Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[mci711]

Is Blackstone a walking course? (is it a good walk, I know it isn't walking only obviously)

[DavePelz4]

Is Blackstone a walking course? (is it a good walk, I know it isn't walking only obviously)

 

It's about a 7 mile walk...mostly flat with just a few ups and downs.

[dhartmann34]

Played Bonnie Brook this morning. Conditions were good. Greens have been sanded recently, but rolled decently....still 34 putts for me on the day as nothing seemed to break at all.

 

Had a couple of foursomes in carts ahead of us that wouldn't let our walking 3-some play through. Waited on every single shot. Quite annoying really.

 

4 hours and 25 minutes later... Finished with a 77.

 

Florida early Friday morning for 4 rounds over the weekend...with 52 guys. Should be fun!

[geochitown]

Never played.

 

Greg Martin re-design

[TheBear95]

Is Blackstone a walking course? (is it a good walk, I know it isn't walking only obviously)

 

Yes, its not a bad walk. The only warning I'll give is that on a number of holes, especially #10-12, there's absolutely no shade from the sun. So, if its a hot day and the sunshine is beating down, it can be a tougher walk. There's water coolers on the tees at #3, #8 (used to #7 no idea why they moved that) and a shared cooler that's off the green at #12 and/or on the way to the #16 tee.

[TheBear95]

Played Bonnie Brook this morning. Conditions were good. Greens have been sanded recently, but rolled decently....still 34 putts for me on the day as nothing seemed to break at all.

 

Had a couple of foursomes in carts ahead of us that wouldn't let our walking 3-some play through. Waited on every single shot. Quite annoying really.

 

4 hours and 25 minutes later... Finished with a 77.

 

Florida early Friday morning for 4 rounds over the weekend...with 52 guys. Should be fun!

 

Putts never break at Bonnie Brook, lol. I always over-read those greens.

 

I'm a huge mark for Bonnie Brook. Its cheap, but the conditions are usually pretty good. While the greens are never fast, they usually are very smooth. Like a lot of parkland courses, they have lost a bunch of trees the past couple of years, but I find that the course still has a number of challenging holes.

[ldchristopher]

Is Blackstone a walking course? (is it a good walk, I know it isn't walking only obviously)

It's an easy walk. Most tees are close to the previous green, the course is very flat, and the only truly long walk from one hole to another is from 9 to 10. As DP4 said, it's about 7 miles and, unlike some courses that only knock off $5-$10 for walking, Blackstone takes off $18.

[Holy Moses]

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.

 

Nice little course. Front is much more open and flat. The back is hillier. I tried to cut the dogleg on 9 and found myself in trouble. Underrated course.

[Schley]

Olympia Fields is in fabulous shape, both courses, although the North’s bunkers are better IMO. Great facility and putts were rolling true except for the borderline unfair pin positions on 2 holes which you can’t possibly stop without hitting the hole.

[dhartmann34]

Played Bonnie Brook this morning. Conditions were good. Greens have been sanded recently, but rolled decently....still 34 putts for me on the day as nothing seemed to break at all.

 

Had a couple of foursomes in carts ahead of us that wouldn't let our walking 3-some play through. Waited on every single shot. Quite annoying really.

 

4 hours and 25 minutes later... Finished with a 77.

 

Florida early Friday morning for 4 rounds over the weekend...with 52 guys. Should be fun!

 

Putts never break at Bonnie Brook, lol. I always over-read those greens.

 

I'm a huge mark for Bonnie Brook. Its cheap, but the conditions are usually pretty good. While the greens are never fast, they usually are very smooth. Like a lot of parkland courses, they have lost a bunch of trees the past couple of years, but I find that the course still has a number of challenging holes.

Yeah they definitely weren't breaking yesterday! Ha! I'll know that for next time. Definitely some challenging holes out there... especially with a little wind. Some of those tee shots from the back tees are quite intimidating! Bunkers are deep and fun to play out of as well. Good par 3's. Really no complaints about the place.

[DavePelz4]

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.

 

Nice little course. Front is much more open and flat. The back is hillier. I tried to cut the dogleg on 9 and found myself in trouble. Underrated course.

 

Emphasis on the world little. Not sure if it get to 6,200 yards and you often meet people from other holes because of the compactness of the course. Not sure there's a par 4 over 400 yards. Generally, it's very playable. The course generally is in good condition with the exception of sandless bunkers, but that seems to be the new norm. Think we paid $35 walking on a weekend the last time we played...so it's got that going for it.

 

If you haven't played Fox Bend, I'd prefer that over PP. A bit more challenging and about the same travel time.

[Argonne69]

Thanks, DaveP. I played Fox Bend a few years back. 'Just trying to scratch off another Chicagoland course. This will be #159, and my 470th overall.

 

I'm starting to plan for my 500th course. If things go as expected, I'll be looking at it next spring. I'm seriously considering a trip to Scotland to play St Andrew's Old Course.

[B-Man]

Village Links today at 3:00. We have an open spot. PM me if interested. Gonna be a great day!

[Well Played]

Played Bonnie Brook this morning. Conditions were good. Greens have been sanded recently, but rolled decently....still 34 putts for me on the day as nothing seemed to break at all.

 

Had a couple of foursomes in carts ahead of us that wouldn't let our walking 3-some play through. Waited on every single shot. Quite annoying really.

