Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[Argonne69]

3 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

 

I talked to the superintendent at the Highlands of Elgin. You guys complain that it's always too wet there and the reason for that is topsoil. Due to it being constructed on a quarry, there was very little topsoil on it. They put between 3-6" down, but to get the proper amount was millions more than their budget allowed. They have to water it more than most courses because it dries out very quickly according to the super. 

 

 

That doesn't surprise me one bit. 'Same reason Harborside is always so wet, a few inches of soil on top of a clay-capped landfull.

 

'Still, a little less water and a little more brown wouldn't hurt.

 

[mci711]

15 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

That doesn't surprise me one bit. 'Same reason Harborside is always so wet, a few inches of soil on top of a clay-capped landfull.

 

'Still, a little less water and a little more brown wouldn't hurt.

 

 

Right.. I get wanting healthy grass but wet, muddy fairways are just as bad and maybe more undesirable for golfers as dried out areas. They are stopping 1 problem and causing another. The other being worse is most golfers eyes. Obviously you can't lose your course, but I'd argue there is a middle ground somewhere between burnt out and constant soupy mess. I don't play HoE for that reason, would be one of my favorites is fast/firm conditions. 

[Apindara]

16 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

Blackstone last weekend was so fast and firm. Coupled with strong winds, it was a really tough track. 

 

I talked to the superintendent at the Highlands of Elgin. You guys complain that it's always too wet there and the reason for that is topsoil. Due to it being constructed on a quarry, there was very little topsoil on it. They put between 3-6" down, but to get the proper amount was millions more than their budget allowed. They have to water it more than most courses because it dries out very quickly according to the super. 

You would think there could be some middle ground.  Seems like the end of day tee times get to play on better conditions then the early ones where it is soaked. My favorite example is the 6th hole. At 9am the landing area is lift clean and place.

[Holy Moses]

1 hour ago, mci711 said:

 

Right.. I get wanting healthy grass but wet, muddy fairways are just as bad and maybe more undesirable for golfers as dried out areas. They are stopping 1 problem and causing another. The other being worse is most golfers eyes. Obviously you can't lose your course, but I'd argue there is a middle ground somewhere between burnt out and constant soupy mess. I don't play HoE for that reason, would be one of my favorites is fast/firm conditions. 

They are aware of that, but after trying it both ways it was a much more significant cost in manpower and agronomic supplies to have it your way. 

[Holy Moses]

1 hour ago, mci711 said:

 

Right.. I get wanting healthy grass but wet, muddy fairways are just as bad and maybe more undesirable for golfers as dried out areas. They are stopping 1 problem and causing another. The other being worse is most golfers eyes. Obviously you can't lose your course, but I'd argue there is a middle ground somewhere between burnt out and constant soupy mess. I don't play HoE for that reason, would be one of my favorites is fast/firm conditions. 

Most golfers want green grass and the ability to stop your ball. It’s primarily the golf nut and the really good player that desire fast and firm. And those are in the minority. 

[Argonne69]

8 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

Most golfers want green grass and the ability to stop your ball. It’s primarily the golf nut and the really good player that desire fast and firm. And those are in the minority. 

 

One can have soft greens and firm fairways. 

[Holy Moses]

49 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

One can have soft greens and firm fairways. 

Most golfers want to see green fairways. Supers all know this.

[Argonne69]

4 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

Most golfers want to see green fairways. Supers all know this.

 

Green and firm are not mutually exclusive. 95% of the rounds I've played this year have been on green fairways, and they're not all over-watered bogs. 

 

[eric61]

New here, and also new to the western suburbs — wondering what folks think of Arrowhead in Wheaton?

I’m looking for a home course with a pretty affordable membership that covers greens fees. Theirs is $3,000 a year, which seems to be about the best I’ve found (though I’m very open to suggestions). But I’m just starting to play courses in the area, and haven’t hit Arrowhead while they’re hosting a wedding yet, etc., so just looking for some insight.

