Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[Argonne69]

Conditions at Hawkshead were fine. Greens were in nice shape, and rolled with moderate speed. I'd like them a little speedier, but no real complaints.

 

[dhartmann34]

Played Shepherd's Crook today. Good weather. A bit windy. Greens were soft and not too fast. I'm guessing they watered them because of the heat coming. Pace was okay. For some reason they put a 4-some, 4 twosomes and a 3 some out there and it showed things down. I feel like that's always an issue there for some reason. Hit the ball well. Shot 75 with 2 doubles. Ill definitely be getting out there again in the next few weeks. Hopefully it's running a bit faster.

[ldchristopher]

Today was the last day of school so I celebrated not having to deal with other people's kids for the next 80 days by playing Highlands of Elgin after work. It was, as usual, in excellent shape, though there were a lot of unrepaired ball marks on the greens. I was getting more roll than I'm accustomed to at HOE and, despite some moisture in the usual low spots, it was playing firmer than usual. I drove the ball very well and my iron game was pretty crisp. All season it feels like I've been scrambling and relying on my wedge game but at HoE I hit 10 greens and made three birdies on 4, 6, and 15. I made the turn at 35 and had a chance to shoot under par but I slipped a 5 foot par putt past the hole on 17. I still finished with an even par 72 from the combo tees, which is easily my best round at that course. I think I'm gonna sit out this weekend with 72 holes in Michigan scheduled for early next week.

[@_the_crook]

so much for a light rain - eh ?

[DavePelz4]

Needed a bit of moisture to get the humidity nice and high.

[St Jimmy]

It's Saturday morning. To expect anything less than a downpour is foolish.

[dhartmann34]

so much for a light rain - eh ?

There was a huge rumble of thunder and crack of lightning around 2:30 that shook my whole house and woke me up. It was strange because it was only that one... Then nothing else. Didn't even hear any rain.

 

Anyway.... Happy Saturday folks!

 

Got a sweltering round of golf today. 2 teams of 18 guys. Had half from my home course. Half from a course down south. Cumulative score of each team is added up to determine the winner. Skins and green balls as well.

 

And a taco food truck afterwards... Although I'll probably wish it was the I've cream man instead.

 

Next month the same thing, but at their home course. Then a neutral site in August.

 

Should be a fun time. It's been going on for two years now. I've never played before. Glad to get the invite this year.

 

On a fun note, on the 30th I'm playing in a mini golf tournament called the Mini Masters. The guy has been running it for 22 years now. Over 40 people last year and this year is even larger. 6 different courses throughout the day. Last year was my first year. Really looking forward to it

 

Stay cool folks!!

[MountainKing]

Carillon yesterday in an outing, course was in good shape, greens were slow but rolled great. Old Wayne tomorrow, haven't played there since I was a teen.

 

Old Wayne is really cool. Got to play it with some former co-workers one of which had a membership there. They of course were pretty awful golfers and wanted to play a scramble ::eyeroll::, and I just had a day, used my ball 95% of the time and I estimated I would have easily had the chance to break 80 playing my own ball. Really liked the course.

 

 

A friend of mine has a membership there and I've thought about tossing my name on the waiting list. It's a fun old school course with tricky greens and some fun holes. My favorite part of playing there the couple of times I have is even with a full tee sheet you still get through in 3:30. It was brutally hot out there, didn't have my best game but still scored.

[Argonne69]

The 9 hole layout at Old Wayne is sweet. Short, sure, but tight.

 

[jimwgt26]

Shout out to Games. Great bumping into you today. Thanks for the beer.

[Argonne69]

I'd skip Hawkshead, and play Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids instead.

 

[jimwgt26]

I'd skip Hawkshead, and play Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids instead.

 

I’m surprised you didn’t like Hawkshead. I have not played it in a few years, but I’ve always liked it.

[ldchristopher]

I'd skip Hawkshead, and play Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids instead.

They only have early times available and we’re already booked for a 7:00 am at Angel’s Crossing. The forecast looks bad with an 80% chance of rain as the day goes on. We might just grab a time at a cheaper course (Beeches, Heritage Glen, Clearbrook, etc.) and if we get rained on halfway through, so be it.

[stasek]

A not-so-nice round at Cog #2. this afternoon. Yes, it was freaking hot. The round took 5.5 hours. The course tee to green is in meh condition. The greens, though...Terrible! Not sure when they were aerated, but they were slow as hell and bumpy. For $74, you would expect “little” better. Game is still MIA, but luckily we had what seemed like endless supply of beer.

[propman]

A not-so-nice round at Cog #2. this afternoon. Yes, it was freaking hot. The round took 5.5 hours. The course tee to green is in meh condition. The greens, though...Terrible! Not sure when they were aerated, but they were slow as hell and bumpy. For $74, you would expect "little" better. Game is still MIA, but luckily we had what seemed like endless supply of beer.

 

Cog (imo) is a ripoff. Had a permanent tee time out there for almost 30 yrs. It's a shame the conditions out there have gone down hill. Course 2 is a nice track.

