Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[dhartmann34]

Spring Valley and Thunderhawk on Saturday. One of those courses is maintained just a little bit better than the other.

Hahahaha! A little?! One of those also has no bunkers.

[SpeedKills7]

Klein Creek Thursday morning...

 

 

Great layout with some of the crappiest maintenance in the area. They might have gone 5 years without putting sand in the bunkers. Looking forward to hearing your review J.

 

Used to be a really nice course. Needs a new owner

[CMCSGolf]

Spring Valley and Thunderhawk on Saturday. One of those courses is maintained just a little bit better than the other.

 

This is true. Although I'm not sure which one I would rather play...

[Symphonize]

Anyone have any recommendations for some couples lessons in the western or northwestern suburbs?

I take lessons from Tim Overman at Golf in Motion, but he's south. Worth the drive in my opinion...but I'm not sure how he handles couple's lessons.

 

Would be a little far, but might give him a call tomorrow as we will be downtown on Tuesday

[Argonne69]

Klein Creek Thursday morning...

 

Great layout with some of the crappiest maintenance in the area. They might have gone 5 years without putting sand in the bunkers. Looking forward to hearing your review J.

 

Huh? Yeah, if your idea of fun is OB on the left, and a water hazard on the right on 70% of the holes. Ugh.

[WindyCitySPN]

Anyone have any recommendations for some couples lessons in the western or northwestern suburbs?

I take lessons from Tim Overman at Golf in Motion, but he's south. Worth the drive in my opinion...but I'm not sure how he handles couple's lessons.

 

Would be a little far, but might give him a call tomorrow as we will be downtown on Tuesday

 

Agreed here, Tim is great

[jimwgt26]

Playing The Brute in two weeks.

 

Scratch that. Playing The Highlands instead now. One of the guys playing can't break a hundred typically. Good course?

 

B-man on the Highlands, 59 watch.

[Atrayn]

Coming from Phoenix this is an average day. It's the rough after all that rain! Courses are still trying to catch up with the mowing.

Played Big Run Sunday. What a course. Love those old school courses with the tight, giant oak tree lined holes!

 

Played it from the whites and at 6600 is all you could want...Not a level lie anywhere. Par 5, 610 yd 9th was unreal. All extremely uphill. 2nd shot has to be left side, slope runs extremely right to left. 3rd shot is no picnic to a really elevated green with two tiers....was glad to get out of there with a par. Loved it!

 

Played Big Run from the white tees yesterday with 3 of my buddies. Drove the ball like crap and shot a 93 (which for me is not a bad score on this course). Took a 7 on no.9. None of us are better than a 14 capper and we usually play quickly, It took us 5 hours to play with nobody in front of us!! The rough was just high enough to make it very difficult to locate balls. While I enjoy playing this course - it does beat me up mentally. Not sure why the above poster called it a joke design. I've played this course with low/mid single cappers and seen them have (by far) their worst rounds of the year so when I shoot near 100, I don't feel tooooo bad. :busted_cop:

 

Agree with you here. I think if you can play this course well, then you can take your game just about anywhere. It's definitely not your average layout. You have to be confident with your ability to drive the ball well. You are rewarded if you do, if not then it can be a real struggle.

[B-Man]

Playing The Brute in two weeks.

 

Scratch that. Playing The Highlands instead now. One of the guys playing can't break a hundred typically. Good course?

 

B-man on the Highlands, 59 watch.

 

Ha! Yeah right. It'll probably be an early vodka-infused sesh that morning.

[Argonne69]

I managed to grab a 7:48 am tee time on Saturday at Glendale Lakes. Once a twosome or threesome book a slot, the option to book as a single opens up. Or so I thought. Of course when you try to book online it allows you to select a single player, but then displays an error message stating that the spot is no longer available, even though there is still an opening. Why can't courses correctly configure their booking engines, or communicate their policies to the booking engine company, in this case TeeItUp? It's 2018. Calling a pro shop should be mandated to book a tee time. Oy. I guess that's why it's taken me 12 years to play this course.

 

Anyway, is Villa Olivia worthwhile? It always spooks me when I look at a teesheet 3 days in advance and there are 11 openings for fouresomes before 10 am.

[DrWalterWhite]

Anyone have any recommendations for some couples lessons in the western or northwestern suburbs?

I take lessons from Tim Overman at Golf in Motion, but he's south. Worth the drive in my opinion...but I'm not sure how he handles couple's lessons.

