Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[DavePelz4]

Another weekday round at Blackstone. Even with the recent rain, which they said was over an inch, the course still played fast and firm. The only course negative is the bunkers were very firm.  They continue to experiment with tough pin positions and had new/extreme ones on 2, 4, 9, 10, 12, and 14.

 

Had a putting stretch that was unprecedented.  Hit 6 through 13 in reg, and managed to 3 putt 7 of the 8 holes and then threw in a solid 3 putt on 16 as well.  No consistency to the misses.  Might be time to stop in at Golf Galaxy or visit Bettinardi in Tinley.

 

Nothing on the course unusual, however the post round beverage was disappointing.  Group of guys just cat calling the bartender to no end.  If she had been my daughter, I'd probably have done something I'd regret later.  Did make a comment to one pervert who was out of control to stop with the harassment.  I'm sure that's not what she signed up for sadly.

[Shriner]

28 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

Another weekday round at Blackstone. Even with the recent rain, which they said was over an inch, the course still played fast and firm. The only course negative is the bunkers were very firm.  They continue to experiment with tough pin positions and had new/extreme ones on 2, 4, 9, 10, 12, and 14.

 

Had a putting stretch that was unprecedented.  Hit 6 through 13 in reg, and managed to 3 putt 7 of the 8 holes and then threw in a solid 3 putt on 16 as well.  No consistency to the misses.  Might be time to stop in at Golf Galaxy or visit Bettinardi in Tinley.

 

Nothing on the course unusual, however the post round beverage was disappointing.  Group of guys just cat calling the bartender to no end.  If she had been my daughter, I'd probably have done something I'd regret later.  Did make a comment to one pervert who was out of control to stop with the harassment.  I'm sure that's not what she signed up for sadly.

 

Sadly, I know all too well what you refer to.  Usually from guys 55 years and up.  I'm 40 and my friends and I always joke, if that is us at 60 years old, please take me out to pasture. 

[DavePelz4]

49 minutes ago, Shriner said:

 

Sadly, I know all too well what you refer to.  Usually from guys 55 years and up.  I'm 40 and my friends and I always joke, if that is us at 60 years old, please take me out to pasture. 

 

I'm in the pasture age range referenced, and being polite doesn't need to go away, ever.

[chisag]

On 6/8/2022 at 8:53 AM, Shriner said:

 

Sadly, I know all too well what you refer to.  Usually from guys 55 years and up.  I'm 40 and my friends and I always joke, if that is us at 60 years old, please take me out to pasture. 

 

... Pasturized myself and I certainly see young drunk guys doing the same. An Word not allowed-hole is an Word not allowed-hole and age has little to do with it. When I was a lifeguard at Myrtle Beach in my early 20's one of the other guards would ask a girl to dance and within 30 seconds ask "Wanna go back to my place and f**k?" He would get slapped or sworn at but usually within 5 girls or less, one would go with him. Never understood how he could live with himself or why any girls went with him. 

Edited June 9, 2022 by chisag

[mci711]

Not to overgeneralize but this isn't shocking at all considering the "regulars" at Blackstone and the reputation it is has been creating for itself.. Pretty sure Blackstone was the only course operating like nothing was going on in 2020. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by mci711

[DavePelz4]

39 minutes ago, mci711 said:

Not to overgeneralize but this isn't shocking at all considering the "regulars" at Blackstone and the reputation it is has been creating for itself.. Pretty sure Blackstone was the only course operating like nothing was going on in 2020. 

 

That is a sad and fair representation of what transpired in 2020.

[TheBear95]

DP4 - Blackstone is a wonderful golf course. I try to spend as little time as possible in the clubhouse. I'll leave it at that.

[Shriner]

The clubhouse is real nice though!  The train going around the ceiling was a real unique touch.  Surprised you guys see this behavior from younger people too, fortunately I haven't; it is seriously disturbing and cringeworthy...

[Double Mocha Man]

On 6/6/2022 at 9:11 AM, dhartmann34 said:

Doesn't look like Ping, Titleist or Callaway will be there this year for some reason. 

