MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[thechief16]

It sucked and its demise should not be mourned.  As mentioned, my enduring memory is of balls landing in the middle of the fairway kicking into the rough, and occasionally the woods.  This article pretty much sums it up.

 

https://www.insidenova.com/news/prince_william/golfers-get-final-round-in-at-generals-ridge/article_59a4106a-7bdf-11e9-afb1-13d408542e3f.html

 

 

[Huggs157]

28 minutes ago, SullGolf said:

PoSho conspiracy theory: Jack kept the trees in the middle of that hole to act as a magnet for all the haters.  Distracts from all of the other holes that go fairway to cart path to GONE in the span of 5 yards.  Here we are talking about how you have to play around the trees instead of how you're hitting 3 off the tee because of a stupid cart path and how the holes are built in to the side of a hill.

Agreed, its very unforgiving  if you just miss the fairway.  Strength of my game has always been Driver (don't really miss many fairways) .  Course has always fit my eye for some reason...

 

On #10, the trees only come into play if you lay up just short of them.  If playing it like a standard 3 shotter, I would suggest laying up down the left side (left of the trees) and you'll have 100-120 in (the hill will funnel your ball down).  It really depends on you tee shot and what your strategy is on playing the hole.  If I'm not in position to get on in two, I play my 2nd down the right side (right of the trees) and let the hill funnel the ball down towards the green.  When dry, you can even land it short 40-50 yards and it will still roll on to the front edge.  Most of the time I'm chipping from the front edge and getting up and down for bird or an easy 2 putt par.   Our big hitters carry the trees off the tee and land it on the second tier.  From there, either fly it over the trees if you're far enough back or draw it around the trees aiming down the right side.  Miss the green you still can get up and down for bird.  

 

[thechief16]

They gave you a dozen balls with your greens fee to account for how many balls you were going to lose during the round.

[ALTSean]

34 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

PoSho was a great track when it first opened because it truly was in the middle of nowhere. Yes there are half mile transfers to the next tee box but you felt like you were in the middle of the woods. And you literally had to drive your cart through the woods to get to the range. Now they've just made it like any other super-massive housing development with 4,000+ homes or whatever they have there. The porch is no longer the quiet/serene/chill place to hang and watch people come up 18 - because instead of a nice green forest you are staring at yet another row of giant overpriced townhouses.

 

I laugh at all of the publicity photos they use of the clubhouse, they must all be three+ years old, none of them show all of the development around the clubhouse now.

 

Oh and I guess on top of everything, thats not even the 18th green anymore.

From a golf standpoint there's no reason I'd head South and drive past Laurel Hill to get to PoSho.

 

I've never played PoSho, but now I have a weird need to play there and experience the communal pain and outrage.

 

 

[bubbagump]

23 minutes ago, thechief16 said:

It sucked and its demise should not be mourned.  As mentioned, my enduring memory is of balls landing in the middle of the fairway kicking into the rough, and occasionally the woods.  This article pretty much sums it up.

 

https://www.insidenova.com/news/prince_william/golfers-get-final-round-in-at-generals-ridge/article_59a4106a-7bdf-11e9-afb1-13d408542e3f.html

 

 

 

Always thought it was a shame, the land there was so nice and a good layout could have been awesome.  Watching balls roll from the middle of the fairway to the rough, or rolling a 5 footer uphill only to have it roll behind you and off the green, and hills that carts could hardly handle.  Generals Ridge.....you were a real a hole, pal.  

 

That being said, the clubhouse is a library now and the course/path is a nature walk with the course having grown out and whatnot its a really nice 3.5 mi trek.  Nature AF too, peaceful with lots of foxes, deer, rabbits, wild raspberry/blackberries etc.  

Edited November 3, 2020 by bubbagump

[Huggs157]

25 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

PoSho was a great track when it first opened because it truly was in the middle of nowhere. Yes there are half mile transfers to the next tee box but you felt like you were in the middle of the woods. And you literally had to drive your cart through the woods to get to the range. Now they've just made it like any other super-massive housing development with 4,000+ homes or whatever they have there. The porch is no longer the quiet/serene/chill place to hang and watch people come up 18 - because instead of a nice green forest you are staring at yet another row of giant overpriced townhouses.

