Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[Argonne69]

Why hit driver on 12? It's a short iron 20 to 30 yds short of the penalty area. Nothing to be gained.

15 is one of the most generous driving holes on the course. Don't go left.

4 is simple risk reward. Plenty of fairway right leaving PW or less. Very little to be gained driving the green.

Curious why someone hitting 270 to 300 would be playing blue? That's 7000 yd territory. No surprise driver gets one into trouble. I'm averaging 250 and playing the Black/Blue combo.

[Holy Moses]

You can find the bunkers with a drive on the first hole. You can drive through the fairway on the 15th too.

[geochitown]

I play 4 wood on 1, 4 and 6 and 7.

hybrid on 12

4 wood on 16

[mci711]

Haven't heard much this year so far about Bowes Creek. Maybe I've missed it, but has anyone been out there recently? How was it? Thinking of playing there or maybe HoE tomorrow. I think I actually prefer the course at BC, but was wondering how conditions were.

[stasek]

We’re vacationing in Outer Banks, NC, and of course, I had to get a round of golf in (week is young!). The closest golf course to our house is Nags Head, so I decided - what the heck, let’s go! Booked a last remaining spot of a 4-some, showed up, and was told by the starter that I’ll be playing as a single. No problem, I thought (the other 3 people I was supposed to play with either didn’t show up or went out early). Big mistake! This. Was.a. Longest.4. Hour. Round. Of. My. Life! The course, at barely over 6100 yards from the tips, was your typical target golf. I had a chance to play my new Maltby TS2 irons for the first time, and the results are somewhat encouraging.

Good chance I’ll get at least one or 3 more rounds in the area - my back is already burnt, so what else is there to do ?.

[VNutz]

Yeah @B-Man you really are terrible. Those smooth 73s must include a bunch of lucky kicks off the trees.

[MountainKing]

I gotta side with Arg on this one. MM in general seems to have tighter fairways and a miss seems to put you in tough spots to get out of. For the most part the landing area's at the Preserve seem to be pretty wide, even if they don't look it from the tee. Holes I'd run out of space on 7, 12 ect are holes I'd never pull driver on anyway giving me even a bigger landing area and just a short iron in. Hole 2 fits my natural shot shape perfect, otherwise I'd never consider a driver there either. Other than the 9th hold continually ruining my front 9 scores, I've scored better at the Preserve than I have at Maple. That's just me tho, maybe the place fits my game better.

[Argonne69]

Another tiring walk this morning. Today's round was at everyone's favorite pushover course, Maple Meadows. Lol. $31.50 prepaid. I guess we have a lot more lurkers here than I realized, because the course was practically empty. Everyone must have concluded that the course is too easy, and went across the street for the real challenge. I teed off as a single on the 10th tee (back nine start today), played through a twosome on the 15th hole, and then had clear sailing the entire way to the finish. No complaints on the 2:25 pace. 'Still managed to down 72 ounces of water on the course, and another 20 after the round. Steamy.

Conditions tee to green were very good. The greens however were a different matter. It looks like they were slit a week or so ago. The back nine holes were in worse shape than the front, and definitely affecting the roll. The slits on the front nine were still visible, but the ball rolled truer.

Much better day with the driver than yesterday, but I still managed a few bad breaks. Hit a nice fade on the 10th just right of the 150 stake, and it rolled off the right side of the fairway into the thick rough. On the 11th I pulled my drive along the left edge of the fairway. It landed two or three feet left of the first cut, and took a wicked hop left off the mound and into the penalty area. Bah. On the 12th I hit a slight fade at the 150 stake. It wound up in the fairway 3 feet from the right rough 165 yds out. Of course I had three trees between me and the flag, and I had to slice one around the arboretum. On the 15th I pulled my drive left, and wound up with tree trouble. I could advance the ball 100 yds, and wound up making bogie. On the 3rd I hit a fairway wood that I thought was going to funnel to the low point of the fairway right of the bunker. I got up there and found my ball in the rough a foot in front of the bunker. With a front pin it wasn't so bad, leaving a gap wedge into the green. I finally got wise to #8, and hit less than driver off the tee. I wound up in the right rough, but at least I was short of the pond, and was able to get my layup to the 120 yd mark. Good strategy going forward. 'Just one birdie on the day.

[ldchristopher]

Hot, humid and excellent day at Prairie View and Glen Erin. My spin was getting high with my Titleist 917 driver no matter what adjustments I made so I took a flyer on the Mizuno ST190G. I usually scoff at people who say a new driver adds 15-20 yards but that was the case with me today. I was seeing a 2-3 club difference on pretty much every hole at PV. I’m not a big hitter but I almost got there in two on the 6th hole, had a 7 iron into the green on 7, and had a PW in on 9. Short irons into par 4’s makes the game a lot easier. After playing behind a foursome on the front who got to the green and slammed on the brakes, we finally played through them on 12 and didn’t have to stop once for the rest of the round. The greens at PV were excellent and the firm fairways allowed for a lot of roll. Once thing that was crazy was the amount of people wearing long pants at PV. Seriously, some senior is going to get heat stroke wearing black pants on a 95° day. Get a Kohl’s or Ross or something out to Byron. 74.

