Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[Argonne69]

I got in late Thursday from my trek around Puget Sound (http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1678850-puget-sound-trip-report-august-2018/), and decided to give my poor back a rest for two days. I wanted to play something close to downtown this morning, but most courses I typically play were booked solid. 'No surprise. Against my better judgement I decide to tee of at 7:24 am at George Dunne. I mean, how bad could it be that early? 4:30 to play 18 holes. We made the turn in 2:20, as the group in front was one and a half holes behind. At what ungodly hour does one have to tee off on this hellhole to finish in 4 hours?

 

On top of that, when did they institute the carts only policy on weekend mornings? Actually, I should say "cart fee required", as I paid the full (overpriced) $70 rate and walked. I told the cashier I was going to walk, and he said that he was new, and that it was up to the starter. The starter said the policy was goofy, and had driven away a number of regular groups (to Ravisloe), and told me to have a nice round. Oy veh.

 

The course was a wet mess. No rollout of drives. There were numerous saturated areas, many with cart treads. No duh. It was sad to see that the bunker renovation only fixed the bunkers to a certain extent, as many were compacted wet sand. The greens looked nice, but were slow.

 

Mediocre day ballstriking. My back needs a full week's rest. I still managed a 79, but only because I was able to get up and down on five holes.

[B-Man]

We were one of those regular morning foursomes that now play elsewhere. Policy started in April just after we all paid our platinum membership. Pissed is an understatement but then again, no great loss as there are better choices around.

[mci711]

Played Weaverridge in Peoria today.. First time playing there this year and was very disappointed in the conditions. I couldn't believe the shape of the tee boxes and parts of the fairway. Will say the greens were solid. Met my brother from St. Louis there, and I had talked up weaverridge big time and I was a little embarrassed to be honest. Up and down round, shot a 79. Couldn't make a putt to save my life, didn't make a single putt outside of 4 ft.

 

Hopefully, the course gets back to the shape it use to be in next year. One of the best layouts in Illinois and so fun to play.

[DavePelz4]

Fox Bend on Saturday. Another course in our area that's taken out hundreds of trees. Holes that were formerly tree lined are now wide open. Had to chuckle as we had a 3some in front of us, played the front 9 in less than 2 hours and the ranger "suggested" we could do a bit better. Didn't mind it...would rather see rangers be proactive as opposed to letting slow play develop. With the rain, there wasn't a lot of roll but I don't think that stopped VNutz from hitting multiple 300+ carry drives. The greens were slowish and lots of ball marks to be found everywhere. Sand in the bunkers was nice. With the tree removal, the 3rd green which is habitually the worst green in IL is now getting air and almost a normal green.

 

Think it was $45 to play, walking, not a bad rate for an above average course.

[AUTIGER07]

Played Weaverridge in Peoria today.. First time playing there this year and was very disappointed in the conditions. I couldn't believe the shape of the tee boxes and parts of the fairway. Will say the greens were solid. Met my brother from St. Louis there, and I had talked up weaverridge big time and I was a little embarrassed to be honest. Up and down round, shot a 79. Couldn't make a putt to save my life, didn't make a single putt outside of 4 ft.

 

Hopefully, the course gets back to the shape it use to be in next year. One of the best layouts in Illinois and so fun to play.

 

Sad to hear. Played it many times and my folks lived in there for awhile. Beautiful course but I think they've fallen on some hard times, similar to the city of Peoria itself.

[ldchristopher]

I got in late Thursday from my trek around Puget Sound (http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1678850-puget-sound-trip-report-august-2018/), and decided to give my poor back a rest for two days. I wanted to play something close to downtown this morning, but most courses I typically play were booked solid. 'No surprise. Against my better judgement I decide to tee of at 7:24 am at George Dunne. I mean, how bad could it be that early? 4:30 to play 18 holes. We made the turn in 2:20, as the group in front was one and a half holes behind. At what ungodly hour does one have to tee off on this hellhole to finish in 4 hours?

