Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[@_the_crook]

playing Sportsman's 18 Sunday so will be able to share more after that.

plus the East 9 is a breeze to scope out.

so far can tell the range was improved - they took it down to the underlayment and started over.

it suffered from drainage issues, plus it looks a ton nicer.

new balls plus Trackman.

the grass tee concept seems to have been abandoned.

 

the plan maps showed a short game practice area on the east end - nope.

I saw two practice areas, both behind the clubhouse.  one a large green and the other a combo.

parking lot , OK it's pretty and has nice lighting.

the center entry fountain was made smaller and moved to the right (west) side near the perimeter fence. it was a nice feature but - they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

 

based on yardages - number one plays about 40 yards longer.

the center fairway bunker on number 18 was removed.

greens were slow on first weekend.

 

restaurant menu is limited and states as staffing / demand increases, options will be ramped up.

it seems pretty good for now.

standard breakfast and lunch choices suitable for golf.

they want to build a full menu and have the locals use the venue.

 

I'll take pics and post.

 

 

 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Rough morning out on the links today. In hindsight, with muggy conditions and practically no breeze, walking Harborside Port probably wasn't the best decision. Lol. Having a few trees would have been nice in the sauna-like conditions. I found a $65 deal on TeeOff, and while still pricey, I decided it was probably worth that much. I picked up my new/replacement PXG 0311P's, so having an actual grass range to hit a few balls before the round was nice. Conditions were a little spotty. The fairways were getting a little rollout, but as usual there were some wet spots, and also a few dead or stressed areas. Didn't effect play, but it was surprising to see. The rough was juicy thick. It was cut to a good height, but still penal. Bunkers were fine for the most part, but there were a few that we wet and compacted, which was also a surprise. Greens were in very nice shape, rolling at least 10, and with few unrepaired ballmarks. Finally. They were on the soft side, though. Pace was excellent. I teed off with another walker, a young player visiting for the first time from North Carolina (near Pinehurst), and we had a fun time out there following a couple of twosomes in 3:30. 

 

Game was really off today across the board. The driver was better than Tuesday, but I still hit a handful of ugly drives. Irons were off and on. Scrambling was really off, and I only got up and down twice in ten tries. Five bogies and two doubles. Ugh. When we made the climb up to the 10th tee I knew I was spent. A little dehydrated, and sucking wind. No real highlights today. I definitely think I made the right choice in replacing the PXG 0311T's with P's. I was worried that I wouldn't get enough spin, but I hit a handful of really good iron shots that stopped a foot from their pitch mark. A few more rounds will tell, but my initial impression is quite positive.

 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Argonne69

[ME27]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Rough morning out on the links today. In hindsight, with muggy conditions and practically no breeze, walking Harborside Port probably wasn't the best decision. Lol. Having a few trees would have been nice in the sauna-like conditions. I found a $65 deal on TeeOff, and while still pricey, I decided it was probably worth that much. I picked up my new/replacement PXG 0311P's, so having an actual grass range to hit a few balls before the round was nice. Conditions were a little spotty. The fairways were getting a little rollout, but as usual there were some wet spots, and also a few dead or stressed areas. Didn't effect play, but it was surprising to see. The rough was juicy thick. It was cut to a good height, but still penal. Bunkers were fine for the most part, but there were a few that we wet and compacted, which was also a surprise. Greens were in very nice shape, rolling at least 10, and with few unrepaired ballmarks. Finally. They were on the soft side, though. Pace was excellent. I teed off with another walker, a young player visiting for the first time from North Carolina (near Pinehurst), and we had a fun time out there following a couple of twosomes in 3:30. 

 

Game was really off today across the board. The driver was better than Tuesday, but I still hit a handful of ugly drives. Irons were off and on. Scrambling was really off, and I only got up and down twice in ten tries. Five bogies and two doubles. Ugh. When we made the climb up to the 10th tee I knew I was spent. A little dehydrated, and sucking wind. No real highlights today. I definitely think I made the right choice in replacing the PXG 0311T's with P's. I was worried that I wouldn't get enough spin, but I hit a handful of really good iron shots that stopped a foot from their pitch mark. A few more rounds will tell, but my initial impression is quite positive.

 

 

Love the bag. Have the same one. 

