MD/DC/VA Golfers - Twelve Monkeys Mental Divergence

[ALTSean]

9 minutes ago, OCCantChip said:

Thanks for not mentioning me by name.

 

 

Your secret is safe with me.

 

@Ocgolfrick and I hit enough wonky shots on Saturday at Bulle that we swore an oath to keep them in the trust tree.

 

 

[TerpInTime]

[Terphack]

Weather looks pretty good this week, where was the sun and warm temps when I was off last week? It should be nice tomorrow afternoon at UMD.

[TheCityGame]

On 3/19/2021 at 1:46 PM, TerpInTime said:

Terpy going Old Skool Thread. LOL. 

 

[GooseHook]

Anyone else ever played River Downs in Finksburg?

 

My BIL invited me out for a casual round yesterday, and the course is..interesting to say the least. It almost reminded me of Cross Creek with the amount of OB and ravines/creeks crossing all the holes, but with even more severe elevation changes. 

[aiyyer]

Cross Creek/Beltsville brings back some bad memories. Played my second round ever there as a work event and those houses were so close! 

[TheCityGame]

I've played River Downs once or twice. 

 

I consider it one of the worst courses I've ever played. It is so poorly thought out, unkempt, poorly marked. 

 

the Hive Summer Solstice tournament is going to be there this year. It's going to be a blast, and I mean that sincerely. 

[TheCityGame]

2 hours ago, aiyyer said:

Cross Creek/Beltsville brings back some bad memories. Played my second round ever there as a work event and those houses were so close! 

A bunch of us have a "history" with Cross Creek. 

 

I was in a league there for a while. it's like 5 minutes from my office (which, if all goes according to plan I will never return to again except to pick up my things). 

 

That was the notorious spot where goosehook, fabb, me and eagle played one day and lost like 10 balls each leading to Kent famously telling us, "just hit to the 150 yard marker". 

 

Also, home of the famous "<censored> rag" with the cigarette next to it. 

 

My Mom got a hole in one on the 5th hole at Cross Creek. 3 wood from 120, off a tree, back across the path, up onto the green and into the hole. 

 

Cross Creek does have some good holes. I consider it NOT GREAT and still way better than River Downs. 

 

CC also used to not be marked lateral anywhere. . . so basically every hole was about 30 yards wide with OB woods on both sides. There's a word for that. . .FUN. 

[dcmidnight]

It was a good weekend to get out for golf. Sunday was the first time in almost four months I'd played with my weekend group and the weather very much made up for it. We had a two hour frost delay but it was mid 40s by the time we teed off. Score was terrible but again it was my first real time out in a while so...I didnt care. Surprisingly did not play as bad as I thought I would but its going to take a few practice seshs to shake off the rust. 

 

Since I couldn't play for four months I spent a lot of time tinkering with the bag and I continue my annual tinkering with the two 3 wood/4 hybrid/3 iron/miscellaneous slots at the top of the bag. I picked up a Titleist 917 7 wood from 2nd Swing which I like...but I am not sure if it stays in the bag or not. I think part of it might be that it has one of those Align grips on there that I strongly dislike. I picked up a Sim2 4h that I do not like at all. The only club I'm sure that I still love is the SIM UDI 2i. But I could see myself taking out the 3W and putting in the 7W. At least at MV, I never hit the 3W.

[thechief16]

Titleist?  I always just assumed you had a 13 club deal w/TM.

[dcmidnight]

Just now, thechief16 said:

Titleist?  I always just assumed you had a 13 club deal w/TM.

 

Touche...but I had a 2ndSwing credit to use...

[GooseHook]

2 hours ago, TheCityGame said:

I've played River Downs once or twice. 

 

I consider it one of the worst courses I've ever played. It is so poorly thought out, unkempt, poorly marked. 

 

the Hive Summer Solstice tournament is going to be there this year. It's going to be a blast, and I mean that sincerely. 

 

What, you don't like to start your back nine with a forced 200 yard carry, blind down a cliff to a marker that's not actually a 150 marker? And feeling like you're going to die in a violent cart accident on one of the many cliffs you have to drive down?

 

 

[ALTSean]

42 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

. . . I think part of it might be that it has one of those Align grips on there that I strongly dislike. . . 

 

(whispers: "you can change the grip without buying a whole new club.") 

 

[TheCityGame]

19 minutes ago, GooseHook said:

 

What, you don't like to start your back nine with a forced 200 yard carry, blind down a cliff to a marker that's not actually a 150 marker? And feeling like you're going to die in a violent cart accident on one of the many cliffs you have to drive down?

