Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[B-Man]

Any tips for The Highlands at Grand Geneva? Playing there Saturday morning. Any insight appreciated since going there blind.

[VNutz]

Any tips for The Highlands at Grand Geneva? Playing there Saturday morning. Any insight appreciated since going there blind.

 

Fairways and greens. Chip well, shoot 71. Ho hum.

[Argonne69]

The latest on the plight of the Lake Bluff GC: http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-forest/news/ct-lfr-lake-bluff-golf-club-tl-0614-story.html#nt=oft06a-4li2

[Argonne69]

Any tips for The Highlands at Grand Geneva? Playing there Saturday morning. Any insight appreciated since going there blind.

 

Fairways and greens. Chip well, shoot 71. Ho hum.

 

Agreed. It's a Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus design, so play to the fat of the fairway. 'No need for driver on many holes.

[mci711]

Played Ruffled Feathers yesterday for the first time since the late 90s. Shot an 87 (45/42) from the blue tees with a snowman on the 15th hole after birdies on the 13th and 14th. That's golf, I guess. Really liked the course. Plenty of aqua and traps. Get to use all the clubs in your bag. Greens were somewhat fast compared to courses that I usually play. Front nine should have been better as I missed 4 easy putts. Driver behaved itself except for the 15th hole.

 

Rumor has it that they have a $40 rate for seniors on certain days. Need to verify.

I'm always a defender of RF. To me, it is just a fun course. And I know If I have a bad front I have 12,13,14,15 to make birdies and get the round back. So I usually don't get frustrated until after I play those 4 holes over par haha. Also, I believe the SR rate is 40 bucks every day if you book online, excluding weekends.

[dhartmann34]

Great day out here at the Rustoleum championship. Ivanhoe is in great shape. Following Shaun Micheel, Josh Teater and Jhared Hack.

 

[propman]

Played Ruffled Feathers yesterday for the first time since the late 90s. Shot an 87 (45/42) from the blue tees with a snowman on the 15th hole after birdies on the 13th and 14th. That's golf, I guess. Really liked the course. Plenty of aqua and traps. Get to use all the clubs in your bag. Greens were somewhat fast compared to courses that I usually play. Front nine should have been better as I missed 4 easy putts. Driver behaved itself except for the 15th hole.

 

Rumor has it that they have a $40 rate for seniors on certain days. Need to verify.

I'm always a defender of RF. To me, it is just a fun course. And I know If I have a bad front I have 12,13,14,15 to make birdies and get the round back. So I usually don't get frustrated until after I play those 4 holes over par haha. Also, I believe the SR rate is 40 bucks every day if you book online, excluding weekends.

 

Thanks for the info, $40 is a great rate for this course.

[cane700]

Played Ruffled Feathers yesterday for the first time since the late 90s. Shot an 87 (45/42) from the blue tees with a snowman on the 15th hole after birdies on the 13th and 14th. That's golf, I guess. Really liked the course. Plenty of aqua and traps. Get to use all the clubs in your bag. Greens were somewhat fast compared to courses that I usually play. Front nine should have been better as I missed 4 easy putts. Driver behaved itself except for the 15th hole.

 

Rumor has it that they have a $40 rate for seniors on certain days. Need to verify.

I'm always a defender of RF. To me, it is just a fun course. And I know If I have a bad front I have 12,13,14,15 to make birdies and get the round back. So I usually don't get frustrated until after I play those 4 holes over par haha. Also, I believe the SR rate is 40 bucks every day if you book online, excluding weekends.

 

Thanks for the info, $40 is a great rate for this course.

 

One of the prettiest courses in the area.

[jimwgt26]

Any tips for The Highlands at Grand Geneva? Playing there Saturday morning. Any insight appreciated since going there blind.

 

Fairly easy course, especially the back 9. You can drive most of the greens. Have a bunch of small bills, employees aren’t shy about having their hands out.

[ldchristopher]

Budget-conscious 36 on Sunday for Bear and me. Ives Grove and Brighton Dale: Blue Spruce.

[jimwgt26]

Bummed, my one weekend between HS and summer lacrosse, I was planning on at least 36. The forecast is terrible:(.

[@_the_crook]

Great day out here at the Rustoleum championship. Ivanhoe is in great shape. Following Shaun Micheel, Josh Teater and Jhared Hack.

What time were you on the shuttle bus ? I think you may have been sitting in front of me....