[Argonne69]

5 minutes ago, ME27 said:

Love the bag. Have the same one. 

 

Thanks. It's on the heavy side, but it's sharp looking, and the material sheds water quite well. 

 

 

[ME27]

9 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Thanks. It's on the heavy side, but it's sharp looking, and the material sheds water quite well. 

 

 

Definitely lighter bags out there to carry but thing is sharp and the materials are top notch. 

[Argonne69]

42 minutes ago, ME27 said:

Definitely lighter bags out there to carry but thing is sharp and the materials are top notch. 

 

Ping released a Hoofer Lite Tour in Europe. Sharp looking and light. I hope they decide to release it in the U.S. 

 

[DavePelz4]

On Wednesday I hosted 3 guys from our group at Naperville CC, courtesy of the NIU athletics auction.  First time playing the course.  Top notch facility across the board from a very nice practice area, short game area and putting green.  

 

Shocked by the amount of elevation changes considering it's basically DT N'ville.  That added a fun dimension to the course. Our forecaddie was a former LPGA looper who was on the bag for Yani Tseng, after she was the #1 ranked player on the LPGA.  When playing with a caddie, I ask them to read the first putt to see if we're looking at the same lines.  He was quick to point out that all his lines had speeds with the ball dying in the hole, which put his reads into great perspectives. Normally reading greens is something relatively easy but I ended up listening to him on the majority of putts.  He'd see a left break when I'd see right.  He also had a greens book showing the break and on more than 1 occasion he pulled out a tiny level to validate the break.  He was always right.

 

Very impressed with the greens complexes.  They redid they a while back and had everything from run offs to thick collars, tight lies, etc. Certainly the opportunity to play a variety of shots.  The bunkers were amazing and ever for someone who normally sucks in a bunker, it was very easy to spin the ball and I got up and down all 3 times when finding a bunker.

 

We got pulled from the course due to lightening for about 20 minutes due to lightening followed by some heavy rain.  It made minimal impact on the speed of the greens. 

 

RIch Harvest Farms and Naperville CC will be followed on Saturday by another premier track as we head to Lincoln Oaks in Crete.  Surely that's another premier course, right? 

[TheBear95]

15 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

On Wednesday I hosted 3 guys from our group at Naperville CC, courtesy of the NIU athletics auction.  First time playing the course.  Top notch facility across the board from a very nice practice area, short game area and putting green.  

 

Shocked by the amount of elevation changes considering it's basically DT N'ville.  That added a fun dimension to the course. Our forecaddie was a former LPGA looper who was on the bag for Yani Tseng, after she was the #1 ranked player on the LPGA.  When playing with a caddie, I ask them to read the first putt to see if we're looking at the same lines.  He was quick to point out that all his lines had speeds with the ball dying in the hole, which put his reads into great perspectives. Normally reading greens is something relatively easy but I ended up listening to him on the majority of putts.  He'd see a left break when I'd see right.  He also had a greens book showing the break and on more than 1 occasion he pulled out a tiny level to validate the break.  He was always right.

 

Very impressed with the greens complexes.  They redid they a while back and had everything from run offs to thick collars, tight lies, etc. Certainly the opportunity to play a variety of shots.  The bunkers were amazing and ever for someone who normally sucks in a bunker, it was very easy to spin the ball and I got up and down all 3 times when finding a bunker.

 

We got pulled from the course due to lightening for about 20 minutes due to lightening followed by some heavy rain.  It made minimal impact on the speed of the greens. 

 

RIch Harvest Farms and Naperville CC will be followed on Saturday by another premier track as we head to Lincoln Oaks in Crete.  Surely that's another premier course, right? 

Yeah, Naperville C.C. is on a nice piece of property. The cream of the crop for old town Naperville. 

[mci711]

It is funny, from Chicago Ave, you have no idea what is back there. The first time I was at Naperville CC I had no idea what it would be like, i drove by weekly and never thought the course would move the way it does. I think I'll be playing there next week unless I can get on Black Sheep. 