 

Maybe they don't like being with so much company.  Or maybe they realized it's a bunch of "tire kickers".  I have a frugal golf friend who loves demo days.  He's never even come close to buying a club.  But he sure does like those free balls on the range.  😁

[DavePelz4]

1 hour ago, TheBear95 said:

DP4 - Blackstone is a wonderful golf course. I try to spend as little time as possible in the clubhouse. I'll leave it at that.

 

Enough said Bear.

 

Underneath it all, I'm a Dad and it was just embarrassing. 

[braincramp52]

On 6/8/2022 at 1:38 PM, DavePelz4 said:

 

That is a sad and fair representation of what transpired in 2020.

What happened there?

[DavePelz4]

1 hour ago, braincramp52 said:

What happened there?

 

Blackstone was the outlier that didn't require masks in the club house, and was opened at a time when everything was supposed to be shut down. Because of Don's relationship with the McHenry County officials, he wasn't worried about being shut down.

[braincramp52]

1 hour ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Blackstone was the outlier that didn't require masks in the club house, and was opened at a time when everything was supposed to be shut down. Because of Don's relationship with the McHenry County officials, he wasn't worried about being shut down.

Ahh,I see.  Guess we were lucky out here west of you guys. We didn't have any courses shut down because of covid. Most of the businesses didn't enforce mask rules but we never had a ton of cases. Probably because we are pretty rural and there's just not the amount of people that there is in there. 

[ldchristopher]

A year ago this weekend, Bear booked Bonnie Brook. I overslept and had to meet him on the third tee. This year, Bear again booked Bonnie Brook, I again overslept, and I again met him on the third tee. Literally the only thing that kept this from being a complete twilight zone episode was that a different person drove me to the tee box.  
 

Anyway, BBrook was in phenomenal shape. The rough had been cut, the greens were rolling at a 10, and the sand had been groomed. It’s amazing what happens when a course gets a little bit of TLC. Bonnie Brook is basically the polar opposite of every Golf Visions course. Since they closed the tee sheet after 8:30 AM for an event the first two holes were open when we got off 18. They let me play 1 and 2 to get in a full round, which was cool. 72. 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, ldchristopher said:

A year ago this weekend, Bear booked Bonnie Brook. I overslept and had to meet him on the third tee. This year, Bear again booked Bonnie Brook, I again overslept, and I again met him on the third tee. Literally the only thing that kept this from being a complete twilight zone episode was that a different person drove me to the tee box.  
 

Anyway, BBrook was in phenomenal shape. The rough had been cut, the greens were rolling at a 10, and the sand had been groomed. It’s amazing what happens when a course gets a little bit of TLC. Bonnie Brook is basically the polar opposite of every Golf Visions course. Since they closed the tee sheet after 8:30 AM for an event the first two holes were open when we got off 18. They let me play 1 and 2 to get in a full round, which was cool. 72. 

 

Dear Bear, 

 

Next year tell me that our tee time at Bonnie Brook is 30 minutes earlier. 

 

'Much appreciated. 

 

@Idchristopher

 

[dhartmann34]

On 6/8/2022 at 4:19 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Maybe they don't like being with so much company.  Or maybe they realized it's a bunch of "tire kickers".  I have a frugal golf friend who loves demo days.  He's never even come close to buying a club.  But he sure does like those free balls on the range.  😁

I don't know. The place is usually packed and sales are pretty solid from what I've been told. But who knows. There was a good crowd out there when I stopped by. If I didn't have my 3 yr old with me... There was a bunch I wanted to give a go. Everything but my putter and wedges are up for replacement at some point 🤣

[dhartmann34]

1 hour ago, ldchristopher said:

A year ago this weekend, Bear booked Bonnie Brook. I overslept and had to meet him on the third tee. This year, Bear again booked Bonnie Brook, I again overslept, and I again met him on the third tee. Literally the only thing that kept this from being a complete twilight zone episode was that a different person drove me to the tee box.  
 

Anyway, BBrook was in phenomenal shape. The rough had been cut, the greens were rolling at a 10, and the sand had been groomed. It’s amazing what happens when a course gets a little bit of TLC. Bonnie Brook is basically the polar opposite of every Golf Visions course. Since they closed the tee sheet after 8:30 AM for an event the first two holes were open when we got off 18. They let me play 1 and 2 to get in a full round, which was cool. 72. 

I really enjoy playing there. Conditions are always pretty good and peace of play isn't too bad. 

