Colorado WRX 2023

[thaar]

Wow, that is awesome! My wife would definitely be a hard pass too lol

[ztull]

4 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

 

I love skiing, I love hiking, but combined is a hard pass for me.

 

My kids and I did the Telluride Via Ferrata back in 2020. One of coolest things we've ever done (and a huge nope for my wife).

 

This looks VERY cool

[CDM]

All the rain should really get the courses in great condition(s) over the next week.  Murphy Creek sure needs it, the greens are bad.

[ASak10]

Got out to CGC yesterday and we had the course to ourselves, I think the weather forecast scared everyone off! I think when we were walking off 18 the first drop of rain fell on us.  Before that, it was perfect. Greens were very true and smooth but slooooooooow (for out there at least). I don't know if it's because of the early season or if they're saving the greens for the US Am but it was nice to actually be able to be aggressive with some chips and putts out there!  

[bobbyclampett!!]

Got out and played Rain Dance on Saturday. Greens were super impressive. Looked beautiful, rolled true. Probably about a 10. I'm sure they will get faster, but I love it when they are like that and you don't have to be too defensive. The whole course was in good shape. Ahead of Collindale, which is impressive. Collindale looking rough from the long winter. Lots of dead places in the fairways. Greens shaggy and sandy. I'm sure once it warms up they will have them rolling great again. You really can't get two different courses than Rain Dance and Collindale. Fun to go back and forth between the two. 

 

Fried Egg podcast just did a cool interview with a creator of Rodeo Dunes. Sounds pretty cool. I'm sure Dancin is all over that story. You guys excited for a Bandon Dunes right in our backyard??

 

We should start planning a Rain Dance Colorado WRX day. Right now accompanied guest fee is $70. That's a pretty sweet deal for the shape its in. Looks like it will stay that way until May 31. Not sure when, if they are punching this year. I could find that out. That could influence our decision. HMU if you are interested with some dates. I am pretty wide open the month of May.

[TheKrushh]

9 minutes ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

Got out and played Rain Dance on Saturday. Greens were super impressive. Looked beautiful, rolled true. Probably about a 10. I'm sure they will get faster, but I love it when they are like that and you don't have to be too defensive. The whole course was in good shape. Ahead of Collindale, which is impressive. Collindale looking rough from the long winter. Lots of dead places in the fairways. Greens shaggy and sandy. I'm sure once it warms up they will have them rolling great again. You really can't get two different courses than Rain Dance and Collindale. Fun to go back and forth between the two. 

 

Fried Egg podcast just did a cool interview with a creator of Rodeo Dunes. Sounds pretty cool. I'm sure Dancin is all over that story. You guys excited for a Bandon Dunes right in our backyard??

 

We should start planning a Rain Dance Colorado WRX day. Right now accompanied guest fee is $70. That's a pretty sweet deal for the shape its in. Looks like it will stay that way until May 31. Not sure when, if they are punching this year. I could find that out. That could influence our decision. HMU if you are interested with some dates. I am pretty wide open the month of May.

I had so much fun at RainDance and it seems like almost everyone I've talked to about it has something to complain about. I don't get the hate

[deadsolid...shank]

RainDance is about 10 minutes from my house. I should at least drive over there and see it. 

[pseudoswede]

Played with @thaar and @seven dewey today at South Suburban. We teed off around 5:15, and it started out breezy, sunny, and warm. By the 4th hole, the clouds started rolling in and the temperature started dropping. By the 6th hole, cloud cover was making it darker than it should've been at 6:30pm, and I really started regretting my decision to not bring a wind jacket (I only had a polo and a fleece vest). On the 7th hole, we joined up with the foursome ahead of us (also part of the beer league) and forged on to try to get through as quickly as possible. After putting out on the 7th hole, the skies opened up and started raining--and I really regretted not bringing my umbrella that I left in the car. I said screw it and ran to the car. I was totally drenched, and when I put my gear into the back, the rain stopped.

 

By the time we left the bar at around 8pm, some of the patio chairs and tables were covered with a dusting of snow.

 

I love Colorado.

