Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[geochitown]

I had heard the sand story before, but not the willow

 

sunset valley went from 29 willows to 2 in their renovation 

 

#theygetit

[geochitown]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

... Funny, I was at Cog Hill the day Mark McCumber and Tom Watson played there and gave Joe suggestions on what he needed to do to get a tour event there. First was they handed him a card and said "Here is where to get sand that we play on tour. We like it to be consistent from location to location. And second, you have to cut the willow trees to 7 feet off the ground so we can swing if we get under them. Maybe lose some of them too"! 

Roughly what year was that? In the 80’s?

 

I didn’t play there until 1995

[chisag]

26 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

Tour players are the biggest babies, didn't realize they were always like that. 

 

 

... Yup, cry babying about something a fan said when MLB outfielders are hit with much, MUCH worse every single game, all game long. 

[chisag]

1 minute ago, geochitown said:

I had heard the sand story before, but not the willow

 

sunset valley went from 29 willows to 2 in their renovation 

 

#theygetit

 

 

... It was fortuitous as I had just finished playing Cog #2 and was walking to the car when they were coming off the course and Joe met them so I just listened in. I was shocked when they handed him the sand card and then my next round when Dubs willows looked like Moe's haircut from the 3 stooges. 

[chisag]

9 minutes ago, geochitown said:

Roughly what year was that? In the 80’s?

 

I didn’t play there until 1995

 

...  I am pushing 70 so don't quite remember when it was 🤪 but 80's sounds about right. They did have a point as the sand was like the dunes at the beach and when hitting an iron into one of the bunkers, it could completely disappear. It was something Joe was proud of. 

[Argonne69]

I do miss the big willow that was in the PA on the corner of the dogleg on the par 5 6th at Wilmette. 'Gave the hole character. Since the tree was in the hazard, there wasn't much chance of playing a ball from under the tree, as it was basically a water-filled marsh.

 

[DavePelz4]

Beautiful day at Blackstone today. The course was in good shape, pace was under 4 hours, bunkers were fine, a couple of birdies after reaching 2 par 5s in 2...not really much else to share as there was no shenanigan's, at all.

[Wolfhammer]

Planning a round at Cantigy for the first time with a buddy (we are both high handicap players). Do any of you guys have a preference on which 9's to play? Is there a difference in difficulty on any of them?

[DavePelz4]

47 minutes ago, Wolfhammer said:

Planning a round at Cantigy for the first time with a buddy (we are both high handicap players). Do any of you guys have a preference on which 9's to play? Is there a difference in difficulty on any of them?

 

Lakeside/Woodside is the lowest rated but it's still high. Whatever tee box you're thinking about playing, move 1 more up.  Cantigny is a great facility but you want to have a great time.  Bring some extra balls as well.

[Symphonize]

All this talk about removing willows has me bitter. We are having our wedding ceremony next fall outdoor under two willows. Well it was two willows, but one of them isn’t healthy and is being removed. So nows it’s just one willow. 
 

(I’m not really bitter, it is going to be a perfect day) 

[propman]

Played Crystal Tree for 1st time yesterday. Hit from the silver tees and it must have been the longest 6400 yards I've ever played.

Drove the ball very well but little else. 

Not sure if they moved alot of earth when building the course but very interesting terrain. Felt a little like some upper Michigan courses.

Greens were lightning fast and rough just off the fairway penal.

[Argonne69]

Another wonderful day out on the links. The Preserve this morning. Low humidity and a light NE breeze was nice. The course is in very nice shape. I ran into a maintenance worker aerating the 12th teebox, and he said they'd likely start aerating the greens in a week or so, so get out there while you can. Fairways were getting some rollout finally. The rough was in the process of being cut for the weekend. Bunkers could use a half inch more sand. Greens looked fine, minus a handful of ballmarks, and were rolling at least 10 after the dew burned off. Pace was decent at 3:30, but playing as a single it felt slow. The course was more or less full in front of me, so there was no playing through. 

 

Grrrr. I was one under standing on the 17th tee, and finished bogie bogie. Pfffttt. Three birdies and four bogies on the day. Just a solid overall round that could have been just a whee bit better. Highlight of the day was the 11th hole. I pulled my drive left, but it managed to stay one the fairway. Pin was front left, and I set up to hit a high draw. Instead I hit an ugly smother hook that barely missed the left bunker, and scampered to the back of the green 50 feet from the hole. Mr. Blind Squirrel proceeded to sink another 50 ft birdie. Sheesh. Followed that up with a nice 24 footer on the 14th, and a kick in birdie on the 15th. I've been experimenting with the weights in the new putter, and I think I've settled on a 20g in the front toe, and a 10g in the front heel, along with a pair of 15g's in the back. 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uih9nhe0wdzi8hk/AABqB9ucWBXVNDHHVVsRX9yva?dl=0

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Argonne69

[Shriner]

Yeah, I played Preserve on Sunday and that place is just about perfect now that they completed construction.   They did an amazing job with the restaurant/bar section.  Couple that with the course layout, the conditions, the unique bar building in the middle of the course and this place will not struggle to get tee times.  Throw in the fact that there are very limited options anywhere East of there and you can understand why they will always be packed.

