Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

5 minutes ago, Mullenboy said:

Sorry, haven't been following this daily, really should... my loss.

 

Did you get to Northern California?  if not, will you?  Love to host you at my home club if you get up here.

 

My son lives in San Diego... you are feeling his pain.  Very tough to get tee times... and very rainy lately.  Good luck!

 

 

Haven't been to NoCal on this trip yet. I'll be in the area next fall as I head down the west coast from British Columbia. 

 

[Argonne69]

I called a half dozen courses, and all but one are closed due to flooding. The Willow Glen course at Singing Hills is open for walking, so I'll probably head out there once the rain passes. Can't imagine that it'll be in good shape, but don't feel like sitting around for a second day in a row. 

 

Balboa Park won't answer the phone, and while their website shows plenty of openings, I think I'll stick to my original tee time on Thursday morning. Hopefully it won't be a mess. 

 

[Mullenboy]

Good  luck in SD.  So tough to get a tee time anywhere.  But the rain may well help with that!  Keeps the fair weather golfers away.

 

And I shall watch this space for when you get to NorCal.  🙂

[Argonne69]

Amazing. Is that sunshine? Could have sworn I saw Noah lining up the animals 2x2. Made the trek out to Singing Hills Resort to walk the Willow Glen course. Very enjoyable round with just a handful of walkers out there. The course was in much better shape than I expected. Obviously wet, but very playable. Similar to the Oak Glen course it's laid out in a shallow valley with hills on all sides. Thought it was a better looking course with a few more mature trees, and a bit more left/right movement. Fairly flat, but there are two elevated tees on the side of the hills. Bunkering was once again light. Water in play on 6 holes, including two par 3s that cross a deep (swollen) drainage canal. 

 

Fairly easy off the tee with light bunkering and moderately wide fairways. Minor misses would catch the generous rough. Big misses might find an adjacent fairway, or OB. Approaches were also straightforward. Greens seemed a bit larger than the sister course, and bunkering was modest. Greens weren't overly exciting, so putting was fairly easy. Up and downs could be tricky due to some iffy lies around the greens. 

 

Par 3s were OK. The 6th and 9th played back and forth across the ditch, and were nearly identical in length. The 18th was mediocre for a finishing hole. The 12th was the best of the bunch with a forced carry over a pond and a nice 3 tier green. The waterfall right was a nice touch. Lol. 5s were lame. Nothing reachable and fairly tame. The 8th was halfway decent with a pond pinching the layup area. The two short 4s were mixed. The 4th was decent with a pond in front of the green, and an angled fairway that tempted you to bite off just a little bit more. 

 

As noted, conditions weren't bad after a record rainfall. A large temporary lake was being pumped out on the 2nd, but it wasn't really in play. Low areas were obviously soft, but otherwise the fairways were nice. Rough was a good height. Shocked to see freshly groomed front greenside bunkers on most holes. The back greenside bunkers were ungroomed. Greens were quite soft, but rolling nicely. Speed was 9 at best. 

 

Played a Blue/White combo at 6425 yds (71.2/125). Should have played White, as my low running draw was barely jogging. Lol. One birdie and seven bogies. Highlight was a nice 12 footer for birdie on the short par 4 4th. The 15' par putt on the 3rd was also nice. 

 

While the course is better than its sister course, it's still only 4 cows. Let's call it a high four. Nice looking, but it's not going to get your blood pumping. Needs more danger off the tee, and a couple of gettable par 5s. No complaints about the $60 walking rate, especially when most courses in the area are closed. Definitely not a must play, but if you're looking for a local round it's worth consideration. 

 

[Argonne69]

Singing Hills Golf Resort at Sycuan, Willow Glen Course, El Cajon, CA 

 

 

Nice view from the tee on the short par 4 4th 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/e25wy2t8udshoyu7nc3oz/h?rlkey=t0jq43t262l8q0adk83nqw4a3&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

If you can't snag a good barrel aged imperial stout, then a good barrel aged imperial porter isn't a bad alternative. Ballast Point Brewing today. Their Victory at Sea barrel aged imperial porter is very nice. The Little Italy location near the airport has 30+ taps with a decent selection. 

 

 

[Lobby]

When you play a “blue/white combo,” how do you calculate rating and slope?

 

I can’t be the only one who doesn’t know this…

 

🙂

[ThinkingPlus]

11 minutes ago, Lobby said:

When you play a “blue/white combo,” how do you calculate rating and slope?

 

I can’t be the only one who doesn’t know this…

 

🙂

Many courses these days have combo tees rated.

