Arg's Travel Log

[mci711]

21 minutes ago, srs06d said:

What a comparison...a nearly defunct course located in a fishing village with a $50 green fee (which should be much less) to a Top 100 course located 30-minutes from a major US tourist destination with a $479 green fee. In addition to the fact that one sits at 4' elevation and one sits at 3,200'. Florida golf has it downsides but this comparison is the equivalent of hanging my 4 year old's art work next to the Mona Lisa.  

 

But please continue the Florida hate. Shout it from the Cascata mountaintops. Share it with all your friends. Spread it across the nation Arg. We're full. 

 

It isn't that deep 😂 It is a joke, obviously, it isn't a fair comparison... That being said Florida has 100s of bad golf courses and like 7 worth traveling too. Have a good day! 

Edited April 24 by mci711

[Bonneville85308]

7 minutes ago, Glock917 said:

 

Agree. I went last year and it was around $400 and had to tip the starter another $100 so we can get an earlier tee time. 

 

 

Yikes. I played it once, back in 2011 for around $140. Wasn't particularly busy or hard to get a morning tee time, but was still a 5.5 hour round somehow. I still have the souvenir photo plaque on my wall, for like $30 you got this nice little wood-mounted thing with a photo of you standing on the first tee in the middle surrounded by the photos of all 18 holes. If they still do that, it's probably $100 now. The course was pretty wild and kinda fun but not something I'd go back to.

[Argonne69]

12 minutes ago, Glock917 said:

 

Agree. I went last year and it was around $400 and had to tip the starter another $100 so we can get an earlier tee time. 

 

One question is did you actually walk that course? That would be insane! You know a course is hilly when they only have gas carts lol.

 

See that you are hitting up St george. In that same trip I did wolf creek I also played Sand hollow. Not the dramatic elevated tees as wolf but was a more enjoyable round. Obviously it's well-known holes 11-15 are quite a gem.  

 

No, I didn't walk it. On those golf trips I was playing 36 holes a day for two to four days. 

 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, Dancin said:

Definitely make the 45 minute drive down to play Devil's Thumb when you are in Grand Junction for something unique.

 

I have Redlands Mesa, Lakota Links, Battlement Mesa, and Devil's Thumb on my list for GJ. 

 

[Argonne69]

Lol. I got to add a new lame excuse to my list of reasons for not allowing walking this morning. I'm out as a single with a twosome a few holes ahead, and nobody behind me. The assistant pro said I couldn't walk because the group of regulars behind me would get mad if they saw me walking. Group? What group? I'm playing about as slow as one can play, and haven't seen anyone all morning. 

 

[rooski]

I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about Angel Park Mountain. It's nothing special but it's pretty fun. I'm mainly interested cause when I played it I thought the greens were some of the hardest I've ever putt on. 

 

I don't know if I had a case of the Vegas Fever myself but honestly felt like putts were breaking way uphill all day, I couldn't even get close to reading them or getting the speed right. A few times I had to make an 8-9 footer to save myself the embarrassment of a 4 putt.

 

Might be a grain thing, we don't have a ton of grain up in Oregon

Edited April 24 by rooski

[mshills]

20 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Lol. I got to add a new lame excuse to my list of reasons for not allowing walking this morning. I'm out as a single with a twosome a few holes ahead, and nobody behind me. The assistant pro said I couldn't walk because the group of regulars behind me would get mad if they saw me walking. Group? What group? I'm playing about as slow as one can play, and haven't seen anyone all morning. 

 

One half of the “never complain, never explain” British motto applies here. It is much worse when the course insists on explaining themselves with some made up reason. If you don’t allow walking, just say “carts are mandatory.” No need to come up with some explanation or weird rationale. 

[Argonne69]

Mostly enjoyable morning. Temps were cooler, and with a steady breeze it was very nice out there. Still peeved that they wouldn't let me walk on the empty course. Oh well. 

 

Rio Secco ranks #12 on GolfWeek's best in state list. No way. Another fairly boring housing development course with little trouble off the tee and benign greens. OK, there are a handful of good looking holes with elevated tees, but the vast majority are lame. That includes all four of the par 5s. Bunkering was light. Water on two holes, but one was a dry pond. Four gentle sweepers were the extent of the left/right movement. The homes were impressive, and thankfully set back enough to not be an eyesore. Most lies were dead flat, but there were a couple holes with some gentle mounding. 

 

Easy peasy off the tee with generous fairways and light bunkering. The rough was wide enough to catch minor misses. Big misses were goners in the desert. You might get lucky finding it, but the rocky terrain was a broken ankle just waiting to happen. Approaches were easy with decent sized greens and modest bunkering. Greens had gentle contouring and slope. There were a couple that had some tiering and moderate slope, but they were few. Putting was fairly stress free. Up and downs were a little trickier with a number of uneven lies, both uphill and downhill. 