 

On top of that, when did they institute the carts only policy on weekend mornings? Actually, I should say "cart fee required", as I paid the full (overpriced) $70 rate and walked. I told the cashier I was going to walk, and he said that he was new, and that it was up to the starter. The starter said the policy was goofy, and had driven away a number of regular groups (to Ravisloe), and told me to have a nice round. Oy veh.

 

The course was a wet mess. No rollout of drives. There were numerous saturated areas, many with cart treads. No duh. It was sad to see that the bunker renovation only fixed the bunkers to a certain extent, as many were compacted wet sand. The greens looked nice, but were slow.

 

Mediocre day ballstriking. My back needs a full week's rest. I still managed a 79, but only because I was able to get up and down on five holes.

Tee times there are 7 minutes apart. Gotta be among the first three groups. Or just never even consider playing it on a weekend. Or take my route and just never play it at all. I swore off all the Cook County Forest Preseve courses and my IQ shot up. No more playing rounds with people who name the deer on courses or get hammered on Bud tall boys at 8:00 AM. Just total piece of mind. Sort of.

[chisag]

"get hammered on Bud tall boys at 8:00 AM."

 

... We played there about 5 years ago and got paired up with two yahoos doing just that. Although it was 2pm when we started, it was 103* that day and I brought 96 oz of water and went thru it all never going to the bathroom once. These two guys brought a case of beer on the course and were whizzing almost every hole. They must have been so dehydrated that night IF they got home because they were hammered actually buying a few more beers from the cart girl when they ran out.

[ldchristopher]

"get hammered on Bud tall boys at 8:00 AM."

 

... We played there about 5 years ago and got paired up with two yahoos doing just that. Although it was 2pm when we started, it was 103* that day and I brought 96 oz of water and went thru it all never going to the bathroom once. These two guys brought a case of beer on the course and were whizzing almost every hole. They must have been so dehydrated that night IF they got home because they were hammered actually buying a few more beers from the cart girl when they ran out.

Bear and I once played a Sunday morning round at Highland Woods and I remember three things distinctly.

1. We had the 6:17 tee time. I remember this because the guy in front of us had the 6:10. Naturally, he asked the person at the counter to sell him two beers. She replied that she couldn't yet, to which he responded that rule was only in place on weekdays. WHO REMEMBERS THE BEER SALE TIME CONSTRAINTS ON COURSES?! That f------ guy.

2. One of the people in our group was a little older than us. He seemed nice and on the first tee presented as normal. I was thrilled. The odds of a strange person at Highland Woods are extremely high. He was Filipino. My in laws and wife are Filipino. I thought if he was a guy who liked to chat people up, at least we’d have something to talk about. I was wrong. On the third hole, I heard the distinct crack of a beer can. The next hole, another crack. At least he waited until 7:00.

3. By the 12th hole, he was hammered. By the 16th hole he was talking to himself. By 18, he was super giggly. Every shot was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. As he tried to shake our hand on the 18th green, he tripped and almost fell in the bunker.

Okay, that's like 10 this. Whatever. I'm never playing there again.

[Shriner]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

[mci711]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

 

Both of these things I feel are pretty common. I know a lot of courses that will make sure there are only 2 carts per group, I guess it depends on expected play that day. But it is awful to have to tell your noon tee time that their cart is on 18 finishing up and to hold tight. I think it is definitely rude for someone to tell someone where to play, but players need to play the teebox that suits there game. Your group may keep up, but most don't. I have see it so much this year, guys play the tips and searching for balls left and right 200 yards down the hole and having a 4 iron or hybrid into every par 4. I actually wish tee boxes selection was enforced more by the starters, it is a huge problem. But it isn't another groups job, that is going to cause problems.