[unskinnybop99]

When you guys say "good luck getting tee times in San Diego" is that because of the rain or the courses are super busy?

[Dancin]

37 minutes ago, Lobby said:

When you play a “blue/white combo,” how do you calculate rating and slope?

 

I can’t be the only one who doesn’t know this…

 

🙂

The combo tees are rated separately and in ghin if a course offers that as an option.

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, unskinnybop99 said:

When you guys say "good luck getting tee times in San Diego" is that because of the rain or the courses are super busy?

 

Both. Tee times are generally hard to come by, but with courses closed due to flooding there will be pent up demand. 

 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, Lobby said:

When you play a “blue/white combo,” how do you calculate rating and slope?

 

I can’t be the only one who doesn’t know this…

 

🙂

 

When I use the phrase "the X/Y combo", I'm using the course's rating and slope for the combination tees. It's typically listed on the scorecard. 

 

When I use the phrase 'a X/Y combo", I'm calculating the adjusted rating and slope using the table in Appendix G, Section f of the USGA Handicap manual. 

 

[Argonne69]

Gloomy day, but at least it didn't rain. Should have been a fun day, but mandatory carts and cart path only make for a less than fun round. The CPO restriction was lifted at the turn, so at least I had that going for me. Which was nice. Lol. 

 

Mt Woodson today. What a quirky course. The par 70 parkland layout is only 5764 yds from the tips. Short, but still difficult with narrow fairways that often kicked balls into trouble, and plenty of nice elevation changes. Fairway bunkering was light, but still plenty of opportunities to get into trouble. Greenside was a little better. Water in play on just 5 holes. Not a lot of left/right movement. 

 

Tough off the tee with narrow fairways and just not a lot of room for error. That said, I think I hit driver on barely half the holes, so if you're decent with a fairway wood or hybrid off the tee you'll be fine. Minor misses were a coin flip, as the rough was barely there on many holes. Big misses were goners in the thick junk. Approaches were also tough. Greens were on the small side, and/or odd shapes with decent bunkering. Many were elevated. Greens were nicely contoured. No real knee knockers, but they required some thought. Several had multiple tiers. Up and downs were tricky, primarily because the turf was in bad shape. Funky lies galore. 

 

The five par 3s were pretty good. Nice mix of lengths ranging from gap wedge to a fairway wood. Plenty of danger, too. The 3rd was all carry over a canyon, and the 6th had water left. The three par 5s were disappointing. Nothing reachable and little danger. The plethora of short 4s were very good. Nothing overly dangerous, but one still had to have a plan. 

 

Conditions were very iffy. The rain had the course playing very soft. Fairways had their share of bare spots. Rough was very hit or miss. Bunkers were washed out with standing water. Greens were bumpy, but at least the speed was near 10. The 10th's teeboxes were temporarily closed for reseeding, and the temp tees were placed 125 yds out from the green. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 5764 yds (68.9/131). I discovered the way to lower scores is to play a short course where the driver stays in the bag most of the day. Lol. Two birdies and six bogies. Highlight of the day was knocking a hybrid to 6 feet on the long par 3 9th to set up the first birdie. My two playing partners were a godsend, keeping me laughing and (mostly) taking my mind off the fact that I was riding around in a cart and waiting on every single shot. 

 

Going to be generous and go with 6 cows. If you can overlook the mediocre conditioning, it's a decent layout with some nice scenery and few cookie cutter holes. Could use a good risk/reward 5, and a driveable par 4. If you're going to have a bunch of short 4s, might as well temp you on a couple. Can't say it's a must play, but it was certainly entertaining. 

 

[Argonne69]

Mt Woodson GC, Ramona, CA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/jn7pb6s55u4e2vz6kf2r5/h?rlkey=8p6kav9w61x8lv392la65dvj2&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Ooh, that was worth the wait. Stuck in traffic for much too long. TapRoom Beer Company has 26 taps with a nice mix of in house brews and guest taps. The Barrel Aged Monastic Disorder barrel aged quad is heavenly. Notes of dark cherry, plum burnt sugar, and rum soaked raisins, and aged in Old Fitzgerald barrels. $14 for a 10 ounce pour is definitely on the pricey side, but worth every cent. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Oy. Looks like I'm going to be taking a few days off next week in Oceanside. Tried booking rounds early next week, and it's a big nada. Forget morning rounds. Tee times anytime during the day are slim. I'll keep trying, but my worst fears appear to be coming to fruition. 

