Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[DavePelz4]

Played Pinecrest on Saturday, uneventful round.  Course is in good shape, absent ball marks going unfixed.  Walked off the 18th green and the lightening horn sounded, perfect timing.

 

Trekked to Oak Grove on Monday. They put the fun into dysfunctional. Only 1 person working and as I pulled in, saw my playing partner's vehicle, saw him as the only person hitting balls on the range and a cart with his bag near to him. 

 

Now the fun begins.

 

Had to check in at the bar and the person who did the checking in said I was the first one to check in for the group.  I shared that he was on the range, with a cart and had balls.  She said he hadn't paid and needed to come in.  Considering they dole out the range balls in the pro shop, I asked how he possibly could have gotten range balls, from her, unless she gave them to him.  She stammered, said she had no idea and then went to check me in.  After checking me in, she said, "Hmmm, your friend is checked in too." I asked what he was charged and it was $10.00 more than what the online rate was.  Apparently, she charged him a higher rate and wouldn't refund it.

 

Oak Grove is Oak Grove.  Lots of good potential golf with disappointing conditions.  Most of the tee boxes were flat out shaggy.  Guessing they were last cut on Friday.  The dirt traps are just that and they hadn't seen maintenance in a few days either.  There was a 30 minute gap from the group in front of us to our tee time, so thinking super fast round, right? Skated through to 6 and the delay started. 

 

2 groups in front was a 3 some that was the delay. Sheesh, they were slow.  The foursome directly in front wasn't much better.  On the 10th tee, there were 3 groups.  After slogging through 10 and 11, the 3some let the foursome go though as they "needed a mental break after The Anaconda." They graciously let us go through, thank you. It took about 45 seconds to catch the foursome and they refused to let us play though them. Even though they were playing the proper tee, they were just God awful slow.  We waited on every shot starting with the tee shot on 13.  It was a beautiful day, so we just enjoyed it.

 

Having a post round beverage, the same person who checked us in was tending bar of course. Not sure if she was making amends for the overcharging but the cost of 3 Coors Lights and 3 Blue Moons was $9.25.  Hmmm.  Suggested that she might have undercharged us so she didn't get in trouble with inventory and she said that was the right price. 

 

So to sum it up, it was golf on a beautiful day and not Tanna Farms. 

[TheBear95]

24 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

Played Pinecrest on Saturday, uneventful round.  Course is in good shape, absent ball marks going unfixed.  Walked off the 18th green and the lightening horn sounded, perfect timing.

 

Trekked to Oak Grove on Monday. They put the fun into dysfunctional. Only 1 person working and as I pulled in, saw my playing partner's vehicle, saw him as the only person hitting balls on the range and a cart with his bag near to him. 

 

Now the fun begins.

 

Had to check in at the bar and the person who did the checking in said I was the first one to check in for the group.  I shared that he was on the range, with a cart and had balls.  She said he hadn't paid and needed to come in.  Considering they dole out the range balls in the pro shop, I asked how he possibly could have gotten range balls, from her, unless she gave them to him.  She stammered, said she had no idea and then went to check me in.  After checking me in, she said, "Hmmm, your friend is checked in too." I asked what he was charged and it was $10.00 more than what the online rate was.  Apparently, she charged him a higher rate and wouldn't refund it.

 

Oak Grove is Oak Grove.  Lots of good potential golf with disappointing conditions.  Most of the tee boxes were flat out shaggy.  Guessing they were last cut on Friday.  The dirt traps are just that and they hadn't seen maintenance in a few days either.  There was a 30 minute gap from the group in front of us to our tee time, so thinking super fast round, right? Skated through to 6 and the delay started. 

 

2 groups in front was a 3 some that was the delay. Sheesh, they were slow.  The foursome directly in front wasn't much better.  On the 10th tee, there were 3 groups.  After slogging through 10 and 11, the 3some let the foursome go though as they "needed a mental break after The Anaconda." They graciously let us go through, thank you. It took about 45 seconds to catch the foursome and they refused to let us play though them. Even though they were playing the proper tee, they were just God awful slow.  We waited on every shot starting with the tee shot on 13.  It was a beautiful day, so we just enjoyed it.

 

Having a post round beverage, the same person who checked us in was tending bar of course. Not sure if she was making amends for the overcharging but the cost of 3 Coors Lights and 3 Blue Moons was $9.25.  Hmmm.  Suggested that she might have undercharged us so she didn't get in trouble with inventory and she said that was the right price. 

