Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[DavePelz4]

This was the first time our group played one of our competitive rounds at PV. Of course, pre-round there was some griping about the distance but post round, everyone loved the course and I'll imagine it gets added to the permanent rotation. As VNutz said above, such a great mix of holes. Even as an old guy, I was able to play it at 6,600 yards as it seems to play more like 6,300 yards and there was only 1 non-par 3 where I had anything longer than a 6i into a green. I managed to turn some really nice approach shots into 3 putts which was so poor on my part.

[stasek]

Saturday - annual match play (2 men vs 2 men scramble format) at Blackstone. Played pretty well as a team (made 8-9 birdies) but lost 1 up due to 2 stupid bogeys. Thou shall not make bogeys in 2 man scramble. It’s been few years since I played the course, but it was as good as advertised.

Sunday - Harborside Starboard.. Course was in decent condition with greens rolling true and pretty quick. I don’t know how much rain the area got, but there was practically no roll in the fairway - nothing like hitting a nice drive and having it back up a foot. Good driving day, but completely forgot how to hit irons. To wrap a mediocre day up, finished the 18th with a sporty 9. No plans to play during the next week, but we’re heading to the Outer Banks NC (Rodanthe) on the 4th. My new irons are scheduled to arrive tomorrow - might have to squeeze a round or 2 while in NC.

[Argonne69]

Muggy day at Glencoe. The weather report I heard immediately after the round said the heat index was over 100. 'Sure felt like it. At time the breeze helped, but there were a few holes where the trees blocked any wind. The course was in great shape. Green were very nice, and rolling a good 10. Some of the downhill putts were borderline dicey. The pace was great at 3:25 playing as a threesome.

Decent round. 11 fairways, 12 greens, 1 birdie, and four bogies. Best hole of the day was simple managing a par on the 430 yd par 4 10th. Into a decent headwind I hit driver and 7 wood to the front fringe.

Coyote Run tomorrow for $28. I'm definitely enjoying the sub-$50 weekday rounds. A handful of courses are sub-$30.

 

[ldchristopher]

My only gripe about PV is the distance. The Blue tees play about 200 yards longer than what it says on the card while the tips play a legit 7100+. However, the course is excellent and it’s so cheap. The greens roll at a pretty consistent 9 to 10 depending on the weather and the facility drains extremely well. Bonus points for playing in the shadows the Byron Nuke Plant’s cooling towers.

[DavePelz4]

For our events, we use CDGA yardage/slope/rating and the yardage is more of an aggregate as opposed to a hole by hole but I know what you mean. The first hole is listed on the card at 405 but we had 2 different GPS's measuring it at 437. Quite the difference! The first par 3 is listed around 160 on the card and we played it at 182.

PV's scorecard has the rating/slope at 71.5/129 while the CDGA has it at 72.1/133. My guess is they order such large volumes of scorecards and if a re-rating is done, they don't change the card until the next print run.

[TheBear95]

The first couple of times LD and I went out there, it was summer and we didn't notice. The course really drains well and they don't over water. Lots of roll.

But, then we played it on a cold raw April day. Even given the conditions, the blue tees felt much longer than indicated. This coincided with myself moving from a range finder to a GPS unit. And like your experience on #1, the yardage on the GPS and the yardage on the scorecard for a number of the holes didnt come close to matching-up.

The next round at PV, LD put his former caddie skills to work to make that determination.

[Shriner]

If you had to choose between Springbrook or Naperbrook, which one should I go with?

[Edsland]

I’ve always liked Naperbrook better then Springbrook, I’ve always felt Naperbrook is in better shape.

[chisag]

 

... I have played Naperbrook literally hundreds of times and enjoy the layout, the staff and the pace of play, usually 3:30 - 4:00 max. Every now and then a weekend round may go to 4:15 and once in a blue moon 4:30 but those rounds are rare. I have only played Springbrook a handful of times, maybe 5-6 total and every round was over 5 hours. My last time was a good 5 years ago and I walked off after a 2:45 minute front 9 with carts stacked up at 10 and I will never go back.

[DavePelz4]

Food for thought...

Practice area - SpringbrookPace of play - NaperbrookCourse layout/variety - SpringbrookConditions - Very slight edge to NaperbrookWhere will you shoot a better score - NaperbrookStaff - SpringbrookAt the end of the day, they're 2 good public courses that get a lot of play. Have probably played them both 100+ times. If my game is in the crapper and I want to shoot a "better" score, I'll go to NB. If I want to be a slight bit more challenged, I'll go SB. You can spray the ball a bit more at NB and get away with it. Both are easy to walk courses if you prefer that. At the end of the day, you really won't go wrong.

[ldchristopher]

With the talk of 5 hour rounds and two-and-a-half hour front nines (or worse), I’m wondering what time the people on here are teeing off. This year I’ve been a 6:00 AM or earlier golfer on weekends so pace is never an issue but even last year when I was walking 36 every Saturday (the pre-fatherhood life), I only had one 5 hour round and no more than 2 or 3 4:30 or 4:40 rounds. Also, food for thought but Northwest Indiana tee times are all 12 minutes apart right now. There aren’t nearly as many courses but if pace is a concern, that might be something to take advantage of.