 

I laugh at all of the publicity photos they use of the clubhouse, they must all be three+ years old, none of them show all of the development around the clubhouse now.

 

Oh and I guess on top of everything, thats not even the 18th green anymore.

From a golf standpoint there's no reason I'd head South and drive past Laurel Hill to get to PoSho.

You're right, It's a shame what the townhomes did visually to the finishing hole (old 18).  Now it's 16 I guess, haven't played it this year.  At least the homes don't come into play on any of the holes.   Haha, we always gave them hell for false advertising...

 

The staff is great though, from pro shop to the restaurant/bar as well as the members.  Gonna miss it but I was coming from Arlington and it was a pain in the a** to get to.  

 

Laurel Hill is a much easier drive for me, I hear they have a good membership but something about the course just doesn't do it for me.  Probably in the minority there.  One of the best things at PoSho was the grass range.   Hard to find a grass tees unless I go private.  

 

 

[Puppetmaster]

RE: Generals Ridge.

So they basically kept the cart paths and let the whole thing grow over and turn it over to wildlife? I might just go to see that. It will be fun to walk through the woods/thickets/thorns and be like... dogleg left to the fox hole, stay right of center for the deer, then you have a half wedge left to the rabbits...  

Edited November 3, 2020 by Puppetmaster

[thechief16]

5 minutes ago, Huggs157 said:

You're right, It's a shame what the townhomes did visually to the finishing hole (old 18).  Now it's 16 I guess, haven't played it this year.  At least the homes don't come into play on any of the holes.   Haha, we always gave them hell for false advertising...

 

The staff is great though, from pro shop to the restaurant/bar as well as the members.  Gonna miss it but I was coming from Arlington and it was a pain in the a** to get to.  

 

Laurel Hill is a much easier drive for me, I hear they have a good membership but something about the course just doesn't do it for me.  Probably in the minority there.  One of the best things at PoSho was the grass range.   Hard to find a grass tees unless I go private.  

 

 

I haven't been there in a couple years and their website stinks.  What are the finishing holes now?  The original 1 and 2?

[Puppetmaster]

I think right now the main thing I'd miss about PoSho is the Old Bay wings.

 

Also good memories of @dcmidnightand I finishing second in a DCGT event there, including my holed out bunker shot on that par 3 13th(?), shortsided, from behind the green, for bird. That was also the day of the infamous "husk juice" jogger on the front nine @Boogs2

[bubbagump]

3 minutes ago, Puppetmaster said:

RE: Generals Ridge.

So they basically kept the cart paths and let the whole thing grow over and turn it over to wildlife? I might just go to see that. It will be fun to walk through the woods/thickets/thorns and be like... dogleg left to the fox hole, stay right of center for the deer, then you have a half wedge left to the rabbits...  

 

Essentially.  The county maintains it too, so its not a post apocalyptic look like Virginia Oaks, but more tasteful abandonment.  Still retains the tee box, green look due to the plateaus but other than that its a good stroll.  Itll get your legs whipped into shape quick. 

[Huggs157]

1 minute ago, thechief16 said:

I haven't been there in a couple years and their website stinks.  What are the finishing holes now?  The original 1 and 2?

 

I believe so.  Before I left I remember there was talk of making the change.  I think they had to get permission from Jack..

 

Not a fan of the change.  The old 2 (new #18) is a long iron/hybid/3 wood off the tee.  Something about taking driver out of your hands on the finishing hole doesn't sit well with me.

[Boogs2]

24 minutes ago, Puppetmaster said:

I think right now the main thing I'd miss about PoSho is the Old Bay wings.

 

Also good memories of @dcmidnightand I finishing second in a DCGT event there, including my holed out bunker shot on that par 3 13th(?), shortsided, from behind the green, for bird. That was also the day of the infamous "husk juice" jogger on the front nine @Boogs2

That bunker shot was ridiculous.  Definitely shot of the day.

 

Everytime I've been on a par 3 with eye candy nearby, magic has happened.  

[Boogs2]

2 hours ago, Puppetmaster said:

 

Is that the par 5 with the fence/rough across the middle of the fairway, then a steep drop downhill and a green the width of a golf cart? 