[golf4pj]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:24 PM, pseudoswede said:

Played with @thaar and @seven dewey today at South Suburban. We teed off around 5:15, and it started out breezy, sunny, and warm. By the 4th hole, the clouds started rolling in and the temperature started dropping. By the 6th hole, cloud cover was making it darker than it should've been at 6:30pm, and I really started regretting my decision to not bring a wind jacket (I only had a polo and a fleece vest). On the 7th hole, we joined up with the foursome ahead of us (also part of the beer league) and forged on to try to get through as quickly as possible. After putting out on the 7th hole, the skies opened up and started raining--and I really regretted not bringing my umbrella that I left in the car. I said screw it and ran to the car. I was totally drenched, and when I put my gear into the back, the rain stopped.

 

By the time we left the bar at around 8pm, some of the patio chairs and tables were covered with a dusting of snow.

 

I love Colorado.

I got out yesterday at City Park, went off at 9:30am and it was chilly and breezy.  But, the course is greening up pretty nicely and the greens were in pretty good shape considering they aerated about 3 weeks ago.

 

I'm playing South Suburban today (Saturday) in a Men's League (modified Stableford) tournament.  Looks like the rest of the weekend will be some pretty nice weather - going to sport a pair of shorts today!  But, as psuedoswede said...I love Colorado.  Almost certainly more snow in our future before Summer arrives.

 

-- P.J.

[thaar]

On 4/29/2023 at 6:36 AM, golf4pj said:

I got out yesterday at City Park, went off at 9:30am and it was chilly and breezy.  But, the course is greening up pretty nicely and the greens were in pretty good shape considering they aerated about 3 weeks ago.

 

I'm playing South Suburban today (Saturday) in a Men's League (modified Stableford) tournament.  Looks like the rest of the weekend will be some pretty nice weather - going to sport a pair of shorts today!  But, as psuedoswede said...I love Colorado.  Almost certainly more snow in our future before Summer arrives.

 

-- P.J.

I didn't realize anyone on here was part of the Burb mens club too. Did you tee off at 930? Looks like we may be in the same flight (I went off at 850), so we may play together at some point. 

 

Gorgeous day yesterday, which made up for my terrible play lol. I had 5 doubles for an 87 - ouch. I couldn't get comfortable with my swing at all, was considerably shorter than normal off the tee, and had a really strong fade all day which isnt normal for me. I shouldn't complain tho since I've barely played at all this year. Fortunately I played with some solid guys so we had fun. I did have two birds tho, one of which I chipped in from the fringe on 16. It's fun when you pull off the shot you envision. That one stood for a skin so at least I walked away with a bit of money. 

[golf4pj]

12 hours ago, thaar said:

I didn't realize anyone on here was part of the Burb mens club too. Did you tee off at 930? Looks like we may be in the same flight (I went off at 850), so we may play together at some point. 

 

Gorgeous day yesterday, which made up for my terrible play lol. I had 5 doubles for an 87 - ouch. I couldn't get comfortable with my swing at all, was considerably shorter than normal off the tee, and had a really strong fade all day which isnt normal for me. I shouldn't complain tho since I've barely played at all this year. Fortunately I played with some solid guys so we had fun. I did have two birds tho, one of which I chipped in from the fringe on 16. It's fun when you pull off the shot you envision. That one stood for a skin so at least I walked away with a bit of money. 

We were in the same flight, you must be Tim.  I ended up shooting 80, which sounds decent...except I was only +4 through 16.  Finished double/double to go from 1st place to 6th place.

I had a gust of wind come up on my approach shot on #17, ended up short in the bunker on the left.  Almost no sand in that bunker, the club bounced and skulled it over the green.  Then,  I hit the fairway on #18, wind was blowing pretty hard at this point - so I laid up short of the bunker.  Wedged up to within 10', been leaving putts short all day, tried to save par and ran it 4'-5' past the hole somehow....lipped out the come backer.  Only consolation is that I won't have to play the next tournament at a +4 handicap!  I just signed up for the 2-man with Nick Berman on May 13th.

Would be good to meet up and get out with you sometime.

-- P.J.

