Arg's Travel Log

[TBone0576]

Good luck at Verdict Ridge.   My mom plays there semi-regularly and I took it on last year for the first time.  I didn't care for it much.   A lot of very steep side hills keep the ball funneled near the fairways.   I didn't always know where I was going.  Was actually thankful to have a cart on this one as it was not one I'd care to walk.   I did think it was in relatively good shape overall. 

[vernon]

16 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

OK, I'm going to have to give the Carolina Mustard and vinegar BBQ sauces a chance in the next few weeks. 

 

 

OH MY GOD!!!

 

MY EYES, MY EYES!!!

[vallygolf]

13 minutes ago, vernon said:

OH MY GOD!!!

 

MY EYES, MY EYES!!!

As an Arizona native, let me thank you all for your sauce wars.  We in neutral territory love them all, and benefit from your competition.

[Argonne69]

Cool, damp, and cloudy this morning. The partly sunny skies that were forecast didn't materialize until I was putting my clubs away. Grrr. Rocky River GC today. This parkland layout sits on a fairly nice piece of rolling terrain. Not super hilly, but enough to make it somewhat interesting. Water on a couple of holes, but plenty of marsh areas with forced carries. The front has a few prairie style holes, and is more open. The back is a little tighter, but there's still plenty of room off the tee. Bunkering was light. Not much left/right movement with only a couple of slight sweepers. 

 

Other than the forced carries it was fairly generous off the tee. The rough was wide with the trees pushed back, so minor misses weren't cause for concern. Approaches were tougher. Soft conditions, some fairly small greens, and a handful of deep bunkers kept one focused. Up and downs were tricky. Tough Bermuda rough and some speedy, undulating greens put up a fight. Putting was fairly challenging. Definitely more break than met the eye. 

 

The three Par 3s were meh. The 15th was halfway decent with a forced carry over a marsh. The three par 5s were also meh. None reachable, and little trouble off the tee or in the layup area. The two short 4s were mixed. The 14th was decent, a dogleg right that could possibly be driven by a longer hitter by cutting the corner over the trees. 

 

Conditions were sloppy. CPO for the riders. Plenty of areas where the dormant Bermuda was barely there. Rough wasn't bad for the most part. Bunkers were actually quite nice, as the crew was out early. Greens were excellent. Fairly smooth and running at least 10. Nice to see on an inexpensive muni. 

 

Played a Green/White combo at 6235 yds (69.9/132). Another good day off the tee with 13 fairways, but the ball was getting little rollout. Only 9 greens with the long approaches. One birdie and seven bogies. 

 

RR gets a solid 5 cows. Decent muni that doesn't break the bank at $40 walking. I enjoyed the terrain, but the layout needs a few changes, including a risk/reward 5, and a tougher par 3. Good course for a local round. 

 

[Argonne69]

Rocky River GC, Concord, NC 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zju3iwau2l5ale9/AAAkcUhnHcSiE37OKxo_ggkLa?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Who needs sunshine when you can have a fruited tripel? Lol. Enjoying a very tasty Ommegang Brewing Triple Fruited (Peach, Mango, and Orange) Tripel at Flying Saucer Draught Emporium. Choices for a second are a Victory Golden Monkey or a Delirium Tremens. Hmmm. Tough life. 

 

 

[TBone0576]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Cool, damp, and cloudy this morning. The partly sunny skies that were forecast didn't materialize until I was putting my clubs away. Grrr. Rocky River GC today. This parkland layout sits on a fairly nice piece of rolling terrain. Not super hilly, but enough to make it somewhat interesting. Water on a couple of holes, but plenty of marsh areas with forced carries. The front has a few prairie style holes, and is more open. The back is a little tighter, but there's still plenty of room off the tee. Bunkering was light. Not much left/right movement with only a couple of slight sweepers. 

 

Other than the forced carries it was fairly generous off the tee. The rough was wide with the trees pushed back, so minor misses weren't cause for concern. Approaches were tougher. Soft conditions, some fairly small greens, and a handful of deep bunkers kept one focused. Up and downs were tricky. Tough Bermuda rough and some speedy, undulating greens put up a fight. Putting was fairly challenging. Definitely more break than met the eye. 

