Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[stasek]

George Dunne this morning. Couldn’t ask for a better weather. Finished in probably 4:45, but to be honest it didn’t even feel this long. Course was pretty much as expected - overall decent, with some dead patches here and there and the bunkers were... there, as always. The greens were rolling pretty nice (we teed off at ~7:30) but were definitely on a slow side. Game is still MIA - had some great shots (blue tees - after the drive, had 105 to the back pin on 18), only to 3-jack it for a bogey. Pulled a “Phil”, onlly with the putter - left my useless 3h in the car and gave my Ping Anser some much needed company in the form of my old Cleveland mallet. Still couldn’t make a putt to save my life, but at least I wasn’t shaking over 2-3 footers.

[Eagleman]

Played Bolingbrook today. Driver was a little looser then normal but I still kept them in play. But a mixture of the greens being rough and deceiving I couldn’t make a putt to save my life. Had a couple three putt bogies which really hurt. And missed a 4 foot birdie putt which really takes away any confidence. Lots of ball marks and I swear guys must of been dragging their feet because of all the spike drag marks.

[geochitown]

Playing The Preserve on Sunday...the fishing bug bit me and the little free time I have has been spent on the water.

My short game can attest to this.

 

Any update on conditions?

[trumb1mj1]

Playing The Preserve on Sunday...the fishing bug bit me and the little free time I have has been spent on the water.

My short game can attest to this.

 

Any update on conditions?

 

Everyone I talk to says the preserve is an absolute mess. It's really a shame...

[B-Man]

Playing The Preserve on Sunday...the fishing bug bit me and the little free time I have has been spent on the water.

My short game can attest to this.

 

Any update on conditions?

 

Everyone I talk to says the preserve is an absolute mess. It's really a shame...

 

Bummer! We have tee times early Saturday. To be determined.

[TheBear95]

Sometimes it does pay to ho, lol.

 

As ld mentioned in his always riveting round recaps, my G25 driver busted on the 11^th tee at Midlane on Saturday. I hit just an awful slice and felt instantly that something wasn’t right. As I went to look at the club head and I heard this rattle and realized that the back weight was inside the club.

 

I’m not a club thrower or slammer and I very much baby my equipment, so I’m not sure what happened here. Or, how the weight ended up inside the club instead of flying out.

 

Anyways, fortuitous I decided to buy a G400 Max a few weeks ago and it just arrived from Ping. Wonderful timing, as I have vacation starting on Wednesday for the next week and a half and will be playing a ton of golf over that period.

[DavePelz4]

The two most recent Google reviews on The Preserve

 

From 2 days ago...

 

"The layout was good but this course is beat. It's in terrible shape. Fairways are like runways, massive amounts of ground under repair. The greens are incredibly fast which isn't bad but I haven't seen greens with spike marks in over 20 years. This course has them. It's definitely not worth the money. If you want a course that's challenging, beautiful and well maintained try Heritage Bluffs. It's a drive but worth the trip."

 

From 2 weeks ago...

 

"Played here Sunday 7/7/18. Paid full greens fee of 85.00 (plus 4.00 for range balls which is insulting). I have played this golf course 5 times since last year including twice earlier this year. Course was always in great shape and playable. This last time I played the golf course was in HORRIBLE condition. There was ground under repair on almost every hole. The front run up to the 18th green was completely baked. Hard pan dirt and no grass at all. I do not know whats going on here but something is very wrong with this golf course right now. I wont be back unless conditions improve drastically."

[B-Man]

Recent adventures from a thousand miles away...

 

 

[B-Man]

The two most recent Google reviews on The Preserve

 

From 2 days ago...

 

"The layout was good but this course is beat. It's in terrible shape. Fairways are like runways, massive amounts of ground under repair. The greens are incredibly fast which isn't bad but I haven't seen greens with spike marks in over 20 years. This course has them. It's definitely not worth the money. If you want a course that's challenging, beautiful and well maintained try Heritage Bluffs. It's a drive but worth the trip."

 

From 2 weeks ago...