 

So to sum it up, it was golf on a beautiful day and not Tanna Farms. 

 

As LD mentioned, we were at Oak Grove on Sunday. Yeah, it doesn't take much to get things out of sorts there. Some rain, weekend play, etc. I swear when I played it on August 17, it was in good shape. On Sunday, it was just ok. 

 

I think the moral of the story is to play Oak Grove the third Wednesday of August at 6:30 a.m., lol. That's the very brief window for stellar Oak Grove conditions.

[zer0]

23 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Played for the first time today since July.  We unfortunately lost our daughter shortly after she was born  just over a month back, so took some time away from playing to spend with my family.  

 

Played Prairie Landing this morning.   Course was in excellent shape,  greens were as fast as I've ever seen em there.   No complaints on pace either,  being one of the first out we got through in 3:30, was expecting that to be way higher given it was booked solid

 

No real expectations, shot an 81 but hit the ball a lot better than that.  Played the par 3s in 6 over, and managed to double bogey hole 7 after being pin high in two.  Other than that 11 fairways and 12 greens in reg.  Felt good to be back.

 

Hitting up the Prarie View tomorrow for the first time,  looking forward to it. 

 

 

My condolences MK, sorry to hear that.

[zer0]

Played Steeple Chase Saturday afternoon.    I haven't played a lot this year, but I've definitely not seen greens as fast as Steeple Chase.   Wow, they were flying.  Had to be below the hole or you were in big trouble.

 

Course was in great shape, pace of play was good till we hit a wall but that didn't happen till #17.   

 

Tale of two 9s for me.  Took my dogs for an hour walk before heading to the course.   Sciatica from the walk and stiffness set in on the way to the course.  played the first 4 holes at 11 over.  Couldn't get off the tee, hitting all drives about 50 feet.  Surprised I didn't miss the ball entirely on some of those.   Loosened up a bit and started finding the driver again.  Played the final 14 holes at 8 over.

 

Good finish to get me ready for Thursday's round at Olympia Fields CC.  Never been, looking forward to it.  Even going to violate my rule about never tucking in my shirt again.   Will not be violating my rule of never wearing a belt again for the rest of my life.  Some life mottos are just too important.

[MountainKing]

Thanks everybody for the words.   Not something I'd ever wish on anybody.   It feels good to be back playing. 

 

Went out to Byron today for PV.  Given all all the praise I've seen I had high expectations, although given things also had no expectations.   The range was nice,  the little shed thing they have there looks like it would make for some fun nights,  too bad it's not closet.  Course was in great condition,  greens were flying, bunkers had sand and can't beat a 3 hour round.   

 

Overall I thought the layout was okay.  Front 9 was okay,  back 9 was awesome with the elevation and views.  Even impressed how they managed to hide the power plant fairly well.  My only gripe was the damn tree on 11 in the middle of the fairway.  For the money the course is tough to beat, even more so since we were using our $25 golf moose deal. 

 

My game was okay,  body moved better today.   37 on the front,  I'll take it.   Back 9 I came in with a 42.  It's a lot more target golf than I normally like and I put myself in some tough spots.  I anticipate a much better back next time now that I've seen it and have a better idea where you have to hit it. Great day out, perfect weather.

 

 

[Shriner]

13 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

Thanks everybody for the words.   Not something I'd ever wish on anybody.   It feels good to be back playing. 

 

Went out to Byron today for PV.  Given all all the praise I've seen I had high expectations, although given things also had no expectations.   The range was nice,  the little shed thing they have there looks like it would make for some fun nights,  too bad it's not closet.  Course was in great condition,  greens were flying, bunkers had sand and can't beat a 3 hour round.   

 

Overall I thought the layout was okay.  Front 9 was okay,  back 9 was awesome with the elevation and views.  Even impressed how they managed to hide the power plant fairly well.  My only gripe was the damn tree on 11 in the middle of the fairway.  For the money the course is tough to beat, even more so since we were using our $25 golf moose deal. 

 

My game was okay,  body moved better today.   37 on the front,  I'll take it.   Back 9 I came in with a 42.  It's a lot more target golf than I normally like and I put myself in some tough spots.  I anticipate a much better back next time now that I've seen it and have a better idea where you have to hit it. Great day out, perfect weather.