[AUTIGER07]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

 

Both of these things I feel are pretty common. I know a lot of courses that will make sure there are only 2 carts per group, I guess it depends on expected play that day. But it is awful to have to tell your noon tee time that their cart is on 18 finishing up and to hold tight. I think it is definitely rude for someone to tell someone where to play, but players need to play the teebox that suits there game. Your group may keep up, but most don't. I have see it so much this year, guys play the tips and searching for balls left and right 200 yards down the hole and having a 4 iron or hybrid into every par 4. I actually wish tee boxes selection was enforced more by the starters, it is a huge problem. But it isn't another groups job, that is going to cause problems.

 

I agree with this and some courses do actually have the starter push people up at their discretion. I disagree with the next group saying something but the starter is definitely within his / her realm to say "Are you sure you want to tee it up back there?".

[zer0]

Shepherd's Crook yesterday. Walked off on #12 during what was shaping up to be a 5+ hour round. Never again. Inept ranger running around the whole time saying he was trying to fix it, but then not having the guts to force slow groups to speed up or move up. Combined with Sunday US Open pin placements and it was a nightmare. No longer worth the hour drive from the city. I think I'm done with Sunday golf around here, just a colossal waste of time.

[Argonne69]

Shepherd's Crook yesterday. Walked off on #12 during what was shaping up to be a 5+ hour round. Never again. Inept ranger running around the whole time saying he was trying to fix it, but then not having the guts to force slow groups to speed up or move up. Combined with Sunday US Open pin placements and it was a nightmare. No longer worth the hour drive from the city. I think I'm done with Sunday golf around here, just a colossal waste of time.

 

We've all experienced slow play due to a group falling significantly behind. Has anyone actually seen a group moved back into position? After dozens of slow rounds, I sure haven't.

[dhartmann34]

Shepherd's Crook yesterday. Walked off on #12 during what was shaping up to be a 5+ hour round. Never again. Inept ranger running around the whole time saying he was trying to fix it, but then not having the guts to force slow groups to speed up or move up. Combined with Sunday US Open pin placements and it was a nightmare. No longer worth the hour drive from the city. I think I'm done with Sunday golf around here, just a colossal waste of time.

 

We've all experienced slow play due to a group falling significantly behind. Has anyone actually seen a group moved back into position? After dozens of slow rounds, I sure haven't.

Stonewall will do it.

[zer0]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

 

 

First one happens more often than not in my experience. Very rare to see a 4 some go out with 3 carts.

 

 

Second one, I agree with the guy who said something. 95% of the people who play the tips have no business being there and saying it's ok because you keep up with the group in front doesn't justify it because for all we know the group in front is playing slow.

 

I think slow rounds would go down considerably if courses forced people to produce a single digit index in order to play the tips.

[zer0]

Shepherd's Crook yesterday. Walked off on #12 during what was shaping up to be a 5+ hour round. Never again. Inept ranger running around the whole time saying he was trying to fix it, but then not having the guts to force slow groups to speed up or move up. Combined with Sunday US Open pin placements and it was a nightmare. No longer worth the hour drive from the city. I think I'm done with Sunday golf around here, just a colossal waste of time.

 

We've all experienced slow play due to a group falling significantly behind. Has anyone actually seen a group moved back into position? After dozens of slow rounds, I sure haven't.

 

 

The only time in my 20+ rounds at Lawsonia last year that it was slow the ranger went out and moved a group up 2 holes. 2 dads and 2 young teens taking way too long, ranger had them skip 10 and 11 and go straight to 12.

[Argonne69]

I would generally give a player the benefit of the doubt if he/she hit a poor shot on the opening tee. Now, if they did the same on the breakfast ball, then it's time to move up.

[dhartmann34]

Agreed. I was playing in the Illinois Open qualifier and was so nervous I topped my shot. Didn't even get past the ladies tee. Nerves are legit on any first tee. For the record, I did make par. Haha.

 

Take a few off the first tee, then get a move on! Or take your time and let the next group through. I've got no issues with folks playing at a slower pace... But not letting the next group through is just ridiculous. That's where most of my frustration comes from.

I would generally give a player the benefit of the doubt if he/she hit a poor shot on the opening tee. Now, if they did the same on the breakfast ball, then it's time to move up.