 

Beer and the heat yesterday would have given me the spins. :swoon:

[@_the_crook]

Sportsman's at sunrise on Saturday.

There was a fair amount of casual water on the course, though nothing unmanageable.

It pounded here overnight.

Greens were freshly cut and rolled, in very nice condition.

5:30 start, 9:00 finish. easy walking pace.

It was getting pretty steamy and we were glad to conclude and head inside for refreshments.

For some reason - they still do not get the halfway house open for the early players.

 

Signs at the course indicate a renovation project is planned for 2019. The park district website mentions the companies involved.

Project Team Background

Golf course architect Greg Martin has extensive master planning and course renovation experience throughout the Chicago area. Some of Martin’s projects include Arrowhead Golf Club (Wheaton Park District), The Preserve at Oak Meadows (Forest Preserve District of DuPage County) and Rich Harvest Links (Sugar Grove). The primary focus and experience of Daniel Wohlfiel Design is in the golf course clubhouse market including Mistwood Golf Club (Romeoville), Chicago Highlands Club (Westchester) and The Preserve at Oak Meadows (Addison).

[Holy Moses]

Carillon yesterday in an outing, course was in good shape, greens were slow but rolled great. Old Wayne tomorrow, haven't played there since I was a teen.

 

Old Wayne is really cool. Got to play it with some former co-workers one of which had a membership there. They of course were pretty awful golfers and wanted to play a scramble ::eyeroll::, and I just had a day, used my ball 95% of the time and I estimated I would have easily had the chance to break 80 playing my own ball. Really liked the course.

 

 

A friend of mine has a membership there and I've thought about tossing my name on the waiting list. It's a fun old school course with tricky greens and some fun holes. My favorite part of playing there the couple of times I have is even with a full tee sheet you still get through in 3:30. It was brutally hot out there, didn't have my best game but still scored.

 

I like the course, but since they have an old-fashioned sprinkler system the greens run at like 6

[games]

Shout out to Games. Great bumping into you today. Thanks for the beer.

 

You too! Your swing looks great, BTW. Glad you didn't spend too much time with my Impact Snap. LOL!

[B-Man]

The General and South Course this Friday/Saturday. Please send me your accurate yardage books and green readers. Thanks in advance. :)

[Argonne69]

Three rounds to/in/from Grand Rapids over a long weekend. http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1652436-south-haven-grand-rapids-and-saugatuck-trip-report-june-2018/

[DavePelz4]

The General and South Course this Friday/Saturday. Please send me your accurate yardage books and green readers. Thanks in advance. :)

 

Two great courses and although the General gets more acclaim, the South is a much more difficult course IMHO.

[geochitown]

Sportsman's at sunrise on Saturday.

There was a fair amount of casual water on the course, though nothing unmanageable.

It pounded here overnight.

Greens were freshly cut and rolled, in very nice condition.

5:30 start, 9:00 finish. easy walking pace.

It was getting pretty steamy and we were glad to conclude and head inside for refreshments.

For some reason - they still do not get the halfway house open for the early players.

 

Signs at the course indicate a renovation project is planned for 2019. The park district website mentions the companies involved.

Project Team Background

Golf course architect Greg Martin has extensive master planning and course renovation experience throughout the Chicago area. Some of Martin’s projects include Arrowhead Golf Club (Wheaton Park District), The Preserve at Oak Meadows (Forest Preserve District of DuPage County) and Rich Harvest Links (Sugar Grove). The primary focus and experience of Daniel Wohlfiel Design is in the golf course clubhouse market including Mistwood Golf Club (Romeoville), Chicago Highlands Club (Westchester) and The Preserve at Oak Meadows (Addison).

 

Looks like Martin/Wohlfiel may have formed a team since working together at the Preserve at Oak Meadows?

[zer0]

Got out to HOE yesterday for an 8:40 time. As usual, course in great shape. Made my move to the senior tees and played well. Ever since coming back from surgery I've been drawing my driver, this after a lifetime of fighting a slice. Don't know where it came from, but not complaining. Only getting them out there about 200 or so, but 200 and down in the fairway is scorable from senior tees. Ended up hitting 10/14 fairways. Finished with an 84, I think the first time I've broken 90 at HOE. Senior tee livin' !

[DavePelz4]

We played Randall Oaks on Saturday. Absent some really wet spots courtesy of the huge down pour early Saturday morning, the course was in great condition. The greens were magnificent but they decided to set up their "US Open pin positions" and at least 12-14 were brutally placed on tiny plateaus, cut into banks or something else ugly.

 

They also went through a pretty serious rate increase and the walking rate is now $58.00.

[cane700]

Went slumming by you guys's standards this weekend. Played the Green Garden Gold early Friday morning and a hot afternoon round at Silver Lake North.

 

GG Gold was in pretty decent shape. The fairways much better than the last time I played it and the green were rolling nicely. Not fast but not slow. I rarely play the Gold course and I forget that one of my favorite holes is on that one. The par 5 10th. 2.5 hours to play 18.

