Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[Argonne69]

Always thought Pine Meadow was a solid layout, but doesn't really stand out.

[geochitown]

Pine VN meadow is solid and conditions are better after some problems in the past

 

Big scale course

[geochitown]

I just cancelled a 934 am time at pine meadow

[Argonne69]

> @geochitown said:

> I just cancelled a 934 am time at pine meadow

 

A little too chilly for you? It's going to be a beautiful day, but I was surprised to see the temperature in the 30's earlier this morning.

 

[geochitown]

No, tomorrow should be warmer than today.

 

Playing the preserve at 1040

 

Two spots open

[geochitown]

Overnight low tonite is 45

[geochitown]

Sorry for all of the posts but I made a few provisional tee time reservations for tomorrow, all waiting to see what was best for me

[Shriner]

I think Pine Meadow is the best pure golf course in Chicagoland. No two holes are similar and you have a little bit of everything out there. Many of the holes are isolated from the next hole so you get a little of the Oak Grove feel. The best part of the course for me is that it is not a "luck" based course like so many around here. The further you hit the ball offline, the more penal it becomes. Whereas alot of courses penalize you for hitting it ten yards off line, but if you are 40 yards offline, you are in the next fairway with a great look at the green. That does not happen at Pine Meadow. If you are a little right or left, you are playable. If you are far right or left, you are taking a penalty. It may be one of the longest public courses we have at over 7200 yards. Just an absolute awesome test of golf.

[geochitown]

I love the 13, 14 and 15 stretch of holes at Pine Meadow

Really feel tucked back in the woods and the creek leading to the lake

[mci711]

> @Shriner said:

> I think Pine Meadow is the best pure golf course in Chicagoland. No two holes are similar and you have a little bit of everything out there. Many of the holes are isolated from the next hole so you get a little of the Oak Grove feel. The best part of the course for me is that it is not a "luck" based course like so many around here. The further you hit the ball offline, the more penal it becomes. Whereas alot of courses penalize you for hitting it ten yards off line, but if you are 40 yards offline, you are in the next fairway with a great look at the green. That does not happen at Pine Meadow. If you are a little right or left, you are playable. If you are far right or left, you are taking a penalty. It may be one of the longest public courses we have at over 7200 yards. Just an absolute awesome test of golf.

 

Sold! Not gotta convince the wife to drive an hour. Thanks for the input.

[Shriner]

Ha! Yep, it is about 45 minutes for me, but well worth it. I think it is right up there with Blackstone, Stonewall, Oak Grove, etc. Remember that I said pure Golf, don't expect much from the clubhouse or 19th hole (they pretty much do not exist). Hope you enjoy!

[geochitown]

super competitive women’s league at Pine Meadow as well

[DeeBee30]

This may have been posted elsewhere in one of the three Chicago threads, but I’m in transit and don’t have a lot of time to search.

 

Can anyone recommend a handful of courses that tend to hold up to the rain pretty well and don’t restrict call after some initial daughter gets the course? Ideally, it would be in the western or southwestern burbs.

 

I seem to recall Prairie Bluff and Cog as holding up ok. Haven’t played Preserves after a rainfall but I know drainage has improved.

 

Others?

 

[DeeBee30]

Darn voice to text, and I can’t figure out how to edit on mobile. Hopefully my meaning is clear.

 

Call=carts. Daughter gets=water hits.

[geochitown]

Preserve will drain well

Mt prospect drains very well

Arrowhead also

[geochitown]

Schaumburg should drain well also

[geochitown]

Foxford hills

[B-Man]

@jimwgt26 and myself are booked for 8:20 Sunday morning at the Royal Links of Prairie Bluff. There's 2 open spots if there's any interest.

[Shriner]

I played Itasca CC for the first time yesterday, what a treat. Very narrow course with mature trees. The greens were about as difficult as I have ever played, I was not expecting that much undulation and the greens speeds to be what they were. If you short sided yourself, you had no chance. Cannot wait to play this course again. As an aside, the bar in the middle of the course is a nice touch.

