Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[sittonsideways]

So, we want to be closer to the Kennedy vs DLSD for golf purposes.

[TheBear95]

7 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

So, we want to be closer to the Kennedy vs DLSD for golf purposes.

 

Yes. I would try to get as close as possible. 

Edited August 1, 2024 by TheBear95

[underwaterDMS]

24 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

So, we want to be closer to the Kennedy vs DLSD for golf purposes.

Correct. Aside from going south to play something like Harborside or Ravisloe, proximity to DLSD doesn’t do much for you. It doesn’t get you far enough north (and you are too far east along the lake) for it to be of much use at all for north golf courses. The Kennedy is much more valuable to get to the courses up there. 

Edited August 1, 2024 by underwaterDMS

[sittonsideways]

We’re narrowing this scope quite a bit! Okay, let’s propose this:

 

I live in Lincoln Park near the Kennedy. Where do I play up north most frequently?

 

or

 

I live in Lincoln Park/Old Town/Lakeside near DLSD. Do I play to the south more often than not?

[chisag]

29 minutes ago, sittonsideways said:

I live in Lincoln Park/Old Town/Lakeside near DLSD. Do I play to the south more often than not?

 

... Having faced that same decision, I preferred the SW courses and one of the reasons why I moved to Bolingbrook. Cog Hill, Prairie Bluff, Carillon, Mistwood, Naperbrook and Ruffled Feathers is a pretty good rotation. I55 always seemed to be better than the other 3 main arteries, especially the return trip but I am not sure what it is like now. From Lakeview I jumped on LSD south to I55. 

[MountainKing]

4 hours ago, chisag said:

 

 

... It can be a little pretentious. When we moved into our subdivision Heritage Creek on Royce Rd it had a Naperville address and that crook of a mayor Claar said he would not annex it into Bolingbrook. As the last piece of Will County and being in Naperville schools district, we had the best of both worlds for taxes as Bolingbrook was still building schools and Will County has lower property taxes. 

... Of course the very last day Claar annexed us into Bolingbrook and our mailing address changed. A Doctor lived right behind me and had only been in his house 2 months and told me he loved it and loved the location. When we were annexed into Bolingbrook he put his house up for sale because he "Wasn't gonna live in Bolingbrook". Then River Woods elementary school was changed Kingsley Elementary and further from our house because again, River Woods didn't want Bolingbrook kids in their schools. I think that kinda sums up that Naperville attitude. 

 

Not sure if you recall the White Eagle nonsense and how they fought and fought to get a Naperville address. It's just a wild place between that and the people who are broke wanting to have the "Naperville Life" and image.

[Shriner]

8 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

Not sure if you recall the White Eagle nonsense and how they fought and fought to get a Naperville address. It's just a wild place between that and the people who are broke wanting to have the "Naperville Life" and image.

 

Yep, sure do.  Unfortunately how it goes...I'm a real estate attorney and would NEVER buy a house on the border of a district (if the school is a major concern for you).  This will continue to happen until the end of time but people do not think this through when buying houses.  Same thing in Schaumburg WAY back when, people will die to get into Conant over Schaumburg.  Personally, I think schools are over rated but it 100% drives property values.

[underwaterDMS]

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Having faced that same decision, I preferred the SW courses and one of the reasons why I moved to Bolingbrook. Cog Hill, Prairie Bluff, Carillon, Mistwood, Naperbrook and Ruffled Feathers is a pretty good rotation. I55 always seemed to be better than the other 3 main arteries, especially the return trip but I am not sure what it is like now. From Lakeview I jumped on LSD south to I55. 

 

Of the places chisag lists as good SW courses, I have only played Cog #4 and Ruffled Feathers... and RF was played 15+ years ago. Everything I've read about Mistwood is amazing. It's really hard for me to weigh in on comparing them to my usual courses up north.  However, what I can weigh in on are the following miles and travel times right now (830p) from my place in Lincoln Park.  Bear in mind, these times are fairly close to ideal, as traffic has completely died down.  

 

Cog Hill 30 miles, 42 minutes

Prairie Bluff 39 miles, 51 minutes

Carillon 38 miles, 49 minutes

Mistwood 41 miles, 53 minutes

Naperbrook 39 miles, 50 minutes

Ruffled Feathers 32 miles, 43 minutes

 

compared to the tracks I commonly play up north...