 

First time on the North Course at Silver Lake. Conditions were a little slow and pace was slow. My group was crawling due to poor play and we we're still waiting on the group in front of us who was even worse. 3 or my 4 bailed after nine holes. I played on and WRX'd the rest of the course in an hour. Ok course and conditions. Didn't love it. Didn't hate it.

[ldchristopher]

When I retire, I'm moving to Grand Rapids. Some FIBs go to Florida, Arizona and California. Not me. I'm going all in on Grand Rapids 30 years from now. This should be an easy sell to my wife. Cedar Chase is awesome. It's an exceptionally difficult course, especially from the tips. It's extremely tight off the tee and the majority of the holes are true woodlands that put the Chicago area courses that claim to be woodlands to shame. Oh, it's $20 to walk. The bunkers were a little rocky, the tee boxes a little uneven at times (not JP bad or anything, but crested to drain on some holes) and the greens a little slow. But I'm nitpicking because it's got a terrific layout. Every hole was picturesque. I played really well but still only managed a 77 despite three birdies on 3, 6 and 13.

 

On to Pilgrim's Run. Cedar Chase was great but Pilgrim's Run is on a different level. I played in a cart (I know, gross, right?) but that's not really a walkable course if people are playing 36 in one day. I drove the ball exceptionally well and birdied 10 en route to a 74. I'll throw out a couple of critiques before I start gushing. First of all, the par 73 layout is very odd and unnecessary. Given all that property, why not just make it a 72, especially when there are three very short 4s on the back? Also, the hole names all sound like the titles of bad Lifetime Movies. "Deception." "Sleepy Temptation." "Giant Despair." Last, the greens were on the slow side, but I think they got dumped on with some rain last night. More nitpicking. What an excellent course. It gives people the tee shot but is a very difficult second shot course with some extremely tricked out green complexes. I loved how the trees framed the greens and there was a TPC Deere Run vibe. I'll be back.

[chisag]

When I retire, I'm moving to Grand Rapids. Some FIBs go to Florida, Arizona and California. Not me. I'm going all in on Grand Rapids 30 years from now. This should be an easy sell to my wife. Cedar Chase is awesome. It's an exceptionally difficult course, especially from the tips. It's extremely tight off the tee and the majority of the holes are true woodlands that put the Chicago area courses that claim to be woodlands to shame. Oh, it's $20 to walk. The bunkers were a little rocky, the tee boxes a little uneven at times (not JP bad or anything, but crested to drain on some holes) and the greens a little slow. But I'm nitpicking because it's got a terrific layout. Every hole was picturesque. I played really well but still only managed a 77 despite three birdies on 3, 6 and 13.

 

On to Pilgrim's Run. Cedar Chase was great but Pilgrim's Run is on a different level. I played in a cart (I know, gross, right?) but that's not really a walkable course if people are playing 36 in one day. I drove the ball exceptionally well and birdied 10 en route to a 74. I'll throw out a couple of critiques before I start gushing. First of all, the par 73 layout is very odd and unnecessary. Given all that property, why not just make it a 72, especially when there are three very short 4s on the back? Also, the hole names all sound like the titles of bad Lifetime Movies. "Deception." "Sleepy Temptation." "Giant Despair." Last, the greens were on the slow side, but I think they got dumped on with some rain last night. More nitpicking. What an excellent course. It gives people the tee shot but is a very difficult second shot course with some extremely tricked out green complexes. I loved how the trees framed the greens and there was a TPC Deere Run vibe. I'll be back.

 

 

... Ahhh the hubris of youth. ; ) I grew up in the south and moved to Chicago in '78 so I have been here for 40 years. When I first moved here near my late 20's and 30's the cold was a novelty. In my 40's the cold got uncomfortable. In my 50's it got pretty unpleasant. And in my 60's the cold has gotten unbearable. After spending a few winters in LA and this past March/April in Phoenix I am going someplace warm year round. I want to need nothing more than a shirt to go get my mail and if I never see snow again I will be a happy man.

[@_the_crook]

Signs at the course indicate a renovation project is planned for 2019. The park district website mentions the companies involved.

Project Team Background

Golf course architect Greg Martin has extensive master planning and course renovation experience throughout the Chicago area. Some of Martin’s projects include Arrowhead Golf Club (Wheaton Park District), The Preserve at Oak Meadows (Forest Preserve District of DuPage County) and Rich Harvest Links (Sugar Grove). The primary focus and experience of Daniel Wohlfiel Design is in the golf course clubhouse market including Mistwood Golf Club (Romeoville), Chicago Highlands Club (Westchester) and The Preserve at Oak Meadows (Addison).

 

Looks like Martin/Wohlfiel may have formed a team since working together at the Preserve at Oak Meadows?

 

Heard a goal is having a grass tee practice area.

One of the district's bullet points mentions re-branding.

Place sits on a good sized piece of land, but there is not any room to grow out, just to re-shape.

[B-Man]

New grooves for the Summer.

 

 

[@_the_crook]

love the custom work on your 60.