.

[DavePelz4]

Making the trek to Oak Grove tomorrow for 17 holes of great golf and the most f'd up hole in Chicago.

 

 

Break it down to three par 3's.

 

Played it as 3 par 3s and posted a 9. Need a different strategy.

[@_the_crook]

I'd nominate #17 at Sportsman for the list of most f'd up holes in Illinois.

Couldn't have anything to do with that big Word not allowed willow tree and pond smack dab in the fairway?

 

Wonder how it looked fifty years ago before that tree really matured. I don't know if the course has any old pics posted up in the clubhouse.

[Argonne69]

I'd nominate #17 at Sportsman for the list of most f'd up holes in Illinois.

Couldn't have anything to do with that big Word not allowed willow tree and pond smack dab in the fairway?

 

Wonder how it looked fifty years ago before that tree really matured. I don't know if the course has any old pics posted up in the clubhouse.

 

Even without the large tree it would be a mess of a hole. You need to hit a perfect drive to have a reasonable chance of clearing the hazard on your second shot. Otherwise you're forced to lay up with nearly 200 yards left to the green. Bah.