 

The three Par 3s were meh. The 15th was halfway decent with a forced carry over a marsh. The three par 5s were also meh. None reachable, and little trouble off the tee or in the layup area. The two short 4s were mixed. The 14th was decent, a dogleg right that could possibly be driven by a longer hitter by cutting the corner over the trees. 

 

Conditions were sloppy. CPO for the riders. Plenty of areas where the dormant Bermuda was barely there. Rough wasn't bad for the most part. Bunkers were actually quite nice, as the crew was out early. Greens were excellent. Fairly smooth and running at least 10. Nice to see on an inexpensive muni. 

 

Played a Green/White combo at 6235 yds (69.9/132). Another good day off the tee with 13 fairways, but the ball was getting little rollout. Only 9 greens with the long approaches. One birdie and seven bogies. 

 

RR gets a solid 5 cows. Decent muni that doesn't break the bank at $40 walking. I enjoyed the terrain, but the layout needs a few changes, including a risk/reward 5, and a tougher par 3. Good course for a local round. 

 

May need to check this one out when down in that area this May visiting my mom.  Interesting. 

[Argonne69]

15 minutes ago, TBone0576 said:

May need to check this one out when down in that area this May visiting my mom.  Interesting. 

 

Definitely worth a visit. If I was a local, it would be in my regular rotation. Obviously I've gotten picky playing so many top rated courses, so it's not going to stack up against them. However, for a local muni it's a fun track. 

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Morning lows will be in the low 30s tomorrow. Going to be a chilly round. Verdict Ridge is mandatory cart, so I'm going to freeze my behind off. 

 

Got a bit of good news today. I called Southern Dunes, and they were able to add me to a threesome on Friday morning. It's the first group out, so if there's a frost delay (currently expected), I'll still be finished in time for noon brisket. Lol. 

 

Hopefully the cold weather scares away a couple of players at Pinehurst on Thursday. 

 

[stevopagolf]

20 hours ago, mci711 said:

I like all BBQ, just like I like all Pizza.. But, the carolina's bbq is far inferior to Texas/Memphis/Missouri bbq. Still good, just not as good. 

Pizza if not on the East Coast isn't worth the calories!  Once below Philadelphia the quality goes downhill fast!

[Argonne69]

12 minutes ago, stevopagolf said:

Pizza if not on the East Coast isn't worth the calories!  Once below Philadelphia the quality goes downhill fast!

 

Lol. Bah. Best pizza is in Chicago. Tavern style thin crust cut in squares, deep dish (Lou Malnati's or Pizzaria Uno), or stuffed (Edwardo's). 

 

Do like a good Detroit style with the caramelized crust, or a tasty New Haven style. 

 

New York style is OK if you're walking on a Jersey boardwalk and you've had too many beers. 

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Argonne69

[stevopagolf]

6 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Lol. Bah. Best pizza is in Chicago. Tavern style thin crust cut in squares, deep dish (Lou Malnati's or Pizzaria Uno), or stuffed (Edwardo's). 

 

Do like a good Detroit style with the caramelized crust, or a tasty New Haven style. 

 

New York style is OK if you're walking on a Jersey boardwalk and you've had too many beers. 

 

I do like Chicago pizza deep dish once in awhile.  Buddy's in Michigan is good on occasion.  New Haven Style is my favorite.

 

I can see Arg you are a defender of your great city.  Don't get me started on cheesesteaks outside of Philadelphia!

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, stevopagolf said:

I do like Chicago pizza deep dish once in awhile.  Buddy's in Michigan is good on occasion.  New Haven Style is my favorite.

 

I can see Arg you are a defender of your great city.  Don't get me started on cheesesteaks outside of Philadelphia!

 

I haven't had a decent cheesesteak outside of Philly, so I wouldn't take that on. 

 

[mci711]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Lol. Bah. Best pizza is in Chicago. Tavern style thin crust cut in squares, deep dish (Lou Malnati's or Pizzaria Uno), or stuffed (Edwardo's). 

 

Do like a good Detroit style with the caramelized crust, or a tasty New Haven style. 

 

New York style is OK if you're walking on a Jersey boardwalk and you've had too many beers. 

 

 

Tavern style pizza in Chicago is the worst. Places like Arielios are a disgrace to pizza. This is my hot take of the day. Tavern style pizza is the worst pizza and Chicago doesn't have a single good NY style (Little Pops in Naperville is decent). Tavern doesn't know if it is thick or thing, basically cafeteria pizza.. Do love Lou's though. 