[Argonne69]

Another steamy day out there. I woke up this morning and the temperature was 71 with a dew point of 69. Can you say muggy? First visit to the "new" Heritage Oaks. One word, underwhelming. I can safely say that it won't be in the running for renovation of the year. It's no Mistwood or Sunset Valley redo. It's not even a Wilmette level redo. They lengthened a number of holes, took out some trees, and planted a few new small trees. The look around the clubhouse, 1st and 18th is very nice, but the rest of the course looks pretty much the same. Hopefully they get their money's worth from the improved drainage. Speaking of which, no idea why they didn't put cart paths in, as they'll still lose revenue when it's too wet to let carts out. 

 

It does appear that they added or enlarged a number of chipping areas around some of the greens. The ponds also look a little larger. The one between the par 3 3rd and the 16th has a nice natural look to it with water grasses along the banks. The pond near the 10th also has more plant life. 

 

The clubhouse looks very nice, although they could have enlarged the patio. They have a lot of room overlooking the practice green, but the main section of the patio only has 12 tables. The air conditioning is working fine. Lol. Beer selection is weak. Only 10 taps? 

 

A bit annoyed that they purchased new flags for the greens, and they're all white/black. The scorecard doesn't have diagrams for pin positions, so if you're walking you have to guess where the flag is on the green. Grrr. 

 

There are no longer water coolers on the course. They did add a water station on the back of the food hut near the 4th/15th teebox, in addition to the one near the 3rd/17th, so remember to top off your water bottle, as it's a bit of a hike from the 9th green to the clubhouse. 

 

Conditions. Fairways looked excellent, minus a few muddy spots. Very soft. Practically no rollout, which made the course play very long. Rough was being cut thankfully. We lost two balls in the rough in the opening few holes. Bunkers were very nice for the most part, but a few were very wet from the sprinklers. Pffft. Not sure if they redid the sprinkler system, but if they did they did a poor job. Here's a hint. Sand doesn't need to be watered. 

 

The good news is that the greens are not rock hard pool tables. They were rather receptive. They were also dog slow. With the early morning few I'd say 8 at best. By the end of the round they were probably rolling 9. I can live with that, as it's preferable to rock hard. Sadly there was way too many unrepaired and poorly repaired ballmarks. I know I sound like a frikin broken record, but c'mon. The course has been open for four days and some of the greens looks like dog doo. Pathetic. 

 

Pace was excellent. I joined a twosome, and we made it around in 3:25 with only a few pauses. 

 

Overall I was disappointed. I guess I was expecting at least a Wilmette-like redo with some interesting changes to the greens, or a handful of new bunker complexes. Instead it's the same old course, including that stupid 17th. 

 

I need to find the reset button for my game. Another poor day all around. One birdie and eight bogies. The heat definitely got to me again, but I can't use that as an excuse. Driver is missing both ways, and one can't score hitting out of the thick, wet rough. Highlight of the day was watching one of my playing partners. Long hitter made four birdies, and had numerous good looks. Only hit a handful of iffy shots. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2021 by Argonne69

[B-Man]

Saturday Classic at Village Links tomorrow. Getting the shakes. Haven't had a birdie or eagle in 2 weeks!

[TheBear95]

Thanks for the report, Arg. 

 

I'm not surprised by it. In reading the plans for the reno, the changes they looked to make on the "Classic 18" seemed pretty minimal. My only question is whether they tricked out the greens or not. Got to remember, this course had a major reno done in 2005. In the grand scheme of things, that's not very long ago.

 

That begs the question, was that reno a failure? Why wasn't a new clubhouse, practice area, and parking lot done then? And, with the minimal changes made to the "Classic 18", why touch it at all? These are questions more for the Northbrook tax payer, since the park board had to issue bonds to partially fund this project. Perhaps, they should do another feasibility study, lol.

 

 

[@_the_crook]

4 hours ago, TheBear95 said:

These are questions more for the Northbrook tax payer, since the park board had to issue bonds to partially fund this project.

 

the budget was Twelve point something million dollars.

whatever the original plan was.... is now built.

 

"and dat's dat."