[dhartmann34]

On 6/6/2022 at 8:35 AM, MountainKing said:

 

Got my first one on the way and you guys aren't giving me much hope here!  Being older (42) I think we both have some good perspective tho from seeing how friends handled things ect.  I'm guessing my best route is gonna be to become one of those 5am guys and if I can get out ahead of the pack I can route through 18 on my own in 2ish hours.  We'll see, I half wonder if I'll even want to be on a golf course over being at home with the kid.  As much as I love golf, it's not my favorite thing in the world and I lose interest in it at the expensive of other things. 

I've got a 3 yr old and 9 month old. My golf schedule didn't change much with the first one, but the second has certainly changed things a bit. I'm a 6am guy on Sundays and don't play on Saturdays anymore. But thankfully have some flexibility on the weekdays to get some play in. The hard part is battling the lack of sleep and getting out early.... But I'm also the one that did all the overnight feedings. 

[MountainKing]

Back to Blackstone. Nothing really new to report on the course.  Played a bit softer today with the rain,  but the greens were still slippery.  Pace was great at 4 hours.

 

Another blah front with a 41, but the back was solid minus the double on 17, for a 37. Highlight again was hole 12, with another eagle from one in our group, a birdie from me and a couple pars. In 6 days that's 3 eagles and 2 birdies from us on 12.  

[MountainKing]

Back to the Preserve today.  Course was in decent shape, greens rolled nice but were a lot slower compared to my last two rounds at Blackstone.  Pace was at 4:30, we got to watch the guys in front of us do the usual playing the tips despite nobody being able to hit it more than 200.  It was a real treat watching them try to drive carts into places they automatically shut down, resulting in some nice delays as they tried to nagivate their way back to an area they are allowed.  Frustrating to be behind, especially the 25 minutes wait we had between 9 and teeing off on 10 because nobody could get over the force carry.  This stuff sadly seems to be the norm there.

 

Game was okay.  1 birdie on the front, a couple bogies leading to a 37.   I had 5 birdie putts in a row of 10 feet or less on the first 5 holes and only was able to dunk one of them.  Back 9 was a bit if a struggle, the wait did me in a bit and it took me a bit to get going again, unfortunately the end result was a 41 with a couple doubles in the mix.  Nice afternoon out tho.

 

 

[stasek]

Played Prairie Bluff yesterday afternoon.   $59 w/ cart seems like a great deal nowadays.   Teed off at ~1:10 pm and finished in 3:45 (foursome), which was great.   Only had to wait couple minutes on the last couple holes.   The wind was there, as always, but nothing more than 1/2 to a club.   The game is still in the crapper.   3 jacked first couple holes, but settled down, birdied par-5 4th, and settled for a 37.  I've got this, right?  Nope..... Blocked tee shot on 10th (OB), snap hooked 3rd into the pond - 8.   I hate this game...  it didn't get much better the rest of the round - 44 for a cringe worthy 81.  I usually play PB to feel better about my game, but not this time.   

[Argonne69]

9 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Back to the Preserve today.  Course was in decent shape, greens rolled nice but were a lot slower compared to my last two rounds at Blackstone.  Pace was at 4:30, we got to watch the guys in front of us do the usual playing the tips despite nobody being able to hit it more than 200.  It was a real treat watching them try to drive carts into places they automatically shut down, resulting in some nice delays as they tried to nagivate their way back to an area they are allowed.  Frustrating to be behind, especially the 25 minutes wait we had between 9 and teeing off on 10 because nobody could get over the force carry.  This stuff sadly seems to be the norm there.

 

Game was okay.  1 birdie on the front, a couple bogies leading to a 37.   I had 5 birdie putts in a row of 10 feet or less on the first 5 holes and only was able to dunk one of them.  Back 9 was a bit if a struggle, the wait did me in a bit and it took me a bit to get going again, unfortunately the end result was a 41 with a couple doubles in the mix.  Nice afternoon out tho.

 

 

Does #10 have a drop area? I don't recall one, or a sign indicting one.

 

[MountainKing]

8 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Does #10 have a drop area? I don't recall one, or a sign indicting one.

