Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[mci711]

I'd like to hear what makes 17 gimmicky. 14, is the only hole that I think is dumb, not really gimmicky though, just not much they could do in that corner I guess. 17 though, the green just sloped back to front and has a shelf area. Hitting a wedge in, shouldn't be an issue.

[chisag]

 

... Oh I get that and I know he had to deal with flooding and extremely cramped real estate on the back. I just don't enjoy playing it after the front 9 where he could pretty much do whatever he wanted and I think it shows. If it were me, I would widen 10 a little and have some rough to protect the edges of the fairway. Because when the wind is howling, that is an extremely difficult driving hole. I would also fill in that hole on the 17th green so the it isn't a clowns mouth scenario. I appreciate it is a short hole and he built the difficulty into the green, but everyone isn't skilled with a putter in their hands and I have played with a few high index players that 5 putted (or just picked up) when the pin was in a suspect location. And 16 is OK with little to no wind, but being a little tired by then with OB right and such a tight fairway for a long hole especially when windy, hopping over the wall to rough that makes an approach over water a risk reward when just more fairway would have been a no brainer. But hey, just my opinion and I know we all have our own ideas about courses. I hate Big Run and love Prairie Bluff and more than a few here feel the exact opposite.

[mci711]

I get it. I am also in the hate big run club, I may actually be the president . I just kind of look at those closing holes as difficult. 16 especially, need 2 good shots. I guess playing there so much 17 green doesn't get to me as much though. The back 9 can definitely beat you up though. I always thought 18 was the hardest, until I realized I can just blow it over the trees into 1 fairway and hit a wedge in.

[chisag]

 

... Before you arrived in Chicago SB placed an ad in the Chicagoland golf magazine claiming the back 9 was the hardest 9 you would ever play. Some came to find out, agreed and said they wouldn't be back. They softened it a little but it still has teeth. You are of course a highly skilled player, but many of my acting frieds are high index players and the back 9 at SB just eats balls at an alarming rate. I don't mind 2 good shots but when there is a river left, water right and water on the approach, that makes it crazy tough for 80% of the people that play golf.

... If possible and it isn't always, I like a bailout area when there is OB, water or tree trouble on one side of the hole. Like #13 at Naperbrook. Difficult approach for most with water left and a green that slopes left so balls on the edge can find the water. Thy put in high mounding on the right, so players can bail out for the water and not have their balls roll into the pines or heather. Good players don't need that help, but the vast majority of those that play there certainly do. Contrast with #3 with water on both sides where I just hit a 7 to 4 iron depending on wind to tap water out of play. But I see the other 3 in my group hit their tee shot in the water all too often. Many fade or slice off the tee so they aim way left and pull their tee shot in the water, or just hit their normal slice and depending on wind the fairway slopes right so they find the water their too. You would think they could not use a driver and just put an iron in their hands and hit 2 shots to get around the water but I guess that is why they are high index players.

[mci711]

No one has ever called me a highly skilled player, that is a first! lol. I've lost plenty of balls on the back 9, specially 16! I definitely understand your point though.

[ldchristopher]

I never play on Father’s Day Weekend and I’m a better man for it. However, Bear and I got in a round this morning at Green Garden Gold. Teed off at 5:50 AM and we’re off the course by 8:30. We played through two twosomes in carts, but once we got past them it was clear sailing. The course itself is only okay but it was in really good shape and might be my new favorite South Suburban dumper. 73.

[Argonne69]

I never cared for the 16th hole at SB. The fairway slants towards the penalty area on the right. Since most players hit a fade/slice, a drive that lands in the middle of the fairway could still wind up wet. Pffftttt.

If I'm not mistaken, at one point the back nine was actually the front nine. It put Lost Marsh's first 5 holes to shame. Nothing like putting two in the water on each of the first few holes.

That said, I haven't played the course in ages. It wound up at #1 on my permanent sh-t list after sending out a twosome in front of my buddy and me after a frost delay on a Thanksgiving morning. We had the first tee time of the day booked so we could get in a quick round and get back to our families. The twosome were friends with the starter. Rather than ask us if we minded a slower twosome in front of us, they figured they could simply jump out because obviously their time is more valuable than ours.

[chisag]

 

... You may not consider yourself highly skilled but:

 

"According to data from the National Golf Foundation, only 26 percent of all golfers shoot below 90 consistently on regulation 18-hole courses; 45 percent of all golfers average more than 100 strokes per round. A player who shoots 85 is doing better than nearly three out of four of his golfing peers--a good score.

Only about 2 percent of all golfers ever break 80, which generally is considered the Holy Grail of scoring. To legitimately break 80 -- no improved lies; no 3-foot gimmes; no free drop from out of bounds -- is to breathe the rarefied air of good, if not great golf.

Scoring under 70. 0.92% of golfers have a handicap of +1 or better. Using the +1 handicap is probably the best estimate we canget to the percentage of golfers than are breaking parregularly."

 

 

[reperna]

Hey guys, you’ve got a Michigander here. I’m swing omg down to Chicago to see a couple buddies and we wanted to get some golf in. I’ve always wanted to check out dubsdread, so I think we’ll play there one day. What’s the best course close to the city to line up for the next day. Looking for some city views.

