Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[HoosierHacker89]

Has anyone played white hawk in crown point? If so what tees do you play? We are playing red/silver and the golf tees measure about 6000 yards. The White tees measure 6800 yards with nothing in the middle. I normally play 6200-6500.  

[Argonne69]

3 minutes ago, HoosierHacker89 said:

Has anyone played white hawk in crown point? If so what tees do you play? We are playing red/silver and the golf tees measure about 6000 yards. The White tees measure 6800 yards with nothing in the middle. I normally play 6200-6500.  

 

I played the White tees on the Grey/Silver nines. It was ~6600 yds. A bit too long. I'd create my own White/Gold combo if I played it again.

 

[TheBear95]

14 minutes ago, HoosierHacker89 said:

Has anyone played white hawk in crown point? If so what tees do you play? We are playing red/silver and the golf tees measure about 6000 yards. The White tees measure 6800 yards with nothing in the middle. I normally play 6200-6500.  

 

The issue is that the SilverHawk 9 is beastly and does not fit with the other 9s on the course. The white tees on SilverHawk are 200 yards longer than the white tees on GreyHawk, BlackHawk and RedHawk. However, the Golds on Silver play under 3,000.

 

I agree with Argonne, create your own combo.

Edited July 21, 2021 by TheBear95

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, HoosierHacker89 said:

Has anyone played white hawk in crown point? If so what tees do you play? We are playing red/silver and the golf tees measure about 6000 yards. The White tees measure 6800 yards with nothing in the middle. I normally play 6200-6500.  

 

I don't remember what tees I played last time I was out there, but I just wanted to add that I really enjoy that course, all the 9's there are fun and Silverhawk is a beast.  If that course is in the rotation I would play a box forward from the other 9's. 

[Shriner]

Playing Blackstone on Sunday morning, looked up the scorecard and still hard to believe it is only 6700 from the backs.  Such an interesting layout with the 240yd par 3, 480yd par 4 and then two 300yd par 4's.  How often do you see that!  Last year, our round was 5 hours so hoping for a bit faster and hoping not to be directly behind a tree in the middle of the fairway (Yes. I am looking at you hole #3)

[TheBear95]

3 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

I don't remember what tees I played last time I was out there, but I just wanted to add that I really enjoy that course, all the 9's there are fun and Silverhawk is a beast.  If that course is in the rotation I would play a box forward from the other 9's. 

I always laugh when I play SilverHawk because #1 is so benign. A very short par 3, with a non-tricked out green.  A great birdie chance or an easy breezy par. After that, hold on to your butt.

Edited July 21, 2021 by TheBear95

[B-Man]

Cog #1 this Saturday with the neighborhood dads. Looking forward to putting it all behind me.

[geochitown]

you get a look at Dub's 17 or 18 from Course #1, I think, right?

[ldchristopher]

Speaking of White Hawk, I played there today as well. As was mentioned, the rotation with the open times was Red to Silver. Red is the least interesting of the 4 nines there but it probably pairs best with Silver because it’s not an absurdly long walk from the 9th green on Red to the first tee on Silver. Both were in very good shape, as always. While NWI doesn’t have a ton of options, White Hawk is always an excellent option. I played the whites at both, which is a little over 6700 on the card but played more like 6600 as Argonne said. From those tees, it’s a really fun course. From the tips it looks like a mentally exhausting drag. I figured things out swing-wise and have really had things clicking. Hitting greens and two putting is a very boring way to play golf but it’s super successful and efficient. Anyway, I bogied 9 after pushing a 7 iron wide on my approach but shot even on Silver(!) with a bogey on 2 and a birdie on 8. The tees were up on 8 so it was only playing around 580. The Silver course in general was playing quite firm and offered plenty of roll. 9 fairways and 13 greens for a 73. 

Round two was at Palmira. It was a bit of a slog as a single but I still played in 3:50. I kept the whole “hit fairways and greens and make one birdie” thing going with a bogey on 2 (grrr; I murdered my drive then hit a fat short iron that got stuck on the upslope) and a birdie on 11. The course has a couple rough looking holes, particularly 5 and 12. However, most of it was in decent shape, the greens were receptive and had very few marks on them, and they’ve done more tree removal on the back to further open things up. 9 fairways and 12 greens with some excellent chips when needed for a 72. 

 

[Woodridge]

Played the White 9 at Links of Carillon again today. My best ball striking round in years, really should have been under par.