 

 

It does, it's up by the Red tee box, these clowns however had to go searching for their multiple shots in the weeds, on top of trying to drive the carts off the pathy on 10 around by the bunker (they did this on 17 and a few other holes  as well) only for the carts to stop and then they had to reverse all the way back out.   These guys probably would have been better off at a course like Zigfield Troy, not the Preserve from the back tees.  I don't think there's a single hole where we didn't see them searching for a golf ball.   My favorite move all day however - sitting there waiting for them to wait for hole 4 to clear while talking about being able to drive it.....two of them ended up in the weeds on the left about 100 yards from the box, one was probably on the road to the right and the other pounded a drive that went about 170 yards.  That's what we were dealing with all day....

[MountainKing]

13 hours ago, stasek said:

Played Prairie Bluff yesterday afternoon.   $59 w/ cart seems like a great deal nowadays.   Teed off at ~1:10 pm and finished in 3:45 (foursome), which was great.   Only had to wait couple minutes on the last couple holes.   The wind was there, as always, but nothing more than 1/2 to a club.   The game is still in the crapper.   3 jacked first couple holes, but settled down, birdied par-5 4th, and settled for a 37.  I've got this, right?  Nope..... Blocked tee shot on 10th (OB), snap hooked 3rd into the pond - 8.   I hate this game...  it didn't get much better the rest of the round - 44 for a cringe worthy 81.  I usually play PB to feel better about my game, but not this time.   

 

PB is always a great course for the money, and knock on wood, I don't believe we've had a round go beyond 4 hours there in the last two years.  16/17/18 always seem to slow down a bit, not sure why, but after playing there enough you come to expect it.  

[TheBear95]

49 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

It does, it's up by the Red tee box, these clowns however had to go searching for their multiple shots in the weeds, on top of trying to drive the carts off the pathy on 10 around by the bunker (they did this on 17 and a few other holes  as well) only for the carts to stop and then they had to reverse all the way back out.   These guys probably would have been better off at a course like Zigfield Troy, not the Preserve from the back tees.  I don't think there's a single hole where we didn't see them searching for a golf ball.   My favorite move all day however - sitting there waiting for them to wait for hole 4 to clear while talking about being able to drive it.....two of them ended up in the weeds on the left about 100 yards from the box, one was probably on the road to the right and the other pounded a drive that went about 170 yards.  That's what we were dealing with all day....

 

Hmmm... I believe that Zigfield has a couple of water hazards and 75th St. could be in play. My recommendation for these bros would be Lost Mountain Adventure Golf next door.

[St Jimmy]

Fox Lake CC today.  My first time there in years.  Might be the best condition I've ever seen it in.  They must've had 20 guys out there working on the course.  Unfortunately they seemed to follow me around all day and were zig zagging across every fairway I tried to hit into on the front nine.  Keep in mind I teed off around 11am not 7am.

On the back the same two guys followed me from hole to hole weed whacking and bunker combing.  It was a little annoying to have them behind me all day, but I just pretended they were a gallery and tried to put on a show.  Three birds, but way too many blowup holes put me at +10 for the day.  It was nice to play somewhere different for a change. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by St Jimmy

[TheBear95]

1 hour ago, St Jimmy said:

Fox Lake CC today.  My first time there in years.  Might be the best condition I've ever seen it in.  They must've had 20 guys out there working on the course.  Unfortunately they seemed to follow me around all day and were zig zagging across every fairway I tried to hit into on the front nine.  Keep in mind I teed off around 11am not 7am.

On the back the same two guys followed me from hole to hole weed whacking and bunker combing.  It was a little annoying to have them behind me all day, but I just pretended they were a gallery and tried to put on a show.  Three birds, but way too many blowup holes put me at +10 for the day.  It was nice to play somewhere different for a change. 

Did you walk it? 

[St Jimmy]

22 minutes ago, TheBear95 said:

Did you walk it? 

No, I thought they didn’t allow walkers? 

I was told that years ago and didn’t even think of asking. 

[Holy Moses]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:48 AM, DavePelz4 said:

 

Blackstone was the outlier that didn't require masks in the club house, and was opened at a time when everything was supposed to be shut down. Because of Don's relationship with the McHenry County officials, he wasn't worried about being shut down.

I thought they finally got a warning after a few weeks and they got shut down

[Holy Moses]

My car is under there. Bad storms in Elgin.