Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[cpeck12]

60-90min frost delay at Village Links this morning. Had the first tee time and was looking forward to flying through the course. They didn't send the email to notify golfers until around 630am (tee time was 7am) and I had already left for the course. Frustrating morning.

[Argonne69]

Another beautiful day on the links. I headed north of the Cheddar Curtain. I started the day with my first visit to Bristol Oaks, just west of Kenosha on Rt 50. Being so close to the lake there was no frost delay, as the temps were in the mid 40's. The wind was much calmer than I expected. The course is a no-nonsense parkland layout. The clubhouse sits on a ridge, so the 1st tee, and 16th and 18th greens are elevated. Otherwise it's fairly flat. 'Kind of reminded me of Cog Hill 1/3. Good mix of holes, with a couple of doglegs. Conditions were very good. Greens looked fine, but sadly were only rolling at 9 or so. Definitely some of the slowest greens in recent weeks. Pace was great, except for the knucklehead twosome I ran into on the 11th hole. I was on their tail for three holes until they reluctantly let me play through three holes later. I finished two holes ahead of them at the 2:20 mark. 

 

Great round ballstriking with fifteen greens. A couple of errant drives, but otherwise solid. Two birdies and two bogies. No real highlights other than walking a nice course on a beautiful fall morning.

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Too nice a day to head home, so I swung by Spring Valley CC a few miles away. First time here as well. It's also a parkland layout with some nice elevation changes. 'Much better course to look at than Bristol Oaks, and tougher to boot. The greens are small, and many are elevated with fairly steep sides. With the wind kicking up it played a lot tougher. It has five par 3's, with three of them playing 230 (below), 181, and 190. Conditions weren't as good as Bristol, but still playable. Leaves were a royal pain. Not sure if they gave up trying to clear them, or simply couldn't keep up. I spent more time than usual looking for balls, even in the fairways. Greens were also slow (9). I got really lucky with the pace. The guy in the pro shop said I would be better off starting on the 10th, as he had just sent out a handful of groups. I played through a foursome on the par 3 11th, and then had clear sailing until the 5th when I ran into a twosome. They waved me through on the 7th teebox, and I finished in 2:40. 'Nice.

 

I guess I used up my good shots in the first round, or simply ran out of gas. Decent off the tee, but I hit way too many poor irons/hybrids. 'Only six greens and one birdie to go along with eight bogies.

 

Overall I thought both courses were decent, and for a total of $38 for two rounds it didn't break the bank. Spring Valley was the better of the two, but I would definitely recommend Brighton Dale over these two.

 

Change of schedule this week. With temperatures dropping on Thursday, and winds forecast at 19 to 26 mph, I decided to play Mt Prospect tomorrow.

 

[Symphonize]

Ventured across the border as well the play Player course at Geneva National today. First time up there, a nice area up there. Though it was cart path only and it really didn’t feel like it needed to be, as there was very few if any real wet spots on the ground. Shot a 102 with an 8 on 9 and a 9 on 10. Birdied #2 and it was downhill from there, sprinkled a few pars in there today. 
 

also, it seems like on 18, where there used to be a bunch of bunkers right of the green, has been converted into a little pond 

[disk]

Today would have been my grandfather's 92nd birthday, so we thought it would be fitting for some father-son golf at what was his favorite course, Cog #2. Only the second time I have played it and it might just be one of my favorites after today. Once you really "get into" the course after the first two or three holes, it's absolutely shocking what it looks like. Completely different than courses 1 and 3, two courses I walk often and enjoy but the east (?) side of the complex is just spectacular in terms of rolling hills, huge mature trees everywhere, relatively tight driving holes and the ravines of course. Fairways looked like they need to be cut and they had some issues with tee placement (some looked like they haven't been moved in months) but overall good conditions. It's also that time of year where you can lose a ball in a pile of leaves... actually was looking for my Dad's tee shot in the leaf covered fairway on 10 right at the top of the hill and neglected to lock the wheels on my pushcart, the wind gusted and my pushcart went flying down the hill and smacked into a tree, nothing broken and it was actually kind of funny. Speaking of the wind, oh boy. It wasn't much until about the 6th hole, then it got nasty. My phone was showing 20+ mph with gusts of 30+, made for some brutal holes, the par 3 14th for 150 yards, playing into a genuine 4 club wind. Greens were nice for having been recently punched it seems, fast too. I have no reference in terms of stimp but played Downers Grove on Friday (maybe my favorite greens I have played in the area) and the greens at Cog 2 were quicker, had some real U.S. Open ball oscillating going on with the winds too. It turned into the kind of round where if I had any kind of birdie putt I was ecstatic, and finished with an 82 that felt like a 72. Totally exhausted after the round, the course might be right on the edge of what I am comfortable walking in this kind of weather. Not exactly in my "play it every week" price range but will most definitely be making it a regular in the rotation.