 

 

 

You nailed it on Prairieview even though I like the Front 9 layout as well.  And yes, that tree on 11 is the only thing that holds me back from saying the course is perfect.  That said, it is a gorgeous tree so I would hate to see them cut it down.

[TheBear95]

30 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

Thanks everybody for the words.   Not something I'd ever wish on anybody.   It feels good to be back playing. 

 

Went out to Byron today for PV.  Given all all the praise I've seen I had high expectations, although given things also had no expectations.   The range was nice,  the little shed thing they have there looks like it would make for some fun nights,  too bad it's not closet.  Course was in great condition,  greens were flying, bunkers had sand and can't beat a 3 hour round.   

 

Overall I thought the layout was okay.  Front 9 was okay,  back 9 was awesome with the elevation and views.  Even impressed how they managed to hide the power plant fairly well.  My only gripe was the damn tree on 11 in the middle of the fairway.  For the money the course is tough to beat, even more so since we were using our $25 golf moose deal. 

 

My game was okay,  body moved better today.   37 on the front,  I'll take it.   Back 9 I came in with a 42.  It's a lot more target golf than I normally like and I put myself in some tough spots.  I anticipate a much better back next time now that I've seen it and have a better idea where you have to hit it. Great day out, perfect weather.

 

 

 

My gripe about PrairieView is hiding the nuke plant. C'mon, this a unique feature. #12 should have been a hard dogleg left, with an infinity green looking right at the plant. That's a view that would get even Lost Marsh jealous.

 

 

 

 

[MountainKing]

28 minutes ago, Shriner said:

 

You nailed it on Prairieview even though I like the Front 9 layout as well.  And yes, that tree on 11 is the only thing that holds me back from saying the course is perfect.  That said, it is a gorgeous tree so I would hate to see them cut it down.

Maybe just chop about 10 feet from the top?  I nuked a drive and had an 8 iron in, I was thinking eagle while it was in the air until it clipped the very top and shot straight left into some really thick rough. 

[ldchristopher]

8 hours ago, TheBear95 said:

 

As LD mentioned, we were at Oak Grove on Sunday. Yeah, it doesn't take much to get things out of sorts there. Some rain, weekend play, etc. I swear when I played it on August 17, it was in good shape. On Sunday, it was just ok. 

 

I think the moral of the story is to play Oak Grove the third Wednesday of August at 6:30 a.m., lol. That's the very brief window for stellar Oak Grove conditions.

You can take the Oak Grove-branded glasses off, Bear. It was in objectively bad shape. The same as what DP4 reported. Not the worst I’ve ever seen it but that’s a mighty low bar to clear. 

[@_the_crook]

On 9/5/2022 at 2:02 PM, MountainKing said:

Played for the first time today since July.  We unfortunately lost our daughter shortly after she was born  just over a month back, so took some time away from playing to spend with my family.  

Condolences.

 

Our thoughts are with you and your family.

 

[m052310]

Played Deerfield GC today. Couldn't put a driver near the middle to save myself, which made for a bit of a long day. Course was in pretty good shape. For $39 w/cart, can't be the value. I was a little thrown that they made me pay for the cart even though I wanted to walk because somehow the way they're doing their dynamic pricing made it cheaper than the walking rate, but given the rate, I can't complain (much).

 

Played Buffalo Grove again yesterday. Still like it, but oh man was it slow. Worse yet, for much of it, it was my group that was the hold up. Got paired up with a couple guys, that while very nice, just refused to play anything resembling ready-golf. They also seemed shocked when I suggested we let a (quick) two-some play through our (painfully) slow four. Seemed like a no brainer to me, but fortunately they went along begrudgingly. 

[DavePelz4]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:44 PM, ldchristopher said:

You can take the Oak Grove-branded glasses off, Bear. It was in objectively bad shape. The same as what DP4 reported. Not the worst I’ve ever seen it but that’s a mighty low bar to clear. 

 

LD, not sure how long you and Bear have been playing Oak Grove, but about 15 years ago or so, pre-Golf Visions, the course conditions were beyond amazing.  It was still a relatively unknown course and they kept it in immaculate conditions, probably due in part to the low number of rounds.  Don't laugh, but the greens were just slightly less pure than Medinah #3, the bunkers were pristine and it was a Top 10 course in IL overall.