[TheBear95]

At this point in the season, I'm ready for the calendar to turn. Get me some fall golf.

 

I used to think that May & June were the busiest months in our area, but the past couple of years August has been the month were courses are seemingly the most jammed. This year seems to be no exemption. Need football to start to empty out these courses on the weekends.

 

Plus, I hate heat & humidity. I'll take 60 and cloudy over 85 and sunny every day of the week.

[zer0]

I would generally give a player the benefit of the doubt if he/she hit a poor shot on the opening tee. Now, if they did the same on the breakfast ball, then it's time to move up.

 

Agreed with that, no reason to judge someone off of one shot. But, if he's at the tips and does 2 like that I believe it's ok to pass judgement.

[Shriner]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

 

 

First one happens more often than not in my experience. Very rare to see a 4 some go out with 3 carts.

 

 

Second one, I agree with the guy who said something. 95% of the people who play the tips have no business being there and saying it's ok because you keep up with the group in front doesn't justify it because for all we know the group in front is playing slow.

 

I think slow rounds would go down considerably if courses forced people to produce a single digit index in order to play the tips.

 

Good to know, I will have to be more cautious about booking threesomes in the future. I did not know this was prevelant.

 

As far as the second point, anyone could be a scratch golfer, play the tips and still be a slow player. My buddy plays fast so it doesn't really matter what tee box he plays. If you think about, what you shoot does not affect others playing the course that day. How quick you play does...

 

The odd/ironic part about it? The guys who commented spent most of their day looking for their tee shots in the woods, rough or water.

[Argonne69]

At this point in the season, I'm ready for the calendar to turn. Get me some fall golf.

 

I used to think that May & June were the busiest months in our area, but the past couple of years August has been the month were courses are seemingly the most jammed. This year seems to be no exemption. Need football to start to empty out these courses on the weekends.

 

Plus, I hate heat & humidity. I'll take 60 and cloudy over 85 and sunny every day of the week.

 

September is my favorite month for golf in the area. The courses are less crowded, and the weather is near perfect. I don't know about 60 degrees, though. We've had some very warm Septembers over the past few years.

 

The best part of fall golf is that the courses can start to cut the greens low without worrying about stressing them.

[TheBear95]

At this point in the season, I'm ready for the calendar to turn. Get me some fall golf.

 

I used to think that May & June were the busiest months in our area, but the past couple of years August has been the month were courses are seemingly the most jammed. This year seems to be no exemption. Need football to start to empty out these courses on the weekends.

 

Plus, I hate heat & humidity. I'll take 60 and cloudy over 85 and sunny every day of the week.

 

September is my favorite month for golf in the area. The courses are less crowded, and the weather is near perfect. I don't know about 60 degrees, though. We've had some very warm Septembers over the past few years.

 

The best part of fall golf is that the courses can start to cut the greens low without worrying about stressing them.

 

Yeah, 60 is more like October weather, but I'll take the lower humidity that September usually brings. And, I agree, other than avoiding courses that have punched, its the best month of the Chicago season.

[zer0]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

 

 

First one happens more often than not in my experience. Very rare to see a 4 some go out with 3 carts.

 

 

Second one, I agree with the guy who said something. 95% of the people who play the tips have no business being there and saying it's ok because you keep up with the group in front doesn't justify it because for all we know the group in front is playing slow.

 

I think slow rounds would go down considerably if courses forced people to produce a single digit index in order to play the tips.

 

Good to know, I will have to be more cautious about booking threesomes in the future. I did not know this was prevelant.

 

As far as the second point, anyone could be a scratch golfer, play the tips and still be a slow player. My buddy plays fast so it doesn't really matter what tee box he plays. If you think about, what you shoot does not affect others playing the course that day. How quick you play does...

 

The odd/ironic part about it? The guys who commented spent most of their day looking for their tee shots in the woods, rough or water.