Edited March 13, 2023 by mci711

[Lobby]

I don’t understand these pizza / bbq wars. 
 

I haven’t met a bbq sandwich I didn’t like. 
 

🙂

[Argonne69]

Lovely morning. 29 degrees and an hour frost delay. Hopefully it doesn't last longer than that. I'll be in the first group out, so it should be somewhat quick, although it's mandatory carts and cart path only. Pfffttt. 

 

[TBone0576]

55 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Lovely morning. 29 degrees and an hour frost delay. Hopefully it doesn't last longer than that. I'll be in the first group out, so it should be somewhat quick, although it's mandatory carts and cart path only. Pfffttt. 

 

Good luck.  I was trying to remember my round from last year.  Quite a few elevation changes, some reachable par 5s.   Again I didn't like the side boards on a handful of holes but I understand why they did it.  Not knowing what to hit off the tee or exactly where to go hurt me.    Looks like I carded an 81 from the tips and shot a 74 the next day at Birkdale Golf Club. 

[vallygolf]

14 hours ago, mci711 said:

 

Tavern style pizza in Chicago is the worst. Places like Arielios are a disgrace to pizza. This is my hot take of the day. Tavern style pizza is the worst pizza and Chicago doesn't have a single good NY style (Little Pops in Naperville is decent). Tavern doesn't know if it is thick or thing, basically cafeteria pizza.. Do love Lou's though. 

As an Arizona native, let me thank you all for your sauce Pizza wars.  We in neutral territory love them all, and benefit from your competition.

[TBone0576]

From a northern IL burbs/SE Wisconsin guy, the tavern style pizza with a crispy crust is the way to go, at least at my local place.   Not a huge fan of the deep or stuffed but can be ok occasionally if someone really is craving it.  If I want a doughy pizza I'll go double dough or pan style.  

[sunbeltgolfer]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Lovely morning. 29 degrees and an hour frost delay. Hopefully it doesn't last longer than that. I'll be in the first group out, so it should be somewhat quick, although it's mandatory carts and cart path only. Pfffttt. 

 

I'm in the mountains just a few hours away. Our high today won't reach 29* and it is snowing heavily, wind gusts to 45mph, and wind chill values as low as -5*. Your weather is looking pretty sweet. Hope you enjoy the round.

[Argonne69]

I guess that wasn't too bad weatherwise. The winter golf gloves came off after 5 holes, but on the back the winds picked up. It felt colder at the finish than it did early in the round. 42 degrees on the final hole. 

 

Verdict Ridge today. It's a better than average housing development course. The stately homes either sit behind the trees, or high above the fairways. There are a handful of holes with no homes. Nice elevation changes, including a few elevated tees and greens. Plenty of side slopes to mess with your drives. In most cases the slopes are on both sides, so slight misses will feed back to the short grass. However, there are a couple of holes where the ball will roll into trouble if you don't work the ball into the slope. Bunkering was fairly light. Water on a couple of holes, but plenty of forced carries and cross cutting creeks. Most of the lateral edges are red stakes or OB. Not a lot of left/right movement, so things start playing the same. That's not to say that there aren't a number of unique holes. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee. The fairways were fairly wide, but there's not a ton of rough, and the slopes are a factor. However, the side slopes can also kick a ball back into play. Approaches were somewhat challenging. Greens had decent protection, were small in size, and a few were elevated with fairly steep sides. Up and downs from the dormant Bermuda was tricky. Decent mounding around the greens produced some funky lies. Putting was fairly straightforward. Decent contouring, but no real knee knockers. 

 

Three of the four par 3s were very good with plenty of trouble. The 13th was meh. 5s were very good. A couple were reachable, but only one had risk. Short 4s were good. Decent amount of trouble and small greens. The 9th had a sloping fairway, and a small pond left of the green. 

 

Conditions were decent. Not quite sure why it was cart path only. The dormant Bermuda was a little thin in spots. Rough was a good height. Bunkers were sandy and recently groomed. Greens were disappointing, though. Way too many unrepaired ball marks, and only rolling 9. Probably haven't been cut in days. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6338 yds (71.8/144). The slope is a joke. It's tough, but not that tough. Solid round off the tee, but with temps in the 30s, the rock wasn't flying far. Took advantage of the short 5s. Two birdies, four bogies, and a double. 

