Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[mci711]

It looks decent. The flooding is down, should be fully accessible. From my vantage point it actually looks really good, but obviously I'm sure it is soaked.

[chisag]

 

... Yup, I expect wet but was worried about playable. Thanks for the info.

[cpeck12]

Let us know how it goes tomorrow. I have a tee time there Friday morning.

[ldchristopher]

Played HOE today. Not a single spot of standing water. We played some Irish golf for the first 4 holes but the rain was light to begin with and stopped completely. The fairways were wet but nothing plugged and the greens were, considering the conditions, pretty good. Decent pace for being wet and they held shots. The bunkers were also better than expected. The water in the quarry was higher than I’ve ever seen it but, like I posted before, that course is at a major advantage with a pit that deep to collect all the water. The fairway on 2 was completely wrecked. It looked like a mudslide down the hill with no grass at all for about 20 yards. Just mud and rocks. 4 and 15 were both playing really short and were less than 110 to the pin. I understand not wanting to wreck the tee boxes from the normal gold tees since those get the most play during the season but having two super short holes was different. Were it not for the weather at the outset I would have played the combo tees like usual but the ball wasn’t exactly flying in mid-50’s overcast temps and a stiff breeze in our face or a nasty crosswind on a bunch of holes. 77.

[mci711]

I am playing 36 at Sand Valley on Friday. Leading off with Mammoth Dunes in the morning and a quick turn around to SV in the afternoon. Going to be a long day with driving, but the weather looks great and the rates are still low. Not sure when I'll get another chance.

[Holy Moses]

Blackstone said the range and putting green will open up Friday, but fewer bays. No flagsticks on the putting green. Walking foursomes allowed since Monday.

[Argonne69]

You taking a caddie for one or both rounds?

 

[mci711]

I'm not taking one for either. I may use my pushcart for 18. If I my shoulders need a break. If you had a caddie for 1 round which course would you suggest? My plan was to buy yardage books and hope for the best.

[Argonne69]

Sand Valley is the tougher course, so I'd go with a caddie there. Do they have junior caddies available at this time? My junior caddie did a great job.

[mci711]

That is the problem, it didn't look like they had anything available other than their top dollar caddies. I just need someone to carry my bag and give me general directions off the tee and on the green.

[VNutz]

As noted above, Sand Valley is more important IMO for your lines off the tee. Mammoth is pretty wide open, but it can help there as well. I'd think you can get away without the caddie for both, but at the same time there are some holes on SV where you might look back and say you might have been better off there with some guidance. We took a forecaddie for our foursome, and he was ok despite not having a ton of experience there. Whether that would be worth the $100 they recommend is up to you. If anything maybe for the 2nd round might be a good idea.

 

FWIW they do, or at least did, have a pdf you could download on their site that's the same as the books they sell in the pro shop so I made them for our group. Not a big deal for what they charge on site though.

[mci711]

I did find the course guides online. I have them on my phone. I usually get yardage books from notable courses, so I will end up getting those anyway. I figure I'll have some strange/bad putts and reads and hopefully on take a few bad lines off the tee. I'm not expecting to break any course records with or without a caddie ?. I am excited to get out there though and see what it is all about. I love Streamsong and I feel like it has that vibe.

[@_the_crook]

took the 6:30 at Shepherd's Crook on Monday. hope the place is less than completely drenched.

[Gdane]

Foursomes coming to Illinois May 29th

[VNutz]

Some are doing it already. Blackstone is set for 4somes at 10 minute intervals Saturday.

[mci711]

Damn, I wish 15 min would just be the new norm.

[VNutz]

Sure would be nice. But I can blame courses for wanting 24 golfers an hour instead of 16.

 

Just like everything else, I fear the time without as many people around will have spoiled me and I'll hate normal life (eventually) surrounded by people even more. Just like I already miss the empty roads.

[@_the_crook]

In his press conference today, Governor Pritzker stated that Foursomes are allowed with single rider carts starting on May 29th.

improvement or what ?

[Dashfast]

Playing Balmoral Woods on Sat for the first time. Any tips?

[Argonne69]

Did they mention the intervals? Foursomes at 12 minutes would be dandy.

[chisag]

... The only thing worse than 4 knuckleheads in 2 carts is 4 knuckleheads in 4 carts. below is from the CDGA:

 

At his press conference this afternoon, Governor Pritzker reviewed the details of Phase 3 in the re-opening of Illinois, which is scheduled to take effect on Friday, May 29. As it relates to golf, the modified guidelines will be published Friday, May 22. However, it is our understanding, through collaboration with the Governor's office, that the modified guidelines will include:

Approval of groups of four10-minute tee time intervalsUse of golf carts with restrictionsThe opening of practice ranges with restrictions

[Argonne69]

The par 5 7th is a dogleg left. Favor the right side because the trees on the left can block your 2nd. Also, the creek in front of the green comes into play. It's really a 3 shot hole unless you really bomb a big draw off the tee.

A few holes are less than driver, e.g. 14, unless you're feeling very confident with the big stick.

The par 3 13th is long, and plays longer uphill. Take plenty of club.

Save your best drive for the long par 4 15th. You'll need it.

 

[Dashfast]

@Argonne69 Thank you.

[DavePelz4]

Played there today...they're defining people who can have a cart as "are you breathing?"

If you answer yes, you can get a cart...and play slow.

[chrisf60526]

Trying to get a tee time right now is something i have never seen before. Every place i have tried is booked solid until late twilight.

[SpeedKills7]

Yea, it has been crazy to get a tee time. Tried booking for Saturday on Monday and all I could get before 2 was Whisper Creek.

[TheBear95]

Actually, I think that each golfer getting their own cart would be an improvement for pace of play. The biggest problem I see with cart golfers is the lack of ready golf. Drive to one ball, watch your partner go thru his practice routine, hit and then go find your ball. This a big reason why a foursome of walkers can play faster than a foursome of cart golfers.

I do wonder if courses have enough carts to fulfill the demand if most players are taking a cart. Especially during a busy time, like a summer Saturday morning. I'm a walker, so I don't pay attention to the cart situation. But, I would imagine that the potential of having to double the number of carts out (in addition to the time needed to disinfect each cart after being used) is going to cause some stress on courses to manage.

[chrisf60526]

It's easy math. Two go off every 15 minutes equal 8 golfers per hour. Let's say 11 hours of daylight to play is a whopping ~88 golfers per course per day. That's not much.

[geochitown]

I would have preferred them to go to 3 somes rather than straight to 4.

Pine Meadow played fine yesterday.

Wet, but playable.

There was a big gap behind me on 18, so I spent some time repairing ball marks.

I think I repaired at least 25 marks.

[AUTIGER07]

I would've preferred upping the volume to either: (1) foursomes every 15 minutes or (2) keep twosomes and move up to 10 minute tee times. Given that a large number of courses previously ran at 8-10 minute tee times this is essentially putting back to 100% capacity. The only difference is the 4 cart angle which will put pressure on operations to ensure they have enough carts available and that the staff can quickly turn them around on busy days.