[ldchristopher]

My Brighton Dale Links revenge tour continued with a round at Blue Spruce. My kind of weather today. With the high dew point and mid 80s temps, the ball was flying. I had a few great birdie looks early, including an 8 footer on 1 and a 4 footer on 5. Did I make them? Nope. My round at BDale today was classic for that course. I only hit 3 fairways, including none on the back, yet I hit 12 greens and shot a 74. The rough was basically hard pan. Best hole tee to green was #5. With a back flag and the tee boxes all the way back it was playing about 585. I killed my drive and hit a 5 wood to 75 yards. Stuck the wedge to 4 feet. Let’s not talk about the putt anymore. Blue Spruce isn’t very long at 6687 yards with rock hard rough shortening it by a lot. I had nothing longer than an 8 iron in on the par 4s and 5s (except for 15, since I had to lay up in front of the water in the fairway) so the fact that I couldn’t get a birdie to drop isn’t good. 

[MountainKing]

Since Prairie Bluffs seems to be the only place who cares about pace,  we went back out there.  It might be our new home course.  The rain cleared the place out and they let us take our own carts out to play faster,  score.   Course was wet, but still playable.   We only had two bad down pours to deal with that lasted about 10 minutes each, otherwise it was clear sailing and a solid 2 hour and 45 minute pace.  I really don't understand how any group of 4 needs over 4 hours to play.  I'll take the conditions any day to get an empty course.

 

Game was solid, had a good rhythm going and didn't have time to over think anything.  2 birdies and 2 bogies on the front.   Had some issues on 10 that led to a triple, but parred out from there for a 75.  

 

Back to the course I grew up on tomorrow, Naperbrook.  Haven't been out there in probably 7 years. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by MountainKing

[chisag]

2 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Since Prairie Bluffs seems to be the only place who cares about pace,  we went back out there.  It might be our new home course.  The rain cleared the place out and they let us take our own carts out to play faster,  score.   Course was wet, but still playable.   We only had two bad down pours to deal with that lasted about 10 minutes each, otherwise it was clear sailing and a solid 2 hour and 45 minute pace.  I really don't understand how any group of 4 needs over 4 hours to play.  I'll take the conditions any day to get an empty course.

 

Back to the course I grew up on tomorrow, Naperbrook.  Haven't been out there in probably 7 years. 

 

 

... Haha you are making me homesick. Those were my two go-to courses. 

[DavePelz4]

Yesterday I played in a charity event at Lincoln Oaks or as it's also known, the Tanna Farms of the extreme south burbs. Whoever designed this course clearly had never built a course previously. The range, which featured balls as smooth as a baby's bottom, was pointed directly into the sun. Some people who didn't want to deal with that went about 100 yards to the side, which apparently is OK. I've hit off everything from great turf al the way down to mats but here you could hit off dirt, or weeds.  Without hesitation, the poorest range Ive seen in many years.  The Tanna reference is the layout.  After 2 short opening par 4s, the remainder of the front alternates with par 5s followed by par 3s. So 4 par 5s on the front. Fortunately we didn't experience any bunkers but they appeared to be filled with Tour Issue dirt.  Yikes. The greens are tiny and I think they entire maintenance staff was given the last week off as the greens probably rolled 5 or possible less. Coming off Naperville CC, this was a drastic change. Not having played the course previously, we literally got lost several times and the routing wasn't the most logical.

 

It was a charity event and our group was buds from college and we haven't played together since COVID, so that made everything worthwhile. They had a very different scramble format which I'll admit was creative and somewhat leveling.  You couldn't hit consecutive shots on a hole. So for example, if your drive was used, you weren't hitting a second shot.  If you stuck an approach, you didn't hit the putt, or you could hit it but it didn't count.

 

They're were 40 some groups and we finished 5th, 5 back of the winners.  The par 3s were our downfall, only making 1 birdie offset with a bogey.  It took 14 holes and I finally figured out the greens and made the last 4 putts which were in the 10-15 foot range.

 

The highlight of the day was playing with the college buds and missing an ace on the par 3 "car" hole by literally an inch. They had video of the shot which I got to see and had it either been an inch right or with a hint of slice spin, it could have gone in. My "prize" for that closest to the pin was, uh, nada.

 

Someday if I find myself in Crete and desperate to play, I'll drive to Green Gardens.

Edited August 22, 2021 by DavePelz4

[Symphonize]

I think I’ve heard those called florida scrambles or step aside scarmbles. Unless it’s a more competitive event, If I’m already paying $100+ for the scramble, I want to take every single shot I can. 