 

Would be a little far, but might give him a call tomorrow as we will be downtown on Tuesday

 

Agreed here, Tim is great

 

Another recommendation for Tim Overman. The guy knows his stuff and got me hitting the ball better than I ever have in only a few lessons. Also found his lessons cheaper than the other people I was considering at the time, but I'm sure it depends on what package you buy from whom, etc. Definitely worth the drive IMO, and if memory serves his studio is only 5 minutes or so off of the Sox park exit on the Dan Ryan.

[propman]

Anyone have any recommendations for some couples lessons in the western or northwestern suburbs?

I take lessons from Tim Overman at Golf in Motion, but he's south. Worth the drive in my opinion...but I'm not sure how he handles couple's lessons.

 

Would be a little far, but might give him a call tomorrow as we will be downtown on Tuesday

 

Agreed here, Tim is great

 

Groupon coupon for Tim

 

https://www.groupon.com/deals/golf-in-motion-1?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_dt_sea_ggl_txt_alp_sr_cbp_ch1_nbr&template=regular&bypass=true

[CMCSGolf]

 

Anyway, is Villa Olivia worthwhile? It always spooks me when I look at a teesheet 3 days in advance and there are 11 openings for fouresomes before 10 am.

 

No.... Villa Olivia was close to the worst course I played in Chicago in my 3 years living in the city (2013 - 2016). It plays around a small ski slope with bad conditions and awkward holes. I'd rather play a flat dog track like Chick Evans or Edgebrook than Villa Olivia. BUT, if you've never seen it and want to play a new course, you'll at least be amused with Villa Olivia.

[ldchristopher]

Spring Valley and Thunderhawk on Saturday. One of those courses is maintained just a little bit better than the other.

Hahahaha! A little?! One of those also has no bunkers.

It's weird. Thunderhawk is significantly more difficult (duh) but I can pretty much guarantee I'll have a better score there than at Spring Valley.

[DavePelz4]

Klein Creek Thursday morning...

 

Great layout with some of the crappiest maintenance in the area. They might have gone 5 years without putting sand in the bunkers. Looking forward to hearing your review J.

 

Huh? Yeah, if your idea of fun is OB on the left, and a water hazard on the right on 70% of the holes. Ugh.

 

With your fairway % I'd think this would be in your wheel house. It's not a course I'd play more than 1-2x/year because of the no range and crappy bunkers but even with my sucky game, I haven't found those issues consistently.

[ldchristopher]

Coming from Phoenix this is an average day. It's the rough after all that rain! Courses are still trying to catch up with the mowing.

Played Big Run Sunday. What a course. Love those old school courses with the tight, giant oak tree lined holes!

 

Played it from the whites and at 6600 is all you could want...Not a level lie anywhere. Par 5, 610 yd 9th was unreal. All extremely uphill. 2nd shot has to be left side, slope runs extremely right to left. 3rd shot is no picnic to a really elevated green with two tiers....was glad to get out of there with a par. Loved it!

 

Played Big Run from the white tees yesterday with 3 of my buddies. Drove the ball like crap and shot a 93 (which for me is not a bad score on this course). Took a 7 on no.9. None of us are better than a 14 capper and we usually play quickly, It took us 5 hours to play with nobody in front of us!! The rough was just high enough to make it very difficult to locate balls. While I enjoy playing this course - it does beat me up mentally. Not sure why the above poster called it a joke design. I've played this course with low/mid single cappers and seen them have (by far) their worst rounds of the year so when I shoot near 100, I don't feel tooooo bad. :busted_cop:

 

Agree with you here. I think if you can play this course well, then you can take your game just about anywhere. It's definitely not your average layout. You have to be confident with your ability to drive the ball well. You are rewarded if you do, if not then it can be a real struggle.

Anyway, is Villa Olivia worthwhile? It always spooks me when I look at a teesheet 3 days in advance and there are 11 openings for fouresomes before 10 am.

 

No.... Villa Olivia was close to the worst course I played in Chicago in my 3 years living in the city (2013 - 2016). It plays around a small ski slope with bad conditions and awkward holes. I'd rather play a flat dog track like Chick Evans or Edgebrook than Villa Olivia. BUT, if you've never seen it and want to play a new course, you'll at least be amused with Villa Olivia.

I'll second the "no." However, you can definitely score there. It's a gimmicky par 73 with a bunch of par 5s that are all between 490 and 510 yards. As I recall (and I could be wrong because I haven't played there in about four years), the front and back are vastly different. The front is super flat while the back has some crazy elevation change because of the ski hill.