[TheBear95]

City views... Harborside. That's it.

[geochitown]

It’s a shame Sidney marowitz isn’t a more interesting course

[geochitown]

There is one hole on. The port side where you get a nice skyline view

for those who have Played Chicago Highlands, are there any good city views on course?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Barely. I love the Photoshopped pics that Harborside uses in their promos. It makes it look like the course is two miles from downtown.

The truth is the downtown area is barely visible 14 miles to the north.

That said, it's not a bad course if you want unobstructed views of the surrounding area. Marovitz has some good views, but it's only a nine hole course, and the pace of play is dreadful.

[TheBear95]

Yes. Chicago Highlands has excellent views from a number of holes. #9 green is the highest point on the course and it has the best view.

[reperna]

I saw marovitz. Is it that bad? We would be playing it on a weekday morning

[TheBear95]

Lol. Thats some stellar editing. Makes it seems like the course is located on Cermak Ave.

Lost Marsh has, umm, city views.

[Argonne69]

Marovitz is a 9 hole muni operated by the Chicago Park District. It can easily be skipped. It's rather sad, as the course does sit on a nice piece of property. The layout and conditioning though are subpar. If you were staying downtown and looking to get in a little practice, then it might fit the bill. However, I definitely wouldn't pair it with Dubs if you're making a trip to Chicago to play the better courses.

Yeah, Lost Marsh also has some views similar to Harborside, as it's roughly the same distance from downtown. Harborside is the better course(s), though.

The skyline in the first pic looks like it was taken from the Metra tracks near 18th St. You'll notice the black railroad bridge on the right side. That's most likely the St Charles Airline bridge crossing Clark St.

 

[TheBear95]

Marovitz is still closed due to Covid-19.

[Argonne69]

The teebox on the Port's par 3 4th hole is probably the highest point on the course.

[Argonne69]

Reopens this Monday, June 22nd.

 

[reperna]

Thanks guys, sounds like the city view isn’t really worth it...I guess any other high end courses around dubsdread?

[geochitown]

I’d say Mistwood and Bolingbrook

[reperna]

Cool, thanks guys.

[Dashfast]

@reperna Definitely do Mistwood if you can.
Played Stonewall Orchard for the first time today. Opened with two birdies and then kind of fell apart after that. Had a tough time on a couple par 3's (#9 and #17), but enjoyed the course overall. Greens were quick and they didn't really hold approaches all that well. Getting frustrated with my game as of late, not just one thing that I can point to, but I feel like I should be scoring better. Do any of you remember hovering around a 10HCP and then breaking through into single digits? What helped?

[Vikingdrewby]

I prefer tree-lined courses to wide-open courses, so I’ll give my vote to Cantigny over Bolingbrook.

[Argonne69]

I plateaued near 10, and couldn't break through for some time. I attended a 3 day golf school at Pinehurst, and it paid off. It wasn't anything big, but they did make a handful of small adjustments to my setup and swing, e.g. minor grip change. The biggest area for improvement was in my chipping. When one is only hitting 7 or 8 greens, chipping becomes your ace in the hole. They teach you to learn basically one chipping swing, and then vary the club selection based on the distance. You could be chipping with a lob wedge, or a 5 iron. Ingraining the same swing leads to consistency.

[Argonne69]

Where will you be staying? If you're in downtown Chicago, there are a number of excellent courses up north, e.g, The Glen Club. If you're staying west/southwest of the city then Mistwood, Cantigny, or Prairie Landing are good options.

Even though the views of the skyline aren't great, Harborside is still an excellent choice.

[Argonne69]

'Curious how much water you guys carry. Pre-pandemic, I had an 18 ounce bottle that I'd top off at every water jug on the course. With the restrictions in place, I added a 2nd 24 ounce bottle. As it heated up I replaced the 18 ounce with a 32 ounce. After Thursday's round at Big Run the 24 ounce was out, and a 40 ounce bottle was in. 72 ounces total. Sheesh.

[AUTIGER07]

Happy Father's Day gents!
@Dashfast Similar to Argonne but what helped me was attending a 3-day golf school. I picked up the game when I was 13-14, transitioning from 3-4 traveling baseball leagues a year. My dad is / was a good player and taught me the fundamentals but we have very different games so I was using a lot of his thoughts / approaches to playing the game but it didn't fit my game at all. I lived in GA during HS and went down to Sea Island for one of their schools and the instructor, while slightly tweaking some things with setup and around the green work, thought the most "bang for the buck" was in getting me out on the course and tweaking my approach to playing the game. For instance, how to play away from trouble spots and when to pull driver and when to not. I was hovering around a 12-13 the end of my Freshman year and by the time my Sophomore year was over I was down to a 6. The bunker play tips helped a lot but the biggest improvement area was in game management and how to reduce / stop beating yourself during the round.

[Argonne69]

Course management is huge. One must avoid the doubles or worse. Step one is to avoid the trouble through good decision making. Step two is to learn to accept your medicine if you do get into a pickle. Miracle shots are great, but they're rare. Punch out, and play for bogey, knowing that a par is still a possibility.