 

I'll give VR 6 cows. Should take off one cow for the ridiculous no walking policy (again). There's probably 1000 yds of additional hike between a few holes. OK, so instead of walking it in 2:50, it's 3 hours. Bah. Not an easy walk, but certainly walkable. 'Very nice looking course, even with the homes. Could use more risk/reward, and a few sweepers, but the terrain pretty much dictates straight ahead golf. $48 w/ cart was a bargain any way you cut it. Definitely worth a visit. 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Verdict Ridge Golf Club, Denver, NC 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wrfvkivjzurmlyq/AAAwkC04PjAk1KjxRaHJEin_a?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Nice drive to downtown Charlotte. Passed the Bank of America Stadium on my way to Craft Tasting Room and Growler Shop. 35 taps with most of them local brews. A few too many sours and IPAs, but the Oozlefinch Ox Cart imperial porter is very good. Solid pour for a cold day. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Lol. I think I died, because I must be in heaven. Stumbled across Charlotte Beer Garden. They claim to have the world's largest draft beer selection. I can't argue with that. Appears to be at least 300 taps. There are so many that the international pours are at a second bar on the 2nd floor. Sampling a Raleigh Brewing Company Hell Yes Ma'am Belgian Golden Strong Ale, and a Sugar Creek Brewing Space Walker Belgian Golden Strong Ale. They have eight imperial stouts. Oh my. 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by Argonne69

[mci711]

30 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Lol. I think I died, because I must be in heaven. Stumbled across Charlotte Beer Garden. They claim to have the world's largest draft beer selection. I can't argue with that. Appears to be at least 200 taps. There are so many that the international pours are at a second bar on the 2nd floor. Sampling a Raleigh Brewing Company Hell Yes Ma'am Belgian Golden Strong Ale, and a Sugar Creek Brewing Space Walker Belgian Golden Strong Ale. They have eight imperial stouts. Oh my. 

 

 

 

This may be a dumb question, how does a place like this not end up with a bunch of lost beer? Like there have to be quite a few that don't get ordered all that often. Does it stay good? I'm not very well versed in the fancy beer game lol 

[Argonne69]

3 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

This may be a dumb question, how does a place like this not end up with a bunch of lost beer? Like there have to be quite a few that don't get ordered all that often. Does it stay good? I'm not very well versed in the fancy beer game lol 

 

I have to assume the distributor ensures that the kegs don't stay tapped too long. Not too good for business if a customer gets a less than fresh pour, even if it means swapping a half empty keg. 

 

[tw422]

7 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

This may be a dumb question, how does a place like this not end up with a bunch of lost beer? Like there have to be quite a few that don't get ordered all that often. Does it stay good? I'm not very well versed in the fancy beer game lol 

they also are probably only tapping 1/4 and 1/6 barrels not full kegs for most of these.  The way they are priced they are most likely covering their cost for the keg within a handful of pours.  

[Argonne69]

Time for some Q. I have in front of me some Carolina Mustard sauce, Carolina vinegar, habenero red, and a sweet brown sugar sauce. With pulled pork, brisket, a half slab of ribs, and a jalepeno hot link coming up, I should have a nice sampling. 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

OMG. That's was some seriously good barbeque. Midwood Smokehouse in Charlotte. $33 for a four meat platter, but I'm taking home dinner for tomorrow. The ribs were excellent. Extremely meaty. You don't find many platters that give you a half slab. Usually it's 2 or 3 bones. Brisket was very good. Nice and fatty. Pulled pork was moist. Jalepeno cheese hot link was very juicy. Beans and Brunswick Stew were both very tasty. 

 

The mustard sauce was interesting. Best served on the pulled pork, as it overpowered everything else. The vinegar sauce was meh. Just didn't add much to anything. The habenero sauce was the best. Nice kick without overpowering. Midwood is definitely worth a visit. 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by Argonne69

[graveydellic]

Midwood Smokehouse is wonderful, I ate it far too often when I lived within walking distance for a year out of college.  

 

Hope you can make a stop at Fonta Flora for a couple BA stouts if you have the time.  Charlotte is a great beer city.