 

That is also the hole with the portapotty that looks like someone expelled vindaloo all over it, walls, ceiling, everywhere, you should have stopped me from even trying to look in... just sayin. 

 Yes, that's it.

 

That portapotty looked like diarrhea murder occurred.  I'd rather pee in the woods with a random guy in overalls playing the banjo stare right in my eyes than use that square box of debauchery.

[Huggs157]

For all you PoSho haters, I would be willing to host a foursome (still have gift certificates from tourneys left over) when things calm down (covid).  Give the course another chance.   I could probably shave 5-10 stokes just giving you course advice. 

 

What's sad is that I bought a cart bag last winter specifically for playing PoSho but now I have now use for it.   I lugged that thing from Korea before the pandemic hit, it was a real pain in the butt.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Huggs157

[ALTSean]

3 minutes ago, Huggs157 said:

For all you PoSho haters, I would be willing to host a foursome (still have gift certificates from tourneys left over) when things calm down (covid).  Give the course another chance.   I could probably shave 5-10 stokes just giving you course advice. 

 

What's sad is that I bought a cart bag last winter specifically for playing PoSho but now I have now use for it.   I lugged that thing from Korea before the pandemic hit, it was a pain in the butt.

 

I'd be up for a round there to see what all the fuss is about.  🤣

[Puppetmaster]

18 minutes ago, Boogs2 said:

That bunker shot was ridiculous.  Definitely shot of the day.

 

Everytime I've been on a par 3 with eye candy nearby, magic has happened.  

 

I should have mentioned that after you saw her, you pured one to about 4-5 feet 🤣

[HackinNut]

Man this is the first I've heard of General's Ridge closing.  Shows you how long it's been since I've been there.  But it was a course my dad liked to play for whatever reason.  He would lose 10 balls of his own, but would also find 30 - 40 each round in the process.  By the time the round was over, every pocket in the bag was full.  

Another course down the tubes.  Just another one on a long growing list. 

 

[gregh729]

I played it several times right after we moved our offices to Springfield. I really don't remember about the course except that conditions were trash. I never went back down there after that first summer working down there.

[dcmidnight]

1 hour ago, Puppetmaster said:

I think right now the main thing I'd miss about PoSho is the Old Bay wings.

 

Also good memories of @dcmidnightand I finishing second in a DCGT event there, including my holed out bunker shot on that par 3 13th(?), shortsided, from behind the green, for bird. That was also the day of the infamous "husk juice" jogger on the front nine @Boogs2

 

DCGT...

 

[Kent01putt]

8 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

Sidenote - is anyone watching Queens Gambit on Netflix? Watched the first episode last night, really good. I think that makes at least six shows I'm watching now that I cant just grind through, I have to stop and completely start over with a new show.

I have been watching. I saw the first two episode this morning. Think it is going to be good.

[Huggs157]

39 minutes ago, ALTSean said:

 

I'd be up for a round there to see what all the fuss is about.  🤣

🤞

 

[SullGolf]

PoSho is probably as good of a golf course as you could build on a housing project course with that piece of land. It’s just a terrible piece of land for a golf course.  Everything is cut in to a side of a hill.  The only worse piece of land I can think of is at Bristow Manor.

[Huggs157]

21 minutes ago, SullGolf said:

PoSho is probably as good of a golf course as you could build on a housing project course with that piece of land. It’s just a terrible piece of land for a golf course.  Everything is cut in to a side of a hill.  The only worse piece of land I can think of is at Bristow Manor.

The course does seem disjointed and forced with the long transfers between holes but I think that it has some of the best holes around. 

 

Great use in elevation, gives you various options off the tee (not just pounding driver), greens have lots of slope but are fair, everything is generally in front of you (all holes are framed nicely from the tee) with very little blind shots, drivable par 4, tough par 3's, reachable risk/reward par 5s.  

 

Negatives:  Not walkable, very little rough separating fairway from penalty areas which punishes stray drives, high green fees

 

Never got sick of playing the course and I played roughly 5 times a week.  SullGolf, where do you play?   

 

Only thing I can remember about Bristow was that it was flat and they had zoysia, can't remember any of the holes.  

 

I played all over the area when I was younger but after joining PoSho I rarely played anywhere else.  Maybe that's why my index didn't travel....Kind of excited to get out and revisit all the courses from my younger days next year.  I guess my home course will be East Potomac since it's the closest range to me.   