Edited October 14, 2020 by disk

[VNutz]

On 10/13/2020 at 7:31 AM, cpeck12 said:

60-90min frost delay at Village Links this morning. Had the first tee time and was looking forward to flying through the course. They didn't send the email to notify golfers until around 630am (tee time was 7am) and I had already left for the course. Frustrating morning.

Not to be argumentative, but in their defense sunrise is 7:00 about now and it's barely first light at 6:30, so they probably got that information out as soon as they could in relaying it from the super to whomever sends out the emails. I'm usually on my bike or running that time of the morning and even shortly before that it's pitch black out still, so they likely had somebody out in the dark checking. I've done grounds crew before and it can be hard to predict how heavy a frost is before daylight comes. It comes with the territory playing early morning this time of year unfortunately.

[Holy Moses]

I played in a scramble at Lake Arrowhead in WI last weekend. Smoothest fairways I have seen this year. Greens had a bigger bladed bentgrass from what I could tell. Nice course! I stopped by to look at Sand Valley which is right next door. Interesting how they can have such a  different natural landscape than Lake Arrowhead. 

[cpeck12]

2 hours ago, VNutz said:

Not to be argumentative, but in their defense sunrise is 7:00 about now and it's barely first light at 6:30, so they probably got that information out as soon as they could in relaying it from the super to whomever sends out the emails. I'm usually on my bike or running that time of the morning and even shortly before that it's pitch black out still, so they likely had somebody out in the dark checking. I've done grounds crew before and it can be hard to predict how heavy a frost is before daylight comes. It comes with the territory playing early morning this time of year unfortunately.

 

Definitely, I get it. Just wanted to get out, that's all! I know their job isn't easy and they're doing the best they can. I don't live far at all so it's not a big deal for me, but feel bad for anyone with a longer drive if they didn't get the email in time.

[Argonne69]

A pleasant morning at Mt Prospect. Well, other than the nitwits in front of us. If you're young and athletic, but can't hit the ball more than 50 yds off the tee, perhaps your time would be better spent taking lessons. Oh, and given that you didn't hit a single drive any where near 225 yds, why are you waiting for the greens to clear on the par 5's, especially #17 playing into a 20 mph headwind? 

 

Weatherwise we got a bit lucky with the wind. It was breezy, but the really strong stuff didn't come in until the drive home. The course was in OK shape. The fairways were slit on Monday or Tuesday I was told. The greens were almost healed from the recent aeration, but they were was bumpy as heck. The speed was 10 at best. Bunkers could use sand. Not more sand. Sand. Leaves were a bit of a bother, but could have been worse. The 4:20 pace wasn't horrid if you don't mind waiting on every shot. The group in front of us was a hole behind by the 6th hole, one and a half behind at the turn, and finished one behind. 'Just don't understand how four players, each in their own carts, teeing off behind four walkers, can fail to keep pace or catch up. 

 

Good day ballstriking with 9 fairways and 12 greens. Two birdies, but five bogies. When I missed the green I just didn't give myself a good chance for an up and down. 

 

Highlight of the day was watching a player four groups behind us tee off on the 11th and 13th holes. The guy was on crutches, and missing his left leg. He'd drop the two crutches when he addressed the ball, and had an amazing swing given that he couldn't shift his weight. 'Very inspiring.

 

[AUTIGER07]

The old man and I had a change of plans this week and instead decided to play out at Bowe's Creek this morning. The word of the day was: W I N D Y. I've played there before with some breeze but not 20-25 MPH consistent winds / gusts. Some of those par 3's were absolute animals. Overall though it was absolutely a pleasant round and we got paired up with 2 really nice guys from the area. Every tee time was booked but we made it around in 3:50 which was another pleasant surprise. 