 

As I mentioned in another post, you have to start on the 7th hole on the White 9 due to ComEd work between the 6th green and the 7th teebox. Both the guy at the ticket counter and the starter mentioned starting on 7 to us. My buddy and I played 7-9 and got to the 1st hole when we saw a group on the 1st green that we hadn't seen. I assumed that they accidently started on 1 without being told. When you finish 6, you have no choice but to drive all the way back to the clubhouse....You cannot get to 7 because it's fenced off. We watched them finish 6, a par 3 and then head towards 7...Of course, they couldn't get there due to the fencing. Boy were they pissed....I don't know if they weren't told about starting on 7 or just ignored it thinking they would be able to go from 6 to 7 anyway. Either way, they were screwed. One guy said he was never playing there again.

[ldchristopher]

5 hours ago, B-Man said:

Cog #1 this Saturday with the neighborhood dads. Looking forward to putting it all behind me.

Oof. The 600 block of Stone Ave. dads did an outing at Carriage Greens once. The ones who were serious golfers all agreed, let’s never do this again. 

[Argonne69]

Enjoyable morning at Glenview Park. Humidity continues to be sky high, but temps were fine. The course was in very nice shape. Fairways were lush. Rough was thick, but cut to an appropriate height. Bunkers were wet and needed grooming. Greens looked great, but only rolling 9 at best. Pace was very good at 3:45. Luckily the (slowish) group in front of us took an extended beer break at the turn, and we jumped ahead of them. Here's a tip. If several players in a group can't manage to hit the ball more than 100 yds off the back tees, maybe it's time to move up. Oy. 

 

Wonderful round today with one birdie and two bogies. Don't recall ever starting with five straight pars at GP. The 2nd through 5th are no slouches. I swear my old i200 irons knew they were going into my backup bag, as they flew as well as I've hit them in ages. 

 

I stopped by PXG after the round to pick up my new clubs, and get fit for a putter. 'Wound up ordering a Blackjack with a 36 inch shaft, four 15 gram weights, and a Super Stroker grip. As can be expected in a studio I was draining 4 to 8 foot putts like mad. Hopefully the thing performs on the course. Lol. 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Argonne69

[TheBear95]

I saw the dew point is going to be in the upper 70s this weekend. Yay! 

 

I'll take a cold November day for golf over that 10 out of 10 times.

[Wolfhammer]

2 hours ago, TheBear95 said:

I saw the dew point is going to be in the upper 70s this weekend. Yay! 

 

I'll take a cold November day for golf over that 10 out of 10 times.

 

Same. The last month has felt like playing a round in a swimming pool.

[Wolfhammer]

Weaver Ridge in Peoria last Sunday. A fun but tough course for this high handicapper. Fairways and greens looked great. Rough was thick and needed a trim. You needed a 9 iron or more loft to get any air under your ball. That's a good way to add a bunch of strokes in a hurry.

 

Man, prices are so much more reasonable down there. $60 to ride during a prime weekend slot. That's a great value. 

[@_the_crook]

7 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

If several players in a group can't manage to hit the ball more than 100 yds off the back tees, maybe it's time to move up

Finally, a group that makes me look good.

Glenview Park you say?

 

😉

[psygolf]

17 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Enjoyable morning at Glenview Park. Humidity continues to be sky high, but temps were fine. The course was in very nice shape. Fairways were lush. Rough was thick, but cut to an appropriate height. Bunkers were wet and needed grooming. Greens looked great, but only rolling 9 at best. Pace was very good at 3:45. Luckily the (slowish) group in front of us took an extended beer break at the turn, and we jumped ahead of them. Here's a tip. If several players in a group can't manage to hit the ball more than 100 yds off the back tees, maybe it's time to move up. Oy. 

 

Wonderful round today with one birdie and two bogies. Don't recall ever starting with five straight pars at GP. The 2nd through 5th are no slouches. I swear my old i200 irons knew they were going into my backup bag, as they flew as well as I've hit them in ages. 

 

I stopped by PXG after the round to pick up my new clubs, and get fit for a putter. 'Wound up ordering a Blackjack with a 36 inch shaft, four 15 gram weights, and a Super Stroker grip. As can be expected in a studio I was draining 4 to 8 foot putts like mad. Hopefully the thing performs on the course. Lol. 

 

 

I do prefer the Gen3 models over the new ones 👍🏻

[MountainKing]

19 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Enjoyable morning at Glenview Park. Humidity continues to be sky high, but temps were fine. The course was in very nice shape. Fairways were lush. Rough was thick, but cut to an appropriate height. Bunkers were wet and needed grooming. Greens looked great, but only rolling 9 at best. Pace was very good at 3:45. Luckily the (slowish) group in front of us took an extended beer break at the turn, and we jumped ahead of them. Here's a tip. If several players in a group can't manage to hit the ball more than 100 yds off the back tees, maybe it's time to move up. Oy. 