 

"Played here Sunday 7/7/18. Paid full greens fee of 85.00 (plus 4.00 for range balls which is insulting). I have played this golf course 5 times since last year including twice earlier this year. Course was always in great shape and playable. This last time I played the golf course was in HORRIBLE condition. There was ground under repair on almost every hole. The front run up to the 18th green was completely baked. Hard pan dirt and no grass at all. I do not know whats going on here but something is very wrong with this golf course right now. I wont be back unless conditions improve drastically."

 

Eeek! That aint good.

[DavePelz4]

More reviews on TP...

 

https://www.golfadvisor.com/courses/5003-the-preserve-at-oak-meadows/

 

The two most recent Google reviews on The Preserve

 

From 2 days ago...

 

"The layout was good but this course is beat. It's in terrible shape. Fairways are like runways, massive amounts of ground under repair. The greens are incredibly fast which isn't bad but I haven't seen greens with spike marks in over 20 years. This course has them. It's definitely not worth the money. If you want a course that's challenging, beautiful and well maintained try Heritage Bluffs. It's a drive but worth the trip."

 

From 2 weeks ago...

 

"Played here Sunday 7/7/18. Paid full greens fee of 85.00 (plus 4.00 for range balls which is insulting). I have played this golf course 5 times since last year including twice earlier this year. Course was always in great shape and playable. This last time I played the golf course was in HORRIBLE condition. There was ground under repair on almost every hole. The front run up to the 18th green was completely baked. Hard pan dirt and no grass at all. I do not know whats going on here but something is very wrong with this golf course right now. I wont be back unless conditions improve drastically."

 

Eeek! That aint good.

 

You'd shoot 75 playing a course on the runways at O'Hare.

[trumb1mj1]

The two most recent Google reviews on The Preserve

 

From 2 days ago...

 

"The layout was good but this course is beat. It's in terrible shape. Fairways are like runways, massive amounts of ground under repair. The greens are incredibly fast which isn't bad but I haven't seen greens with spike marks in over 20 years. This course has them. It's definitely not worth the money. If you want a course that's challenging, beautiful and well maintained try Heritage Bluffs. It's a drive but worth the trip."

 

From 2 weeks ago...

 

"Played here Sunday 7/7/18. Paid full greens fee of 85.00 (plus 4.00 for range balls which is insulting). I have played this golf course 5 times since last year including twice earlier this year. Course was always in great shape and playable. This last time I played the golf course was in HORRIBLE condition. There was ground under repair on almost every hole. The front run up to the 18th green was completely baked. Hard pan dirt and no grass at all. I do not know whats going on here but something is very wrong with this golf course right now. I wont be back unless conditions improve drastically."

 

I'm going to avoid this course for the rest of the year but one sliver of hope is that everyone says the new layout is really good. I'm hoping it's just some early reno growing pains but we shall see. I hit balls on the range and did some short game work several weeks back and the place looks the part. Just need the conditions to drastically improve and they may be onto something.

[DavePelz4]

The two most recent Google reviews on The Preserve

 

From 2 days ago...

 

"The layout was good but this course is beat. It's in terrible shape. Fairways are like runways, massive amounts of ground under repair. The greens are incredibly fast which isn't bad but I haven't seen greens with spike marks in over 20 years. This course has them. It's definitely not worth the money. If you want a course that's challenging, beautiful and well maintained try Heritage Bluffs. It's a drive but worth the trip."

 

From 2 weeks ago...

 

"Played here Sunday 7/7/18. Paid full greens fee of 85.00 (plus 4.00 for range balls which is insulting). I have played this golf course 5 times since last year including twice earlier this year. Course was always in great shape and playable. This last time I played the golf course was in HORRIBLE condition. There was ground under repair on almost every hole. The front run up to the 18th green was completely baked. Hard pan dirt and no grass at all. I do not know whats going on here but something is very wrong with this golf course right now. I wont be back unless conditions improve drastically."

 

I'm going to avoid this course for the rest of the year but one sliver of hope is that everyone says the new layout is really good. I'm hoping it's just some early reno growing pains but we shall see. I hit balls on the range and did some short game work several weeks back and the place looks the part. Just need the conditions to drastically improve and they may be onto something.