 

Par 3s were very good with plenty of trouble. The 12th had a forced carry over a deep ravine, and the long 16th had a carry over a pond. Par 5s were simply awful. The 8th was reachable, but zero risk. The others were bland 3 shot holes. The sole short 4, the 4th, was very good. The elevated green was shallow with plenty of back to front slope, and deep bunkers in front. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairways were a fine. Rough was cut low. Bunkers were generally good, but found a couple with little sand. Greens looked good, and rolling at 10. 

 

Played a White/Yellow combo at 6370 yds (70.6/129). Very good day ballstriking. The interlocking grip feels weird, but it seems to be doing the job of eliminating the lefts. Putter was warm, but missed a few makeable ones. Two birdies and five bogies. Highlight of the round was simply being out solo on an empty course. Didn't feel like rushing to play through the lead twosome, so I mucked around in one of the slowest riding rounds in recent memory. Lol. 

 

Going to be nice and go with 5 cows. The par 3s helped save this one. Needs a lot of work, including more bunkers, trickier greens, and tougher par 5s. The $245 weekday rate is simply nuts. I saved a few dollars by combining it with Cascata, but it's not worth half that price. A couple of nice views of the Las Vegas Strip aren't worth $150 extra. For roughly the same price I'd definitely head to Reflection Bay or Bali Hai. 

 

[Argonne69]

Rio Secco GC, Henderson, NV 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yelk1m2pyn4vkg6lcvtrp/AChrI8BfbPOqv0eegCNVvm4?rlkey=zbcb1x99de7v8ytv2q9wwgars&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Not much open early on a Tuesday, so it's back to Yard House for a nice Belgian Quad and a burger. The Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad has become a favorite. 

 

 

The Whiskey burger was excellent. 

 

 

Edited April 24 by Argonne69

[mci711]

Those are maybe the best-looking tee boxes on the trip though! 

[Murphy76]

12 hours ago, srs06d said:

What a comparison...a nearly defunct course located in a fishing village with a $50 green fee (which should be much less) to a Top 100 course located 30-minutes from a major US tourist destination with a $479 green fee. In addition to the fact that one sits at 4' elevation and one sits at 3,200'. Florida golf has it downsides but this comparison is the equivalent of hanging my 4 year old's art work next to the Mona Lisa.  

 

But please continue the Florida hate. Shout it from the Cascata mountaintops. Share it with all your friends. Spread it across the nation Arg. We're full. 

 

 

While I normally defend any-and-all goat tracks, oftentimes people (including me) expect more from Florida golf courses.  All media from Florida is either showing absolutely beautiful golf courses, or or a naked bearded man trying to rob a Wendy's with a carrot.  He was later shot and killed.  

 

We forget that Florida can be just as dumpy or great as anywhere else in the US. 

 

But still, I love hills in my golf and pictures.

 

 

Edited April 25 by Murphy76

[mshills]

Florida has some tremendous privates, but I didn’t love the public access golf when I lived there. Then again I was in south Miami and that’s not a golf Mecca any way you look at it.
 

Streamsong is by far the best public access golf in the state IMO and it isn’t particularly close, but I’m told this many years in and they still have the same strange service and ‘experience’ issues. 

[Argonne69]

17 minutes ago, mshills said:

Florida has some tremendous privates, but I didn’t love the public access golf when I lived there. Then again I was in south Miami and that’s not a golf Mecca any way you look at it.
 

Streamsong is by far the best public access golf in the state IMO and it isn’t particularly close, but I’m told this many years in and they still have the same strange service and ‘experience’ issues. 

 

There are some quality courses in Florida, but the state is not overflowing with them. Besides Streamsong, you have Sawgrass, the Blue Monster, Copperhead, Citrus Farms, and PGA National.

 

The Orlando area has a handful of good courses, as does the panhandle.

 

That said, there's a whole lotta boring, flat, alligator infested tracks that all start blending together. 

 

Looking at my course log, I played 45 courses in Florida on this trip. There was one 7, and four 6s. On the bottom there was eight 3s, a 2, and a 1. Lol. Granted, I've played many of the better courses on previous trips, but still.

 

Edited April 25 by Argonne69

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Almost forgot, I also played Battlement Mesa. It was OK, it sits along the highway if I remember correctly. It was right next to the hotel where we stayed on our way to Denver.

[ode]

17 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

It's very good......although can't say I've ever had on tap🤔.....good find!

[tw422]

4 hours ago, ode said:

It's very good......although can't say I've ever had on tap🤔.....good find!