[Jazzmastafish]

 

I think I'll add a Deerfield round as well. Looking to play in the illinois open qualifier out there if my schedule works out there...but I haven't been there in years. I hear good things.

Great day out here at the Rustoleum championship. Ivanhoe is in great shape. Following Shaun Micheel, Josh Teater and Jhared Hack.

 

 

Just played Deerfield today. Greens are fantastic. Rolling what I estimate to be 10.5 on the stimp. Had a great putting day that saved my a**. made 2 tough putts for bogey and several nice 2 putts for par only 1 3 putt.

 

I would love to check out the Rust-oleum tomorrow, any spectating tips on what time to get up there, etc?

[mci711]

Went out to Ruffled Feathers tonight at 5:30. They had a scramble that was just finishing, and when I teed off I was the only one on the course. Perfect night, and I got 27 in, in just at 3 hours. Shot 40, 37, 39 - front, back, front. Nothing better than having no one in front of you and flying through, even better when it isn't at 6am.

[@_the_crook]

I think I'll add a Deerfield round as well. Looking to play in the illinois open qualifier out there if my schedule works out there...but I haven't been there in years. I hear good things.

Great day out here at the Rustoleum championship. Ivanhoe is in great shape. Following Shaun Micheel, Josh Teater and Jhared Hack.

 

I would love to check out the Rust-oleum tomorrow, any spectating tips on what time to get up there, etc?

 

Depending on your route -

 

the parking lot location: 28871 N Fremont Center Rd, Mundelein, IL 60060. this is the parking lot at Fremont Middle School.

 

school in session, so on Friday, stay right and you will be directed to park on the grass - right side.

On the weekend they will likely use the whole parking area.

Free Shuttle to the tournament at Ivanhoe CC.

buses run every fifteen minutes or so.

Shuttle Times;

5:45am - 30 minutes after play daily.

 

1st tee times on Friday are 7:00 am

 

https://www.pgatour.com/webcom/tournaments/rust-oleum-championship/tee-times.html

 

Sat-Sun pairings not yet published.

 

if using Gilmer Road - now closed near Midlothian Road. (found out this afternoon on the way back)

need to adjust your route.

 

the course will not be crowded.

it does walk long. plays to a little over 7000 yards but lots of distance between some holes.

 

Ivanhoe is an upscale private community.

there are three nine hole courses on the grounds that have been configured into an eighteen hole track for this tournament using some amazing twists.

 

there are just a few concession areas. in the perimeter areas, remember to carry water and snacks. there is a fan area near nine and eighteen behind the main clubhouse. great place to watch the finishers across a nice water area.

 

the clubhouse proshop has some decent brand logo stuff if you want a Rust-Oleum item.

they also have Ivanhoe gear, natch.

[geochitown]

Great day out here at the Rustoleum championship. Ivanhoe is in great shape. Following Shaun Micheel, Josh Teater and Jhared Hack.

 

 

Nice photos, thanks.

 

I'll have to get out there one of these years...

[zer0]

The latest on the plight of the Lake Bluff GC: http://www.chicagotr...#nt=oft06a-4li2

 

 

I just don't get it. Of all the crappy courses in the northern suburbs how is a gem like this one struggling to stay afloat?

[DavePelz4]

Yikes...forget ticks in the woods and fescue...how incredibly sad.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-illinois-man-dies-in-south-dakota-20180608-story.html

[dhartmann34]

The latest on the plight of the Lake Bluff GC: http://www.chicagotr...#nt=oft06a-4li2

 

 

I just don't get it. Of all the crappy courses in the northern suburbs how is a gem like this one struggling to stay afloat?

Because their prices are meh for what you get... And they're competing for dollars that are going to the private clubs in that area. Plus the clubhouse has always been kinda rundown. They need to have weddings/events to supplement like a lot of others do, and they don't.

[chisag]

Yikes...forget ticks in the woods and fescue...how incredibly sad.

 

http://www.chicagotr...0608-story.html

 

...So sad. I played several courses out in LA that had signs "Beware of rattlesnakes" when you went up into the rocky mountain terrain. Talked to several locals that said they never saw a Rattler while others had stories of being surprised by one. So if I hit a ball up in there, I figured it could stay there.

[Argonne69]

The latest on the plight of the Lake Bluff GC: http://www.chicagotr...#nt=oft06a-4li2

 

I just don't get it. Of all the crappy courses in the northern suburbs how is a gem like this one struggling to stay afloat?