 

There are 2 potential issues with the Preserve. The re-design, with the routing of Salt Creek, new "pools" and wetlands areas was supposed to allow for an additional 20,000,000 gallons of water to be accomodated which is the proverbial 100 year storm. Last spring before the course opened we had one of those such rains. There were pics of the course almost completely covered in water. Although Greg Martin won awards for the re-design, I'm not sure it's worked as described. There are still collection areas like the 18th fairway that weren't touched and are always issues.

 

Then you get to the other potential issues and that's the ongoing maintenance. It's hard to know how the super is at addressing these issues but if it's the same super as the old Oak Meadows, you might be seeing the same results.

 

It's sad because the layout of the course has so much potential.

[Scratch2Plus]

Playing The Preserve on Sunday...the fishing bug bit me and the little free time I have has been spent on the water.

My short game can attest to this.

 

Any update on conditions?

 

The recent reviews are spot on. Great layout, awesome sand, but the course is beat to hell. Greens were consistent and in decent shape considering we played it at 12:30 but the fairways are pretty bad. It’s a damn shame. I hope they figure it out and get it back because I would definitely play there much more often.

 

[geochitown]

I’m not surprised at the reviews based on how bad the conditions were, and I’m not surprised that they will continue to be bad reviews even if the course starts to recover (takes time to overcome bad perceptions)

 

I’ve watched salt creek water levels since last year and the course stays dry compared to pre-renovation, Which would have been flooded at those same levels

 

Hopefully the super can get control the conditions

 

I’m rooting for the guys there, because as has been said, the place has amazing potential

 

DPelz, thanks for posting the reviews,

 

So, looks like you chose not to play there based on the reviews? Is that right?

[Scratch2Plus]

It’s 9min away from work so I’m definitely rooting for them to get it figured out and get the fairways back.

 

 

[geochitown]

My mistake DPelz4, I confused you with Scratch who posted he was going to play there yesterday

 

 

[DavePelz4]

We pulled The Preserve out of the rota of courses we play for our season. We played it last year and everyone liked the design it's just that there are so many well conditioned courses in our area that it'd be a waste to play it. Wonder if there is any finger pointing going on between Martin and the DuPage County folks. I saw he's just signed on to work on the 2 NaperVegas courses coming up.

[DavePelz4]

My mistake DPelz4, I confused you with Scratch who posted he was going to play there yesterday

 

No worries...it happens all the time when the two of us are together. People see a young handsome buck who hit the ball a ton and an old Polish guy who can't hit it a lick these days. Easy to be confused.

[geochitown]

We pulled The Preserve out of the rota of courses we play for our season. We played it last year and everyone liked the design it's just that there are so many well conditioned courses in our area that it'd be a waste to play it. Wonder if there is any finger pointing going on between Martin and the DuPage County folks. I saw he's just signed on to work on the 2 NaperVegas courses coming up.

 

No Finger pointing that i’m aware of

 

The renovation has been a success from a storm water retention point of view

 

I don’t think architects typically are implicated for turf problems

 

Grass problems on 18? That’s the highest point on the course

 

The holes with grass issues seemed to be evenly distributed, not showing any dependence on hole location with respect to how close to the salt creek restoration/wetland creation work

 

 

 

My mistake DPelz4, I confused you with Scratch who posted he was going to play there yesterday

 

No worries...it happens all the time when the two of us are together. People see a young handsome buck who hit the ball a ton and an old Polish guy who can't hit it a lick these days. Easy to be confused.

 

Lol

[DavePelz4]

We pulled The Preserve out of the rota of courses we play for our season. We played it last year and everyone liked the design it's just that there are so many well conditioned courses in our area that it'd be a waste to play it. Wonder if there is any finger pointing going on between Martin and the DuPage County folks. I saw he's just signed on to work on the 2 NaperVegas courses coming up.

 

No Finger pointing that i'm aware of

 

The renovation has been a success from a storm water retention point of view

 

I don't think architects typically are implicated for turf problems

 

Grass problems on 18? That's the highest point on the course

 

The holes with grass issues seemed to be evenly distributed, not showing any dependence on hole location with respect to how close to the salt creek restoration/wetland creation work

 

 

 

My mistake DPelz4, I confused you with Scratch who posted he was going to play there yesterday

 

No worries...it happens all the time when the two of us are together. People see a young handsome buck who hit the ball a ton and an old Polish guy who can't hit it a lick these days. Easy to be confused.