Totally agree - one of the better (Top 3?) BBQuads you will find.  Boulevard makes a great product. Never seen it on tap though.  Great find but be careful, those will sneak up on you after 1-2 🙂  

Edited April 25 by tw422

[stevopagolf]

5 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

There are some quality courses in Florida, but the state is not overflowing with them. Besides Streamsong, you have Sawgrass, the Blue Monster, Copperhead, Citrus Farms, and PGA National.

 

The Orlando area has a handful of good courses, as does the panhandle.

 

That said, there's a whole lotta boring, flat, alligator infested tracks that all start blending together. 

 

Looking at my course log, I played 45 courses in Florida on this trip. There was one 7, and four 6s. On the bottom there was eight 3s, a 2, and a 1. Lol. Granted, I've played many of the better courses on previous trips, but still.

 

Cabot farms will not be what World Woods was as far as value.  Juliette Falls is good.  The PGA courses on the East side of the state are nice.  Southern Dunes.  Of coures you have Sawgrass copperhead and streamsong.  Some good courses closed in that Citrus County area.   El Diablo comes to mind.....

[Argonne69]

Frustrating morning. Cool and sunny to start the round, but clouds rolled in late, along with light sprinkles. I thought I'd hit the jackpot when I found out that the course allows walking. Unfortunately the frustration started on the first hole with the four clowns in front of us. Not sure if they had ever picked up a club, or had any concept of how to use a cart. I knew it was going to be bad when we finished the first hole, and they were still on the teebox 20 minutes into their round. If you're still teeing off with an empty course in front of you when the group behind pulls up, please, please wave them through. I finally lost it on the 14th teebox, and decided to skip the hole. Played the final four holes without a soul in front of me. Saw the ranger early in the round and warned him about the group ahead, but didn't see him the remainder of the round. 

 

Anyway, Angel Park GC's Mountain course today. Very nice looking desert layout with plenty of desert this time. Lol. Generally flat, but the mounding was very good. Water on four holes, including the tough 9th and 18th. A couple of gentle sweepers, but otherwise very straight. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside was better. 

 

Generally easy off the tee, but there were a few tee shots that gave me pause. The 18th was blind with water right. Rough was generous and cut very low, no minor misses were no issue. Big misses were big trouble. Similar to Rio Secco, the desert areas had more rocks than sand, so even if you found the ball the chance of a decent lie was slim. Approaches were moderately difficult. Bunkers were definitely in play. Greens had gentle contouring, but wow, that slope. Had to stay below the hole on the vast majority of holes. Putting was definitely a challenge. Up and downs were tricky with the greens' slope and plenty of uneven lies. 

 

Par 3s were decent. The short 11th with a carry over a ravine and a severely sloped green was excellent. Could have used a little more variety in the lengths. The three 5s were snoozers. The 17th was a good looking hole with a carry over a ravine on the second, but otherwise meh. The 3rd was the only short 4, and it was decent. Potentially driveable by a long hitter, large front bunkers awaited. 

 

Conditions were good. No issues with the fairways, rough, or greens. Bunkers were very light on sand. Greens rolled at 10, but the slope added a couple of stimps on the downhill putts. 

 

Played the Championship (Blue) tees at 6172 yds on the par 71 layout (69.6/128). Solid day ballstriking, but oh, those putts. Can't remember the last time I had that many 3 jacks. One birdie and seven bogies. Ugh. Highlight of the day was making the wise decision to skip the 14th and get in front of Bozo and his clown parade. Actually, the three coyotes on the 9th were entertaining. 

 

Going with 5 cows. Solid layout that doesn't break the (local) bank, but could use a few more fairway bunkers and a good risk/reward par 5. No walking rate, and while the $137 seems cheap for the area, it's still double what it would be in most areas. Definitely not a must play, but if you're looking to fill out your schedule with a decent track after dropping top dollar at the highly ranked courses in town, it'll do. 

 

[Argonne69]

Angel Park GC, Mountain Course, Las Vegas, NV 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/iv1p0tet2i0vx5qutw5vh/ADuH9WfrArxDlqdowNMeGD0?rlkey=na3fi4d4x1u3ux0e1xd7nbede&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Nice to find a taphouse with a very nice selection of high octane goodies. Aces and Ales has 50 taps with plenty of options for any taste. Sampling a variety of imperial stouts and strong ales. The Juxta Nomad Grandma's Original Imperial Stout (15.4% ABV) is a nice start. 

 

 

The Bruery's 2015 Cuivre Old Ale at 16.2% ABV was heavenly. 

 

Edited April 25 by Argonne69

[Double Mocha Man]

54 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Unfortunately the frustration started on the first hole with the four clowns in front of us. Not sure if they had ever picked up a club, or had any concept of how to use a cart. I knew it was going to be bad when we finished the first hole, and they were still on the teebox 20 minutes into their round. If you're still teeing off with an empty course in front of you when the group behind pulls up, please, please wave them through.