 

Isn't flooding still an issue? How many rounds are lost due to course conditions?

[stasek]

Old Oak this (mid) morning. Yeah, the rain didn’t help, but... Played a 4 man scramble - everyone , including yours truly between 5-12 ondex. Shot -12 and surprisingly “won” a nice trophy. Course is - solid! Tee to green is ?, and so are the greens.

[B-Man]

The Brute this morning from the whites. No rain. No wind. Soft greens. Not so brutish. 4 birdies and 1 bogey.

[dhartmann34]

If you're free....demo day 11-3. Dry up here in the far north burbs.

[Waterboy]

The latest on the plight of the Lake Bluff GC: http://www.chicagotr...#nt=oft06a-4li2

 

I just don't get it. Of all the crappy courses in the northern suburbs how is a gem like this one struggling to stay afloat?

 

Isn't flooding still an issue? How many rounds are lost due to course conditions?

 

There is a lot going on with it. Rounds are lost to flooding but they do a good job of making up a temporary set of holes when the course is flooded. They also lose a ton of money when they replant fw only to have it flood again 2 weeks later.

 

The club house is horrible. They need to knock it down and just put up a trailer. The only reason people go in there is to pay for rounds and grab a snack. I’ve never seen anyone actually sit in there to eat or hang out.

 

Honestly the Park District needs to adapt with the golf scene. They could put 9 really good holes out there that would stay open while the property is flooded, put in a short course to get kids/families out there playing together and put in a driving range that can flood when the river rises.

 

As of now there is a big push for private donations to keep the course open through next year and an rfp went out to seek a new management company that may want to control the land also.

 

I play it a bit in the summer since it’s easy to jump on, close to home and you can usually play pretty quickly. It would suck if it did go under since it looks like it has become the home to programs that previously ran out of Highland Park CC before that shut down.

 

It’s a waiting game. If you are interested in donating you can at: https://friendsoflbparks.org/donate.html

You can select having the funds go directly to the course.

[Holy Moses]

Hard to beat $35 at Blackstone. I hope it’s not CPO.

[Argonne69]

A challenging, but fun round at Green Garden CC this morning. I played the gold course. There was a steady rain for 8 holes, and then it started to dry out a bit. While the course is certainly no destination course, I thought it was a decent layout. A bit of elevation change on the rolling terrain, and enough left to right, and right to left holes to keep one from being bored. The short par 4's were nice. The par 3's were fairly benign. I'd certainly take this course over University Park, Deer Creek, or Cardinal Creek.

 

Conditions were good. The fairways were soft, and there were a few patches of weeds, but otherwise they played fine. The greens looked very good. They were a bit slow due to the rain, but were rolling smooth. Pace of play was excellent given that there were maybe 10 golfers on both courses. The masses came out after the rain had stopped, but it was clear sailing for me.

 

Playing in the rain is good practice once in a while. It forces you to stay focused and patient. Solid round ballstriking with 11 fairways and 12 greens. Only one birdie, but it was a beauty, a nice curving 45 footer.

 

I'm sure I'll get out here at some point to play the blue course. It looked much flatter, but there appeared to be a few interesting holes. I wouldn't call the club a bargain, but $40 to walk wasn't a ripoff.

 

[leric90]

18 at thunderhawk today and the conditions were really nice and the greens were rolling decently quick despite the rain! tee'd off at 6:40, noone else on the course except thousands of mosquitoes... ouch

[dhartmann34]

Mike Weir making an appearance here at the Rustoleum championship

[Jazzmastafish]

Mike Weir making an appearance here at the Rustoleum championship

 

I always hate it when my caddie is taller than me...

 

A morning slog at Odyssey and I played relatively brilliantly (for me) for 16 of the 18 holes. Finally broke 80 first time this year! Course was in pretty good shape with greens rolling true and decently fast considering the rain. Soft conditions helped too, but not waterlogged anywhere. The ranger told us to use common sense with the carts so didn't have to go paths only.

 

Which reminds me, their friggin carts are at least 15 years old with no rain hood for the bags (ok fine) and not even a half windshield (wtf rain everywhere all over my legs and cup holders and front compartments. Hard to keep anything dry. Not to mention the squealing noise they make when they start up and don't get my started on the giant GPS system from 15 years ago that no longer works and has its guts rattling around in it. My buddy whacked his head on that pretty good. Probably won't be back there for a while, but if I do I'm going to make sure there's not a drop of rain in the forecast.