 

In terms of course conditions I thought Bowe's was in great shape but they did have several spots that were drenched. I probably had 10-12 mud balls today and drives tended to backup in the fairway or stick right where they landed.

 

Left a few shots out there on the greens as I was over-reading some of the breaks but was thrilled with the ball-striking given how difficult the wind was. Shot a 73 from the blue tees with 2 birdies, 12 / 14 fairways, 11 / 18 greens, and 31 putts. I'm hoping to get out one or two more times this year but with work ramping back up and the weather turning it may be a challenge.

[chisag]

... Naperbrook 1:50 tee time today which was right into the teeth of this insane wind. Opening hole is 363 and I hit a solid driver and 17* Super Hybrid coming up just on the front fringe. 512 yd par 5 and after a 330 yd drive (LOL) I hit an 8 iron just over the green. 45+ gusts were no joke as I usually hit driver, 6 iron and pw/sw into that green. At least they are pretty much into or down wind with only 1 hole into a cross wind. 2 people quit after 9 leaving me and a high index player on the back 9. I don't think he broke 125 and must have lost close to a dozen balls, but at least he had a good attitude and smiled his way through the round. But da-yum a weak slice into a 40+ wind really really goes sideways. On the 12th, a short 148yd par 3 he hit a 4 hybrid waaaay up in the air and it came down bouncing back toward him maybe 10 yds. Weirdest shot I have ever seen as it must have gotten over the front of the green before starting to come down blowing back and rolling toward us. All in all a fun round battling that wind. Funny, at 20 mph I get frustrated but at 40 mph it was much more of a mental and physical challenge. 

[ME27]

Took the morning off yesterday to get out for one last "warm round" and went to Ravisloe. Course was really in great shape overall. Fairways were dry and rolling out, greens were in good shape and rolling quick, bunkers were manicured and in good shape, and they were out early clearing the leaves. Only complaint would be that the par 3 tee boxes were rough and seemed like the tee boxes haven't been rotated much. Made the turn at -2 after having birdied 2,3, and 5 and that's where the fun ended and the winds really started to pick up. Played the back at +4 and with the wind whipping like it was it felt like I played much better than that. Overall very good day ball striking and finally got the putter to cooperate and roll some birdies in, 72 with 3 birds and 5 bogeys. 

[Argonne69]

I wasn't sure if I was going to go out today, but the temps close to the lakefront seemed to be fairly decent, and the winds were manageable. I headed out to Glenview Prairie Club for the first time, a nine hole course adjacent to the Glen Club. I was fairly impressed. It's like a mini Glen Club, albeit quite short. 'Tons of mounding, and some tricky greens. My only beef was that the par 3's were basically playing the same length. It would be nice to see a few greater than 150 yds. Otherwise it was a fun layout with decent bunkering that would be nice for a late day nine. Conditions were very good. The bunkers were better than many of the courses in the area. Greens were smooth, and rolling a good 10. The first nine holes cost me $27, and it was only $6 for a second go around. The pace was excellent, as I made played the first nine in 1:30, and the second time around was 1:40. It was also my 200th course played in Chicagoland. 'Just over 6 years since I played #100.

 

Decent round, but given the yardage it was more or less a practice round. Highlight of the day was playing with a father and his young son. The young lad was 12 years old, and just starting playing this season. For a beginner he had a solid game. I was definitely impressed. 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by Argonne69

[Marlo989]

I'm a fan of Glenview Prairie Club. I knew it was a solid test despite the length when I played great and then tripled 9. That makes it a real course in my book.

 

Played Makray today for the first time. The greens were lightning quick and with the wind you could put yourself in impossible spots to putt from. My 2nd best drive of the day I aimed for the wrong green on a dogleg. Whoops. Would like another chance at those greens.

[@_the_crook]

with the very playable design, convenient location and replay discount, - that's a nice course for a breezy game.

thanks for your review Arg.

[@_the_crook]

7:10 start at Sunset Valley. near 42 degrees and after about an hour the winds kicked up.

/begin endorsement/ topped off my outfit with my new Norse jacket. have worn it 2x. love it. /end endorsement/

 

on 13, 14, 15 and 17 we could back off on approaches but everywhere else required a bit more stick.

on 16, my second shot, (needed hybrid out of the left rough), came up 40 yards shy and I clobbered that poor little Mojo.

fall golf - leaves everywhere and with the winds howling, the grounds crew didn't have a chance to keep up.

naturally - hope to get back tomorrow.