[pseudoswede]

Not sure which orifice I pulled it out of, but I shot a 77 at Indian Peaks yesterday. My day started off thinking I had a 12:42 tee time. I drove into the parking lot around 11:45, slowly got ready, then I saw on the cart that it was actually 12:24. Oops. 10 minutes on the putting green; 15 minutes on the driving range; then a mad dash to the first tee. The most important thing was that I never penalized myself off the tee (not always in the fairway, but not behind trees, in deep rough, or laying three). I used my driver on 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9, and my driving average was 300.5yds. I started mis-hitting it a bit on the back nine (and my two terrible misses weren't jailed by trees), and then I absolutely piped my drive 328yds on 18.

 

I ran away with the B-flight win, and I tied for overall low gross score (44 players). My chip-in got a skin, and we finished 2nd in the foursome bet.

 

My glaring weakness was my approach game. I only had 9 GIR with one up-and-down, and I lucked out by putting one in for birdie from just beyond the fringe, and I also had a chip-in for birdie. I don't think I've ever had two hole-outs in the same round. Not really sure what else to say; I probably cashed in all of my luck chips for the season. Like I said earlier, I may not be able to pick up a golf club again until late June when I'm in Sweden.

 

On 4/27/2023 at 10:24 PM, pseudoswede said:

I really started regretting my decision to not bring a wind jacket (I only had a polo and a fleece vest). .... I was totally drenched, and when I put my gear into the back, the rain stopped.

 

As I put a box of golf balls into the large pocket in my golf bag. I discovered that I had a rain jacket in there. My Thursday could've been less moist. Oops!! 🤣

Edited May 1, 2023 by pseudoswede

[thaar]

5 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

As I put a box of golf balls into the large pocket in my golf bag. I discovered that I had a rain jacket in there. My Thursday could've been less moist. Oops!! 🤣

 

Hahahaha! Congrats on the 77!

[Dancin]

I always shoot low at Indian Peaks relative to my handicap. I've always thought it is rated harder than it actually is.

[pseudoswede]

24 minutes ago, Dancin said:

I always shoot low at Indian Peaks relative to my handicap. I've always thought it is rated harder than it actually is.

 

It might be rated a smidge higher than it should, but out of 17 golfers with a course handicap of 10 or less, only five broke 80. Average gross score of the A-Flight was 85.

 

I was surprised by all of the high scores--especially on as beautiful, not too breezy, day as yesterday.

Edited May 1, 2023 by pseudoswede

[CDM]

1 hour ago, pseudoswede said:

 

It might be rated a smidge higher than it should, but out of 17 golfers with a course handicap of 10 or less, only five broke 80. Average gross score of the A-Flight was 85.

 

I was surprised by all of the high scores--especially on as beautiful, not too breezy, day as yesterday.

 

Played this weekend and it was breezy for sure.

[007iron]

@Joelness @Dancin & Everyone else - Wanted to check and see if any was interested in a Western Slope meetup/weekend this spring.

 

Battlement/Devil's Thumb or Battlement/Redlands Mesa, Ironbridge, Bridges in Montrose, etc. - coming up I'm available the weekends of May 20/21 and June 3/4 and 10/11.

 

If not by mid-June I think it's best to wait until fall (mid-September ish), especially to do Devil's Thumb or Redlands - it gets really hot out that way. 

[Dancin]

3 hours ago, 007iron said:

@Joelness @Dancin & Everyone else - Wanted to check and see if any was interested in a Western Slope meetup/weekend this spring.

 

Battlement/Devil's Thumb or Battlement/Redlands Mesa, Ironbridge, Bridges in Montrose, etc. - coming up I'm available the weekends of May 20/21 and June 3/4 and 10/11.

 

If not by mid-June I think it's best to wait until fall (mid-September ish), especially to do Devil's Thumb or Redlands - it gets really hot out that way. 

I have my member/member the weekend of the 20th and I'll be in Japan through mid June. Maybe this fall.

[pseudoswede]

I could possibly be interested in a trip this fall, too.

[bobbyclampett!!]