[chisag]

 

... A couple of back surgeries and a brain that does not function properly til afternoon means zero morning rounds for me. Afternoon and twilite only. 6am LOL, I don't wake up till 9am. Naperbrook and Prairie Bluff are usually around or under 4 hours in the afternoon, although weekends can be a little longer. Pretty much the only 2 courses I have played this year. Close, cheap and both in good condition plus I can almost always get on as a single the day of.

[mci711]

I usually go out after 5pm at Seven Bridges. Last year I'd have the front to basically my self or not run into someone until late in the front. This year has been crazy. foursomes teeing off until 530-6, booked up. I have been pushing it back, teering off in the 6 ocklock hour, catch people mid to late front then play the front again on the empty 9. I've seen the back 9 only a couple of times this year. If I play early anywhere it has to be 1 of the first couple of tee times. Play 18 come home and nap.

[VNutz]

Personally I think some of the talk of 5 hour rounds can be something of an exaggeration. Have people wait on 2-3 holes in a row and suddenly it's a "death march" and they assume it's a 5 hour go. I've had sub 4 rounds feel super slow due to waiting on people in front, and nearly 5 hour rounds feel fast as the delays came from within the group and not because of others. I don't let it get to me, I've got my responsibilities like everybody else but there are worse places to spend my day. My group generally plays Saturday mornings between 9 and 10, and the 4:30 round is pretty typical for a 4some, and some days I've seen the 5 hour round. Sometimes it's the flow of the course, sometimes it's a guy or two in the group slowing us down, or a different guy every couple of holes; it doesn't take much to get a group off pace and it can be hard to recover if guys aren't striping it. Going sub 4 with walkers Saturday didn't feel like we were flying by any means, we just didn't have many hiccups, or doubly compounded hiccups.

 

One thing I've noticed on the spaced out tee times this year is that basically that only applies to making the reservation. When playing Prairie Bluff a few weeks back we went off 15 minutes or so ahead of our time, and because the starter told us to. At PrairieView this past weekend I saw no starter and groups were going out early as well, and the group behind us was fairly impatiently waiting on the box as we teed off 5-10 minutes ahead of our time. Point being, people aren't looking at times, they're just looking at what's open ahead of them, defeating the purpose of the extra spacing, and the course tries to take advantage on the back end with walkups.

[Argonne69]

A real slog at Coyote Run this morning, which was odd. Their pace is usually pretty good. After yesterday's swift 3:25 round, I was not prepared for 4:30. We walked off the 9th at the 2:10 mark, but the two groups in front off us were still waiting to tee off on the 10th, leading to a 15 minute wait. The three groups were also together on the 6th tee. I have a hunch there was league play in front of us. Conditions were quite wet. I assume there was rain in the early morning, because I don't recall seeing it this wet in May. Greens were in very nice shape, and rolling 9 to 10. It was so humid I had to wear rain gloves, as my regular glove was soaked through, and my right hand felt like I had dunked it in a bucket of water.

I did a dumb thing this morning. I've been selling a bunch of clubs in the classified section, and on Ebay, and I had Ping G400 LST head that I played a few years ago. My G400 Max has been doing great lately, but I wanted to see if the LST would be worth keeping before listing it. Ugh. Nope. First, the thing did not want to fade. Second, the low spin head was producing knuckleballs. My good drives lately have been in the 240 to 255 range, but I couldn't get one past 225 today. The wet conditions were a factor, but it was clear that the ball wasn't get up, and was falling out of the sky. The club will be listed soon.

 

[DavePelz4]

Not sure we've played a slow round this year. We were in front of VNutz on Saturday and finished in probably 3:45 as a 3 some riding never waiting on the group in front of us nor did they wait on us. It seems that the courses have done a nice job with the spacing as related to COVID. 2 weeks ago at Bartlett Hills, the group in front of us on the first hole was hitting 4 and not at the bunker on the right side of the fairway but then they took off and we never waited on a shot the rest of the day.

[TBone0576]

I am usually teeing off up at Brighton Dale in Kenosha Co by 5:45am on weekends and finishing by around 9am with 3 in a cart and me walking. One course is 6600 and the other is 7000. I have made it out to Petrifying Springs in Kenosha twice this month at 5:15am and walked 18 holes in 2 hours but that really takes some commitment and hustle to walk those hills even though it is only 6000 yds. I have always been an early riser and enjoy seeing the wildlife and sun come up. Negatives are obviously the fact that some greens are cut and others are not at that time of day which can lead to an occasional 3 putt.