[Argonne69]

37 minutes ago, eric61 said:

New here, and also new to the western suburbs — wondering what folks think of Arrowhead in Wheaton?

I’m looking for a home course with a pretty affordable membership that covers greens fees. Theirs is $3,000 a year, which seems to be about the best I’ve found (though I’m very open to suggestions). But I’m just starting to play courses in the area, and haven’t hit Arrowhead while they’re hosting a wedding yet, etc., so just looking for some insight.

 

One of the better layouts in the western burbs. I prefer Cantigny and Prairie Landing, but they're quite a bit more expensive. With three nines you have a little more variety than PL.

 

Unfortunately they're one of only a handful of courses in Chicagoland that won't give a tee time to a single, so I haven't played there in years. Pity, because I do like the layout.

 

OTOH, the practice facilities suck. Prairie Landing and Cantigny are much, much better, as is Village Links in Glen Ellyn. 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by Argonne69

[eric61]

14 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

One of the better layouts in the western burbs. I prefer Cantigny and Prairie Landing, but they're quite a bit more expensive. With three nines you have a little more variety than PL.

 

Unfortunately they're one of only a handful of courses in Chicagoland that won't give a tee time to a single, so I haven't played there in years. Pity, because I do like the layout.

 

OTOH, the practice facilities suck. Prairie Landing and Cantigny are much, much better, as is Village Links in Glen Ellyn. 

 

Oh that’s a bummer, I didn’t realize they wouldn’t give a single a tee time. That would probably be a deal breaker — I guess the search continues. Any other membership suggestions?

[mci711]

2 minutes ago, eric61 said:

Oh that’s a bummer, I didn’t realize they wouldn’t give a single a tee time. That would probably be a deal breaker — I guess the search continues. Any other membership suggestions?

 

Where are you at and what type of drive are you looking for? 

[Argonne69]

2 minutes ago, eric61 said:

Oh that’s a bummer, I didn’t realize they wouldn’t give a single a tee time. That would probably be a deal breaker — I guess the search continues. Any other membership suggestions?

 

They won't give a tee time to a public single. I assume a member would be able to book a time. Definitely worth asking. 

[Holy Moses]

59 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

One of the better layouts in the western burbs. I prefer Cantigny and Prairie Landing, but they're quite a bit more expensive. With three nines you have a little more variety than PL.

 

Unfortunately they're one of only a handful of courses in Chicagoland that won't give a tee time to a single, so I haven't played there in years. Pity, because I do like the layout.

 

OTOH, the practice facilities suck. Prairie Landing and Cantigny are much, much better, as is Village Links in Glen Ellyn. 

 

I was playing at Arrowhead today and I don't think they have grass practice tees on the range. They only have mats. Dumb. 

[Shriner]

Gorgeous day yesterday.  Started off with the early morning round at Oak Grove.  Place never disappoints.  We got paired up with a single from Glenview and he was a blast,  that always makes the round more enjoyable.  He walked straight to the back tees and said he wanted to experience the whole course!  The course was soaked, no fault of theirs that it rained for two days straight.  That course is ridiculously hard with drives basically rolling a foot in the fairway.  I hit driver-3W on hole 2 and had to lay up on hole 13 for the 2nd shot.  Instead of 7000 yards, it played like 7500 yards with the wet conditions.  Pace was awesome at 4 hours exactly.

 

Headed to Foxford Hills for the second round, love the course but had not played in two years.  Not much has changed, still enjoyable but pace is always slow there for some reason.  Conditions were good, for whatever reason, the greens there produce the largest ball marks I have ever seen.  Very fair layout with some real challenging holes.  Holes 15-16 are real tough and the finisher is a monster...484 yd par 4 through the Oak trees.  

 

Probably 1-1.5 months left of good weather...

[DavePelz4]

Our comp played at Pinecrest with part of the group playing Sat and part on Sunday. With all respect to the people of Huntley, what the H are you people thinking???

