Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[jimwgt26]

I played the Preserve on Monday. The greens and tees are pretty good, some wet spots in a few fairways. They were doing a lot of maintenance.

 

I've played it 9 times now. I finally parred the 9th hole. Hybrid off tee, hybrid approach is the way for me to play it.

 

The last few rounds it's been $39/walk, that's a great deal. We'll have to wait until next season to see conditions, pace vs price.

[geochitown]

wow, jim, that's a solid number of rounds at the Preserve, way to go...

 

I got lucky on 9 the first time I played it (blue tees).

It is a beast of a hole.

 

Threw caution to the wind and hit driver, and made it through the constriction at the fairway bunker and was able to play 8-iron into the green from a lie that was at the left edge of the fairway with ball above the feet.

 

2 putted from the back of the green over the ridge to the front-mid pin location.

[DavePelz4]

I played the Preserve on Monday. The greens and tees are pretty good, some wet spots in a few fairways. They were doing a lot of maintenance.

 

I've played it 9 times now. I finally parred the 9th hole. Hybrid off tee, hybrid approach is the way for me to play it.

 

The last few rounds it's been $39/walk, that's a great deal. We'll have to wait until next season to see conditions, pace vs price.

 

So Jim...you're probably got more experience on the Preserve than anyone on the site. What's your take having played it multiple times? Has knowing the routing and having more knowledge on the greens helped with your scoring?

[Holy Moses]

Fun round at Bridges of Poplar Creek. Shot 78 and played in under 3 hours. Neat little course in good shape with fairly firm, smooth, and fast greens despite the rain. First time playing it, but I’ll be back.

 

[Scratch2Plus]

I played the Preserve on Monday. The greens and tees are pretty good, some wet spots in a few fairways. They were doing a lot of maintenance.

 

I've played it 9 times now. I finally parred the 9th hole. Hybrid off tee, hybrid approach is the way for me to play it.

 

The last few rounds it's been $39/walk, that's a great deal. We'll have to wait until next season to see conditions, pace vs price.

 

Playing it tomorrow!

[Scratch2Plus]

Fun round at Bridges of Poplar Creek. Shot 78 and played in under 3 hours. Neat little course in good shape with fairly firm, smooth, and fast greens despite the rain. First time playing it, but I’ll be back.

 

I thought the same HM. I haven’t played it in about 10yrs and was quite surprised with the greens myself.

I’ll def be back next season.

[Scratch2Plus]

Playing Bridges of Poplar Creek Wednesday and The Preserve on Thursday...

 

What time today? Was thinking of playing it too.

 

Sorry HM I just saw this post. We started at 9am.

[Holy Moses]

Playing Bridges of Poplar Creek Wednesday and The Preserve on Thursday...

 

What time today? Was thinking of playing it too.

 

Sorry HM I just saw this post. We started at 9am.

 

Ah. I started at 11.

[Scratch2Plus]

Playing Bridges of Poplar Creek Wednesday and The Preserve on Thursday...

 

@J Money is this your first go round on the Preserve?

 

No sir, tomorrow will be my 2nd time around. Really enjoyed the layout.

[jimwgt26]

I played the Preserve on Monday. The greens and tees are pretty good, some wet spots in a few fairways. They were doing a lot of maintenance.

 

I've played it 9 times now. I finally parred the 9th hole. Hybrid off tee, hybrid approach is the way for me to play it.

 

The last few rounds it's been $39/walk, that's a great deal. We'll have to wait until next season to see conditions, pace vs price.

 

So Jim...you're probably got more experience on the Preserve than anyone on the site. What's your take having played it multiple times? Has knowing the routing and having more knowledge on the greens helped with your scoring?

 

I really like it. It's 25 minutes from my house, the range and practice area are also very nice. Of my 9 rounds, only one was painfully slow. We'll see what happens with the conditions and fee structure next season. I'll be ok with the max walking rate in the $50/60 range.

 

My scoring has been fairly consistent. My best is 78, worst is 82.

 

Gary I know you thought the greens were tricky when you played. However, I think they're fairly straight forward.

 

I have three suggestions (I wouldn't go so far as to say complaints) that I've shared with the manager. 1) More water coolers on the course. He says they're on it 2) Mow paths between greens and tees, especially between 9 and 10. 3) All the par threes play too close to the same distance. They should vary where the tee are set to make it more interesting. Blue/Black they all play 160ish. They could have them play from 130 to 180.

 

 

[WindyCitySPN]

I played the Preserve on Monday. The greens and tees are pretty good, some wet spots in a few fairways. They were doing a lot of maintenance.

 

I've played it 9 times now. I finally parred the 9th hole. Hybrid off tee, hybrid approach is the way for me to play it.

 

The last few rounds it's been $39/walk, that's a great deal. We'll have to wait until next season to see conditions, pace vs price.

 

So Jim...you're probably got more experience on the Preserve than anyone on the site. What's your take having played it multiple times? Has knowing the routing and having more knowledge on the greens helped with your scoring?

 

I really like it. It's 25 minutes from my house, the range and practice area are also very nice. Of my 9 rounds, only one was painfully slow. We'll see what happens with the conditions and fee structure next season. I'll be ok with the max walking rate in the $50/60 range.

