Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[Argonne69]

Thankfully my concerns over a death march at The Preserve were unwarranted. I guess the CPO was enough to keep a number of groups away. We moved along quite well, and finished in 3:55. I'll gladly take that. Gotta like the lower temperature and humidity. First round in a while where I didn't feel like I was swimming in my shirt. Conditions were decent. The low spots were wet, no surprise. However, the course held up quite well from yesterday's rain. The bunkers were a little settled with the wet sand, but there's enough of the stuff in them to keep them playable when compacted. Unfortunately the greens on the course weren't as quick as the practice green. They were probably rolling 9 to 10.

Extremely pleased with the ballstriking today. The driver was simply outstanding. I hit 13 fairways, and I came within 18 inches of hitting all 14 for only the second time. Thirteen greens, but no decent birdie chances. The gusty winds made getting the ball close to the flag difficult. Still, I'm very happy with a three bogey round.

Still struggling with the 9th hole there. The landing area is just too narrow for such a long hole. Bunkers right, and PA left doesn't leave much room for error. Playing short leaves a hybrid in. The pin was in the back today, and the green back there slopes to the back. 'Still, I'm really warming up to the course. With the $49 prepaid walking rate, it's a bargain. It would be fantastic if they built a sound wall along I-290. The constant drone of traffic is probably the biggest downside.

Brae Loch in Grayslake for the first time on Thursday. They've never allowed singles to book, so I'm surprised to see the change of policy. I know it's not much of a course, but for $26 I can check another one off the Chicagoland list.

 

[St Jimmy]

 

I played Brae Loch a few years ago. The greens were shockingly good.

[geochitown]

White Deer Run was in fantastic shape today.

fastest greens I’ve played so far

got the first twilight tee time and while greens eerre smooth and fairways dry, it was a bummer to see the unrepaired ball marks on the greens

i fixed 5-10 ball marks on every green

when we stopped at the turn to get food, I wanted to say to all the guys lounging on the patio, hey, don’t you guys know how to repair ball marks, nice etiquette

great day though, we got around in 3.5 hours

 

 

[Shriner]

Schaumburg tomorrow. I am not the biggest fan of the redesign but it does take some time for grass to grow in. Curious to see if it is better than last year. It seems like it took Oak Meadows about three years because it is finally in amazing shape. First time ever at Prairie Bluff in Lockport on Sunday. Always exciting to play a new course.

[Argonne69]

Anybody ever play River Pointe CC in Hobart? Thinking about a round there next week.

[ldchristopher]

Beeches is an absolutely massive piece of property. Well over 7 miles to walk but pancake flat. It’s kind of a strange set-up because the front nine is built on sand while the back is built on clay. Therefore, the front has huge sand waste areas and drains much better than the back, which has giant prairies in between a bunch of holes. I’ve played Beeches after a rain storm and 10-18 can be a sloppy mess. 16 and 17 are very pretty holes so it closes well. Two of the greens are absurdly stupid though. The 9th hole green has a huge ledge built into the back (picture a huge ramp) while 18 has a giant bowl on the right side of the green. Like a much bigger version of the 6th green at Lost Marsh.

[B-Man]

9th at Beeches is a beech.

[ldchristopher]

I’ve played it. It has 27 holes and they rotate which ones are for 18 holes and which is only for 9. It’s not like Broken Arrow where there’s a permanent 18-hole combo and 9 hole-only course. The greens have some noticeable undulation. Dirt-based rather than sand-based. They don’t run them ultra quick. Probably about a 9 or 10, though with the weather we’ve had lately, who knows what the pace will be. A few holes have nearby homes on them but that’s not the norm. It’s a standard parkland layout with some tough doglegs. One of the nines closes with a short par 3 but it’s a good looking hole over water. As I recall, it plays between 6400-6600 yards from the tips. Bring the Deep Woods Off because it’s a mosquito breeding ground. Also, two crazy stories: About 5 years ago human remains were found next to the 8th hole. Also, supposedly one of Al Capone’s escape tunnels is in the woods off 8.

[mci711]

Should have lead with that last sentance! That is an awesome fun fact.

 

Follow up: did some research. Very plausible there was really a tunnel out there. Interesting read, not golf related but mentions the course a couple of times... https://orangebeanindiana.com/2019/11/25/hobart-capone-tunnel/

[DavePelz4]

We've played Schaumburg twice this year and it's been in very good condition with the usual fast and hard Schaumburg greens. What don't you like about the redo? And the Tournament 9 should be opening in a few weeks.

I believe VNutz was the last person to make a HIO on the Tournament course before it closed. Sucked back a sweet wedge on #3 for an ace.

[psygolf]

Story of Capone shooting himself in the foot at a golf course.https://books.google.com/books?id=g8zBX54KXkEC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=capone+golf+bag+shoots+foot&source=bl&ots=RqJu6Qf7zw&sig=ACfU3U1IIZZFDcVdKBeQ_HcM8mtpmFM8rg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiqsNHWhp3qAhWDbs0KHWYFB9AQ6AEwC3oECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=capone%20golf%20bag%20shoots%20foot&f=false

[jstone17]

I have a love hate relationship with Arrowhead. Love the course but live two minutes down the street and at times it's very hard to get on as a single...drives me nuts. I have to resort to showing up on a whim and hope they don't give me attitude when I say I'm going out for 18 as a single

[jstone17]

Playing Makray for the 1st time on Sunday. I don't see many people mention it on here, thoughts on the course? It's in the Cantigny/Mistwood price range so hoping it's worth the $$$$.