[DavePelz4]

Will add one final thought on the folks in the scramble.  There was a young fox (animal) who pretty much hung out between a couple of holes for most of the round.  We saw him at least 3-4 times traversing that wacky layout.  The fox was obviously comfortable with people around and it didn't make any advances toward anyone.  One of the neighbors across the street from the course said the fox was born in his back yard this spring and has pretty much hung around since. Some of the folks did their best to scare the fox who was minding his own business and made a comment about the fox invading their space.  I'm pretty sure that foxes ancestors were here long before us.  Leave animals alone please.

[@_the_crook]

20 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

Leave animals alone please.

+1

[@_the_crook]

Sunday morning at the new/old Sportsman's. got there early, used the range.

wonder when the signs arrive to let you know how far away the targets are.

no dividers at the range - is that common ?

SV doesn't have them at the grass tees but most matted places do. whatever.

found out my four year old phone is one sw version out of date for the trackman app.

they removed the west row of parking along the range driveway to add landscaping...

realized the mini golf is gone.

might not have made any profit , but was great for the little ones at all times of day and helped families with casual outings. that's over.

 

holes 1/9/18 are on the Classic course have changed somewhat.

areas just in front of all three had work done, likely drainage related.

the run ups to 9 and 18 seemed a bit lower, as the greens appear more elevated than in previous years. maybe a combination.

first tee is pulled back - hole paying 520, previous 483.

clubhouse sits much farther north than before, allowing for the large practice green and walkway.

beautiful views from clubhouse toward the south. they got the elevation right.

 

some planned water holding areas have been enlarged, plus all have much denser plantings, taller and deeper. I'm guessing the plantlife is meant to suck up a bunch of that pond water.

 

greens were slow enough to be frustrating. even some of the fairways seemed very soft.

some noticeable flaws -

the cartpaths have the same potholes and wornout spots as prior to closing.

walking off eight green to nine tee, same muddy area on the path from sprinkler runoff.

saw many bunkers with mixed fills, even those close together.

decent sand next to dirt filled crud.  packed crusty mix next to fluffed greyish two year old sand.

 

some chatter overheard - 

couple of gents grousing about course conditions

'they didn't change a da---ed thing.'

'we waited two years for this.'

'why didn't they overseed?'

'the paths are still cr---p'.

 

I don't have much experience with course re-dos and the process of greens settling, etc.

Hoping they have some additional site improvements planned in the short term.

 

Thanks.

 

 

[TheBear95]

Played Pine Meadow this afternoon. What a nice day weather-wise, so much better than yesterday. I loathe humidity.

 

I was a little concerned that it might be too nice, as my tee time was mid-afternoon. Kudos to Pine Meadow. I think our group waited once or twice, otherwise it was smooth sailing. Played in a shade under 4 hours. Goes to show, if a course takes pace seriously, rounds can be played at or under time, even on a busy Sunday.

 

Course was in fine shape. The greens were a little soft for my preference, but the rough was pretty thick.

[MountainKing]

Afternoon round at Naperbrook, a course that will always hold a special place in my heart.   The first 18 hole course I ever played at the age of 10 back in 1990 (my old man and I played it opening day) and the first placed that employed me. I wouldn't be shocked if I had over 1000 rounds logged there.   

 

Was out with my buddy and we got paired with a wonderful older couple.   They were a lot of fun.  Course was cruising, we got around in 3:45.  The couple both shot over 100 and we were playing three sets of tees.  This further shows that no foursome should ever need more than 4 hours to play.   

 

Course was in okay shape, greens rolled nice but slow.  Bunkers had a good amount of sand,  they look liked they were just filled.  Ball marks were shockingly few.

 

Game was solid,  3 birdies, 3 bogies and a double for a 74.  A fun afternoon. 

[chisag]

4 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

There was a young fox (animal) who pretty much hung out between a couple of holes for most of the round.  We saw him at least 3-4 times traversing that wacky layout.  The fox was obviously comfortable with people around and it didn't make any advances toward anyone.  One of the neighbors across the street from the course said the fox was born in his back yard this spring and has pretty much hung around since. Some of the folks did their best to scare the fox who was minding his own business and made a comment about the fox invading their space.  I'm pretty sure that foxes ancestors were here long before us.  Leave animals alone please.

