Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round2)

[@_the_crook]

TPC-NBK,

we were coming up number seven fairway at maybe 6:45 when the alert sounded. skies were getting dark out to the west.

that part of the course has limited shelter. we hunkered down at eight tee, bench under the tree there. then a microburst with high winds and hail took the course down. large tree limb came down and the green flooded out. walked back to the clubhouse with number nine full of ponds. had something to eat and left about eight. place was still closed to play.

rumbles can be heard here now. big red patch on the radar in Arlington Heights heading this way.

maybe try again tomorrow.

 

[MountainKing]

No deerfield today, a quality ankle sprain is going to keep me down for a few days. Looks like the weather up that way sucks anyway.

[Argonne69]

Villa Olivia was underwhelming this morning, no surprise. It's a half way decent piece of property, but they've elected to do little with it. Fairways were shaggy. Tee boxes had more weeds than grass. Bunkers were wet with little sand. The small greens were in nice shape, but were oh so slow. Not unexpectedly, the rough was thick and wet. Lost a few balls just off the fairway. Frustrating. The only positive thing was that the heavy rain passed just north of the course. Got a few sprinkles on a few holes, but dry otherwise.

 

So so game. The hooks are killing me. Drives probably averaged no more than two hundred yards. Low and left. A few nice scrambles, which included several putts over 20 feet kept the round from disaster territory. Sigh.

 

Coyote Run tomorrow. Hope my swing doesn't sleep in again.

 

[propman]

Played Cinder Ridge yesterday. 90 degree rule. Course in very good condition - wish my play was.

[ldchristopher]

Oak Grove and Glen Erin tomorrow. I don’t worry about drainage at all at Glen Erin. Oak Grove could be interesting.

[Quem24]

Played Willow Crest yesterday since a buddy had a coupon for a complimentary round. We split the $65 for the other. Not a $65 course, but i understand why they can get it given the location.

 

A nice layout, better than i remember it. Greens were true and fair. But the rough, my goodness. There's penal, there's ridiculous...and then theres what i saw yesterday. Any ball in the rough was a 2-3 minute chore to find, if we were able to at all. Id guess its been cut once all year.

 

Cruised it in under 3hrs- i assume the threat of storms (which we got very lucky to dodge) kept people away. Saw some other peeps around. Overall a decent choice if the price is right.

[stasek]

What a great day! Just finished Cantigny (Lakeside/Hillside). Course is still wet, but with the exception of 3 holes, they actually allowed carts on the course. Greens are pure and quick enough to keep you honest. Rough is US Open worthy - miss the fairway by few feet and good luck finding your ball. Another boring round - 9 pars and 9 bogeys for a meh 81.

[Argonne69]

Yeah, definitely one of the better days of the season. Coyote Run this morning was in good shape. I don't recall seeing it this green. The fairways were a bit damp, but playable. Unfortunately the greens were healing from a recent aeration, and were still bumpy, and slow. Ugh.

 

What a difference a day makes. Slow down the d-mn swing, and what do you know, fairways found. One of the best rounds of the season. 13 greens, three bogies, and two birdies, including my first on the 16th. That hole gets me almost every time.

 

[DavePelz4]

The only highlight of the round at Schaumburg on Saturday was the drinks VNutz bought after the first ace of his golf career.

[Symphonize]

Congrats on the Ace VNutz!

 

Got out to Stonewall Orchard this afternoon. Course was in great shape, barely any wet spots, I think I only saw one mushy area on the fairway, and it was down in a low spot by a swamp. Shot a 103 today, but I feel like I’m making really good contact with my 4 hybrid. If I could just figure out my 3 wood that extra distance would help me out so much. My chipping has been hurting a lot this year too. Need to get out and practice some more. Anyone have any good short game drills?

[ldchristopher]

Oak Grove was like two completely different courses today. The front was way past soggy and was like walking on a wet sponge. Every bunker had a pond in it and roll was completely nonexistent. The back, on the other hand, was mostly dry except for the 17th tee box. I started slow but got going after the sixth, which was playing ridiculously long with no roll. I shot one over on the back with a birdie on 13 for a 75.

Glen Erin was incredible. It poured there yesterday yet the entire course was completely bone dry. It was playing fast and firm and the greens were smooth as usual. I made the turn at 37 with a birdie on six but couldn't score on the back. Pace of play was slower than usual at 4 hours 20 minutes, but the real slowdown was on the back. We played the front in under two hours but waited on every shot on the back. 78.