[Shriner]

Very difficult around the greens! Usually very fast greens with undulation. You need to think about where you want to miss so you have a chance to get up and down. If you short side yourself, forget about it. There will be numerous holes where you have to be extremely careful about what you hit off the tee or you will fly through a fairway (Holes 2, 3, 11 for instance). Probably not in the Mistwood/Cantigny level in my opinion, but it is a real nice course, enjoy.

[Shriner]

Hey DP, the only thing I do not like is the areas around the greens. Seems like they tried to make them into upside down bowls with the run off areas. This is just personal preference as I am sure some prefer the new design. I played Medinah No.2 within a year after the re-do and although perfect conditions, there is only so much you can do with new grass. I have been playing Schaumburg for twenty years so I am sure some of this is just nostalgia. At the end of the day, still hard to beat the conditions for a local municipal course though. I bet I enjoy it much more this year with another year for the grass to grow in.

 

The tournament 9 is my favorite of the three.

[cpeck12]

Interesting. I may need to go check it out next week instead of Ravines or Hawkshead. Looks like it's only about 20min from our house. Rates seem to be about on par with Ravines and Hawkshead... is it the same level type of course?

[zer0]

And if you can swing an invite to South Bend CC don't pass it up. Great course.

 

 

[DavePelz4]

Gotcha. As they did the redesign, it seemed because they are landlocked, the only way to make the course harder was to further toughen up the greens and the green complexes. Certainly can understand your thoughts as the first couple of times we played there, a couple of shots I thought were going to be OK ended up not where it seemed they should be. Excited to see how the Tournament 9 turns out.

[TheBear95]

It is definitely a step-below. That said, still worth playing if you want to checkout something new. I find Beeches to be pretty challenging.

[cpeck12]

Gotcha. It's definitely on the list. I'm up there at least once a month so I'll play it for sure.

[ldchristopher]

One thing I forgot to mention is that, for being relatively close to all the fast food, car dealerships, and general civilization off Route 30, River Pointe feels really isolated and far off the beaten path. Definitely play close attention when driving there because - classic Northwest Indiana - the road you turn onto off of Route 30 to start meandering your way towards the course isn’t marked. I have no idea if the Capone thing is true or not, but given how thick the foliage is just off the course, it’s certainly plausible.

[Argonne69]

There are over 200 public courses in the Chicagoland area, and only a handful don't allow singles to book tee times. 'Just don't get it.

 

[Argonne69]

A simply beautiful day today. I visited Brae Loch for the first time. 'Not a bad little course. No real lowlights, but no real highlights either. It's your basic short parkland layout (5891 yds) with narrow fairways and very small greens. There are five par 3's, and only three par 5's, which helps explain the yardage. I think I got my $26's worth. Tee to green the conditions were OK. There were quite a few brown spots in the fairways, and a few bare patches. The rough was cut, but still a little high. A ball sitting down could be hard to find. The course has a number of large pine threes that hang to the ground. 'Pet peeve of mine, as it slows down play while people search under the low branches. For goodness sake trim the branches two feet so one can see a ball under them. Not many fairway bunkers, if any. The greenside bunkers had the typical mix of dirt and sand, but it was fluffy enough to be playable. The greens were excellent. A little soft, but rolling fine. I'd say they were rolling 9, which is no surprise. 'Very few ballmarks, which was nice. It's great to see a cheap course take pride in their greens. Probably some of the nicest fringes I've seen in quite some time. They were groomed to the nines. Pace was excellent at 3:30. My two playing partners bailed after nine holes, and I thought it would be painful to follow the groups ahead around, but they were making great time.

Not quite the driving day as Tuesday, but it didn't really get me into trouble. Only 8 fairways today. Managed three slight double crosses, which had me spooked. I still hit 12 greens, leading to three birdies. Add four bogies and it's a nice one over round.

Can't say I'd play the course again. If I'm driving up north that far I'm definitely hitting one of the better courses. Still, the locals have a decent layout that doesn't set them back 50 bucks.

Buffalo Grove tomorrow.

 

[geochitown]

I definitely echo Shriner's comments. A lot of trouble and challenge lurking at Makray (I call it Makray-kray).

A lot of deep greenside bunkering, and one needs to know where to miss.

8 is a tricky little par 4 (elevated green and dead if you go long).

9 is a great finishing hole for the front 9 (impressive false front on this green), don't be above the hole.

14 is a tough short'ish par 4, with a fairway that ends at 250 or so.

Tough, elevated green that is not very deep (dead long), so you'd like to have a short iron in your hand for the approach.

16's green is also tough, don't be above the hole (recurring theme?), as you go farther back on the tees, the tee shot gets more and more interesting (have to carry more of the hazard).

18 is another big elevated green surrounded by bunkers (sides) and slopes back to front (want to be below the hole)...

Barrington zip code increase the greens fee.

Sneaky elevation changes as well at Makray-kray.

Have fun!

 

[mci711]

Usually by 14 my round is about over so I like to aim over the trees and try put it on the green. Depending on the wind and it is downhill it is reachable with less than driver. If it is busy you don't want to be the a**hole waiting for the blind green to clear on a par 4.

[The-Hawk]

Makray is a great course. I try to get out there once a month. It's the only course I've played where they don't have fringe around the green. As Shriner said you definitely have to know where you want to miss. Have fun!

[VNutz]

Making my first trip to Prairie View tomorrow. Trying to load it into my Garmin watch, I'm not seeing it. Is it possible it's so remote that it's not been mapped?

[DavePelz4]

This is what comes up on the Garmin site. Not sure which flavor of watch you have.

 

[VNutz]

No space, go figure. Thanks.

[stasek]

Blackstone tomorrow, and Harborside on Sunday... Too bad my new irons/wedges won’t show up on time ?. Treated myself to the new Maltby TS2s and TSW 54/60 wedges.