Just heard a rumor the USGA is pulling the plug on the Open qualifier from Collindale. I was afraid of that. Collindale is looking ROUGH so far this year. Joel, looks like you played in it. I was out there on Sunday and looking at some of the dead patches in the fairways and around the greens and the greens were total Plinko and I was thinking to myself “people are going to be pissed on Tuesday.” Hope it’s not the beginning of a downward trend for C-Dale. Sad. 

[Dancin]

Joel with a respectable middle pack 77. I love looking at the worst scores in these us open qualifiers.

 

Ryan Guy is supposedly a +2 handicap who recently posted 71 from the tips at the ridge at castle pines and hasn't posted a score over 76 since 2020, shoots 44/50 for a 94 at Collindale in the qualifier.

Daniel Shouse is supposedly a +2.1 and shoots 45/46 for a 91.

 

Does the USGA still send people letters asking them to prove their ability when they blow up this badly in their tournaments?

[Joelness]

14 hours ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

Just heard a rumor the USGA is pulling the plug on the Open qualifier from Collindale. I was afraid of that. Collindale is looking ROUGH so far this year. Joel, looks like you played in it. I was out there on Sunday and looking at some of the dead patches in the fairways and around the greens and the greens were total Plinko and I was thinking to myself “people are going to be pissed on Tuesday.” Hope it’s not the beginning of a downward trend for C-Dale. Sad. 

 

I hope they aren't pulling Collindale out. Yeah, it was in rough shape but if we're honest with ourselves, it was a tough winter and every course has significant winter damage. Collindale had it worse than most I've seen, but they always have a lot of winter kill on 15 due to the shade. Greens were rolling fast as always but also super firm. I had a chip on my fourth hole (13) that I open-faced a 60, carried it ~7 feet and it still rolled 15 feet. Surprisingly for all the winter kill on the greens they actually rolled pretty good. It was likely due to the double-cut double roll in the morning.

 

If the super is smart he will at least needle tine the winter kill zones on the greens now that the qualifier is over.

 

Fox Hill made it out of winter in great shape compared to the rest I've seen (heard CO National is really bad from the wife also.) However, we still have three greens with some winter kill that we needle tined last week. Apparently that didn't do a good enough job and the pro told me they pulled cores on those zones yesterday. I haven't looked for myself to verify yet.

 

12 hours ago, Dancin said:

Joel with a respectable middle pack 77. I love looking at the worst scores in these us open qualifiers.

 

Ryan Guy is supposedly a +2 handicap who recently posted 71 from the tips at the ridge at castle pines and hasn't posted a score over 76 since 2020, shoots 44/50 for a 94 at Collindale in the qualifier.

Daniel Shouse is supposedly a +2.1 and shoots 45/46 for a 91.

 

Does the USGA still send people letters asking them to prove their ability when they blow up this badly in their tournaments?

 

I think that's the worst number I've ever shot at Collindale when hitting it that good. I missed a lot of putts and hoooooo boy my chipping is frustrating. It cost me ~4 shots yesterday. Funny, I never realized balance was so important for good short game because it was never so terrible. All my workouts for the foreseeable future will be balance oriented, that's for sure. 

[Joelness]

1 hour ago, Joelness said:

 

I hope they aren't pulling Collindale out. Yeah, it was in rough shape but if we're honest with ourselves, it was a tough winter and every course has significant winter damage. Collindale had it worse than most I've seen, but they always have a lot of winter kill on 15 due to the shade. Greens were rolling fast as always but also super firm. I had a chip on my fourth hole (13) that I open-faced a 60, carried it ~7 feet and it still rolled 15 feet. Surprisingly for all the winter kill on the greens they actually rolled pretty good. It was likely due to the double-cut double roll in the morning.

 

Note on this, they were allowing relief from sod seams for lie of the ball and intended swing. Every single fairway had sod-seams the entire length of them so basically you could take relief anywhere in the fairway all day. This made it much more playable since you could drop from dead zones in the fairway to find some grass.

[TheKrushh]

14 hours ago, Dancin said:

Joel with a respectable middle pack 77. I love looking at the worst scores in these us open qualifiers.