[chisag]

... I am always amazed at how a wide open course allows you to miss fairways without much penalty, so you swing freely and find yourself in the fairway all day long. Then a tight driving hole with OB, water or tree lined cause you to make a tighter swing subconsciously trying to guide the ball. I have played Wedgewood many times hitting the pretty open fairways with regularity and come to the tight tree lined 16th fairway and hit it in the tees more often than not. Crazy mental game.

[propman]

... I am always amazed at how a wide open course allows you to miss fairways without much penalty, so you swing freely and find yourself in the fairway all day long. Then a tight driving hole with OB, water or tree lined cause you to make a tighter swing subconsciously trying to guide the ball. I have played Wedgewood many times hitting the pretty open fairways with regularity and come to the tight tree lined 16th fairway and hit it in the tees more often than not. Crazy mental game.

 

Hey, that sounds like me at BR. I become a nervous mental midget out there.

[Argonne69]

Klein Creek Thursday morning...

 

Great layout with some of the crappiest maintenance in the area. They might have gone 5 years without putting sand in the bunkers. Looking forward to hearing your review J.

 

Huh? Yeah, if your idea of fun is OB on the left, and a water hazard on the right on 70% of the holes. Ugh.

 

With your fairway % I'd think this would be in your wheel house. It's not a course I'd play more than 1-2x/year because of the no range and crappy bunkers but even with my sucky game, I haven't found those issues consistently.

 

I haven't played it since 2009. Back then I was hitting a fade/slice, as well as the dead left pull. 'Probably hitting 5 to 6 fairways at the time. It was not the course to play on a regular basis. The lack of a range was also a big negative.

[chisag]

... I am always amazed at how a wide open course allows you to miss fairways without much penalty, so you swing freely and find yourself in the fairway all day long. Then a tight driving hole with OB, water or tree lined cause you to make a tighter swing subconsciously trying to guide the ball. I have played Wedgewood many times hitting the pretty open fairways with regularity and come to the tight tree lined 16th fairway and hit it in the tees more often than not. Crazy mental game.

 

Hey, that sounds like me at BR. I become a nervous mental midget out there.

 

 

... Amen brother. You can attempt to fool your brain, but it can certainly see the difference between the first hole at Cog Hill #1 where all it can see is the target and #9 at BR where all it can see is the trees.

[geochitown]

Spring Valley and Thunderhawk on Saturday. One of those courses is maintained just a little bit better than the other.

Hahahaha! A little?! One of those also has no bunkers.

It's weird. Thunderhawk is significantly more difficult (duh) but I can pretty much guarantee I'll have a better score there than at Spring Valley.

 

because of the green complexes? (Spring Valley is Langford and Moreau?)

[dhartmann34]

Spring Valley's greens can be extremely difficult. Many are plateau's and when the course is rock hard in the summer putting off of the green is nowhere out of the question. ha. Some of those are just beasts. #8 and #9 really stick out to me. And that loooooong par 3 over the water to another plateau green. Gotta love the hole where the horse is buried. haha. Now I'm going to have to get out and play there.

 

Although I'd still rather spend my money for Brightondale. Their greens are superb as I said earlier.

 

Spring Valley and Thunderhawk on Saturday. One of those courses is maintained just a little bit better than the other.

Hahahaha! A little?! One of those also has no bunkers.

It's weird. Thunderhawk is significantly more difficult (duh) but I can pretty much guarantee I'll have a better score there than at Spring Valley.

 

because of the green complexes? (Spring Valley is Langford and Moreau?)

[DavePelz4]

I haven't played it since 2009. Back then I was hitting a fade/slice, as well as the dead left pull. 'Probably hitting 5 to 6 fairways at the time. It was not the course to play on a regular basis. The lack of a range was also a big negative.

 

St. Andrews is about 10 minutes away from KC and we warm up there before playing...one of the best ranges in Chicago. If you're not hitting the ball with a consistent trajectory, KC like most any course is going to be tough. Hitting it straight and it's a scorable course...not that I ever hit it straight.

[dhartmann34]

He's been great for my game for sure. I drive from Volo to see him, but as I said before, worth the drive.

For me the focus of practicing without the club has been huge. And being able to look back at my previous

lessons is nice as well. Just a great experience for me so far. And to think...it started off with a Groupon. :-)

 

 

 

 

Anyone have any recommendations for some couples lessons in the western or northwestern suburbs?