[Argonne69]

Retirement Day 1: set the alarm for 15 minutes later than usual. A real treat. Woke up and watched the overnight broadcast of the LPGA from Shanghai. Not something I'd typically do on a workday. Farted around, went for breakfast, and then headed to The Preserve for the first time. I teed off at 11 am, and finished in 3:50.

 

I really like what they did with the course. I would like to see a few of the tee boxes raised, as you get a handful of somewhat blind shots. I didn't care for the par 5 2nd, as it really forces one to hit a big draw. Anything straight is trouble. Definitely a risk reward hole if one decides to go for the green in two. I thought the short par 4's were good, but a couple of the par 3's were meh.

 

Conditions were generally good. A number of fairways had been aerated in spots. The new greens were excellent, and rolling 10 to 11. The original greens on 1, 6, 17, and 18 looked quite bad along the fringe, but the main part of the greens were good. Loved the sand in the bunkers. Leaves were not an issue.

 

Very good day ballstriking with 9 fairways and 12 greens. Two birdies to go with five bogies. Best shot of the day was the tee shot on the long par 3 10th. With the pin in the back right it was playing ~205 yds. I set up for a high cut with my fairway wood, and launched it high. It landed soft and released towards the pin leaving me a 15 ft birdie putt. I burned the edge, but was quite happy with a tap in par.

 

Overall it was a great day. Less than $50 to walk on a beautiful fall day was icing on the retirement cake.

 


[mci711]

@Argonne69

>

> I really like what they did with the course. I would like to see a few of the tee boxes raised, as you get a handful of somewhat blind shots. I didn't care for the par 5 2nd, as it really forces one to hit a big draw. Anything straight is trouble. Definitely a risk reward hole if one decides to go for the green in two. I thought the short par 4's were good, but a couple of the par 3's were meh.

>

> Conditions were generally good. A number of fairways had been aerated in spots. The new greens were excellent, and rolling 10 to 11. The original greens on 1, 6, 17, and 18 looked quite bad along the fringe, but the main part of the greens were good. Loved the sand in the bunkers. Leaves were not an issue.

>

> Very good day ballstriking with 9 fairways and 12 greens. Two birdies to go with five bogies. Best shot of the day was the tee shot on the long par 3 10th. With the pin in the back right it was playing ~205 yds. I set up for a high cut with my fairway wood, and launched it high. It landed soft and released towards the pin leaving me a 15 ft birdie putt. I burned the edge, but was quite happy with a tap in par.

>

> Overall it was a great day. Less than $50 to walk on a beautiful fall day was icing on the retirement cake.

 

 

Congrats on retirement!

[taylorx300]

Got out today at Evanston. Have not been there in 4 years. They shaved all the green complexes in typical Ross design. Good if you like to putt through fringe. Played well - 74 with no birdies.

[@_the_crook]

sad to say goodbye to some of the staffers at Sportsman's today. won't see some of these people for a year or more with the impending renovation.

wish they could have kept the East Nine course open next year even with a trailer for cashier, etc. but was told that isn't an option with the parking lot and range being part of the overhaul.

wonder how many employees will end up at other venues permanently.

few more weeks and it will be shut down.

 

[Argonne69]

Gorgeous day today. Dare I say a bit too warm? Lol. It was 67 degrees at Glencoe when I finished my round, and the winter base layer was a tad too much. Course was in great shape again. Leaves were a bit of a nuisance. Greens were rolling 10 to 11. 'Love fall golf.

 

A bit erratic off the tee today. A few real bombs, but a few wayward as well. Managed only 8 fairways, and 10 greens. One birdie but six sloppy bogies. 'Not sure if I'm ready for late morning golf, as the pace is definitely slower than the dew sweeping I've been accustom to this season. Can't wait for the weekday golf. Overall a fun day on the course, though.

