Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[DavePelz4]

With the rain and sudden heat, this is ripe conditions for mosquito growing season.  And the tick count is already in record numbers for IL.  What a terrible job, counting ticks.

[B-Man]

5 hours ago, cpeck12 said:

 

Yeah it was pretty wet when I played last Wednesday for the league. Hopefully these temps the next few days dry it out. It also seemed like they hadn't cut the rough in forever.

Left side of the fairway on the 2nd about 150 out had to be over 12" high. Incredible.

[cpeck12]

3 hours ago, B-Man said:

Left side of the fairway on the 2nd about 150 out had to be over 12" high. Incredible.

lol yep. I was in that exact spot unfortunately. 

[Shriner]

I got talked into a late round yesterday at Poplar Creek... and that was not golf.  However, memories for a lifetime watching balls get snatched in the air and dumped out of bounds or 20 yards short of a green.  We had a blast with it but that is not the course to play in 20-25 mph winds...lol.  

[chrisf60526]

Got a nine in at White Pines today.  The greens are decent but the course needs a mowing and some serious weed management.  I am not sure if its weather or lack of labor or a combo of both

[Springsteennut]

Played Redtail today. The greens were in the best shape they’ve been in this year. Ball rolled true all but once. My fault I saw a ball mark not repaired well and should of flattened it some more. Fairways were getting decent roll. Still a few low spots that need some drying out. 

[Holy Moses]

The greens that I've been on this year weren't terrible, but the cold weather up until this point haven't helped them. The warmer weather should green them up and thicken them up. 

[geochitown]

Schaumburg’s green were amazing on Friday, April 29

 

Glen Club’s greens were in great shape o n Monday, May 2

 

i heard Pine Meadow was a mess today, greens also not so good. 
 

this dry warm weather should help dry everything out and allow the courses to get caught up with their mowing 

[Shriner]

10 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

The greens that I've been on this year weren't terrible, but the cold weather up until this point haven't helped them. The warmer weather should green them up and thicken them up. 

 

Agreed, I am four rounds in and have yet to play on nice greens.  This weather has been rough on courses.  Chance #5 this week at UofI orange course, hopefully being further south means better conditions. 

[VNutz]

I feel like most greens don't get to a good point until June/July, after the aeration has healed. Anything before then is a bonus.

[DavePelz4]

11 hours ago, geochitown said:

Schaumburg’s green were amazing on Friday, April 29

 

Glen Club’s greens were in great shape o n Monday, May 2

 

i heard Pine Meadow was a mess today, greens also not so good. 
 

this dry warm weather should help dry everything out and allow the courses to get caught up with their mowing 

 

Great...our next comp round is at PM.  Hopefully they put some effort into making them pristine.

[TheBear95]

3 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Great...our next comp round is at PM.  Hopefully they put some effort into making them pristine.

 

When are you playing? Saturday?

 

I was there on Friday. The greens were crap. The worst I played on so far this season. The course needed a TON of work. 

[chisag]

1 minute ago, TheBear95 said:

I was there on Friday. The greens were crap. The worst I played on so far this season. The course needed a TON of work. 

 

 

... What a bummer. I remember when PM first opened after Jemsek purchased it and we drove from Near North Chicago to play it and it was so worth the drive and fighting traffic. Just a great layout, pristine conditions and one of the few courses where each hole was pretty much by itself with no homes. At that time I thought it was one of the best courses in the Chicago area. 

[DavePelz4]

16 minutes ago, TheBear95 said:

 

When are you playing? Saturday?

 

I was there on Friday. The greens were crap. The worst I played on so far this season. The course needed a TON of work. 

 

Hey Bear...think our tee time is 10ish.  Knowing how much you play to hear those greens are the worst, isn't inspiring a lot of hope.

[TheBear95]

7 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... What a bummer. I remember when PM first opened after Jemsek purchased it and we drove from Near North Chicago to play it and it was so worth the drive and fighting traffic. Just a great layout, pristine conditions and one of the few courses where each hole was pretty much by itself with no homes. At that time I thought it was one of the best courses in the Chicago area. 

 

3 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Hey Bear...think our tee time is 10ish.  Knowing how much you play to hear those greens are the worst, isn't inspiring a lot of hope.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but... I've played 22 rounds so far in 2022 at 22 different Chicagoland courses. PM greens were the worst so far. And, it wasn't close.