Glen Erin can be hit or miss on a hot day. There’s very little coverage since most of the course is faux links, and standing around in mid-90’s weather is a recipe for disaster. Luckily, most people were smart enough to avoid playing in mid-90’s heat. Not us. Thankfully, Glen Erin had the water coolers out every 3 holes. We didn’t have to stop until 13 and made a pit stop at the turn to slam Gatorades. I also absolutely hammered the ball and, after a shaky 38 on the front, shot even on the back for another 74. Glen Erin is built on a layer of sand so it always plays really firm and fast and today was no exception. The greens were phenomenal. They were running at a 10.5 and were in pristine shape.

36 holes for $48. Tough to beat that value, especially considering the course quality. Were we the only dummies walking at both? You know it. Also, credit where credit is due. Bear was a beast today while I was the one struggling with the heat. I’ve gone soft with central AC in my condo.

 

[geochitown]

good stuff. Good thing gas is cheap

I need to make it out to Glen Erin

[Edsland]

Found out that the owner of Mistwood Jim McWethy died at age 76, I haven’t played there for a few years, but I knew him from back in the day, super nice guy. He definitely left a super nice layout, I wish the best for his family and friends.

[Shriner]

Sad to hear, too young and wish he could have enjoyed his course for a few more years. You have to appreciate all the money and effort they out into that course.

[geochitown]

That was about 2 weeks back.

Agreed that he contributed a lot to chicago golf with Mistwood and the dome.

I was impressed to see him among the attendees at the one Chicago Golf Heritage Society meeting I attended last year.

I wonder if his son, Scott, is involved in Mistwood at all.?

[DavePelz4]

Did not know about Jim's passing. Talked with one of his GM's this morning and she said he got sick and was gone in less than a week. How sad. Myself and 2 other guys were his guest at Chicago Golf Club a few years ago which was such an amazing treat. He and I also had a few conversations about Mistwood, his pricing philosophy and why he kept buying more and more businesses at his age. Jim said he had a dream to own a golf course for a long time and he lived for the deal. When he bought Mistwood, he never planned for the Performance Center or the restaurant to become such a big revenue stream, he initially wanted to just have a a barn to hit balls in the off season. As much as he liked golf, buying and turning things around was what got him excited every day. Truly a sad day for Chicago golf.

[VNutz]

Surprised to hear that news, very sad. Haven't played Mistwood in a few years, I hope the course and the rest of his enterprises are set up to absorb his passing and continue on without him. My cousin had her wedding reception last winter at an old train station in Joliet, and it just so happened to be one of his business ventures. Very cool venue and a great concept to save what would have otherwise been an empty building and an eyesore.

[DavePelz4]

So they have closed McWethy's in Bolingbrook for the summer, and "hope" to reopen after Labor Day.

Thinking it might be time to investigate buying a golf dome/bar/restaurant.

[TheBear95]

It is worth the drive. A fun course. Always in great shape.

[mci711]

I talked to the head teaching pro who I work with this past winter. He said they had to tear the dome down this summer because it wouldn't last another year. It is strange if you drive by, just a big empty lot. But I think the plan is to get a new upgraded dome and was the plan for awhile. They spent $1000s ($100,000?) on launch monitors last year.

[VNutz]

Wow, that's shocking. They put a ton of money into that place. Assuming it doesn't return that would mean the burbs lost McQs and the White Pines dome this past winter, leaving just Links & Tees in Addison. I know hitting bay places are popping up and becoming more popular, but it's just not the same.

[TheBear95]

Buffalo Grove Park District has a dome too. On Rt. 83 between Buffalo Grove Road and Deerfield Parkway. Pretty nice as well.

However, to your point, the era of the golf dome might be ending. Not only do you have dedicated places with hitting bays, but courses themselves have been adding them to generate some winter revenue.

[DavePelz4]

Just got more scoops from Nikki the GM. Jim's son Todd and daughter Gretchen have been involved in the business for a couple of years behind the scenes and now they're taking full control of the entire operation. They've ordered a new dome which will be completed by Labor Day and they're going forward with everything and there are no plans to sell. Damm. They expect to be fully open and functional in fall/winter as they were last year with a better dome.

I'm just glad to know we don't have to find a new place to drink!

[VNutz]

I don't disagree. The open space and expenses domes require might be too much to ask going forward. That said, I still much prefer domes over simulators or hitting bays, those have come a long way but they're just not the same to me. I could go to a dome in the winter and hit balls for an hour or so without losing interest, in the bays I can't do much more than 15 minutes, there's just something to seeing ball flight that matters more to me. That and you don't have to share the bay like you do in the new "experience" golf phenomenon. At least some courses have covered and heated ranges, but in the dead of winter here that's not all that inviting either.