[PuttCurseRepeat]

> @Argonne69 said:

> Yeah, definitely one of the better days of the season. Coyote Run this morning was in good shape. I don't recall seeing it this green. The fairways were a bit damp, but playable. Unfortunately the greens were healing from a recent aeration, and were still bumpy, and slow. Ugh.

>

>>

Arg, how far away are the greens at CR from returning to normal, in your opinion? I'm supposed to play there Friday.

 

A little off topic, but I think I've had it with Reserve 22 at Village Links. They just can't seem to get it right 4 years+ into the operation. It pains me to say it as it's what I consider my home course, my kids play Jr. PGA there and it is a great place to go with, or meet locals any night of the week, potentially. The space is great, both indoors and out, but that is where the pros end. The cons are numerous and as I don't want to turn this into a post where I dump on R22 (as I guess I already have) I won't go into details. I did overhear an employee telling a guest that the golf side is suffering this year and has caused cuts in the restaurant (though I've noticed shortcomings on the restaurant side since it opened). If banquets are getting the same level of service as the dining room, the whole operation is in trouble.

 

[Argonne69]

> @PuttCurseRepeat said:

> > @Argonne69 said:

> > Yeah, definitely one of the better days of the season. Coyote Run this morning was in good shape. I don't recall seeing it this green. The fairways were a bit damp, but playable. Unfortunately the greens were healing from a recent aeration, and were still bumpy, and slow. Ugh.

> >

> >>

> Arg, how far away are the greens at CR from returning to normal, in your opinion? I'm supposed to play there Friday.

>

> A little off topic, but I think I've had it with Reserve 22 at Village Links. They just can't seem to get it right 4 years+ into the operation. It pains me to say it as it's what I consider my home course, my kids play Jr. PGA there and it is a great place to go with, or meet locals any night of the week, potentially. The space is great, both indoors and out, but that is where the pros end. The cons are numerous and as I don't want to turn this into a post where I dump on R22 (as I guess I already have) I won't go into details. I did overhear an employee telling a guest that the golf side is suffering this year and has caused cuts in the restaurant (though I've noticed shortcomings on the restaurant side since it opened). If banquets are getting the same level of service as the dining room, the whole operation is in trouble.

>

 

I don't think they'll be healed by Friday.

 

I can't imagine there's a course out there that isn't suffering. We've had an awful spring, and last year was no picnic, either. We noticed that many courses jumped to full, or near full rates very quickly this season. No doubt to try to get some cash in the registers.

 

[VNutz]

Saturday at Schaumburg was a true experience of the good, the bad and the ugly. I'll go in reverse order on this one.

 

The Ugly: My golf game. Saturday was one of those rounds where I simply couldn't put it together. Case in point, on back to back holes I had wedge in hand with 130 or less in from the middle of the fairway, and walked away with a bogey and a double. I hit some decent shots but instantly followed them up with bad ones.

 

The Bad: Schaumburg Golf Club management. We arrived to find we had an hour+ delay due to lightning in the area. Unfortunate but we understood for safety, etc, but it was annoying seeing as how the course didn't get a drop of rain. Additionally frustrating was having about 10 groups waiting on this same weather delay, and nobody coming through making the turn or going off 1, and their refusal to let us off, even when asked on several occasions to do so. When the 4 groups we were waiting on finally came through they were at quite the leisurely pace, clearly not being pushed by the ranger. To the course's credit, they did wise up and put some groups off the other side, but only at the same time we went off, all that time wasted. When we finally did tee off, we arrived at #1 green to find it covered in helicopter seeds, something you'd think could have been cleared up by maintenance in the 90 minutes we were waiting. The rough on the Tournament 9 clearly hadn't been mowed recently, to the point that you could see the seeds on the heads of the blades of grass. We lost or had a hard time finding a lot of balls off the fairway. And the final kicker, they closed down the halfway house and cart girl at 3:00, no warning at all, no mention from the girl that it was her last round or anything, just done. All these things together were just baffling, and so poorly managed. I hate to say it but I'm not sure I'll be returning, even with the Good.

 

The Good: Got my first Ace!! Little punch PW from 118 into the wind. Hit about 8 feet short, took a big hop and came back left off the slope and into the cup. As it was rolling I really didn't think it could go in, as that just never happens for me (to this point). But it dropped and I simply went crazy. Glad to finally get this mon.key (why is that censored??) off my back, and to have it unfold right in front of me, no question about it.