 

Then came Golf Visions and the rest, is history.

[TheBear95]

43 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

LD, not sure how long you and Bear have been playing Oak Grove, but about 15 years ago or so, pre-Golf Visions, the course conditions were beyond amazing.  It was still a relatively unknown course and they kept it in immaculate conditions, probably due in part to the low number of rounds.  Don't laugh, but the greens were just slightly less pure than Medinah #3, the bunkers were pristine and it was a Top 10 course in IL overall.

 

Then came Golf Visions and the rest, is history.

 

Our first trip there was in 2013. Since then, I have probably played Oak Grove around 25 times. 

 

If offered a chance to use a time machine, I'm not going to lie, my first trip back might be to 2004 to play the pristine Oak Grove, lol. 

[zer0]

got an invite to play Olympia Fields this afternoon.   Never been.  Looking forward to it.    Gonna violate my rule of never tucking in my shirt ever again, but I think I'll manage.  Still not wearing a belt though...some rules are too important to break.

[tthomasgolfer605]

PM me if you're interested in playing Cog No. 4 Sat at 1:30 pm. My buddy can't make it. Round is free.

[mci711]

9 hours ago, zer0 said:

got an invite to play Olympia Fields this afternoon.   Never been.  Looking forward to it.    Gonna violate my rule of never tucking in my shirt ever again, but I think I'll manage.  Still not wearing a belt though...some rules are too important to break.

 

Both courses are really nice. Last time I was there was 2019 I believe. Greens were great and rough was nasty thick. 

[zer0]

got my a** thoroughly kicked by Olympia Fields.  Played the main course.    49-46 for a smooth 95 from the senior tees.   Was 5 over on the back going into last 2 holes and tripled both.     

 

Amazingly didn't find the water or lose a ball all day, but couldn't stay out of the bunkers to save my life.    Hit just about every bunker shot from greenside thin and every fairway bunker shot fat.

 

Other than that found the greens to be surprisingly unreceptive to good shots.   Had several good shots rewarded by rolling off the green.  Had a 5 iron to an elevated green that I hit perfect, landed it on the side of the hill leading into the green, bounced on and then rolled all the way through and off.     Had more than a few shots good shots not hold the green.    

 

All those fat bunker shots and all the shots I had to take out of the rough plus the hour + drive home and I'm dealing with some pretty significant back pain today.   But it was worth it to play that course.

 

Course is beautiful and would be a blast to play over and over till you learned all the places to land balls.

Edited September 9, 2022 by zer0

[Springsteennut]

Played Mill Creek. We didn’t go in with great expectations since reviews weren’t the best. The day got off to good start when I found out I just barely qualified for a senior rate. Hey ten bucks is ten bucks. The tee boxes were pretty beat up and not very flat. The greens were recently aerated and sanded so they were hard to judge but some of the pin placements were  in difficult spots. Fairways were in good shape and pace of play was good. I could see going back there.

[@_the_crook]

Love being here early. 

 

[ldchristopher]

Chapel Hill today. The pickings for early Saturday tee times are slim this time of year and we’ve been playing BDale a lot lately. Gotta be first out though. The group behind us was on hole 14 as we finished. The greens were drenched with water in all the cups. It hasn’t rained though. Don’t think they need to run the sprinklers quite so much. Overall, it was in better shape than when we played it last August and once the moisture started to dry up on the greens they rolled true. Tee boxes were okay, rough was thick in some spots and hard pan in others. LOTS of hybrid and 4 iron off the tee. Rounds like that are good for keeping one’s game sharp (he says to justify playing Chapel Hill). No birdies, 4 bogies, 74. 

[@_the_crook]

this morning the course was pretty well covered in a fine mist.  glorious weather to play.

as you can tell from the pic posted above, I arrived before sunrise, hit some balls in the cage and then proceeded to the practice green.

didn't change to shirtsleeves until we made the turn. 

highlight of the front nine was number four, the par 3 over that pond. I banged my shot a little too far and it ended up in the long rough past the utility path - about thirty feet from the green and six feet lower.

now I'm not known for high quality rescue shots but you gotta try...

took my ancient Vokey and doncha know the ball popped out just as nice as anything, hit the top bump of grass between me and the green and ran to about four feet.

made par.

my bud says - 'If Ian Baker Finch was announcing  this event, he would have said the player was dead. I don't know how you did that."