I take lessons from Tim Overman at Golf in Motion, but he's south. Worth the drive in my opinion...but I'm not sure how he handles couple's lessons.

 

Would be a little far, but might give him a call tomorrow as we will be downtown on Tuesday

 

Agreed here, Tim is great

 

Another recommendation for Tim Overman. The guy knows his stuff and got me hitting the ball better than I ever have in only a few lessons. Also found his lessons cheaper than the other people I was considering at the time, but I'm sure it depends on what package you buy from whom, etc. Definitely worth the drive IMO, and if memory serves his studio is only 5 minutes or so off of the Sox park exit on the Dan Ryan.

[PuttCurseRepeat]

Coming from Phoenix this is an average day. It's the rough after all that rain! Courses are still trying to catch up with the mowing.

Played Big Run Sunday. What a course. Love those old school courses with the tight, giant oak tree lined holes!

 

Played it from the whites and at 6600 is all you could want...Not a level lie anywhere. Par 5, 610 yd 9th was unreal. All extremely uphill. 2nd shot has to be left side, slope runs extremely right to left. 3rd shot is no picnic to a really elevated green with two tiers....was glad to get out of there with a par. Loved it!

 

Played Big Run from the white tees yesterday with 3 of my buddies. Drove the ball like crap and shot a 93 (which for me is not a bad score on this course). Took a 7 on no.9. None of us are better than a 14 capper and we usually play quickly, It took us 5 hours to play with nobody in front of us!! The rough was just high enough to make it very difficult to locate balls. While I enjoy playing this course - it does beat me up mentally. Not sure why the above poster called it a joke design. I've played this course with low/mid single cappers and seen them have (by far) their worst rounds of the year so when I shoot near 100, I don't feel tooooo bad. :busted_cop:

 

Agree with you here. I think if you can play this course well, then you can take your game just about anywhere. It's definitely not your average layout. You have to be confident with your ability to drive the ball well. You are rewarded if you do, if not then it can be a real struggle.

 

Big Run is not a course with a variety of "options", as a previous post illustrated with the Mistwood #15 example. BR is more of a "test" course, with options falling into a narrower, or subtle range. There are many risk/reward choices to make around BR, but they are almost exclusively tied to the 2nd shot. The shots which Big Run demands you hit are so much fun, though. Big Run also, arguably, delivers what I consider to be no less than three #1 experiences in Chicagoland public golf:

 

Most difficult hole - #9

Most Extreme Green - #11

Best par 3 - #13

 

If you value the challenge that BR presents, then the readily available $45 greens fee w/cart might represent the best bang for the buck in the area, too - or at least the most challenging bang for the buck.

[Argonne69]

Best Silly/Ridiculous Green: Harborside Port #15 (The Anchor Hole)

[ldchristopher]

Spring Valley and Thunderhawk on Saturday. One of those courses is maintained just a little bit better than the other.

Hahahaha! A little?! One of those also has no bunkers.

It's weird. Thunderhawk is significantly more difficult (duh) but I can pretty much guarantee I'll have a better score there than at Spring Valley.

 

because of the green complexes? (Spring Valley is Langford and Moreau?)

Mostly it’s between the ears for me. But I prefer more modern courses that are open off the tee and funnel towards the hole. Yeah, it’s a Langford and Moreau course. Built in 1926.

[stasek]

Leave poor BR alone ?. The site of my first ever 18 hole round of golf. 130+ strokes later I was hooked! Despite the fact I can almost walk to the course, I don’t play it often enough. The greens can be challenging depending on pin placement (6 putted the 18th the last time I played it), but I’ve also shot 74 from the tips...

 

Haven’t touched the clubs in almost 2 weeks. The next planned round is at another polarizing place (Lost Marsh) coming up on Sunday. Only played it once (few years ago). Should be fun with my driver misbehaving. Maybe I’ll teach it a lesson and leave it in the car.

[jimwgt26]

Big Fun is one of my favorites. Before I moved to NW side, I used to play there a lot. I don’t ever remember having a two putt par on 9.

[Scratch2Plus]

Klein Creek was in fine shape minus the flooded bunker ponds. Greens were pretty damn fast and the fairways dried out fairly quickly.

With the amount of rain we got yesterday I wasn't surprised it was CPO. Snagged it on Groupon for $31 riding. I'll be going back for more.