 

However, we have had a perfect week of weather. Here's hoping for a significant improvement. 

[TheBear95]

30 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... What a bummer. I remember when PM first opened after Jemsek purchased it and we drove from Near North Chicago to play it and it was so worth the drive and fighting traffic. Just a great layout, pristine conditions and one of the few courses where each hole was pretty much by itself with no homes. At that time I thought it was one of the best courses in the Chicago area. 

 

I'll cut PM some slack here, to a point. The weather last week was terrible and definitely limited course maintenance everywhere. Since then, we have had perfect weather. No rain, sun and finally some heat. I would imagine and hope that the course conditions at PM would be strikingly better this Friday compared to last. 

 

However, for a more "premium" course, I find that PM maintenance lacks especially in comparison to its peers. This is an on-going issue, not just in 2022. For example, if you're a cart golfer looking to play prime-time this Saturday the rate at PM is $97. In comparison, it is $103 at Stonewall, $97 at ThunderHawk and $74 at Shepherds. Same time, with a cart. However, PM maintenance is not at the same level as those facilities.

 

The layout is still fantastic. And, don't get me wrong, I like playing the course. But, definitely some buyer beware.

[propman]

Played Orchard Valley today. First time in a long time. Was in vg condition. Heat was borderline oppressive and my back 9 was flat out awful.

 

[ldchristopher]

6 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Great...our next comp round is at PM.  Hopefully they put some effort into making them pristine.

Yeah, the greens were in rough shape last Friday. They still had visible punch marks (is there a course that punches more than PM?) and putts were not rolling smoothly at all. As Bear said, last Friday was understandable since it poured seemingly all week but I’ll be interested to read about what they’re like after a dry, warm, humid week. PM almost never runs their greens fast, which is aggravating because the putting surfaces there are certainly big enough to get them moving at a decent pace. However, they’re usually at least pretty smooth. 

[MountainKing]

With the weather finally being nice,  it's time to start those after work rounds at Willowcrest. Glad to see 18 holes still exist.   Course was in good shape, all things considered with the weather we've had.  Greens weren't great but they were very playable, still very soft.  Pace was great,  the 4 of us got through in 2:45 with an almost empty course.

 

With the heat the body felt good today.  Great tee to green,  around the greens not so much.   4 bogies and a bunch of pars for a 74.  I'm a rare fan of this oppressive heat.

[DavePelz4]

Played hooky and joined the other old guys at Blackstone yesterday.  Have probably played 50-75 rounds there, and the conditions right now are flawless. No discernable mosquitos BTW.  The course is playing lightening fast and I'd guess the greens were running around 12-13. The bunkers had fresh sand and had been prepared in the morning.

 

Will complain that their range balls are beat up badly and they don't seemed to have been washed this year.  They've over taken Oak Grove as the worst range balls which is surprising considering everything else.

 

Not sure exactly what was happening yesterday but the ball was flying like it hasn't in years.  For example, my normal 8i is 145-150. Yesterday on 7 I had 153 stick, into the wind.  Knowing the greens were firm, I wanted to land it a bit short and let it release to the hole.  When the ball left the club face i actually thought I might jar it as it was on the perfect line.  To my utter dismay, the ball flew the green and carried in the 180 range.  I'm not VNutz who nukes the ball, but that happened on 5 holes, including #6 where a 52 degree wedge to a back pin at 127 not only flew the green but whizzed past a guy on the 7th tee and went all the way into the water on the right.  The guy appropriately gave me grief for not yelling fore and I apologized not understanding what happened.  Guessing that wedge went in the 150-160 range.  So it just wasn't down wind shots which would make a bit of sense as my ball flight is quite high. Post round i did offer to buy the guys i almost hit a drink but they graciously declined.

 

By the end of the round I was totally lost on what club to pull. Tomorrow is out next comp round at Pine Meadow and I'm thinking a bit of extra range time might be needed to figure things out.

[B-Man]

Ease up on those steroids DP.

[DavePelz4]

1 hour ago, B-Man said:

Ease up on those steroids DP.

 

Thinking maybe more estrogen.

[dbornack]

On 5/3/2022 at 9:46 PM, Holy Moses said:

Famous course, but there are better to play

For the price - it doesn't get that much better.