[Argonne69]

Is it asking too much for courses to get their sh-t together when it comes to pricing? I just noticed that Ravisloe once again changed their singles policy, and now singles can once again book online. For how long, who knows. The (GolfNow) online booking engine only shows rates with a cart, even though GolfNow can be configured for multiple pricing options. I called the course, and asked about a walking rate. The guy in the shop says all rates are walking, and carts are extra. Well, that's not what the website shows. The rate with cart online is currently $65 for Friday morning. I ask him what the rate is for walking, and he says $69. FFS. Booked Green Garden Blue for Friday morning. $29 to walk. First visit to the blue course. I thought the gold course was decent.

The Preserve tomorrow.

 

 

[B-Man]

Stonewall Orchard Friday morning with @jimwgt26 . Only played it once about 10 years go. Remember making an eagle I think on the 10th and then a double on the last. I'm laying up.

[ldchristopher]

Yeah, when we play BDale it’s always at 6:00 AM and as a twosome we can walk it in 2:30 or 2:40. But it’s a possible 4:45 round if you tee off at 9:30 on a weekend. VNutz is right. All the 5 hour death march talk is either hyperbole or people not actually abiding by the posted tee times.

[St Jimmy]

I've had legit 6 hour death marches at Chalet and Prairie Woods.

[TheBear95]

Oh, most definitely!

I played a nearly 5 hour round at Prairie Woods last fall and that was on a Sunday with the Packers playing! Might have been 6 hours if the Packers weren't on.

For a course that is barely over 6,000 yards, you would think that a 5 hour round would be a nearly impossible feat. But, it has all the right ingredients. The course is short, so guys think it is a push over or for beginning golfers (it ain't). The course has some hills, so most everybody rides. Most of the holes are tight. And, finally, the layout creates back-ups with blind tee shots, weird doglegs, forced layups (#2) and short 4s that even Joe 18 handicapper thinks he can drive. A recipe for a disaster. I have a bad soft-spot for this course. However, if I make the trip up to play it this year, it will definitely be on a weekday morning.

On Chalet, frankly it is just too much course for most golfers. We played there in May when it was twosomes-only tee times every 15 minutes and it was still backing up bad. For example, we get to #10, there's a group on the green, a group in the fairway and group waiting to tee off. Plus us. That's one hour worth of tee times all on one hole. And, of course, no ranger either. This course is on my crap list anyway. If I don't play there again, fine with me. Rather play Prairie Isle if I'm in the area.

 

[MountainKing]

Once again I find myself injured in the middle of summer, and once again and injury not related to golf (although golf probably didn’t help this one). Not sure why these things can’t happen in mid winter. Initial diagnosis is a herniated disc in the lower back pushing on a nerve (sciatic nerve most likely), MRI coming up on Tuesday and we’ll go from there. As of now I can barely walk and am in awful pain. This is a wake up that I should start taking care of myself, I’ve put on a good 70 pounds since I stopped playing hockey, between the weight and now hitting 40 I seem to be falling apart.

And as somebody who worked at Naperbrook from 96 until 2001, I’ve clocked enough rounds for a lifetime at both courses. I prefer Naperbrook without a doubt, I think it’s a lot more fun to play, better collection of holes. I always felt the trees on Springbrook held it back. There’s a few holes that could be opened up to some good risk/reward with some tree removal, and the 18th hole is as bad a hole as the director is a person.

[geochitown]

Looking forward to Pine Meadow tomorrow afternoon.

I'll bring lots of gloves and some towels and lots of fluids (probably taking a cart, or I might use the clicgear with my sun umbrella).

 

[WAB]

Played afternoon round there today. The greens were bad. Extremely sluggish. Played a morning round a couple weeks ago and the greens were great then. So I don’t know .. I do love the course though.

[mci711]

Set a new record for myself today. 27 holes at Seven Bridges with 1 ball. I've gone a couple of rounds previously with 1 ball, but I've never not lost a ball at seven bridges ?. Hitting it pretty well right now, 39-36-38 (front,front,back).

[geochitown]

Thanks. That does seem to be a recurrent theme there. And they were rolling better two weeks ago, but maybe the hot, humid weather means hey can’t cut the grass as short or roll the greens as much?

just speculating

white Deer run’s greens are totally different

 

[WAB]

Could be. Also, there was a lot of rain last Friday. The course was pretty spongy in general, but the greens just boderline unplayable. Played thundehawk a couple weeks ago and the greens were not so great either. Not as bad though. Its a shame to have these spectacular courses with subpar greens. Putting is part of golf. Just sayin :) Hope you have better greens for your round today

[geochitown]

Thanks, yes 2.2 inches of rain since last Friday, and 0.75 inches on Monday night (in a super short time).

That and the humidity is likely a big part of the problem.

I'll report back after playing

 

Link to automated rain gauge at 120 and des plaines river.

USGS Current Conditions for USGS 05528000 DES PLAINES RIVER NEAR GURNEE, IL

[TBone0576]

I'll be interested to hear about Pine Meadow. I've played there probably 100 times but not much in the last 10 years or so. I really want to get a round in down there this fall but hearing about the poor green conditions is discouraging.