 


 

 

 

[DeeBee30]

Headed out for a nice trek around Cantigny this afternoon. Yeah, I expect it to be slow sledding, but the 20-person group I’m with has a few stragglers, and I hope the Bears game keeps a lot of folks at home.

[DavePelz4]

Played Friday at Elgin Country Club. Wonderful layout and a track that has you play every club in the bag due to the variety in holes. Surprising elevation changes for Elgin. Great conditions except the bunkers being a bit thin. Numerous greens with false fronts and if you're above the hole you're in trouble on almost every hole. Definitely a course you'd shoot 5 shots better a second time just due to having an idea of where to hit the ball. Great practice area as well and from what was shared, a very reasonable fee to join.

 

Saturday at Crystal Woods and we played with no one in front of us and we never saw anyone behind us. Nice 3:40 round. They did the greens a month ago so they're nearly perfect and a bit faster than normal. They've done a nice job removing leafs and overall the course was in excellent conditions. Always enjoy a post round beverage there as it's a throwback to being in a Wisconsin bar. The 12th hole with the green sloping from back to front is just diabolical.

[Argonne69]

Dare I say another beautiful day? Just finished my round at Wilmette. Unfortunately the greens were aerated two weeks ago, and they still haven't healed. Balls were tracking every way except straight. Oh, and they were dog slow. Glencoe is a much better option at this point. Pace of play was nice at 3:50.

 

Another erratic day off the tee with only 7 fairways. Irons were a bit better with 11 greens. Only one birdie with six bogies. That's golf for you. Still, nothing I'd rather be doing.

 


 

[DeeBee30]

What a great Fall day for golf! Played Cantigny’s Hillside/Woodside combo this afternoon and boy was it a tale of two nines. Hillside greens were awesome: smooth and on the quick side. Thought at the turn that I might post a personal best score today.

 

Sadly, we quickly found out that the greens had recently been punched and sanded on Woodside. Putting on that 9 looked more like a game of plinko, and on much slower surfaces. Not only did putts swerve like a drunk driver, but some chips also took crazy left/right bounces when they hit the green, and the greens ran about 25% slower. The final tally on the scorecard ended up being right at my scoring average. Bah!

 

Aside from the Woodside aeration, the course was in great shape, with firmish fairways and pretty short rough. On a down note, there were a lot of leaves in the rough, which made it hard to find some of the wayward shots.

 

Overall, a great day with good company. We managed to finish in 4:15, and that was with a lot of waiting for the pod of four guys in front of us who always seemed to drive both carts to all four balls on almost every shot.

 

Supposed to play Bowes tomorrow but it’s looking like it’ll be a washout.

[Shriner]

Played Buffalo Grove yesterday. The weather could not have been any better, slight breeze and sixty degrees. The greens were absolutely perfect, extremely fast and rolled true. The fairways were a bit shaggy but it is a $40 course. I have always liked the layout and they have a nice practice area. Only issue: leaves. With that said, it looks like we have one week of good weather left this year. I am going to try to get out for 2-3 more rounds. What courses don't have leaf issues right now due to lack of trees? I can think of Prairie Landing and Highlands of Elgin. What others?

[Argonne69]

> @Shriner said:

> Played Buffalo Grove yesterday. The weather could not have been any better, slight breeze and sixty degrees. The greens were absolutely perfect, extremely fast and rolled true. The fairways were a bit shaggy but it is a $40 course. I have always liked the layout and they have a nice practice area. Only issue: leaves. With that said, it looks like we have one week of good weather left this year. I am going to try to get out for 2-3 more rounds. What courses don't have leaf issues right now due to lack of trees? I can think of Prairie Landing and Highlands of Elgin. What others?

 

Harborside will be free of leaves. They aerated the Port course last week, so it should be getting somewhat back to normal this week. It's $59 before 1 pm, and $49 after 1 pm weekday. The Starboard course is being aerated this week.