 

 

[mci711]

@VNutz congrats on the ace! Having worked in golf for almost 10 years, I have to disagree with the entire "bad" section of your post though. Other than the cart girl and bar being closed without warning. Lightning doesn't equal rain. They probably have nexrad and aren't allowed to let people off if lightning is in the area at all. There is nothing they can do at that point. It is pretty black and white. If liability wasn't involved I would have let anyone that thought it was a good idea to play in lightning out - natural selection will do its work over time.

 

Sending players off the back randomly on the weekend is just inviting a massive headache in 2 hours.

 

Rough is hardly being mowed anywhere right now, too wet from record rain fall.

 

Can't clear helicopter seeds off a green when there is lightning - that warning isn't just for golfers.

 

Sorry for the rant, this post gave me PTSD from my past experiences though.

[DavePelz4]

> @mci711 said:

> @VNutz congrats on the ace! Having worked in golf for almost 10 years, I have to disagree with the entire "bad" section of your post though. Other than the cart girl and bar being closed without warning. Lightning doesn't equal rain. They probably have nexrad and aren't allowed to let people off if lightning is in the area at all. There is nothing they can do at that point. It is pretty black and white. If liability wasn't involved I would have let anyone that thought it was a good idea to play in lightning out - natural selection will do its work over time.

>

> Sending players off the back randomly on the weekend is just inviting a massive headache in 2 hours.

>

> Rough is hardly being mowed anywhere right now, too wet from record rain fall.

>

> Can't clear helicopter seeds off a green when there is lightning - that warning isn't just for golfers.

>

> Sorry for the rant, this post gave me PTSD from my past experiences though.

 

I'm not sticking up for VNutz here but let me add some context to the story. There's what we were told and then what really happened. They were upfront about the tee times being pushed back 75 minutes due to the lightening. I get and respect that 100% On weekends, Schaumburg uses the model that the PGA Tour uses and sends groups off the first and 10th tees for their PERMANENT tee times. There is also allegedly a ranger to push the groups to stay in position. We were scheduled to tee off on 1 and there was over 90 minutes where no one teed off. After the first group who started on 10 made the turn, there was another 25 minutes when no one came through...in other words, there was no one pushing them at all. It took the 4 groups who were the **alleged **permanent times 45 minutes beyond their scheduled pace and then the starter on the 1st hole told us those weren't permanent times at all but just random people who showed up to play that morning.

 

While I understand the wave concept and see how it can work, in this specific situation, it didn't work at all and delayed everyone on the course to an extreme. Considering the situation, why not be honest about things and then why not have the ranger do their job of keeping people on pace?

 

The rough is another story. As hard as it is to imagine, they didn't have rain and the fairways and greens were cut and played nicely. Just walking in the rough i found 15 balls and that does nothing to help the pace of play. I'm not picking a fight here but they had several days last week when they could have cut the rough. And think about this...how many balls are they going to chew up with the mower when they actually do cut the rough.

 

In the last 20 years I've easily played 75 rounds at SGC. This is the worst we were ever treated and the worst management I've ever seen.

 

It would be great if VNutz's ace was in a round filled with great memories.

 

Off the soap box now.

[VNutz]

> @mci711 said:

> @VNutz congrats on the ace! Having worked in golf for almost 10 years, I have to disagree with the entire "bad" section of your post though. Other than the cart girl and bar being closed without warning. Lightning doesn't equal rain. They probably have nexrad and aren't allowed to let people off if lightning is in the area at all. There is nothing they can do at that point. It is pretty black and white. If liability wasn't involved I would have let anyone that thought it was a good idea to play in lightning out - natural selection will do its work over time.

>

> Sending players off the back randomly on the weekend is just inviting a massive headache in 2 hours.

>

> Rough is hardly being mowed anywhere right now, too wet from record rain fall.

>

> Can't clear helicopter seeds off a green when there is lightning - that warning isn't just for golfers.

>

> Sorry for the rant, this post gave me PTSD from my past experiences though.

 

No worries man, I get it. I worked grounds for a summer so I understand on the maintenance. My brother was an assistant for a 5 years at Waters Edge as well, and I've seen the $.hit they go through, so I'm generally very hesitant to call out courses. The rough was mowed on one of the 9s, the other 9 wasn't and it was miserable to find a ball there. The green on 1 wasn't a necessary thing to handle, but it would have been something of a nice small gesture, it's not a lot of fun to wait for 90 minutes and arrive to a green that's covered and not puttable.