 

... Amen Dave! Imo one of the real treats of playing golf is communing with nature. Naperbrook has a pair of Hawks that live on the course and the female is HUGE. Watching them hunt or just survey their kingdom is always a glimpse into a world unfamiliar to us where death awaits a careless move. Occasional foxes, muskrats, ducks and of course geese. 

... Phoenix deserts surprisingly have an abundance of wildlife with Hawks, Roadrunners, Quail, Songbirds, Squirrels, Prairie Dogs, Undetermined Rodents, Lizards, Coyotes and a gazillion Rabbits. And I thought all the desert had was snakes and scorpions, both of which I have not seen once since moving here last December. 

[Argonne69]

10 hours ago, @_the_crook said:

Sunday morning at the new/old Sportsman's. got there early, used the range.

wonder when the signs arrive to let you know how far away the targets are.

no dividers at the range - is that common ?

SV doesn't have them at the grass tees but most matted places do. whatever.

found out my four year old phone is one sw version out of date for the trackman app.

they removed the west row of parking along the range driveway to add landscaping...

realized the mini golf is gone.

might not have made any profit , but was great for the little ones at all times of day and helped families with casual outings. that's over.

 

holes 1/9/18 are on the Classic course have changed somewhat.

areas just in front of all three had work done, likely drainage related.

the run ups to 9 and 18 seemed a bit lower, as the greens appear more elevated than in previous years. maybe a combination.

first tee is pulled back - hole paying 520, previous 483.

clubhouse sits much farther north than before, allowing for the large practice green and walkway.

beautiful views from clubhouse toward the south. they got the elevation right.

 

some planned water holding areas have been enlarged, plus all have much denser plantings, taller and deeper. I'm guessing the plantlife is meant to suck up a bunch of that pond water.

 

greens were slow enough to be frustrating. even some of the fairways seemed very soft.

some noticeable flaws -

the cartpaths have the same potholes and wornout spots as prior to closing.

walking off eight green to nine tee, same muddy area on the path from sprinkler runoff.

saw many bunkers with mixed fills, even those close together.

decent sand next to dirt filled crud.  packed crusty mix next to fluffed greyish two year old sand.

 

some chatter overheard - 

couple of gents grousing about course conditions

'they didn't change a da---ed thing.'

'we waited two years for this.'

'why didn't they overseed?'

'the paths are still cr---p'.

 

I don't have much experience with course re-dos and the process of greens settling, etc.

Hoping they have some additional site improvements planned in the short term.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

There's a low spot 50 yds in front of the 12th teebox (right side) that becomes a small lake when it rains. They should have made that into a formal penalty area.

 

 

[Argonne69]

Mostly pleasant morning at Maple Meadows. 'Nice breeze on the closing holes. The pace was a little annoying. Even though it was three hours, it felt longer as I struggled to play though three groups that refused to turn around and acknowledge that there was a faster player behind them. I had to wait on each group for three holes before finally rushing to the next tee to catch them before they drove off. Clueless. The course was in OK shape. Fairways and rough was fine. The bunkers were wet, with a number of them having small ponds in them. The ones that didn't have ponds had wet, compacted sand where the pond was hours before. Did Wood Dale get any significant rain lately? The greens were awfully slow. The starter said that they watered them early this morning. They were rolling 7 to 8 to start the round, and possibly 9 by the final hole. I saw a maintenance worker cutting the practice green when I made the turn, so it looks like I got the worst of it. 

 

A little better ballstriking today. Five bogies. The flags were in some odd positions today, and with the slow green speeds it seemed that practically every putt was dying and diving at the hole. Highlight of the day was dropping a 24 ft par putt on the 17th after a crummy approach, and a poor chip. I laughed when it went in, and said to myself it was a fluke. I walked back to the spot of the putt, dropped the ball, and hit another one. That also went in. Lol. I also saw something quite crazy today that I don't recall every seeing before. I had a 3 ft par putt on the 12th, and given that I was leaving just about everything short on the slow greens, I decided to give the ball a firm smash. The ball hit the pin, and bounced straight back an inch in front of the hole. However, the ball had so much top spin that it spun forward into the cup. 'Looked like a yo-yo.

 

Not sure if I'll get out tomorrow. The forecast looks like rain off and on in the AM. I'll check it again tonight, but I'll probably wind up calling an audible early in the morning.