 

My scoring has been fairly consistent. My best is 78, worst is 82.

 

Gary I know you thought the greens were tricky when you played. However, I think they're fairly straight forward.

 

I have three suggestions (I wouldn't go so far as to say complaints) that I've shared with the manager. 1) More water coolers on the course. He says they're on it 2) Mow paths between greens and tees, especially between 9 and 10. 3) All the par threes play too close to the same distance. They should vary where the tee are set to make it more interesting. Blue/Black they all play 160ish. They could have them play from 130 to 180.

 

I have played quite a few times at preserve since they opened. I think once it matures it will be an excellent course. I have heard from multiple people that the greens are really fast but each time I have found them painfully slow but for the most part straight forward. As far as knowing the lay out saving strokes I think it is a max one or two. Knowing where to hit it on #4 is probably helpful as it is driveable. I agree with Jim about the par 3s they are too similar. Last time out I ended up playing the blues and blacks for par 3s. Made the course a lot more intimidating. I ask the pro last time I was there what the regular rate would be next year $79 weekday, $99 weekend (w cart). He immediately said "there will be coupons online though" so I am assuming there has been some negative response to those prices. My thoughts are in order to keep that course in shape and from being over played the price will need to be around there. Also, think its weird they haven't figured out the beverage cart on holes 2-5 yet! Overall really enjoy preserve!

[Scratch2Plus]

^^^^^ Yeah, I also believe $80 / $99 will be the death of them. Coupons will help but it'll be tough to keep the round count up if that's the rack rate.

[geochitown]

I've heard that there will be discounts for walking, so that should help somewhat.

[Scratch2Plus]

I've heard that there will be discounts for walking, so that should help somewhat.

 

Most definitely.

Played it today and I really like the course. Greens were on the slow side but nothing to really complain about after all the recent rain. Its close to work and home so that's a huge plus...

[geochitown]

I love the course.

I've only played it once, but spent a lot of time researching it, so when I played it, I was pretty prepared.

 

I think the tee shot on 12 is another one where it's a bit tricky to pick a tee club.

 

I agree that they should mix up the teeboxes on the par 3's to provide some variety in playing length in a given round.

[stasek]

Supposed to play our yearly “Ryder Cup” style (2 man vs 2 man scramble) tomorrow morning at Prairie Bluff. Weather doesn’t look too promising.

[chisag]

Supposed to play our yearly "Ryder Cup" style (2 man vs 2 man scramble) tomorrow morning at Prairie Bluff. Weather doesn't look too promising.

 

... Just got back from playing Prairie Bluff and the.fairways are wet with little to no roll. Same for the fronts of greens as your ball will stop right by it's pitchfork so you have to carry everything on the green. Made it tough downwind because the greens are faster than normal and rolling really, really well so it was hard to hold the greens downwind. But looks like rain, rain and more rain.

[propman]

Weather permitting, playing (hopefully not a beat down) Big Run.

 

Played BR today instead of Wed, Shot a mediocre 95 which for me was not that bad given I can count on 10 more strokes at BR versus other courses I usually play. Parred the 18th which I'm pretty sure was a first for me.

[Argonne69]

I was hoping there might be an opening in the radar this morning, but it's looking rather bleak. It's clear south of I-80 at the moment, but there's a line of heavy rain near Ottawa that will hit in the next hour or so. I'm going to keep my eye on the radar, and hopefully I can get out to Marovitz for 9 holes. If not, tomorrow looks decent.

[stasek]

Well, can’t say we didn’t try... Got to PB before 9 and it was raining but not too bad. Decided to start our “match”, but packed it in after 1 hole when a downpour started and the greens were unputtable. Looking at the radar, it looked promising down south, so we decided to head to Cinder Ridge. When we teed off, it was very nice but you could see the rain coming. 5 holes in, the skies opened up and we we spent the next 20 min in the shelter. It cleared up a little so we got 2 more holes in and that’s when a big one came. After 10 minutes under a tree (yeah, great idea with lightning in the area), we decided to call it a day. Oh well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

[DavePelz4]

Think you set a record Stan for being rained off 2 different courses in the shortest amount of time.

[Scratch2Plus]

We needed the rain but dang this is a lot of rain...

Going to let things dry out and play Poplar Creek Wednesday and Stonewall Orchard on Thursday.

[Argonne69]

Wilmette GC in the early morning tomorrow. Do they sell waders with golf spikes?

[Scratch2Plus]

Wilmette GC in the early morning tomorrow. Do they sell waders with golf spikes?

 

You might need an inflatable raft...

[Argonne69]

Wilmette GC in the early morning tomorrow. Do they sell waders with golf spikes?

 

You might need an inflatable raft...

 

No kidding. I see that they were closed yesterday. I just called, and nobody is in the pro shop yet. I have a feeling this might be another day on the sofa. I poked my head out the window, and the winds are 20+ mph. Combined with the saturated conditions, I'm guessing it would be an all around sloppy day.

[@_the_crook]

I regripped a wedge, spun it three times, and repeated "There's no place like home".