 

True about the scratch golfer could still be slow. However, that's just a possibility. What is a definite though is that the guy playing the tips and shooting in the 90s is playing slower than if he was up a tee box and shooting in the 80s. Everyone on the course may be fast golfers, but if everyone is playing back too far then those people are adding shots to their game and therefore more time. That time adds up over the course of many golfers on the same course.

[mci711]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

 

 

First one happens more often than not in my experience. Very rare to see a 4 some go out with 3 carts.

 

 

Second one, I agree with the guy who said something. 95% of the people who play the tips have no business being there and saying it's ok because you keep up with the group in front doesn't justify it because for all we know the group in front is playing slow.

 

I think slow rounds would go down considerably if courses forced people to produce a single digit index in order to play the tips.

 

Good to know, I will have to be more cautious about booking threesomes in the future. I did not know this was prevelant.

 

As far as the second point, anyone could be a scratch golfer, play the tips and still be a slow player. My buddy plays fast so it doesn't really matter what tee box he plays. If you think about, what you shoot does not affect others playing the course that day. How quick you play does...

 

The odd/ironic part about it? The guys who commented spent most of their day looking for their tee shots in the woods, rough or water.

 

True about the scratch golfer could still be slow. However, that's just a possibility. What is a definite though is that the guy playing the tips and shooting in the 90s is playing slower than if he was up a tee box and shooting in the 80s. Everyone on the course may be fast golfers, but if everyone is playing back too far then those people are adding shots to their game and therefore more time. That time adds up over the course of many golfers on the same course.

 

I don't really understand the joy of playing the tips anyway. I am an ok golfer, but anything over 7000 usually isn't very fun. 65-6700 is my sweet spot I think.

[mci711]

Shepherd's Crook yesterday. Walked off on #12 during what was shaping up to be a 5+ hour round. Never again. Inept ranger running around the whole time saying he was trying to fix it, but then not having the guts to force slow groups to speed up or move up. Combined with Sunday US Open pin placements and it was a nightmare. No longer worth the hour drive from the city. I think I'm done with Sunday golf around here, just a colossal waste of time.

 

We've all experienced slow play due to a group falling significantly behind. Has anyone actually seen a group moved back into position? After dozens of slow rounds, I sure haven't.

 

Back where I worked in St. Louis we had a starter who would do it. He didn't take any crap from anyone and days he worked everything moved much smoother. He was an older guy, nice as can be to everyone. Guy tried to fight him on 9 after being told to move to 10. They wouldn't listen and he took the keys from their carts and drove off, the had to walk the rest of the way to the pro shop (couple hundred yards, so not a big deal). That was an exciting day.

 

Edit: I think it was more of a "you are behind by a lot, if you want anything at the turn call ahead, or skip a hole to catch up" it escalated to you need to leave the course.

[Thunder Dan]

Played at Blackstone yesterday, course was in amazing condition as expected. Forgot how beautiful the clubhouse is inside, especially with the unique touch of a train running around the ceiling. We waited on every tee box but still finished in about 4:20 minutes.

 

What a strange start to the day as I have never experienced in 23 years of golfing a couple of things. First, we are a threesome but are told by the course that the third cannot have a cart because a single has paired with us. Clubhouse attendant and manager say the third must go meet the single and hop in his cart! We offer to pay a second cart fee to get our own cart but are told they are worried about running out of carts because the course is packed. Fortunately the single ended up being a nice guy but that could have been disastrous.

 

Second, 1st hole is roughly 355 yds playing into the wind. My buddy catches the driver off the hosel and the ball bounces off the tee box to the left, past the starter and next to the people with the next tee time. One of them tells my friend he shouldn't be playing the back tees. I have never understood this line of thinking and couldn't believe someone would say that. Play whatever tee boxes make you happy as long as you keep up pace, which we always do.

 

Blackstone and Stonewall Orchard would make a nice 36 hole day. Lucky to have these gorgeous courses around.