 

[Argonne69]

Day keeps getting better. Didn't expect much in the way of BBQ in SoCal, but Smokin J's was fabulous. Fatty brisket and ribs were both excellent. I wanted to try their hot link, but the 3x2 combo only came with pulled pork. Very tasty, but I would have preferred the link. The mac and cheese was very good. Baked beans were excellent. The sole sauce was sweet and tangy. I would have liked to see a couple of other options, but this one was a winner. Definitely a home run here, and worth a visit. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Getting ready to tee off at Balboa Park. Nice looking layout. Very soft from the rain, but they lifted the CPO restriction today, so it's drying out. Edit: looks like it's still CPO. Going to be a slow round. 

 

I called Coronado and was able to snag a tee time on Saturday morning. The course is still closed after the flooding, so no idea what shape it'll be in. 

 

 

Edited January 25 by Argonne69

[vernon]

18 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Mt Woodson GC, Ramona, CA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/jn7pb6s55u4e2vz6kf2r5/h?rlkey=8p6kav9w61x8lv392la65dvj2&dl=0

 

Those photos almost look like something out of the Gary Patterson collection!

[slocalifglfr]

Are you headed up to San Luis area? 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, slocalifglfr said:

Are you headed up to San Luis area? 

 

Yeah, early March. 

 

[Argonne69]

Pleasantly surprised by the pace. Seems most of the early morning players were walkers, and the handful of riders were moving quickly. Weather was a bit dreary with cloudy skies and high humidity. Balboa Park GC today. Not what I was expecting, in a good way. Somehow I managed to picture a flat, old school, parkland layout. Wrong. The course plays in and out of a low valley/canyon, so plenty of opportunities for elevated tees and/or greens. Most of the holes are fairly flat, but the ones playing down or up the ridges really give the course character. Decent views of downtown. Could use without the planes heading into the airport flying overhead every two minutes. The opening five holes play down in the canyon, and the rains really did a number on them. The fairways are littered with rocks and tree limbs, and were very muddy. The remainder of the course was wet, but playable. Not much left/right movement. Four slight sweepers. Fairway bunkering was very light. Greenside was a tad better. No water in play, but there are a couple of forced carries over ravines, and several holes have PAs along the edges with steep dropoffs. 

 

Fairly easy off the tee with the light bunkering. The tough par 5 16th was the outlier with the canyon left, OB right, and a large bunker on the inside of the corner. Minor misses were only an issue because the turf conditions were pretty scruffy. Big misses wouid generally be lost in the junk, but there were a few holes where they might find an adjacent fairway. Approaches were moderately difficult because of the elevation changes. Greens were moderate in size, maybe on the small side, and lightly bunkered, but many played up or downhill. Greens didn't have much contouring, but wow, did they have slope. Most of it couldn't be seen. Putts that looked like a few cups outside broke 2 to 3 feet. Throw in the speedy greens and putting took a delicate touch. Up and downs were very tough with some nasty lies around the greens. 

 

Par 3s were fun, and had a good mix of lengths. The long 6th was tough with a forced carry over a ravine. The 13th was a short iron, but downhill and over the ravine. The 17th was a good 2 club drop, but little danger. Par 5s were a bit disappointing. Only the 7th was reachable, but not much danger. The pair on the back were good holes with trouble left and right, but not much danger near the greens. The short 4s were OK. No real danger off the tee, but tough green complexes. 

 

Ignoring the recent flooding, conditions were scruffy. Probably what you'd expect from an inexpensive muni. Fairways had some iffy areas. Rough was a combination of 27 varieties of grass, ranging from dirt to thick clover. However, greens were excellent, and definitely the highlight of the course. Even wet, the things were rolling a good 11. Downhill putts required a very gentle touch. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6347 yds (71.5/126). Ugh. Soft, wet conditions do not favor a low ball hitter struggling with a case of the lefts. Seven bogies and a double. Highlight of the round was a handful of very nice high pitches that set up pars after coming up short of the greens more times than not. Had several nice looks at birdie, but between the slope and the speed, couldn't get too aggressive. 

 

Tough call here, but I'm leaning more 6 cows than five. Nice looking muni that obviously cuts corners on the grooming, but still delivers a solid test. Obviously needs a good risk/reward par 5, and more trouble off the tee on the short 4s, but that's not a major detraction. $51 walking was a steal. Harding Park is over 3 times more expensive, and less than half the fun. Definitely worth a visit. I can certainly see why the locals eat this up. 

 

Edited January 26 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Balboa Park GC, San Diego, CA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/tjd8i6abaveb8sca2t9r6/h?rlkey=17tymkginjrq4puk0wi78vs3o&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Half Door Brewing Company in the Gaslamp Quarter. Small br with 20 taps, but hey, a tasty Belgian Tripel and a barrel aged imperial stout? I'm good. 