 

Skies cleared but the course is still closed.

 

Four inches of rain had some lingering effect.....

[ldchristopher]

Bear and I braved the elements and walked 36 holes at Washington County today. They didn't get quite as much rain yesterday as the Chicago area got and, with the Packers playing at noon and high winds in the forecast, we weren't planning on seeing too many people on the course. Bear's MP-18 SC's came in on Friday and he was itching to hit them and I'm always down for a couple of rounds regardless of the weather so we took advantage. Throughout the first 14 holes, conditions were as bad as I've ever played in, with consistent rain and 30-35 mph winds. Eventually, the rain stopped and the sun peeked out, but the wind never really died down. Needles to say, it was not exactly optimal scoring conditions. I hit the ball well enough to shoot in the mid-70s but the best I could manage was an 81 for round one and a 79 for round two. The seventh and 13th holes both felt like they were playing about 650 yards since they were right into the Northwest wind. For the second 18, the high winds dried out the greens and they were rolling at about an 11. The course itself was in excellent shape.

[jimwgt26]

Bear and I braved the elements and walked 36 holes at Washington County today. They didn't get quite as much rain yesterday as the Chicago area got and, with the Packers playing at noon and high winds in the forecast, we weren't planning on seeing too many people on the course. Bear's MP-18 SC's came in on Friday and he was itching to hit them and I'm always down for a couple of rounds regardless of the weather so we took advantage. Throughout the first 14 holes, conditions were as bad as I've ever played in, with consistent rain and 30-35 mph winds. Eventually, the rain stopped and the sun peeked out, but the wind never really died down. Needles to say, it was not exactly optimal scoring conditions. I hit the ball well enough to shoot in the mid-70s but the best I could manage was an 81 for round one and a 79 for round two. The seventh and 13th holes both felt like they were playing about 650 yards since they were right into the Northwest wind. For the second 18, the high winds dried out the greens and they were rolling at about an 11. The course itself was in excellent shape.

 

Nice. I'm big Wash Co fan. My in laws live close, so I get there 6ish times a year.

 

Well done breaking 80 in those conditions. If 7 and 13 are into the wind, tee shot on 9 had to be tough?

[chisag]

Bear and I braved the elements and walked 36 holes at Washington County today. They didn't get quite as much rain yesterday as the Chicago area got and, with the Packers playing at noon and high winds in the forecast, we weren't planning on seeing too many people on the course. Bear's MP-18 SC's came in on Friday and he was itching to hit them and I'm always down for a couple of rounds regardless of the weather so we took advantage. Throughout the first 14 holes, conditions were as bad as I've ever played in, with consistent rain and 30-35 mph winds. Eventually, the rain stopped and the sun peeked out, but the wind never really died down. Needles to say, it was not exactly optimal scoring conditions. I hit the ball well enough to shoot in the mid-70s but the best I could manage was an 81 for round one and a 79 for round two. The seventh and 13th holes both felt like they were playing about 650 yards since they were right into the Northwest wind. For the second 18, the high winds dried out the greens and they were rolling at about an 11. The course itself was in excellent shape.

 

 

... As someone that went to LA 2 times last year to visit my son and played 30 days in a row both trips, I tip my cap to you two! I will not play in 25+mph winds anymore... or rain ... or when it gets below, say 55* unless it is winter and no wind with sunshine. You guys are golfing warriors. Or idiots. :victory:

[TheBear95]

Bear and I braved the elements and walked 36 holes at Washington County today. They didn't get quite as much rain yesterday as the Chicago area got and, with the Packers playing at noon and high winds in the forecast, we weren't planning on seeing too many people on the course. Bear's MP-18 SC's came in on Friday and he was itching to hit them and I'm always down for a couple of rounds regardless of the weather so we took advantage. Throughout the first 14 holes, conditions were as bad as I've ever played in, with consistent rain and 30-35 mph winds. Eventually, the rain stopped and the sun peeked out, but the wind never really died down. Needles to say, it was not exactly optimal scoring conditions. I hit the ball well enough to shoot in the mid-70s but the best I could manage was an 81 for round one and a 79 for round two. The seventh and 13th holes both felt like they were playing about 650 yards since they were right into the Northwest wind. For the second 18, the high winds dried out the greens and they were rolling at about an 11. The course itself was in excellent shape.

 

Nice. I'm big Wash Co fan. My in laws live close, so I get there 6ish times a year.

 

Well done breaking 80 in those conditions. If 7 and 13 are into the wind, tee shot on 9 had to be tough?

 

It was tough, had to bail out to the left side of the fairway. The usual high fade wasn't an option, but at least the second shot on 9 was down wind.

 

The conditions for Round 1 were as challenging as I've played in. I shot 85 and I would consider that to be one of my better rounds this year. I knew it was going to be rough when #5, the short 4, was playing three full shots into the green.

 

And, the course was in great shape considering the rain. Soft, but really no standing water. Greens were extremely smooth and picked up pace as the wind dried them out. Putting was difficult all day.

 

I thought we would be the only fools playing, but I was surprised by the number of groups out there.