 

Lol

 

The tee box on 18 hits down to a low spot on the course and then it goes back up to the green. The 18th fairway has had issues for years and years but I don't think that was an area that Martin addressed.

[Waterboy]

We pulled The Preserve out of the rota of courses we play for our season. We played it last year and everyone liked the design it's just that there are so many well conditioned courses in our area that it'd be a waste to play it. Wonder if there is any finger pointing going on between Martin and the DuPage County folks. I saw he's just signed on to work on the 2 NaperVegas courses coming up.

 

No Finger pointing that i'm aware of

 

The renovation has been a success from a storm water retention point of view

 

I don't think architects typically are implicated for turf problems

 

Grass problems on 18? That's the highest point on the course

 

The holes with grass issues seemed to be evenly distributed, not showing any dependence on hole location with respect to how close to the salt creek restoration/wetland creation work

 

 

 

My mistake DPelz4, I confused you with Scratch who posted he was going to play there yesterday

 

No worries...it happens all the time when the two of us are together. People see a young handsome buck who hit the ball a ton and an old Polish guy who can't hit it a lick these days. Easy to be confused.

 

Lol

 

The tee box on 18 hits down to a low spot on the course and then it goes back up to the green. The 18th fairway has had issues for years and years but I don't think that was an area that Martin addressed.

 

I have thoughts on this but I’m not going to bore everyone with them.

 

Hopefully they can get it turned around and get the grass grown in. Would be a shame to have that work done only to have it never get to optimum conditions.

[Scratch2Plus]

My mistake DPelz4, I confused you with Scratch who posted he was going to play there yesterday

 

No worries...it happens all the time when the two of us are together. People see a young handsome buck who hit the ball a ton and an old Polish guy who can't hit it a lick these days. Easy to be confused.

 

Well, I’m not as young as one might think. Just good Asian genes!

G, On a side note I just got my taste in JDM fishing gear. Wife thinks fishing will be a less expensive hobby than golf.

[ldchristopher]

Heading back to Pure Michigan for a repeat of our 2 day trip in June. Cedar Chase and Pilgrim's Run on Wednesday and Hemlock and Hawkshead on Thursday. Hawkshead was the least impressive of the four in June based on the holes we saw (only got the front nine in because the back was closed due to flooding) but we're only paying half price because of the rain check we got. Might as well use it. Next summer we'll replace it with Thornapple.

[mci711]

Heading back to Pure Michigan for a repeat of our 2 day trip in June. Cedar Chase and Pilgrim's Run on Wednesday and Hemlock and Hawkshead on Thursday. Hawkshead was the least impressive of the four in June based on the holes we saw (only got the front nine in because the back was closed due to flooding) but we're only paying half price because of the rain check we got. Might as well use it. Next summer we'll replace it with Thornapple.

 

How is Pilgrim's run? I have thought about making the trip out there.

[ldchristopher]

Heading back to Pure Michigan for a repeat of our 2 day trip in June. Cedar Chase and Pilgrim's Run on Wednesday and Hemlock and Hawkshead on Thursday. Hawkshead was the least impressive of the four in June based on the holes we saw (only got the front nine in because the back was closed due to flooding) but we're only paying half price because of the rain check we got. Might as well use it. Next summer we'll replace it with Thornapple.

 

How is Pilgrim's run? I have thought about making the trip out there.

Pilgrim's is excellent. It's a woodlands layout with very little repetition until the end of the round (the last two holes are both short par 4s). Each hole is relatively isolated and, at $59, it's quite affordable. The greens were a little on the slow side when we were there in June but it had rained a lot in the days before our round. They should definitely run closer to 10. Other than green speeds, my only critique is that it's a par 73. With all that space they could have easily made a very interesting par 3. VNutz said it was because the course was designed by three different people and each took 6 holes, which I can see in hindsight. The maintenance is outstanding and it's got the type of woodlands holes we just can't find in the Chcago area. That said, if you're up there, drive the 90 minutes northwest to Ludington and play Hemlock as well. Pilgrim's is great but Hemlock has everything. Dunes, forced carries, woodlands, marshes, elevation change, total isolation on every hole. And it's much cheaper. Bear and I walked it on a weekday for $30. In Chicago - not that we would get that type of terrain anyway - it would be a $100 course.