 

Wonderful round today with one birdie and two bogies. Don't recall ever starting with five straight pars at GP. The 2nd through 5th are no slouches. I swear my old i200 irons knew they were going into my backup bag, as they flew as well as I've hit them in ages. 

 

I stopped by PXG after the round to pick up my new clubs, and get fit for a putter. 'Wound up ordering a Blackjack with a 36 inch shaft, four 15 gram weights, and a Super Stroker grip. As can be expected in a studio I was draining 4 to 8 foot putts like mad. Hopefully the thing performs on the course. Lol. 

 

 

 

 

I'd say 90% of the golfers I come across should be playing tees at 5500 yards...yet they all seem to insist on teeing off from 6600 or more.  Just a broken record rant at this point.

 

Those irons look fantastic!

[VNutz]

17 hours ago, TheBear95 said:

I saw the dew point is going to be in the upper 70s this weekend. Yay! 

 

I'll take a cold November day for golf over that 10 out of 10 times.

If we could get cold weather temps with current course conditions I'd be extremely happy.

[TheBear95]

21 minutes ago, VNutz said:

If we could get cold weather temps with current course conditions I'd be extremely happy.

Agreed. But, I would take even a wet November course over this crap.

 

I went purchased a new golf glove yesterday for this weekend. However, came home and thought that was a pretty pointless purchase. Thanks to our outdoor sauna conditions, I most likely will have to play in rain gloves anyway this weekend.

[Shriner]

Amazing the different preferences...this is my favorite golf weather.   I almost don't have to warm up with this weather.  It is so easy to swing and the ball FLIES.  I also love the heat so I could see if you don't like hot weather, this could be bothersome. 

[TheBear95]

4 minutes ago, Shriner said:

Amazing the different preferences...this is my favorite golf weather.   I almost don't have to warm up with this weather.  It is so easy to swing and the ball FLIES.  I also love the heat so I could see if you don't like hot weather, this could be bothersome. 

 

You're seeing the difference between guys who walk and guys who ride.

 

Anyway, for me (to sound like an old lady), it's not the heat, it's the humidity. Dew points in high 70s is Gulf Coast, Mississippi Delta stuff. You feel gross. I have to play in rain gloves usually. Not my cup of tea.

[mci711]

I don't love the humidity, but I would definitely take this over anything less than 60. I am in St Louis now so it is a little warmer than Chicago, but I've been walking at least 9 4/5 times a week at the club we joined.  It isn't too bad, cycle through 3 gloves and drink water. Body feels looser, ball goes farther. I'll take it.

Edited July 23, 2021 by mci711

[Argonne69]

A bit of a struggle this morning at Village Links. The humidity totally saps you. Conditions were very good. The bunkers were a little wet, and definitely needed more sand. The greens were damp at the start of the round, and only rolling around 8. They dried out late in the morning and were closer to 9. Pace was quite frustrating. We made the turn in 2 hours, which wasn't bad. However, there were 3 groups on the 11th hole. I looked over at the 14th and 15th, and they were wide open. I called the pro shop to ask if there was a ranger out there. I was told most certainly yes. I requested that they wake him from his mid morning nap and go do his job. No idea how an early morning group gets two holes behind. Grrrr. 

 

A bit of a struggle with the clubs today as well. Driver was solid, but the new irons are going to need a few rounds. One gets used to the extra forgiveness of the larger players irons. Well struck shots felt like butter, no surprise. However, I caught a few out near the toe and they came up way short. One birdie and six bogies. 

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by Argonne69

[@_the_crook]

12 hours ago, Shriner said:

I also love the heat so I could see if you don't like hot weather, this could be bothersome. 

makes perfect sense.

I don't use the AC in my truck too often. open windows and moving at a decent clip is good enough.

besides, how you gonna hang your arm and tap to the music with the windows up?

 

[taylorx300]

Day 1 of the McHenry Am is over.

Posted an 80 with two doubles and no birdies. Course was in great shape and the greens were very fast. Need to focus more for tomorrow if I have any shot of finishing in the money.

Edited July 24, 2021 by taylorx300

[MountainKing]

Afternoon round at Old Oak.   It's a beautiful course and a really fun layout.   Overall in great shape until you get on the greens.   They were awful and inconsistent.  One hole would be so hard you could barely hold a wedge,  the next would be shaggy and slow.   Regardless they were crater filled and bumpy as could be.   Basically good luck.   As usual,  we teed off behind a group that managed to fall 2 holes behind instantly.  People do realize you only have so much daylight teeing off at 3:30, right?  These clowns let us through on 12, thank God cause they were nowhere in sight when we walked off of 18.  