[ldchristopher]

There’s a dome at Green Garden as well. It’s pretty low-end compared to Buffalo Grove and others but it’s fairly spacious and offers about 80-90 yards of hitting space. The weird part is, they keep it inflated year round. The others all deflate in the summer.

[mauiman]

My old man golf buddies played at P View on Monday. They always wear pants no matter what lol.

[mci711]

Walked Ruffled Feathers today. Tee'd off at 1130 and was finished by 2. I didn't run into a single other group. I know RF gets some hate, but it is in great shape right now and for $50 is a steal. Greens were in the best shape I have ever seen there, fairway and tee boxes very good too. Not being hyperbolic, but in this shape with an empty course idk if there are 10 courses in the area I'd rather play. I also have a little bias. It is where I always played when I moved here 6 years ago and the first place I broke par.

Hot as hell today. The walk from 16 to 17 about did me in, walking on that hot street/pavement was tough.. I struggled quite a bit with my hands slipping because of sweat. I may need to switch my grips to some that are more tacky. maybe go back to the golfpride MCC, they have those new team color grips, grips with St Louis Blues colors would look nice, maybe cardinals red . . What do you guys do to combat slipping? Other than rain gloves. I've been on a life long quest to fix it.

[TheBear95]

For me, the rain glove is the only surefire fix. Cord grips and MCCs are ok, but some days it still doesn't matter. Like yesterday, my regular glove was completely soaked by the 14th hole during our morning round at PrairieView. Even the corded section of the MCC ain't saving me in these current conditions.

But, those new team color MCCs look awesome.

[mci711]

My Glove hand is usually ok. I switch gloves each hole between 3 gloves. Nice little system, dry for 2 holes then get used, then dry etc. Ive seen a few things like dry hands i think is a powder and grip boost that is a spray but haven't had any experience with them.

I may give this a try, but not positive it will help with sweat. https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Gripping-Solution-All-Sport-Topical/dp/B00476MDU8/ref=asc_df_B00476MDU8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312075874728&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13141552341195914380&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021664&hvtargid=pla-552412764931&psc=1

[ldchristopher]

The combination of a rain glove and either GP Z Cord or Lamkin Players Cord grips keeps the club from slipping at all for me. Tour Velvet and Tour Wrap grips feel like I might as well be swinging a club with a grip that was covered in vaseline.

[Argonne69]

I have (newer) MCC Plus4's, and they don't really help. I've played with rain gloves for the past week.

I've never had an issue with the design of Ruffled Feathers for the most part. 'Not a huge fan of the 16th, as it really feels like it was jammed in. They already have the short par 12th and 14th, so no desire for another hole than needs less than driver. Otherwise it's a fun course. My beef has always been with the miserable pace of play, and the poor conditions when they were charging over $75 a round.

 

[reperna]

hey guys, yesterday i played a couple cool golf courses that im sure youre all familiar with. We played dubsdread and mistwood. I wanted to play dubs because of the public course ranking. I had heard mixed reviews on it, but personally I thought it was pretty amazing. We did play it on a tuesday morning, but the pace of play was awesome! No one in front, no on behind. Perfect golf pace. The conditions were supreme from the tee boxes (big fan of square tee boxes) to the greens. The greens were great and were perfect speed. Rolled really well. The place gets in your head though! Even mediocre shots are repelled into a trap and almost always short sided. The sand was my only gripe. It was a bit firm, and would make the club bounce sometime, especially green side. I made anywhere from a eagle to a triple, and very easy to get on the bogey train! Shot 85 after catching the "s" word on a few holes on the back because I put up a nice front. I have never been on the grounds here. Pretty crazy how much property they have, and I hardly saw any of it. from what ive read, the other 3 arent worth it? I would probably give them a shot in the future.

We teed off at mistwood at 2:30. Showed up around 2:20 so we couldnt really use any of the practice facilities which looked pretty awesome! We dont have anything like that at a public course in michigan. We played some pretty short tee's since it was our second 18 and HOT! So we only played it at about 6000. Cool course! More water than I thought there would be for kind of a links style course. Lots of blind shots off the tee so the gps was very helpful for a first timer. You could tell it gets a decent amount of play by the amount of ball marks not fixed on the greens. Overall fun course! I'm not sure if I love or hate number 15, will have to play it again. That was like a video game hole. Shot 75 With a double on 15. The clubhouse seemed pretty badass for a public track. We had a cocktail up on the outdoor deck that was pretty nice, could hang out there for awhile.

 

Overall, super awesome day of golf and a great combo of courses. Appreciate the recommendations! Im sure I'll be back as a few good friends live around the area.