[stasek]

My mistake DPelz4, I confused you with Scratch who posted he was going to play there yesterday

 

No worries...it happens all the time when the two of us are together. People see a young handsome buck who hit the ball a ton and an old Polish guy who can't hit it a lick these days. Easy to be confused.

 

Well, I’m not as young as one might think. Just good Asian genes!

G, On a side note I just got my taste in JDM fishing gear. Wife thinks fishing will be a less expensive hobby than golf. ������

 

Haha! She’s in for a big surprise ???. I got back into fishing 3 years ago and “started” with an Ugly Stick and a small box of lures. Fast forward 3 years - I’m up to probably 15 rods and reels and 3 bags full of lures ?. Unfortunately, due to the new found addiction my golf game has gone downhill. Today was probably the first time in 2 years where I actually went to the driving range to hit some balls - and actually bought couple new wedges (Wilson FG Tour PMP). My lob wedge may or may not be picking mushrooms in the forest preserve surrounding George Dunne ?‍♂️.

[Shriner]

I've played Oak Meadows twice this year (and had never played before). The first time was early in the year and I thought I had a future lock for a place to play 5-10 rounds a year. After the second time, I would not even go back unless I hear that conditions have drastically changed. The fairways were dirt, literally hardpan dirt.

 

Once you get to the point where the majority of courses around the NW suburbs are $50-$80; it just isn't worth it to play an Oak Meadows or Fox Run when you can go to Schaumburg or Hilldale and have conditions that are exponentially better. I realized this years ago and have tried to stick to it.

 

By the way, playing Harbor Shores and Whittaker Woods this weekend. Any advice or thoughts on these two (playing both for the first time)?

[mci711]

Heading back to Pure Michigan for a repeat of our 2 day trip in June. Cedar Chase and Pilgrim's Run on Wednesday and Hemlock and Hawkshead on Thursday. Hawkshead was the least impressive of the four in June based on the holes we saw (only got the front nine in because the back was closed due to flooding) but we're only paying half price because of the rain check we got. Might as well use it. Next summer we'll replace it with Thornapple.

 

How is Pilgrim's run? I have thought about making the trip out there.

Pilgrim's is excellent. It's a woodlands layout with very little repetition until the end of the round (the last two holes are both short par 4s). Each hole is relatively isolated and, at $59, it's quite affordable. The greens were a little on the slow side when we were there in June but it had rained a lot in the days before our round. They should definitely run closer to 10. Other than green speeds, my only critique is that it's a par 73. With all that space they could have easily made a very interesting par 3. VNutz said it was because the course was designed by three different people and each took 6 holes, which I can see in hindsight. The maintenance is outstanding and it's got the type of woodlands holes we just can't find in the Chcago area. That said, if you're up there, drive the 90 minutes northwest to Ludington and play Hemlock as well. Pilgrim's is great but Hemlock has everything. Dunes, forced carries, woodlands, marshes, elevation change, total isolation on every hole. And it's much cheaper. Bear and I walked it on a weekday for $30. In Chicago - not that we would get that type of terrain anyway - it would be a $100 course.

 

Thanks for the rundown. May check it out in August.

[Argonne69]

 

By the way, playing Harbor Shores and Whittaker Woods this weekend. Any advice or thoughts on these two (playing both for the first time)?

 

I played both 10 days ago. HS is a Jack Nicklaus design. I don't think you'll find more challenging greens within 100 miles of Chicago. The par 5 10th's green is a multi-tier monster. There's plenty of trouble off the tee, so don't be afraid to dial it back. I think it's a fair course provided you can negotiate the greens.

 

WW is a fairly straightforward woodland course. Many of the holes are bordered by thick groves of trees, so you have to keep the ball in play. There wasn't much trouble off the tee unless you were quite offline. I think there are only 6 holes with fairway bunkers. There's water on ~80% of the holes, but it really only comes into play on 30% of the holes. The greens were challenging, but no where near HS caliber.

[Argonne69]

I'll be playing Phillips Park GC for the first time this Saturday. Anything worthy to note? It looks to be a combination of prairie-style and parkland.