 

[TheBear95]

I have this week off of work, so I decided to the make the exciting trip out to Oak Grove this morning.

 

Oak Grove was in ok shape. The dollar spot fungus has done a number on the some of the fairways, tee boxes and greens. The fringes off the greens were in really rough shape on a bunch of the holes. The rest of the course was just wet. The heavy dew combined with the overnight watering gave me a pit feeling all morning. Difficult to judge the greens, because I was out early in front of the skeleton maintenance crew and they haven't gotten the dew off the greens yet. As always, Oak Grove is the definition of a bare-bones operation. 

 

Also, I think a storm took out two of the large oak trees that guarded the left side of the fairway on #10, just left of the 150. With the trees gone, it really opened up that hole. I usually play my tee shot a bit out to the right there, because I don't want to mess with those trees. With the trees gone, I hit a draw that ran right though the area. A fine shot today, but I would have had tree trouble if I hit that same shot back in June.

 

Highlight of the round was a tap-in birdie on #14. The tees were back and the pin was tucked back right. That location has given me nightmares in the past, as I tend to struggle to hold that green. With it playing a little longer than usual, I hit my 4 hybrid into the green. A beautiful high cut that landed just in front on the pin and roll out only about 5 feet. The dew on the green helped, but hey, I will take it.

 

Finally, after the round I went into the clubhouse to use the bathroom. I noticed a sign on the women's bathroom door, "Women Only. No Exceptions!!" Hmmm, there's definitely a story here, but I was too sheepish to ask, lol.

[DavePelz4]

1 hour ago, TheBear95 said:

I have this week off of work, so I decided to the make the exciting trip out to Oak Grove this morning.

 

Oak Grove was in ok shape. The dollar spot fungus has done a number on the some of the fairways, tee boxes and greens. The fringes off the greens were in really rough shape on a bunch of the holes. The rest of the course was just wet. The heavy dew combined with the overnight watering gave me a pit feeling all morning. Difficult to judge the greens, because I was out early in front of the skeleton maintenance crew and they haven't gotten the dew off the greens yet. As always, Oak Grove is the definition of a bare-bones operation. 

 

Also, I think a storm took out two of the large oak trees that guarded the left side of the fairway on #10, just left of the 150. With the trees gone, it really opened up that hole. I usually play my tee shot a bit out to the right there, because I don't want to mess with those trees. With the trees gone, I hit a draw that ran right though the area. A fine shot today, but I would have had tree trouble if I hit that same shot back in June.

 

Highlight of the round was a tap-in birdie on #14. The tees were back and the pin was tucked back right. That location has given me nightmares in the past, as I tend to struggle to hold that green. With it playing a little longer than usual, I hit my 4 hybrid into the green. A beautiful high cut that landed just in front on the pin and roll out only about 5 feet. The dew on the green helped, but hey, I will take it.

 

Finally, after the round I went into the clubhouse to use the bathroom. I noticed a sign on the women's bathroom door, "Women Only. No Exceptions!!" Hmmm, there's definitely a story here, but I was too sheepish to ask, lol.

 

Shocked that you could hold that green with a hybrid. Because of the location on the course, that's one of the toughest greens for me to hold. We played it about a month ago and I hit an 8 that landed short of the pin and ended up over the green.

[TheBear95]

40 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Shocked that you could hold that green with a hybrid. Because of the location on the course, that's one of the toughest greens for me to hold. We played it about a month ago and I hit an 8 that landed short of the pin and ended up over the green.

Honestly, it was the best shot I've hit all season. For me, one of rare times I actually executed a shot the way I envisioned it in my head. A high sweeping cut that lands softly. 

 

I hate that green. I've had plenty of nice iron shots to the middle of that green hit and bound over. And, over is death on that hole.

[DavePelz4]

40 minutes ago, TheBear95 said:

Honestly, it was the best shot I've hit all season. For me, one of rare times I actually executed a shot the way I envisioned it in my head. A high sweeping cut that lands softly. 

 

I hate that green. I've had plenty of nice iron shots to the middle of that green hit and bound over. And, over is death on that hole.

 

Probably played OG 50 times and the only birdie on that hole came from landing in the fringe which took a lot off the shot and trickling down to a makeable distance.

 

Have to ask, how'd you play 11?