 

Do anyone play VSGA competitive events?  AM, Mid AM, Fourball?

[Boogs2]

Sad to see PoSho in poor condition and surrounded by housing.  I enjoyed playing that course, but that could also be due to it was always with great company in the DCGT tourneys.

[mizuno player]

Courses could have more "mixed" courses. That would mean you wouldn't play the course from the same tees for all 9/18. That way only the long holes could be played more forward and all others from the "normal".  

 

I don't know the tees and yardage at Worthington very well. If there isn't something between white and red maybe they could add a new marker on those holes? 

[SullGolf]

I live in MD so PoSho is admittedly competing at a huge disadvantage for me.  With no traffic it’s 70 minutes away, which means it’s competing against a huge number of courses that are between there at northern Baltimore.  It needs to be a special place or special event for me to travel that far.  I can hit the places up 270 (Worthington Manor, Whiskey Creek, PB Dye) in under 40 minutes.

 

If I lived closer it’d be a different story.  I like the course.  It just seems to be billed as a regionally special course and I don’t hold it in that regard.  DCMidnight mentioned it, but there’s no reason for me to drive past Laurel Hill to get to PoSho.

[TheCityGame]

11 hours ago, mizuno player said:

Courses could have more "mixed" courses. That would mean you wouldn't play the course from the same tees for all 9/18. That way only the long holes could be played more forward and all others from the "normal".  

 

I don't know the tees and yardage at Worthington very well. If there isn't something between white and red maybe they could add a new marker on those holes? 

The white tees at Worthington are 6000 yards. Reds are 5200. That's a big gap, but I still don't think they need a mixed set. The course has two uncommonly tough holes, but other than that, it's very playable for a bogey golfer from the white tees. 6000 yards doesn't automatically mean you can top a driver, top a 3 wood, and have a wedge into the green. 

 

When I played last week with Tumor (who never plays there), he said something interesting : he considers Worthington a "players" course. Like more serious golfers get out to Worthington. And Worthington promotes this image (US OPEN QUALIFIER 2010 2012 2015!!!!). 

 

I was thinking about that a little. . .3 & 12 are SOBs as has been well documented, but that course has forced carries (off the tee, into th green, or both) on 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 17, 18. People who don't hit the ball well don't play that course well. There are spots around the green that make it very difficult to get up and down. It's very much target golf that has to be attacked through the air with traj and spin to score well.

 

I really like the course from the whites, blues and blacks. Every set of tees is a whole new set of challenges/options/expectations. 

 

Not every golf course is going to cater to all golfers. Like I said, I played in a league on that course for a few years and you'd see a 20 handicap who was hitting his driver well put up a 40 one week, and the next week when he missed a few, he'd put up a 52. 

[dcmidnight]

MV came up with a mixed set on the scorecard when they closed for renovations and got re-rated. 

Roughly the blue tees - where most of our mens events/leagues are played - were 6000 yards and the tips were 6400 (par 70 so add ~400 to get the Par 72 equivalent distance). So they created "Blue+" which is really just a mix on the scorecard to make something in between the two. It works good.

 

Its really not something you need to "make" in terms of doing on course changes so IMO any course could do it if they really wanted.

[TheCityGame]

yeah, they just need to get a mixed set rated. Not sure what that entails but I don't think it's insane. 

[GooseHook]

2 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

MV came up with a mixed set on the scorecard when they closed for renovations and got re-rated. 

Roughly the blue tees - where most of our mens events/leagues are played - were 6000 yards and the tips were 6400 (par 70 so add ~400 to get the Par 72 equivalent distance). So they created "Blue+" which is really just a mix on the scorecard to make something in between the two. It works good.

 

Its really not something you need to "make" in terms of doing on course changes so IMO any course could do it if they really wanted.

 

Same, CCMD has "silver" tees that play about 6400 ish and par 70. It sure feels a lot longer than that though sometimes. 

 

IMO too much of course rating is impacted by yardage. Take a course with only two par 5's, especially if they're short by conventional standards, and mix in a couple of tricky par 4's under 400 and you end up with a course that everyone thinks they will own until they show up.