 

Regarding the delay, I'm totally fine with them keeping people off the course for safety and I agree with your sentiment. However, I didn't explain well enough, the course was NOT in delay while I was there, this was a backup resulting from a delay earlier in the morning. I got there around 9:45 and there were people on the course and on the range, so we weren't under a current delay. On the range it was clear nobody was going off the first tee on either side, they were simply being held open. Their explanation to us was they have some sort of wave system for times, something I've not heard before. In talking to some of the regulars as we waited the story kept changing, so there was some reason unknown to us for doing so. From the looks of it it appeared that they let their permanents off of both 9s early and had to hold the tees open for them to make the turn smoothly and not wait for new groups on their back 9. In theory and without delay that might work, but on Saturday it did not.

[Shriner]

@Vnutz - What a feeling, lucky that you were able to see it happen too from the tee box as sometimes with sun in the face or the hole behind a slope, you don't find out until you get up there. I am assuming based on the yardage, that was hole 3?

 

I played Arrowhead for the first time since the 90's and came away shocked. I understand they went through a recent remodel. The greens were as fast as Stonewall Orchard and in perfect condition. Interesting layout that was pretty fair, definitely not an easy course. Other than hole 9 and one of the par 5's on the back, I enjoyed every hole. Place was gorgeous including the bar and clubhouse. The only blemish is a ranger made the cardinal sin of telling us to pick up the pace because there was no group on the hole in front of us. However, you cannot assume we are playing slow and the cart said we were three minutes AHEAD of pace. Finished the front in two hours flat with two of the group walking. Ah well, I can't hold one ranger's actions against the course.

[VNutz]

> @Shriner said:

> @Vnutz - What a feeling, lucky that you were able to see it happen too from the tee box as sometimes with sun in the face or the hole behind a slope, you don't find out until you get up there. I am assuming based on the yardage, that was hole 3?

>

> I played Arrowhead for the first time since the 90's and came away shocked. I understand they went through a recent remodel. The greens were as fast as Stonewall Orchard and in perfect condition. Interesting layout that was pretty fair, definitely not an easy course. Other than hole 9 and one of the par 5's on the back, I enjoyed every hole. Place was gorgeous including the bar and clubhouse. The only blemish is a ranger made the cardinal sin of telling us to pick up the pace because there was no group on the hole in front of us. However, you cannot assume we are playing slow and the cart said we were three minutes AHEAD of pace. Finished the front in two hours flat with two of the group walking. Ah well, I can't hold one ranger's actions against the course.

 

Thank you. Yes, 3rd hole, the short one.

 

And having played Arrowhead some 20+ years ago as well I can understand the surprise when showing up now. Totally different place.

[mci711]

> @VNutz said:

> > @mci711 said:

> > @VNutz congrats on the ace! Having worked in golf for almost 10 years, I have to disagree with the entire "bad" section of your post though. Other than the cart girl and bar being closed without warning. Lightning doesn't equal rain. They probably have nexrad and aren't allowed to let people off if lightning is in the area at all. There is nothing they can do at that point. It is pretty black and white. If liability wasn't involved I would have let anyone that thought it was a good idea to play in lightning out - natural selection will do its work over time.

> >

> > Sending players off the back randomly on the weekend is just inviting a massive headache in 2 hours.

> >

> > Rough is hardly being mowed anywhere right now, too wet from record rain fall.

> >

> > Can't clear helicopter seeds off a green when there is lightning - that warning isn't just for golfers.

> >

> > Sorry for the rant, this post gave me PTSD from my past experiences though.

>

Ahh gotcha. Sorry I have never played there. But I get that frustration then. I misunderstood the delay. Either way, hole in one trumps the rest of the day! Congrats again on that.

 

[VNutz]

> @mci711 said:

> > @VNutz said:

> > > @mci711 said:

> > > @VNutz congrats on the ace! Having worked in golf for almost 10 years, I have to disagree with the entire "bad" section of your post though. Other than the cart girl and bar being closed without warning. Lightning doesn't equal rain. They probably have nexrad and aren't allowed to let people off if lightning is in the area at all. There is nothing they can do at that point. It is pretty black and white. If liability wasn't involved I would have let anyone that thought it was a good idea to play in lightning out - natural selection will do its work over time.