 

Ryan Guy is supposedly a +2 handicap who recently posted 71 from the tips at the ridge at castle pines and hasn't posted a score over 76 since 2020, shoots 44/50 for a 94 at Collindale in the qualifier.

Daniel Shouse is supposedly a +2.1 and shoots 45/46 for a 91.

 

Does the USGA still send people letters asking them to prove their ability when they blow up this badly in their tournaments?

These qualifiers are sooooo hard to show up with your best. Might not even be vanity cappers. The pressure and tension of those damn events can hit so hard.  Also, they make the courses awkwardly difficult.

Edited May 3, 2023 by TheKrushh

[007iron]

Going to be down in the north Denver area (Thornton to be exact) in a couple of weeks. Thinking of playing City Park as I've never been out there. Anything better within a similar drive? I've played CO National. Thorncreek is close to where I'll be - is that worth seeing? Riverdale Dunes better than city park?

[thaar]

It's pretty hard to get a tee time at City Park (at least it used to be), so I haven't played it since the refresh. Riverdale Dunes is always a great track though, and the price is more than reasonable. I wish I lived closer to it.

[pseudoswede]

1 hour ago, 007iron said:

Going to be down in the north Denver area (Thornton to be exact) in a couple of weeks. Thinking of playing City Park as I've never been out there. Anything better within a similar drive? I've played CO National. Thorncreek is close to where I'll be - is that worth seeing? Riverdale Dunes better than city park?

 

It's nearly impossible to get a time at City Park unless you have the loyalty card that gives you 14-day advanced tee times. The pro shop was also pretty pessimistic about walking on even as a single (but give them a call). I never played it before the refresh. FRGC had an event there two years ago, and I'm absolutely itching to get out to play it again.

[ztull]

2 hours ago, 007iron said:

Going to be down in the north Denver area (Thornton to be exact) in a couple of weeks. Thinking of playing City Park as I've never been out there. Anything better within a similar drive? I've played CO National. Thorncreek is close to where I'll be - is that worth seeing? Riverdale Dunes better than city park?

Riv dunes is better than City Park for sure. On the front range I'd also put Murphy Creek, Indian Peaks, Fossil Trace, and Welshire ahead of City Park. 

[bobbyclampett!!]

20 hours ago, Dancin said:

I love looking at the worst scores in these us open qualifiers.

I also enjoy looking those up and wonder what's going on. Not a lot of surprises at Collindale (i.e. blind shots or hidden hazards). I also then feel good about my decision not to try to vanity cap my way into things like this and the US Am qualifier anymore. I know I will never be able to compete for those, and that's alright with me. 

 

 

7 hours ago, Joelness said:

 

I hope they aren't pulling Collindale out.

 Glad you haven't bailed on C-dale yet. Hopefully that rumor wasn't true and hopefully they will recover out there from a pretty brutal winter. I think there was snow on it pretty much from October to April with no breaks. My first spring here was 2021 and I specifically remember playing in Jan, Feb, and March. Definitely not this year.

 

Joel, sounds like you played well, or at least struck it well. John Murdock IV, who is now a pro and won the Wyoming Open as an amateur, shot 74. He's a heck of a player. Collindale is just tough if you're not striping it down the middle of the 25 yard wide fairways and hitting the middle of those tiny greens. 

[Dancin]

4 hours ago, 007iron said:

Going to be down in the north Denver area (Thornton to be exact) in a couple of weeks. Thinking of playing City Park as I've never been out there. Anything better within a similar drive? I've played CO National. Thorncreek is close to where I'll be - is that worth seeing? Riverdale Dunes better than city park?

In the Thornton area: Walnut Creek, Riverdale Dunes, Todd Creek, Broadlands all better than Thorncreek. Walnut is redoing the irrigation though so you would want to check to make sure all holes will be open.  City Park is much improved but it isn't anything amazing. If you really want to play City Park, you can get on as a single pretty easily on weekdays if you are diligent about regularly checking. Weekends you have to get lucky and catch a day ahead cancellation before the 24 hour cancel window if you don't pay for the 14 day booking access.