 

Can't blame the course for being water logged and you can blame them for being stupid. On the 9th tee on Saturday, 4 foursome in carts literally without saying anything, drove in front of us while we were teeing off. No "hey can we go through" or anything. Just drove through while we were teeing off. They were extremely lucky that no one was hurt.  This is just the beginning of the madness. As we're walking off the 9th green, we notice a couple of high school kids walk on to the 10th tee. Of course, with me being rather shy, I asked what they were doing when the first tee was wide open and they said the pro shop told them to tee off on the back. Considering there was no gap and now a 2 some is going to be injected into all foursomes, I said they could be respectful and wait or go off on one. Although I didn't personally hear it, as I teed off one of the smart arse teens, who stared me down the entire time on the tee said, "I never thought I'd get into a fight with an old man."  So I got that going for me.

 

On Sunday, the 4 foursome in front of us thought it was acceptable to hit 6-8 shots off most tees and create a hole to a hole and a half gap in front of them. We were on most tees on the back at the same time they were.  Just don't understand the lack of etiquette.  That led to a 4:45 hour round on Sunday.

 

On the good front, Pinecrest has an amazing league of the PGA junior program.  There had to be 40-50 kids playing in their comp and it was nice to hear parents being supportive and encouraging their kids.  Well done there.

[ME27]

Played Tuckaway on Saturday for the first time in about ten years. Weather was spotty and we had a small window in the morning so we got out at 7 am and the rain held off longer than we expected. We would have beat the rain entirely but got paired up with another twosome that liked to take 3-4 practice swings before every shot and i do mean every shot. It was maddening especially with the impending rain. It started raining on the 16th green and we were only wet for two and a half holes. Course is only 6200 from the "tips" but all the greens are very small. Surprisingly the greens were in good shape but the rest of the course was just so so. This is a course where you should dominate if your iron game is on point. However, mine was not on the front nine and ended 4 over after 9. Something kicked in on the back nine and played even on the back. All in all a 76 with two birdies and six bogeys. 

[Argonne69]

 

'Very enjoyable round at Sunset Valley this morning. A bit too muggy for my liking, but the breeze started to pick up by the second half of the round. The course looked great, but was rather wet. With so much moisture in the air the fairways and greens didn't really dry out until late in the round. They were in the process of cutting the grass, so clippings were a nuisance. The greens looked fantastic, and were rolling 10 to 11. My playing partner is a regular, and he said they had a Korn Ferry qualifier there last week, so the greens were rolling with a good pace. Oh, and the greens were rather receptive, which was a surprise. Since the renovation the greens have been rather firm, but I was sticking approaches that would have rolled off the back in recent months. Yeah. Pace was very good at 3:40. 

 

A bit off an off day with the driver. Only 7 fairways, leading to 10 greens. One birdie, but six bogies. The course can be tough if you're not finding the short grass. Highlight of the day was simply hitting the first fairway and making a par. I hate that opening hole. I decided to hit driver instead of a shorter club, figuring I can put both in the water, so may as well go for broke. Birdied the par 5 2nd with a nice 18 footer, but that was pretty much it for the highlights.

 

I'm driving out to Valparaiso tomorrow for my first visit to The Course at Aberdeen.

[B-Man]

5 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

Our comp played at Pinecrest with part of the group playing Sat and part on Sunday. With all respect to the people of Huntley, what the H are you people thinking???

 

Can't blame the course for being water logged and you can blame them for being stupid. On the 9th tee on Saturday, 4 foursome in carts literally without saying anything, drove in front of us while we were teeing off. No "hey can we go through" or anything. Just drove through while we were teeing off. They were extremely lucky that no one was hurt.  This is just the beginning of the madness. As we're walking off the 9th green, we notice a couple of high school kids walk on to the 10th tee. Of course, with me being rather shy, I asked what they were doing when the first tee was wide open and they said the pro shop told them to tee off on the back. Considering there was no gap and now a 2 some is going to be injected into all foursomes, I said they could be respectful and wait or go off on one. Although I didn't personally hear it, as I teed off one of the smart arse teens, who stared me down the entire time on the tee said, "I never thought I'd get into a fight with an old man."  So I got that going for me.