[Holy Moses]

How does this happen? Battery malfunction?

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTVEg8ggskBlcI8STAZZgDj34tPffZv0PKncjI0/?utm_medium=copy_link

[@_the_crook]

told that guy to quit trying to recharge his Tesla from the USB port, but he wouldn't listen.

[Argonne69]

Nice weather, and nice round to finish the week. Coyote Run this morning. The course is in very nice shape. Fairways were cut, and getting decent rollout. Rough was a good height. Bunkers were being groomed. Greens were rolling nicely at 10. Pace was not a problem. I teed off (again) as a single, played through a couple of early groups, and it was clear sailing. 

 

Solid round with one birdie and four bogies. Didn't quite have the day putting, but I put some good rolls on the ball. Wedges were a little off. Had a chance to stick some close, but missed both ways. 

 

[chisag]

40 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Nice weather, and nice round to finish the week. Coyote Run this morning. The course is in very nice shape. Fairways were cut, and getting decent rollout. Rough was a good height. Bunkers were being groomed. Greens were rolling nicely at 10. Pace was not a problem. I teed off (again) as a single, played through a couple of early groups, and it was clear sailing. 

 

 

 

... OK, who are you and what did you do with Argonne69? This is 2 posts in a row with no complaints about other golfers or the course staff. Something is very fishy ... 

[cpeck12]

Prairie Landing this morning. Weather was awesome (slight drizzle on the 18th hole) and course was in amazing condition for the most part; traps were so-so. Pace of play was decent other than the the 3-some (we were 4) slowing us up here and there, but we still played in just over 4 hours so tough to complain. Highlight of the day was my buddy going 36-37 to shoot +1 and get his career low. He lipped out a birdie on 18 to go +1. My 82 didn't feel as good after witnessing that...

 

One of my favorite courses in the area (I'm in Glen Ellyn), and will definitely be back soon.

[Thunder Dan]

On 8/31/2021 at 10:32 PM, geochitown said:

I had heard the sand story before, but not the willow

 

sunset valley went from 29 willows to 2 in their renovation 

 

#theygetit

willow trees are the worst thing possible for a golf course. They suck up water, kill other trees around them and are so dense they block grass from growing

[BC33]

Playing Prairie View in Byron for the first time in a couple years tomorrow morning.  Driving over from the Quad Cities.

[propman]

Thinking about a road trip from Naperville. Gotta pick one Prairie View or Timberpointe? Which would you choose and why?

 

[TheBear95]

50 minutes ago, propman said:

Thinking about a road trip from Naperville. Gotta pick one Prairie View or Timberpointe? Which would you choose and why?

 

Prairie View. Easy call. PV is one the better courses in Illinois.

[ldchristopher]

1 hour ago, propman said:

Thinking about a road trip from Naperville. Gotta pick one Prairie View or Timberpointe? Which would you choose and why?

 

Yeah, I’ll second Prairie View. Timber Pointe is okay but they always have pace issues and the course isn’t anything special. PV is a genuinely excellent course that also happens to be insanely cheap. 

[@_the_crook]

we checked out the East nine at Sportsman's yesterday, now called the Legacy nine at HO.

played a double loop.

course was regrassed and the water holding areas upgraded.

many fringe area looked like they needed time to grow in.

soft fairways and slow greens took some getting used to.

had to bash many putts for them to reach the intended destination.

 

we joined up with another twosome , very nice guys to complete out first loop.

the mix included an Irishman, an Aussie and two locals.

nothing like hearing 'Lovely' in full brogue on completing a good shot.

bit of drizzle accompanied us , though nothing to bother about.

 

second run was great for the first four holes -

I'll step in for @Argonne69 to point out the group of four young fellows that was two holes behind and walked like they were being sentenced to hard labor.

maybe playing Friday afternoon brings the out leisure gait in people.

 

off in an hour for our regular game at SV.

70 degrees , cloudy and a chance of rain. just perfect weather for golf.

best to all.

 

 

 

 

[propman]

8 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Yeah, I’ll second Prairie View. Timber Pointe is okay but they always have pace issues and the course isn’t anything special. PV is a genuinely excellent course that also happens to be insanely cheap. 

Excellent course and insanely cheap-a rare but great combo.

 

Thanks (and to Bear as well) for feedback.

 

[ldchristopher]

36 in Southern Wisconsin today. Round one was at Ives Grove, a course that has become ridiculously popular this year. Maybe it’s the $29 weekend walking rate. The rough was really firm - not total hard pan but not that far off - while the fairways were soaked. The greens were okay but the bunkers were some of the best I’ve played in this year. It’s crazy how much easier it is to get up and down from a trap when there’s lots of sand in the bunker. I realize we paid less than $30 but I woke up at 4:30 to get the first time and not deal with people going off the back. So catching a threesome that was behind a foursome on 15 kinda sucked. I had a very boring front with 9 pars on the red 9 but had three bogies and one birdie on the white 9 for a 74. 
 