> > >

> > > Sending players off the back randomly on the weekend is just inviting a massive headache in 2 hours.

> > >

> > > Rough is hardly being mowed anywhere right now, too wet from record rain fall.

> > >

> > > Can't clear helicopter seeds off a green when there is lightning - that warning isn't just for golfers.

> > >

> > > Sorry for the rant, this post gave me PTSD from my past experiences though.

> >

> Ahh gotcha. Sorry I have never played there. But I get that frustration then. I misunderstood the delay. Either way, hole in one trumps the rest of the day! Congrats again on that.

>

 

Thanks man, appreciate it.

[B-Man]

@VNutz And now the floodgates will open. Congrats!

[Argonne69]

Aaaahhhh!!! Don't say floodgates!

 

[Dashfast]

Played Sunset Valley and Glencoe in the past few days. Really impressed with the Sunset Valley course - apparently they've made some recent improvements. It was challenging, pretty, and generally idyllic (IMO). Enjoyed my time at Glencoe as well - for $32, it's a pretty great deal. As far as difficulty is concerned though, I'd say that SV is much harder than Glencoe, yet Glencoe has a little bit higher of a slope/rating. Anywho, both are solid courses that I'd recommend.

[Argonne69]

> @Dashfast said:

> Played Sunset Valley and Glencoe in the past few days. Really impressed with the Sunset Valley course - apparently they've made some recent improvements. It was challenging, pretty, and generally idyllic (IMO). Enjoyed my time at Glencoe as well - for $32, it's a pretty great deal. As far as difficulty is concerned though, I'd say that SV is much harder than Glencoe, yet Glencoe has a little bit higher of a slope/rating. Anywho, both are solid courses that I'd recommend.

 

Glencoe is tighter (w/ more trees), and has smaller greens. The renovation of SV took out a lot of the trees.

 

[ldchristopher]

> @Dashfast said:

> Played Sunset Valley and Glencoe in the past few days. Really impressed with the Sunset Valley course - apparently they've made some recent improvements. It was challenging, pretty, and generally idyllic (IMO). Enjoyed my time at Glencoe as well - for $32, it's a pretty great deal. As far as difficulty is concerned though, I'd say that SV is much harder than Glencoe, yet Glencoe has a little bit higher of a slope/rating. Anywho, both are solid courses that I'd recommend.

The rating and slope at Glencoe are way beyond inflated. The numbers at most Chicago area courses are nuts. The worst has gotta be Steeple Chase but Glencoe gives it a real run by playing over par with a 133 slope. Is the course hard? Not at all. Does it have a bunch of long 4’s? Nope. Are the 5’s beastly? Not at all. What about the 3’s? Well, one is long but plays dead straight and shots can run up. Stick Glencoe in Southern Wisconsin or Southwest Michigan and it’s rating is below 71 with a slope in the mid-to-high 120’s.

 

[Apindara]

Totally agree with the Steeplechase assessment. I really like the place but no way does it deserve those usga ratings. I would love to hear how they came up with those numbers.

[TheBear95]

> @Apindara said:

> Totally agree with the Steeplechase assessment. I really like the place but no way does it deserve those usga ratings. I would love to hear how they came up with those numbers.

 

It was actually re-rated last season and the numbers went up! I remember looking at the scorecard and just laughing in disbelief.

[AndyC76]

> @Apindara said:

> Totally agree with the Steeplechase assessment. I really like the place but no way does it deserve those usga ratings. I would love to hear how they came up with those numbers.

How do you guys feel about shepherds crook’s rating. I’ve always thought it’s a bit under rated based on the greens and that long par 3. Which can be tough for a mid teens handicapper like myself. I do realize it’s a par 71. But I feel like the slope should be a bit higher.

 

[geochitown]

> @AndyC76 said:

> > @Apindara said:

> > Totally agree with the Steeplechase assessment. I really like the place but no way does it deserve those usga ratings. I would love to hear how they came up with those numbers.

> How do you guys feel about shepherds crook’s rating. I’ve always thought it’s a bit under rated based on the greens and that long par 3. Which can be tough for a mid teens handicapper like myself. I do realize it’s a par 71. But I feel like the slope should be a bit higher.

>

That's the one (Shepherd's Crook), in addition to Highlands of Elgin I think is rated too low on slope.