 

On Sunday, the 4 foursome in front of us thought it was acceptable to hit 6-8 shots off most tees and create a hole to a hole and a half gap in front of them. We were on most tees on the back at the same time they were.  Just don't understand the lack of etiquette.  That led to a 4:45 hour round on Sunday.

 

On the good front, Pinecrest has an amazing league of the PGA junior program.  There had to be 40-50 kids playing in their comp and it was nice to hear parents being supportive and encouraging their kids.  Well done there.

It seems DP4 you have a perchant for innocently pissing people off recently (range ball stealer, etc.), albietly politely. Must be your good looks. What's your secret?

[PuttCurseRepeat]

17 hours ago, eric61 said:

New here, and also new to the western suburbs — wondering what folks think of Arrowhead in Wheaton?

I’m looking for a home course with a pretty affordable membership that covers greens fees. Theirs is $3,000 a year, which seems to be about the best I’ve found (though I’m very open to suggestions). But I’m just starting to play courses in the area, and haven’t hit Arrowhead while they’re hosting a wedding yet, etc., so just looking for some insight.

 

I think Oakbrook is cheaper and they have good practice facilities. I'm playing there tomorrow with someone who bought a membership there this year. I'll get more info. 

[ME27]

Heading up to Sister Lakes Michigan area in a couple weekends and looking for any course recommendations in the general area or on the way up there. Figured Id ask here first before scouring the pages of the Michigan golf thread. 

[TheBear95]

6 hours ago, Shriner said:

Gorgeous day yesterday.  Started off with the early morning round at Oak Grove.  Place never disappoints.  We got paired up with a single from Glenview and he was a blast,  that always makes the round more enjoyable.  He walked straight to the back tees and said he wanted to experience the whole course!  The course was soaked, no fault of theirs that it rained for two days straight.  That course is ridiculously hard with drives basically rolling a foot in the fairway.  I hit driver-3W on hole 2 and had to lay up on hole 13 for the 2nd shot.  Instead of 7000 yards, it played like 7500 yards with the wet conditions.  Pace was awesome at 4 hours exactly.

 

Headed to Foxford Hills for the second round, love the course but had not played in two years.  Not much has changed, still enjoyable but pace is always slow there for some reason.  Conditions were good, for whatever reason, the greens there produce the largest ball marks I have ever seen.  Very fair layout with some real challenging holes.  Holes 15-16 are real tough and the finisher is a monster...484 yd par 4 through the Oak trees.  

 

Probably 1-1.5 months left of good weather...

I played Oak Grove on Saturday in the light rain. Soaked is an understatement. My push cart actually sunk into the fairway on #4 walking to my ball. I've never had that happen before. The greens were in nice shape though considering all the rain.

 

I will say, you guys must be sadists playing the tips at Oak Grove in those conditions, lol. I usually play the blues, but moved up to the whites on Saturday given how wet the course was. Glad I did. Though I did play #17 from the back since both the white and blue tee boxes were just mud.

[DavePelz4]

51 minutes ago, B-Man said:

It seems DP4 you have a perchant for innocently pissing people off recently (range ball stealer, etc.), albietly politely. Must be your good looks. What's your secret?

 

B-Man you know it isn't that.  Forgot to share this one from yesterday, too. The range was mats only and they only had maybe 8-10 total slots with maybe 3 open.  I went to the closest open slot, put the bucket down, turned to grab a club and a guy came in and took the spot. I suggested that he go down to one of the open ones and he said he didn't like that mat and I should go there. Seeing I had been stared down by a pimply faced 16 year old the day before, I didn't want to get into 2 throw downs on back to back days.  They might expel me from Huntley.