 

[stasek]

Old Oak this afternoon....  “Little” windy, but otherwise quite pleasant.  Tito’s and Arnie kept us nice and warm.  Course is in great shape - the greens were lightning quick, rolling at least 11-12.  We teed off at 1:20pm, and judging by the number of cars in the parking lot, I was afraid we were going to cut it close.  Surprisingly, even though it seemed like we waited to hit every single shot, we finished in 4:10.  Had probably best day driving the ball (despite the wind), but the rest of the game didn’t comply.  Highlight?  Hit driver, 7i to the middle of the green on par 5 5th. 2 putts later, carded my only birdie of the day.  

[ldchristopher]

Shepherd’s Crook this morning. There was light rain on the front but it picked up on the back nine and became sleet for the last two holes. We wouldn’t have had to deal with the sleet but we were behind two guys who insisted they wouldn’t let us out until 7:30 because the grounds crew gets mad. Uh, guys, there’s going to be about 8 golfers today. The grounds crew stayed home. Dummies. It showed as well. Leaves all over the 5th, 7th, 8th, and 17th greens. I couldn’t get going on the front. Too many layers on. I chipped in for birdie on 3, followed that up with three straight bogies on 4-6, birdied 10, and bogied 11 and 18. 74. Pace was great as we played in 2:20. The two guys in front of us both had their own carts and we were on them the whole round. Sad. 
Quick little aside: the guy who was insisting we wait to tee off had this cartoonishly jacked up pickup truck. Hilarious that he’s got that ode to American extremism but can’t walk 18 holes.

[Quem24]

3 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Shepherd’s Crook this morning. There was light rain on the front but it picked up on the back nine and became sleet for the last two holes. We wouldn’t have had to deal with the sleet but we were behind two guys who insisted they wouldn’t let us out until 7:30 because the grounds crew gets mad. Uh, guys, there’s going to be about 8 golfers today. The grounds crew stayed home. Dummies. It showed as well. Leaves all over the 5th, 7th, 8th, and 17th greens. I couldn’t get going on the front. Too many layers on. I chipped in for birdie on 3, followed that up with three straight bogies on 4-6, birdied 10, and bogied 11 and 18. 74. Pace was great as we played in 2:20. The two guys in front of us both had their own carts and we were on them the whole round. Sad. 
Quick little aside: the guy who was insisting we wait to tee off had this cartoonishly jacked up pickup truck. Hilarious that he’s got that ode to American extremism but can’t walk 18 holes.

Kibitzing this thread with the occasional post I can say this with certainty - public  golf is clearly not for you. It seems to make you quite miserable regularly, and your otherwise noteworthy contributions to this thread are blinded by your negativity. 
 

Please consider joining a private club next year. 

[MountainKing]

36 minutes ago, Quem24 said:

Kibitzing this thread with the occasional post I can say this with certainty - public  golf is clearly not for you. It seems to make you quite miserable regularly, and your otherwise noteworthy contributions to this thread are blinded by your negativity. 
 

Please consider joining a private club next year. 

 

I enjoy his posts, as I think most of us do, and probably agree on most of his sentiments regarding the typical golfer on a public course.  Like most things in life, common sense escapes a good majority of the people and a lot of guys in this thread call that out. 

[Argonne69]

I play a ton of early golf, especially on Mondays and Tuesdays when the maintenance guys are at their peak. While not ideal, we can certainly coexist. The vast majority of courses don't restrict play when they're out there, so what is so special about the handful of courses that won't allow play when they are? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me. 

 

[chisag]

59 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

I enjoy his posts, as I think most of us do, and probably agree on most of his sentiments regarding the typical golfer on a public course.  Like most things in life, common sense escapes a good majority of the people and a lot of guys in this thread call that out. 

 

 

... I'll add this, especially with so many people on social media where common sense is an endangered species. I try not to say anything in print I would not say directly to someones face. I come from an era where a punch in the face was not an assault but a reason to watch what you say, especially to strangers. I enjoy this thread as it is a great cross section of players, ages and attitudes. I would not play golf at 6am for free on most Chicago courses and imagine others here have no interest in twilite golf. But it is local golf and I enjoy reading everyones experience. I love Prairie Bluff and hate Big Run while others here feel the exact opposite. All in all this is one of my favorite threads. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by chisag

[ldchristopher]

I’m feeling the love here, gentlemen. Oh, but I almost forgot. I won’t EVER join a private club. I caddied for too long. Catered to some of the worst people I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I will proudly continue slamming my trunk in public course parking lots. 