 

top things off - members got free breakfast this morning.  great munching on a bacon sandwich while tossing gear into the truck. like a lotto win.

it takes so little to please guys like me.

 

 

 

[@_the_crook]

On 9/9/2022 at 9:21 AM, zer0 said:

smooth 95

wasn't that one of the taglines for WNUA ?

glad you're out playing again.

[Holy Moses]

On 9/6/2022 at 8:57 AM, cpeck12 said:

Played Settler's Hill on Sunday morning. Course is in roughhhh shape. I would advise against playing it this year unless it's a smoking deal and/or the only course with an opening. Not totally surprised since they just re-opened it recently and I heard rumblings they rushed it a bit since they need to get some cash flow coming in...

What’s the condition like? Didn’t they redesign it? Is there a range?

[stasek]

Yesterday, we had our second playoff tournament at Cantigny Hillside/Woodside.  The course did not disappoint - the greens were perfect (running 10-11),  but they could take it easy with watering - way too many mud balls in the fairway.  I think I might have outdone myself this year - latest trend had been 1 or 2 bad holes, but otherwise pretty solid golf.  This time it was basically the entire back 9  - 1 triple, 3 doubles, and 3 bogeys  for a smooth 48.  I did not bring an extra pair of underwear with me so the underpants  change had to wait till I got back home.   Oh - forgot to mention- shot even par 36 on the front.  Love this game!  

[Phreddy]

I usually reserve Monday mornings for coffee and the DP4 weekend report.

 

I fear all I will read tomorrow is:  "the Bears are pretty good mudders."

[MountainKing]

Solid weekend of golf.  Had to turn down an invite to Flossmore CC on Saturday, was going to check out Settlers and see what they did yesterday and mother nature had other plans for me.  We'll see what happens next week. 

[DavePelz4]

Perfect day on Saturday at Crystal Woods.  Well, it was perfect for everyone except the guy who completely sucked you know what on the front 9.  Seriously the worst 9 I've played this season.  Literally zero idea where the ball was going and that was after a really solid range session on Friday and warmup Saturday morning.  Went from second in our season long comp to 4th.  Embarrassing. 

 

Crystal Woods is becoming a top 10 in terms of green conditions.  They were fast, true but the front had been aerated and the back was yet to be done.  Small tines and sanded which slowed them down a bit while the back were crazy fast.  CW also has sand in their bunkers and you can play actual bunker shots which is refreshing.

 

My 3 team play of The Bears, Vikings (still hate them) and Bucs came off nicely.  While holding out zero hope for the Bears for a winning season, not a Trey Lance fan.  He's got happy feet and he lowered his eye level as soon as there was any pressure.  49ers are looking at a step backwards unless he gets his S together.

Edited September 12, 2022 by DavePelz4

[braincramp52]

On 9/5/2022 at 2:02 PM, MountainKing said:

Played for the first time today since July.  We unfortunately lost our daughter shortly after she was born  just over a month back, so took some time away from playing to spend with my family.  

 

Played Prairie Landing this morning.   Course was in excellent shape,  greens were as fast as I've ever seen em there.   No complaints on pace either,  being one of the first out we got through in 3:30, was expecting that to be way higher given it was booked solid

 

No real expectations, shot an 81 but hit the ball a lot better than that.  Played the par 3s in 6 over, and managed to double bogey hole 7 after being pin high in two.  Other than that 11 fairways and 12 greens in reg.  Felt good to be back.

 

Hitting up the Prarie View tomorrow for the first time,  looking forward to it. 

Can't believe I didn't see this. Thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family MK.

[braincramp52]

On 9/11/2022 at 3:09 PM, Phreddy said:

I usually reserve Monday mornings for coffee and the DP4 weekend report.

 

I fear all I will read tomorrow is:  "the Bears are pretty good mudders."

My Bears have already won one more game than Mike Martz thought they'd win.🤣

[chisag]

28 minutes ago, braincramp52 said:

My Bears have already won one more game than Mike Martz thought they'd win.🤣

 

 

... Gotta love Martz! I wish I had the article where he apologized to Cutler for trying to run the Rams offense without the receivers or Line to make the deep routes work. Said Cutler was the best QB he ever worked with and he made his job much more difficult than it should have been. I know I am one of the few that loved Cutler and I played 18 with Desmond Clark who gave me the inside scoop on Jay.