 

4 hours and 25 minutes later... Finished with a 77.

 

Florida early Friday morning for 4 rounds over the weekend...with 52 guys. Should be fun!

 

Am curious where in Florida? Am down in FL right now visiting my brother - Ft Myers/Naples area - and have played a few rounds myself!

[dhartmann34]

Played Bonnie Brook this morning. Conditions were good. Greens have been sanded recently, but rolled decently....still 34 putts for me on the day as nothing seemed to break at all.

 

Had a couple of foursomes in carts ahead of us that wouldn't let our walking 3-some play through. Waited on every single shot. Quite annoying really.

 

4 hours and 25 minutes later... Finished with a 77.

 

Florida early Friday morning for 4 rounds over the weekend...with 52 guys. Should be fun!

 

Am curious where in Florida? Am down in FL right now visiting my brother - Ft Myers/Naples area - and have played a few rounds myself!

We'll be in the Orlando area. Some guys are playing Bay Hill on Thursday. Then we'll be playing Grand Cypress Fri - Sun... Shotgunning each day.

[mci711]

Thanks, DaveP. I played Fox Bend a few years back. 'Just trying to scratch off another Chicagoland course. This will be #159, and my 470th overall.

 

I'm starting to plan for my 500th course. If things go as expected, I'll be looking at it next spring. I'm seriously considering a trip to Scotland to play St Andrew's Old Course.

 

Very cool and impressive. I just played my 100th course and wanted it to be a good one as well. So I went out of my way to play a random course as 99th then Bethpage Black as #100.

[KaBoom21]

How is Orchard Valley's conditioning? Have a buddy playing there Monday.

[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. ������

 

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 ?‍♂️.

 

Stan, I just got back into fishing this year and just went back to my childhood “secret” lake and busted some nice LMBass.

I might have to invest in a pocket fisherman rod/reel and try the golf course ponds if the pace slows down. ������

[Scratch2Plus]

Bartlett Hills Thursday morning and possibly Arrowhead Saturday.

[ldchristopher]

Cedar Chase and Pilgrim's Run were both outstanding, just as I expected. It was nice to play them in good weather this time, since we had to deal with off-and-on rain when we came up in June. I recommend Cedar Chase if you're looking for a challenging yet affordable opening round. It's exceptionally tight off the tee on the woodlands holes but I was able to hit 11 fairways. I needed to hit more greens though (9 of 18 isn't gonna cut it) since it's tough to make a lot of birdies at courses I don't play often. The greens were smooth but not ultra fast. Our payoff for leaving Chicago so early was that we were the first ones out. 78.

I wasn't able to match my 1 over round at Pilgrim's but still really enjoyed it. The greens were a lot trickier in drier conditions and quite a few pins were in borderline impossible locations. It was pristinely maintained and the pace was great on the front. Things slowed to a crawl on the back and we waited on literally every shot, but I was able to relax and take in the scenery. I had two very makeable birdie putts on 17 and 18 but missed both for a 77.

 

[B-Man]

Rough day at VL in the middle of supercells yesterday. 11 greens but 36 putts for a 79. Was kind of wet out there on the ground but after 3 holes it had drained quite well.

 

3:00

 

 

3:25

 

 

 

 

 

[zer0]

Sunset opens it's doors on 8/17 and you can be one of the first to play it for the low low price of $250 which includes lunch and opening ceremony and shotgun start.

[Argonne69]

Sunset opens it's doors on 8/17 and you can be one of the first to play it for the low low price of $250 which includes lunch and opening ceremony and shotgun start.

 

Lol. What are they serving for lunch? Caviar, lobster, and Kobe steak? A course that'll be $55 to walk is charging $250 to play on greens that will likely be as hard as pool tables? I'll pass, but I'm sure I'll tee it up there next season.

[DavePelz4]

Maybe they give you a shotgun to address pace of play?

[Jazzmastafish]

Sunset opens it's doors on 8/17 and you can be one of the first to play it for the low low price of $250 which includes lunch and opening ceremony and shotgun start.

Sunset opens it's doors on 8/17 and you can be one of the first to play it for the low low price of $250 which includes lunch and opening ceremony and shotgun start.

 

Lol. What are they serving for lunch? Caviar, lobster, and Kobe steak? A course that'll be $55 to walk is charging $250 to play on greens that will likely be as hard as pool tables? I'll pass, but I'm sure I'll tee it up there next season.

Maybe they give you a shotgun to address pace of play?

 

Lol I was going to say does the opening ceremony have an authentic 21 gun salute?

[Argonne69]

It's Highland Park. I don't think there are 21 guns within the city limits.

[Scratch2Plus]

Bartlett Hills was in very good shape. Greens rolled smooth albeit on the slow side, especially uphill. Shot one of my lower rounds for the season.

[DavePelz4]

Bartlett Hills was in very good shape. Greens rolled smooth albeit on the slow side, especially uphill. Shot one of my lower rounds for the season.

 

How was the mosquito factor?

[Scratch2Plus]

Non existent. A single walker joined us and pace was really good at 3.75hrs.

[Schley]

Anyone play any of the Joliet Park District courses? Grew up with summers at Innwood off 52 as my dad still works there some 40 years later.

 

Also Kankakee Elks?