Round two was at Fire Ridge. We’ve both never played it and I’ve been wanting to for a while. It didn’t feel like any Chicago courses with the elevation changes but was a little bit like Bear Slide in Indy, though Bear Slide is maintained much better. There were some rough edges at Fire Ridge, particularly if one doesn’t hit the fairway, and they need to borrow some sand from Ives for their bunkers. Still, I really liked the layout and the par threes are all excellent aesthetically. I started off with bogies on 1, 3 and 5 before I settled in. I reached number 6 (a short par 5) on the front in 2 and made birdie there then had back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13. I had a chance to shoot even but bogied 18 for a 73. 18 is a tough closer, with a hard left to right dogleg to an elevated green that’s heavily bunkered. All in all, I liked the course and will probably be back in the fall. 

[MountainKing]

Heritage Bluffs, or the Bluffs as it's called now.   Was a bit shocked to see the clubhouse construction I've  been hearing about.   I was expediting something impressive,  not a one room addition.  The range is a mess,  but luckily the course isn't.   Greens rolled nice,  but most of the course was really soft today, so they were slow.   Ball marks were few and far between.   Fairways were nice,  bunkers had sand.   Pace was under 4 hours, considering it was booked solid I was impressed. 

 

Came out strong with 11 straight pars.  Unfortunately I threw in 3 3 putts and a missed up and down on 18 to finish the last 7 in 4 over.  Iron game was solid again.  I'll take the 76 considering I rarely ever play well at this course,  but it's still one of my favorites.

[DavePelz4]

Well, the odds caught up to us yesterday as we encountered one of the most classless situations on a golf course. Playing The Bridges of PC, BTW, what's the project they have going on there?  Redoing the practice area?

 

Anyhoo, full tee sheet on a Saturday morning except for the father and son 2some behind our group. For a Saturday morning, pace was great and we finished the front in 1:45.  However, on the par 3 7th, the father/son apparently had forgotten their etiquette and manners as while we were putting, they left the 7th tee, rolled past us and went to the 8th tee. At first, I politely said to them not to do it as it was all foursomes in front of us.  They didn't respond and went on to hit their tee shots. We finished putting and went to the tee.  There's now 3 groups on the hole and us waiting to tee off, making it 4 groups. The F/S all of a sudden darted to the right and we didn't know if they were going to 9 or quitting altogether. We proceeded to tee off and then here they come rolling back toward us.  

 

They stopped at the tee and I asked the WTH were they doing. He said they were going back to play the par 3. I asked why they passed us without asking or saying anything and the son, probably in his 30s said, "We don't have to say anything when we're passing people." I suggested they did and asked him if he had any etiquette or respect for others and he gave me a FY and they rolled back to the tee. They probably stayed nearly a hole behind us for the remainder of the round.  My guess is they're COVID newbee golfers with no clue about anything.

 

Lots of muds balls in the fairways yesterday.  One of our guys lives in Schaumburg and said they had minimal rain no Friday night but there were 7-8 tee shots with zero roll and/or backed up. Other than that, it was PC.

 

But the highlight of yesterday was the 18 point underdog NIU HUSKIES beating Georgia Tech in Georgia on a late TD and 2 pt conversion! 

 

 

[@_the_crook]

30 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

he gave me a FY and they rolled back to the tee.

fellow at Sportsman's shared this story with us on Friday.

 

is playing with his brother as a twosome behind some slow groups .

backstory - brother is going through rough divorce and has a short temper to begin with.

another twosome rolls up and asks to play through.

brother responds curtly , No.

other golfer is surprised and re-questions.

brother states - No - and don't ask me again.

our story teller tries to smooth things over, shares the slow play situation, tells the other fellow the brother doesn't mean to sound nasty but he's a bit pre-occupied, etc.

the other  two-some unwisely presses the issue.

guy's brother pipes up with, 'Get the F away from me or I'll show you how I won the Chicago Lightweight trophy.' guy turned out to be golden gloves or the equivalent.

they backed off.

 

you never know who you'll meet or how they'll react.

 

[DavePelz4]

On a better note, played White Eagle on Friday. Haven't played there in years and the lack of course knowledge cost me on 3 holes, hitting the ball into water that didn't seem to be in play or wasn't easily visible. Like The Bridges, lots of mud balls in the fairways but we had rain on Thursday night so it made some sense.  Pins tucked in very difficult positions, guessing they have some type of event this weekend.  The fastest greens we've played all year and if you were above the pin, you were a word that rhymes with clucked. Traps were in excellent condition with sand that was 1 level below the tour issue. Nice contouring throughout the course.

 

Having played Naperville CC a couple of weeks back, I'd say the members and staff at NCC were far more friendly and welcoming than the folks at WE.  Having 3 9's is a nice advantage for WE but with retirement looming, would go with NCC over WE, despite being literally 90 seconds from WE.