 

If I'm a single or in a twosome and come up behind those kind of golfers, who don't have "rear view mirrors", I'll usually go into a coughing fit to let them know somebody is directly behind them.  Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.

[carrera]

2 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

If I'm a single or in a twosome and come up behind those kind of golfers, who don't have "rear view mirrors", I'll usually go into a coughing fit to let them know somebody is directly behind them.  Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.

I just ask "do you mind if we play through...we'll be fast" and most folks will do that.  Of course pressure is on to hit a decent drive in front of them! 

 

If you don't ask, you probably can't expect some newbie golfers to know that they should allow you to play through.

[Murphy76]

 

Arg- 

 

I love following your travels.  

 

I do have a question regarding grass.  While I do not expect you to be a master greens-keeper, but do you know what types of grass you are playing on from course-to-course?  I certainly don't.  I just see that some are deeper green than others, depending on the cut-etc. etc....

 

Some are shaggy dark green and look like they need mowing, and others look like industrial carpet.  This doesn't seem to affect your assessment of a course (that I can tell) .  Is there a preferred type of grass?  Or is it just what the climate can get away with and you rate accordingly?  

 

Or am I just overthinking it.

 

Thanks!  

[mshills]

12 hours ago, carrera said:

I just ask "do you mind if we play through...we'll be fast" and most folks will do that.  Of course pressure is on to hit a decent drive in front of them! 

 

If you don't ask, you probably can't expect some newbie golfers to know that they should allow you to play through.

💯 💯 💯 Getting any pushback when you do this is rare, you’re not really asking permission, just say “hey all we are going to play through now thanks” and just go. If they have an issue they can take it up with the shop. I will also call the shop instead of stewing and waiting in vain for a marshal. 

[Argonne69]

9 hours ago, Murphy76 said:

 

Arg- 

 

I love following your travels.  

 

I do have a question regarding grass.  While I do not expect you to be a master greens-keeper, but do you know what types of grass you are playing on from course-to-course?  I certainly don't.  I just see that some are deeper green than others, depending on the cut-etc. etc....

 

Some are shaggy dark green and look like they need mowing, and others look like industrial carpet.  This doesn't seem to affect your assessment of a course (that I can tell) .  Is there a preferred type of grass?  Or is it just what the climate can get away with and you rate accordingly?  

 

Or am I just overthinking it.

 

Thanks!  

 

I can generally tell what type of grass I'm playing on. Southern courses that are "too green" are typically Bermuda overseeded with rye. 

 

Love bent grass greens. Not too fond of poa. Kikuyu fairways are nice. You don't get a ton of rollout, but the ball sits up nicely.

 

I don't factor in the type of grass in the assessment. I know I'm not hitting the majority of courses in their peak season, and their turf selection is obviously based on the local climate. I can deal with dormant Bermuda as long as it's not completely trampled down. I'd take dormant Bermuda over freshly overseeded fairways, as the latter tend to be overwatered mud.

 

[Argonne69]

After 9 rounds in nine days, I'm taking a day off. Lol. After paying a few bills, and booking an RV park for St George, I'll probably head out towards downtown for some BBQ and then cruise the strip before winding up in a poker room somewhere. 

 

I have a round at TPC Las Vegas tomorrow, Boulder Creek on Monday, and Bear's Best on Tuesday. I'll book my final round in town for Wednesday later.

 

Going to take Sunday off and take a hike/climb. Frenchman Mountain is the closest with a 4 mile round trip and a 2000' climb. Red Rock Canyon looks interesting, but it's on the other side of town. The climb up Turtlehead Mountain is similar to Frenchman. Both appear to provide great views of the city. 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

13 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Going to take Sunday off and take a hike/climb. Frenchman Mountain is the closest with a 4 mile round trip and a 2000' climb. 

 

I hear Frenchman Mountain is carts only. 

[Argonne69]

Out and about. Going to stop for lunch, but first it's a flight of imperial goodies at HUDL Brewing. 28 taps, but rather light on the IPAs and sours. They do have 6 imperial stouts, and an imperial porter on tap. Jackpot. My kind of brewery. 

 

 

Gloomy day in Vegas. It's currently cloudy and raining. The rain rolled in at 11 am, so a round today would have likely been wet. 

 

 

Edited April 26 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Rick's Rollin Smoke BBQ. Decent Q, but not award winning. Brisket was tender, but much too lean. St Louis ribs were tender, but again, too little fat. Hot link was juicy, but not much "hot". Needed a little kick. Mac and Cheese was very good. Five of the six sauces were very good. Didn't care for the spicy. Nice kick, but I like my sauce a little thicker. 

 

No, didn't see Rick. Lol.