 

 

[Mullenboy]

Glad you got to play Balboa Park... it's pretty interesting I think.  They have a 9 hole there that's worth playing also.  Very glad you got a time at Coronado... that's tough to get.  That's a very fun course also.

 

These are my son's home courses.  🙂

[Argonne69]

Looks like I got lucky again next week. I was able to grab a tee time at San Clemente on Monday morning, and Goat Hill on Tuesday morning. Been looking for several days, but nada. Definitely hard to come by. 

 

[Argonne69]

I've been on the road for over 2 years, and have probably stayed in 250 RV parks. Did something today that I haven't done yet, used the pool and hot tub at a park. The facilities here are just too nice to skip. Unfortunately the sunset was less than interesting. 

 

 

 

 

If RVing isn't your cup of tea, the RV park has several dozen tiny homes/cabins that can be rented. They look pretty nice. 

 

 

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Arg,

 

I bet you could make a nice income selling chainsaws to some of these courses. I am amazed at how tight many of these courses are.

[golfortennis]

Am I going to have to be the one to thank Arg for not posting a pic of himself shirtless in the pool?  Think of it as on behalf of the rest of the forum....

[Argonne69]

Very enjoyable morning. It was nice to actually play in sunshine. Lol. Steele Canyon GC today. The Gary Player designed course had three nines: Canyon, Ranch, and Vineyard. I played Canyon to Vineyard. Sounds like Canyon was the more interesting nine according to my playing partner. The course is very close to Singing Hills, but couldn't have been more different. Instead of playing in a valley, the Ranch nine played up and down out of a valley with a handful of dramatic elevation changes. Very view homes. The Vineyard nine was much less interesting. After the opening tee shot from the elevated tees, it was fairly flat and routed through a housing development. A few nice looking holes, but most were fairly benign. Bunkering was very light. Water on just four holes, but there were several dry washes that were definitely in play. Only two sweepers on the two nines. Other than the elevated tees, the holes were fairly flat with light mounding. 

 

Fairly straightforward off the tee with light bunkering and fairly generous fairways. A couple of short forced carries weren't really a bother. Rough was fairly wide, so minor misses were playable. Big misses were goners. Lost in the junk on Ranch, and in a backyard on Vineyard. Approaches were a little tougher. Greens were on the small side, and while greenside bunkering was light, there just wasn't much room to miss on many holes. Greens were fairly benign, so putting was rather stress free. Up and downs were tricky due to the cornucopia of turf conditions around the greens ranging from tight lies to thick, dormant rough. 

 

Par 3s were tough, but lacked variety in length, with the shortest at 168 yds. The three par 5s were good. Ranch #5 had a split fairway with a nice risk/reward opportunity off the tee with a forced carry right leaving a shorter approach. Plenty of trouble near the green. Ranch #9 could be reached in two with two greenside bunkers waiting near the small green, and not a lotta room to miss. Laying up was no picnic with two ponds pinching the fairway. Vineyard #6 had plenty of trouble short of the green with a ravine, but it really wasn't a reachable green. Short 4s were in short supply. Meh. 

 

Conditions were playable, but rather mediocre considering the price. Fairways were soft and muddy from the rains early this week. Still plenty of debris. They haven't been cut in a week, so turf height ranged from tight to, let's say, fluffy. Didn't really matter though, as we played preferred lies. Rough was iffy. Bunkers were washed out messes. Greens were comical. The sign near the clubhouse said they were running 11. Yeah, right, and I'm the ruler of the universe. More like 9 and bumpy. 

 

Played a Blue/White combo at 6340 yds on the par 71 layout (71.5/133). Typical round with a few mediocre tee shots offset by a few nice up and downs. One birdie and seven bogies. Highlight of the day was by far my playing partner. She took up the game just three years ago, and blew me away with her ballstriking. She was a pitcher for a professional women's traveling baseball team for 20 years, playing exhibition games again semi-pro men's teams across the country. Wow. Some really funny stories. You think male golfers have egos when playing against women? Lol. 

 

Normally I'd probably go with six cows here, but the crazy price is going to cost this one a cow. 5 cows. Really enjoyed the Ranch nine, but the wind left the sails on Vineyard. Would have liked to check out Canyon. I was pleasantly surprised that they allow walking, but the $165 weekend rate is ridiculous. It's a decent course, but I'd play Balboa Park for a third of the price 8 out of 10 times. The weekday rate is still $150, which is still nuts.