 

 

Driving through the fairway on 1 and 2. I remember being blocked by trees with balls that seemed completely in play off the tee. There's a hole along the railroad tracks on the back that I remember being like 5 yards wide, with OB close on both sides. 

 

It's hilly out there, which is nice. You don't need to get too far north of Baltimore to feel like you're really in the country, which I like. 

 

The 10th hole is one of the funniest holes in Maryland. Once you get a score on that hole in the solstice, I think the play will be to try to drive it. 

 

I also remember one hole would have normal white and blue markers, then the next hole would have a white marker and a rock, and then black markers, or maybe two sticks. Maybe that stuff has improved. 

[FAbb]

Speaking of yardage markers, I'm very happy to report that Turf Valley now has TWO 150 yard markers on each hole.  There's one on each side of the fairway.  Hopefully next year, they'll be able to afford to put a 150 pole in the middle of each fairway as well.

[dcmidnight]

16 minutes ago, ALTSean said:

 

(whispers: "you can change the grip without buying a whole new club.") 

 

 

I bought the club off their website which had no indication of grip type. And it seems like a fine grip....as long as it was installed on the settings that you want. If you are testing or otherwise fooling with the loft/setting sleeve - you could end up with something that really doesn't fit right. And I'm not willing to commit to putting a new $12 grip on a $100 club I might not even that history says I absolutely will not keep.

[gsrjc]

3 hours ago, TheCityGame said:

I've played River Downs once or twice. 

 

I consider it one of the worst courses I've ever played. It is so poorly thought out, unkempt, poorly marked. 

 

the Hive Summer Solstice tournament is going to be there this year. It's going to be a blast, and I mean that sincerely. 

Worst course I’ve ever played was Swan Pointe on the way down to Williamsburg with some friends years ago. One buddy new the pro so it was free but it was a dump. Would have paid to play something else on the way down there. 

[baddomes]

xhoop, ceejay, and I saw (more accurately "heard") a guy hit his approach off the 150 yard stake at EPP last sunday.  He never found it.  

[aiyyer]

Worst course - Trotters Glen.

Closed now. Crazy old lady ran the place.

[willboyrd]

So wait, why is the Solstice being held at River Downs? Lol

[dcmidnight]

17 hours ago, gsrjc said:

Worst course I’ve ever played was Swan Pointe on the way down to Williamsburg with some friends years ago. One buddy new the pro so it was free but it was a dump. Would have paid to play something else on the way down there. 

 

Interesting, I played Swan Point a few years ago and did not mind it. There was a run of a few really great holes out on the marsh and a really good crab house down the road where we had dinner. 

[gregh729]

16 hours ago, aiyyer said:

Worst course - Trotters Glen.

Closed now. Crazy old lady ran the place.

You got that right. That woman was a whack job. Never sunk a penny back into the course. It was burned out by June every year.

 

I rolled in there mid week in the middle of summer once. The only green grass I could see was the greens, and those were spotty. No cars in the lot. I go in to pay and she lays into me because I didn't have a tee time. I just said F this and left. Went over to Northwest.

[FAbb]

Coming here to post, since @XHoop24 said he was interested in this.

 

I've been looking at an electric cart on and off ever since trying @dcmidnight's cart at Northwest about 5'ish years ago.  I had a bunch of club sale funds sitting in PayPal, and finally decided to pull the trigger on one.  I picked up a returned unit MGI Zip X3 from a shop called Kaddymart.  It only had 14 miles on it, and came with a brand new battery.  It's a simple model (no remote, or follow features), which is exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted something I could just walk behind, and nudge when a change of direction is needed.  The Zip X3 fits the bill for that.

 

I played my first round with it yesterday afternoon.  Man, that thing is sweet!  If anybody has played Turf Valley Hialeah course, you know how hilly it is in places.  There are a few spots where you make significant climbs in between shots, or to next tee.  The powered cart made a noticeable difference, compared to pushing the clic.  Walking up a hill compared to pushing something up that same hill is no contest.  I didn't feel nearly as gassed stepping up to hit a shot after a climb.  I also just felt fresher in general at the end of the round.  I could see the benefit getting even more significant in really hot weather.