[cpeck12]

Playing Cantigny for the first time this Sunday. I'm ashamed to say it's my first time since I've lived in Glen Ellyn for 3 years now, but it's just never worked out previously and Village Links is so easy to get onto given it's 5min away... Lakeside/Woodside. Can't wait!

[Springsteennut]

25 minutes ago, cpeck12 said:

Playing Cantigny for the first time this Sunday. I'm ashamed to say it's my first time since I've lived in Glen Ellyn for 3 years now, but it's just never worked out previously and Village Links is so easy to get onto given it's 5min away... Lakeside/Woodside. Can't wait!

Played there the first time last year. It was very nice. Hopefully you have someone in your group that has some course knowledge. I definitely found out putting the ball on the right spot on the fairway can be helpful.

[cpeck12]

6 minutes ago, Markrip said:

Played there the first time last year. It was very nice. Hopefully you have someone in your group that has some course knowledge. I definitely found out putting the ball on the right spot on the fairway can be helpful.

 

Yeah we have 3 groups and I know the guys in mine grew up playing it and still do. So at least I'll have that going for me.

[@_the_crook]

17 hours ago, cpeck12 said:

 

Yeah we have 3 groups and I know the guys in mine grew up playing it and still do. So at least I'll have that going for me.

Isn't the game so much more enjoyable when at least one person in the group can say with confidence, hit it there - and everyone has a chance to be part of a team atmosphere?

 

really like that emphasis.....

 

hope you all have a great time

[ldchristopher]

Arboretum today with Bear. It was his first time there and he was chomping at the bit to finally play there. The “smashed into a housing development” layout suits his game since course management is a speciality of his. I made Lost Marsh comparisons in the past but another set of eyes reminded me it’s more like Ruffled Feathers. 
 

The course was in very good shape. They added fresh sand to the bunkers, the greens were smooth and stimping at about 9.5 and the rough had been cut. I don’t like that some greens are dirt-based while others are sand-based but all in all, $55 felt like a fair weekend walking rate. No birdies but I hit 11 greens and had a stellar green-side wedge game. 75. We both left some strokes out there though. Could have done without the off-and-on showers but it was light, playable rain. 

[Holy Moses]

On 5/13/2022 at 8:54 AM, DavePelz4 said:

Played hooky and joined the other old guys at Blackstone yesterday.  Have probably played 50-75 rounds there, and the conditions right now are flawless. No discernable mosquitos BTW.  The course is playing lightening fast and I'd guess the greens were running around 12-13. The bunkers had fresh sand and had been prepared in the morning.

 

Will complain that their range balls are beat up badly and they don't seemed to have been washed this year.  They've over taken Oak Grove as the worst range balls which is surprising considering everything else.

 

Not sure exactly what was happening yesterday but the ball was flying like it hasn't in years.  For example, my normal 8i is 145-150. Yesterday on 7 I had 153 stick, into the wind.  Knowing the greens were firm, I wanted to land it a bit short and let it release to the hole.  When the ball left the club face i actually thought I might jar it as it was on the perfect line.  To my utter dismay, the ball flew the green and carried in the 180 range.  I'm not VNutz who nukes the ball, but that happened on 5 holes, including #6 where a 52 degree wedge to a back pin at 127 not only flew the green but whizzed past a guy on the 7th tee and went all the way into the water on the right.  The guy appropriately gave me grief for not yelling fore and I apologized not understanding what happened.  Guessing that wedge went in the 150-160 range.  So it just wasn't down wind shots which would make a bit of sense as my ball flight is quite high. Post round i did offer to buy the guys i almost hit a drink but they graciously declined.

 

By the end of the round I was totally lost on what club to pull. Tomorrow is out next comp round at Pine Meadow and I'm thinking a bit of extra range time might be needed to figure things out.

I played Blackstone today too. Course in great condition, but the bottoms of a few bunkers were thin. I bogeyed 18 to shoot 70, my third best round ever.

[Gdane]

Had a late morning tee time at Orchard Valley and the place was a complete ghost town.  Given the (lack of?) spring we’ve had in Chicagoland I was expecting a full tee sheet but we only saw a few other groups on the entire course yesterday. We turned at around 1 and the range was bare, then finished just after 2:30 and the first tee/putting green was empty.