 

Both of these things I feel are pretty common. I know a lot of courses that will make sure there are only 2 carts per group, I guess it depends on expected play that day. But it is awful to have to tell your noon tee time that their cart is on 18 finishing up and to hold tight. I think it is definitely rude for someone to tell someone where to play, but players need to play the teebox that suits there game. Your group may keep up, but most don't. I have see it so much this year, guys play the tips and searching for balls left and right 200 yards down the hole and having a 4 iron or hybrid into every par 4. I actually wish tee boxes selection was enforced more by the starters, it is a huge problem. But it isn't another groups job, that is going to cause problems.

 

I agree with this and some courses do actually have the starter push people up at their discretion. I disagree with the next group saying something but the starter is definitely within his / her realm to say "Are you sure you want to tee it up back there?".

 

I never warm up before a round generally because I play so early, and don't hit breakfast balls because I'm too much of a rules guy. I remember topping a drive at Harborside from the yellows on #1 Starboard and the starter saying something to me as I walked to my cart. I ended up birding the hole and shooting 76, finishing in under 3 hours - It took some restraint from going back and giving him my scorecard.

 

I think most courses should do more on the course pushing to speed up play than judging one shot off the first tee. For example, this guy can tell me what tees to play on #1 but when 3 groups are on hole 6 they do nothing to push groups.

[propman]

From what I see, almost all rangers are nice guys who are doing it solely for the free golf and pocket change. Their employers (courses) should mandate they make sure they make the rounds on the course to ensure groups are playing in a timely fashion. If they run into resistance, the course needs to have some form of enforcement. What that enforcement might be. I don't know.

 

Unfortunately, there are going to be slow players who are real assh%ts. Maybe banning them from any future rounds would be the ticket.

[matt70286]

Played the new and improved Sunset Valley yesterday. I like what they have done as they cleared a decent amount of trees and overall cleaned up the course conditions for the most part.

 

The layout itself hasn’t markedly changed but you can see more of the course with the tree removal. Greens were firm and fairly true but slow (8 or 9 stimp if I had to guess). New clubhouse is nice and overall the staff was super excited about it and very friendly / helpful (I guess you would hope so after a $7mm renovation).

 

As far as difficulty goes, it’s fairly open and I wouldn’t say terribly challenging unless you find the fairway bunkers. I played the Blue tees (~6300) with some higher handicap buddies and played my best round of my year shooting 69. Longer hitters should be able to eat up the par 5’s.

 

One word of advice, it was cart path only and will be for the rest of 2018. That said, they encourage walking and have a stable of push carts available for rental. The ranger was also on his game as he reminded a slow group ahead of us to pick it up when they fell behind the group ahead (think pace will improve when they move off the cart path only rules next year).

 

Overall I had a really enjoyable time. Friendly staff, good conditions and a fair course that can be pretty fun with some buddies of all skill levels. Not a bucket list course by any means but a solid muni and way better than it used to be.

[TheBear95]

Played the new and improved Sunset Valley yesterday. I like what they have done as they cleared a decent amount of trees and overall cleaned up the course conditions for the most part.

 

The layout itself hasn't markedly changed but you can see more of the course with the free removal. Greens were firm and fairly true but slow (8 or 9 stimp if I had to guess). New clubhouse is nice and overall the staff was super excited about it and very friendly / helpful (I guess you would hope so after a $7mm renovation).

 

As far as difficulty goes, it's fairly open and I wouldn't say terribly challenging unless you find the fairway bunkers. I played the Blue tees (~6300) with some higher handicap buddies and played my best round of my year shooting 69. Longer hitters should be able to eat up the par 5's.

 

One word of advice, it was cart path only and will be for the rest of 2018. That said, they encourage walking and have a stable of push carts available for rental. The ranger was also on his game as he reminded a slow group ahead of us to pick it up when they fell behind the group ahead (think pace will improve when they move off the cart path only rules next year).

 

Overall I had a really enjoyable time. Friendly staff, good conditions and a fair course that can be pretty fun with some buddies of all skill levels. Not a bucket list course by any means but a solid muni and way better than it used to be.

 

Good to hear. I'm looking forward to checking it out. I still wish they would have rerouted it after the reno though.