 

I feel like I made the right decision, going with a simple model.  It is a natural evolution of pushing.  I felt like with a remote cart, you don't gain a whole lot of efficiency sending your cart around a green/to the next tee/whatever.  You have to watch it and remote control it to do that, so you're not truly multi-tasking.  The carts that follow you are significantly more expensive, and I could see those involving some babysitting as well.  The other feature I'm glad I didn't pay for is downhill control/variable speed/whatever each company calls it.  Essentially, the cart gears the motor up or down to account for being on a hill.  Hialeah is very hilly, and I was fine without it.  I basically found that if I was going down a steep hill, I just turned the motor off and held onto the cart while gravity powered it down the hill.  Most companies seem to want an extra $150-200 for that feature.  Hard pass.

 

I've made many dumb golf purchases over the years, but this is looking like one I will not regret. 

[dcmidnight]

Fabb thats awesome, I dont think you will regret it. I am even more glad I went with the basic model the more I use it. I just didnt need the remote and the follow function ones were well into four figures - I think some are around $2,500-3,000. No way. I thought I'd buy a "basic" one to see how I liked it but even now if I bought a new one, I still wouldnt go with the remote. Its really not that hard to push a button to start and push the button to stop. Not hard. And I dont need to "send it" to the next tee.

 

And like you said, going downhills, I just shut it off and hold onto it as it goes down the hill, super easy. No use paying for another "feature" to slow it down going downhill, turning it off works fine. The demo/return options are a good way to go too, I think a couple brands might offer that now.

 

Mine has held up really well. The last couple seasons I've just left the cart in my car the whole season too - just bring the battery in the house. I thought I would have an issue with it but none so far.

[dcmidnight]

I will say the one thing I initially missed were all the accessories from Clic. So I took the Clic hooks and rigged them onto the Motocaddy tubing. The tubbing was a little smaller so I took some 1 inch first aid tape and wrapped it on the tubing where I wanted it. Piece of cake. Now I can use all the stuff I bought for the Clic and I have two extra hooks on the cart.

Edited March 24, 2021 by dcmidnight

[FAbb]

They included some accessories with the cart - scorecard holder, device holder, umbrella holder, and the seat.  I doubt I'll strap any of those things on the cart, honestly.  I'm probably going to sell the seat.  I pack so light, and the water bottle pocket on my bag sits the bottle perfectly for easy access.

[dcmidnight]

Yeah I use it for the sand bottle and the accessory bag, thats it.

[davechen]

Took the family out for the first time to play the front 9 at Argyle. My wife was very impressed with the course.  She mainly golfs for the exercise and the pretty scenery, and she likes the views, so that's a win.  

 

Jr hit some bombs out there.  Some of the downhill tee shots must have gone over 300.  I hit one or two good ones too.  And my daughter hit some nice shots too.  So it was a win all around.

 

Oh, and I got shouted at from across the course by HBD. 

 

I got some free guest passes too, so there's a standing invitation for any of y'all to come play.

 

After playing the front we went and checked out the practice area.  The short game area is really nice.  Good chipping green. Separate sand bunker/green.  Posts marking 10 yard intervals so you can work on all the partial distances.  Jr wants to grind this summer, so he's gonna be out there all day every day.

[TheCityGame]

15 hours ago, willboyrd said:

So wait, why is the Solstice being held at River Downs? Lol

The Hive has events at Bulle Rock and Whiskey Creek this year. Arguably 2 of the top 5 public tracks in the state. 

 

Also at River Downs and Gunpowder. Inarguably 2 of the worst 5 public tracks in the state. 

 

Because that's how we roll. Our events are about a lot more than playing at nice courses in nice conditions. 

 

Also -- and, I don't think this is privileged information -- we have the whole course to ourselves the day of the event.  Not something you can pull off everywhere. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by TheCityGame
spelling

[gsrjc]

8 hours ago, davechen said:

Took the family out for the first time to play the front 9 at Argyle. My wife was very impressed with the course.  She mainly golfs for the exercise and the pretty scenery, and she likes the views, so that's a win.  

 

Jr hit some bombs out there.  Some of the downhill tee shots must have gone over 300.  I hit one or two good ones too.  And my daughter hit some nice shots too.  So it was a win all around.

 

Oh, and I got shouted at from across the course by HBD. 

 

I got some free guest passes too, so there's a standing invitation for any of y'all to come play.

 

After playing the front we went and checked out the practice area.  The short game area is really nice.  Good chipping green. Separate sand bunker/green.  Posts marking 10 yard intervals so you can work on all the partial distances.  Jr wants to grind this summer, so he's gonna be out there all day every day.

Did you join Arygle?