 

Game was on, on the front,  hit every green and only missed 1 fairway.   Sadly couldn't get anything to drop, and tossed in two 3 putts thanks to the awful greens for a 38.

 

Back 9 had some struggles. Was getting drained from the heat and the course had no water anywhere.   I managed to pull of a 40 for a 78.  Another fairly easy course with no birdie appearance, although those greens were a losing battle with putting.  Can't expect much for $35 I guess,  still a good afternoon out.

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by MountainKing

[ldchristopher]

12 hours ago, TheBear95 said:

 

You're seeing the difference between guys who walk and guys who ride.

 

Anyway, for me (to sound like an old lady), it's not the heat, it's the humidity. Dew points in high 70s is Gulf Coast, Mississippi Delta stuff. You feel gross. I have to play in rain gloves usually. Not my cup of tea.

No way. This is the best weather. I’m loose after like three practice swings. Does lugging around a 60 ounce water bottle stink (I think the one I have was actually made for problem drinkers)? Yup, but at least it clips to my ClickGear. And I don’t mind playing in a rain glove. Grip isn’t an issue at all and I can throw it in the laundry every now and then. The only two downsides are the mosquitoes and the pace, but pace isn’t an issue when teeing off at 6:00 AM. 

[St Jimmy]

On 7/17/2021 at 11:02 AM, ldchristopher said:

I have to come clean. Earlier this year I said Bear and I walked 54 (Bonnie Brook, Oak Grove and Brae Loch). However, I actually only played 52 that day since I was late for my tee time at BBrook. With the weight of that misinformation hanging around my neck, I was again told by wife to have a golf day. That meant walking 54. It’s a silly self-challenge, made even less impressive since some guy in Switzerland just walked 252 holes in one day. But, onto yesterday’s rounds. 
 

Pine Meadows for round one. There’s so much to like about that course. Great layout, only one ho hum hole (10 goes along the range and even that isn’t awful), lots of tees and a combos well as large greens that in theory should allow the course to play differently depending on the setup, and an affordable weekday walking rate. However, their insistence on keeping the the blue/green dye industry afloat by drenching the course in dye is so, so aggravating. With the dye, Ghettos always just plays slow regardless of the setup. It gets on my fingers, under my nails, and all over my clubs. And for what? So the course will look bright green from April to November? So what? If I rolled around on those fairways I’d get up looking like the Incredible Hulk. Anyway, my game was very sharp. 11 fairways and 12 greens, with birdies on 4 and 13 and bogies on 3, 7 and 12 for a 73 from the Blue/Gold combo. 
 

Round two was at Chalet Hills. That’s a scary course for a 10:40 tee time but the people playing were very cool. I played through 5 groups (4 on the front and 1 on the back) and was careful not to disrupt anyone else’s pace of play. Once I got past group 5 on 12, I was home free and ended up playing in a shade over 3 hours. That’s probably not, in theory, the best place for a 54 hole day but I know exactly how to play every hole there and it’s a very draw-friendly layout. It helped that I had probably the best ball striking round of my life. 11 fairways and 16 greens. One birdie on 7 and two bogies on 5 and 16 for a 74.  
 

Bear joined me for round three at Countryside Prairie. We teed off at 3:20 and barely had to wait at all. I only hit 6 fairways but that’s not a place where one needs to be in the fairway to make par and I managed 12 greens, which is the stat that matters most anyway. There’s not much teeth from the blue tees but that was fine by me all things considered. One birdie on 14 and one bogey on 11 for an even par 72. 
 

Now, given the fact that I hit 40/54 greens, one would think I’d make more birdies. But here’s the problem: the putter sucks. It’s definitely NOT me. Quick aside: Am I the only person who now is more intrigued by a Cobra RadSpeed since Bryson’s comments? 

 

 

If you subbed Countryside for Steeplechase that might've been my ideal golf weekend for courses close to home.  

 

I'd probably try to add Stonewall for there fourth round. 

[St Jimmy]

On 7/17/2021 at 8:01 PM, Symphonize said:

Afternoon round at Crystal Woods. First time out there. Always nice to enjoy the change of scenery. Some fun elevation changes. 
 

98 today. Was really feeling the new driver on the range, even had a fairway with it on 1. But it went downhill with it after. Really all my clubs, I kept pulling left. Irons, hybrid, and driver. Not sure what was going on. Good think my chipping was able to keep me alive. 

 

It's been a few years since I was out there, but I remember it being a pretty tight course.  No shame in missing a few fairways with those trees closing in on you.