[TheBear95]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

... I'll add this, especially with so many people on social media where common sense is an endangered species. I try not to say anything in print I would not say directly to someones face. I come from an era where a punch in the face was not an assault but a reason to watch what you say, especially to strangers. I enjoy this thread as it is a great cross section of players, ages and attitudes. I would not play golf at 6am for free on most Chicago courses and imagine others here have no interest in twilite golf. But it is local golf and I enjoy reading everyones experience. I love Prairie Bluff and hate Big Run while others here feel the exact opposite. All in all this is one of my favorite threads. 

Speaking of Prairie Bluff, have they punched their greens?

 

I'm going to be in the area later this week, looking to get in a few rounds. I know Wedgewood and Inwood have punched. 

[chisag]

14 minutes ago, TheBear95 said:

Speaking of Prairie Bluff, have they punched their greens?

 

I'm going to be in the area later this week, looking to get in a few rounds. I know Wedgewood and Inwood have punched. 

 

... Yup, aerated a couple weeks ago and they are rolling well. 

[@_the_crook]

7 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

We wouldn’t have had to deal with the sleet but we were behind two guys who insisted they wouldn’t let us out until 7:30 because the grounds crew gets mad.

 

Are you speaking about the two players ahead of you or the starter ?

I'd have asked in the pro shop for clarification and if possible - bolted out on front in jackhat and his partner.

The crew at the Crook is usually friendly and efficient - and the first tee time starts on time as long as weather cooperates. Bit of rain does not stop that course from play.

[Apindara]

31 minutes ago, @_the_crook said:

 

Are you speaking about the two players ahead of you or the starter ?

I'd have asked in the pro shop for clarification and if possible - bolted out on front in jackhat and his partner.

The crew at the Crook is usually friendly and efficient - and the first tee time starts on time as long as weather cooperates. Bit of rain does not stop that course from play.

Charley the head groundskeeper is a good guy. Met him a couple times. He cares about the place.

[TheBear95]

1 hour ago, @_the_crook said:

 

Are you speaking about the two players ahead of you or the starter ?

I'd have asked in the pro shop for clarification and if possible - bolted out on front in jackhat and his partner.

The crew at the Crook is usually friendly and efficient - and the first tee time starts on time as long as weather cooperates. Bit of rain does not stop that course from play.

There was no starter today. The guy in the pro-shop said nothing as well.

 

After playing the first two holes, we quickly realized no maintenance guys were out on the course today either. I kind-of figured that was the case with the bad weather and likely only a few crazy guys trying to play today anyway. Good day to give the crew a break. The greens on #5, #7, #8 and #17 were covered in leaves from the overnight winds and rain.

 

The guys just made it up because they didn't want us to go out in front them. And, they didn't want to go to the first tee early because they wanted to fart around on the practice putting green. If the weather was decent, fine, whatever. But, when you're trying to get in a round in a tight weather window, every minute counts.

[VNutz]

After a crappy week I needed to get out yesterday, alas the weather in the afternoon didn't look all that agreeable. But I said F it and put on my rain gear and headed out to The Preserve. After a couple of holes most of the light rain was gone, and it was a pleasant albeit chilly round. On the first tee the boxes were all moved up, so I played the blacks as they were in the spots of my normal blues. After a few holes that pattern didn't continue, but I decided to keep going just to see how it played. The combination of the far back tees with the cold weather and lack of roll made the course play incredibly long and was a bit humbling; 18 played almost like a par 5. By the end of the round the sun came out for a little bit, and looking out along the creek with all the trees changing is a nice look this time of year around sunset.

 

And the greens there have yet to be punched and were rolling surprisingly quick for the rain.

[geochitown]

On 9/15/2020 at 6:38 PM, TheBear95 said:

Given how busy the courses are right now, I have no doubt others will do the same. Still bs though. 

 

Thought I remembered Argonne saying that the Preserve punched their greens a while back.

Looks like 9/14 or so.

I'm out of town, but looks like the weather is tough right now.