[Shriner]

24 minutes ago, TheBear95 said:

I played Oak Grove on Saturday in the light rain. Soaked is an understatement. My push cart actually sunk into the fairway on #4 walking to my ball. I've never had that happen before. The greens were in nice shape though considering all the rain.

 

I will say, you guys must be sadists playing the tips at Oak Grove in those conditions, lol. I usually play the blues, but moved up to the whites on Saturday given how wet the course was. Glad I did. Though I did play #17 from the back since both the white and blue tee boxes were just mud.

 

Wow!  That is crazy with the push cart.  That fairway on #4 was particularly wet, so was the tee box on #5...feet sunk in while teeing off.  The greens were really nice once the dew dried off.  Would you believe there were idiots taking carts all over the course even though it was cpo?  We couldn't believe how inconsiderate one must be in those conditions to do that.

 

Yeah,  the back tees were rough with those conditions.  There were a few holes we regretted it (#2, #13 and #15) but was a fun day nonetheless.  Scorecard suffered as a result ?

[Argonne69]

51 minutes ago, PuttCurseRepeat said:

 

I think Oakbrook is cheaper and they have good practice facilities. I'm playing there tomorrow with someone who bought a membership there this year. I'll get more info. 

 

Yeah, Oak Brook has decent practice facilities, but the course is a bit Mickey Mouse. That is unless you like doglegs around ponds. Oh, look! A dogleg around a pond! And another! And another! And another! Wait a minute. Is that a dogleg that doesn't have a pond on the corner, but rather OB? I feel robbed! ?

 

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Yeah, Oak Brook has decent practice facilities, but the course is a bit Mickey Mouse. That is unless you like doglegs around ponds. Oh, look! A dogleg around a pond! And another! And another! And another! Wait a minute. Is that a dogleg that doesn't have a pond on the corner, but rather OB? I feel robbed! ?

 

But they got the 9th hole,  one of the most fair holes in Chicago. 

[TheBear95]

1 hour ago, Shriner said:

 

Wow!  That is crazy with the push cart.  That fairway on #4 was particularly wet, so was the tee box on #5...feet sunk in while teeing off.  The greens were really nice once the dew dried off.  Would you believe there were idiots taking carts all over the course even though it was cpo?  We couldn't believe how inconsiderate one must be in those conditions to do that.

Not surprised at all. Idiots in carts. Most of the time, it goes hand-in-hand.

 

Last year, I actually witnessed a guy flip his cart at Oak Grove of all places. Right off #17. Instead of parking the cart, you know on the cart path, they decided to park on the hill to the right of the #17 green. Saved themselves about 10 steps. After finishing the hole, the guys jump into the cart and floored it to the 18th tee. They went about 10 feet and the cart just flipped over. Those guys were very lucky they didn't get seriously hurt. 

[Quem24]

17 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

But they got the 9th hole,  one of the most fair holes in Chicago. 

 

I maintain my stance that hole is fair!  Bomb it 250 with a gentle cut over the river, and you are fine!

 

(Or, if you are me, hit 3w off the tee and layup ? )

[B-Man]

1 hour ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

B-Man you know it isn't that.  Forgot to share this one from yesterday, too. The range was mats only and they only had maybe 8-10 total slots with maybe 3 open.  I went to the closest open slot, put the bucket down, turned to grab a club and a guy came in and took the spot. I suggested that he go down to one of the open ones and he said he didn't like that mat and I should go there. Seeing I had been stared down by a pimply faced 16 year old the day before, I didn't want to get into 2 throw downs on back to back days.  They might expel me from Huntley.

I'm subscribing to your YouTube channel.

[B-Man]

30 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

But they got the 9th hole,  one of the most fair holes in Chicago. 

When we have an outing, we typically play the blue tees but on the 9th we play the yellow/junior tees (or the very front end of the ladies).