 

The Glen Club 20 miles, 31 minutes

Glenview Park 17 miles, 29 minutes

Wilmette 16 miles, 23 minutes

Winnetka 18 miles, 25 minutes

Heritage Oaks 24 miles, 32 minutes

Sunset Valley 24 miles, 32 minutes

 

Here's my takeaway... if living in the city is a must, I just think the northern courses overall are more easily accessible.  They certainly are closer.  Yes, coming back into the city from the northern courses, particularly at the wrong time of day, is painful.  But you really would need consistent ideal traffic to/from the SW courses to compete with the proximity of these tracks up north. 

 

Bottom line, the distance to get to the SW courses from the city is a major part of the reason that I haven't played most of these tracks...

[DavePelz4]

On 7/31/2024 at 4:59 PM, sittonsideways said:

Houston is not exactly Camelot, for the record. I've had my car windows shattered twice in the past 7 years. Friends have been robbed at gunpoint, etc. Like you said, it's part of living in any big city.

 

Houston has the worst zoning of any major city in the US.

[DavePelz4]

11 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

Not sure if you recall the White Eagle nonsense and how they fought and fought to get a Naperville address. It's just a wild place between that and the people who are broke wanting to have the "Naperville Life" and image.

 

The subdivision is rather unique as part of it is in Aurora, part Naperville. Part is DuPage County, part is Will County.  My former home was in the Will County part and my neighbor across the street was in DuPage. Originally, his taxes were $4-5K higher annually than mine.  Then, they started building the Plainfield high schools, and that delta reversed and my tax bill was higher than his. 

 

Naperville has a hidden seedy side with a swinger's club and a lot of swapping.  The volume of trophy wives and their competitive side is insane, and there is minimal parenting which causes tons of issues. Naperville did a good job of hiding the heroin problem that plagued Naperville Central and the deaths, and Neuqua had to develop a policy to combat the water bottles filled with vodka.  My niece is a teacher at Neuqua and has quite the stories.

[MountainKing]

5 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

The subdivision is rather unique as part of it is in Aurora, part Naperville. Part is DuPage County, part is Will County.  My former home was in the Will County part and my neighbor across the street was in DuPage. Originally, his taxes were $4-5K higher annually than mine.  Then, they started building the Plainfield high schools, and that delta reversed and my tax bill was higher than his. 

 

Naperville has a hidden seedy side with a swinger's club and a lot of swapping.  The volume of trophy wives and their competitive side is insane, and there is minimal parenting which causes tons of issues. Naperville did a good job of hiding the heroin problem that plagued Naperville Central and the deaths, and Neuqua had to develop a policy to combat the water bottles filled with vodka.  My niece is a teacher at Neuqua and has quite the stories.

 

Yeah I didn't even do down that path of the drug, alcohol and other issues found within the city.  All that along with the racism is some of the worst kept secrets there.   They do their best to keep everything under wraps so it can maintain the cookie cutter image.  I should be nicer about it, I had a great childhood growing up in south Naperville and received a great education.  I dunno when it started really turning, but it seems like it was probably in the early 90's (according to my parents) when the south end started developing and booming.   My parents had some issues there a few years back when an immigrant family move next door and they wouldn't go along with the others that wanted to make things miserable so they'd move and I've been really wanting them out since then. 

 

Anyway - Idlewild tomorrow, haven't been out there in years so it should be fun.

[sittonsideways]

47 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Houston has the worst zoning of any major city in the US.

In that we literally don’t have zoning laws. Madness. 

[ldchristopher]

Okay, back to golf talk. The Bear and I are in Pekin after enjoying Red Tail Run and Weaver Ridge (The Bear liked the front but the “Ray Floyd Turn on 13-17 did nothing for him). Red Tail Run is a huge prairie style layout that’s very long from the tips at over 7300 yards. After a 3:00 AM wake-up and 3 hour car drive, I played the blues at a little over 6700. Good choice. Made birdie on the first hole as well as two others (7 and 10). Overall, it’s a fun course. Not very difficult and reminds me of The Brassie (RIP) and Prairie Bluff. Would I drive down here to play it again? Maybe. It can be paired with a course in Indy if you want round one on central time to save an hour of sleep. 73. 
 

Weaver Ridge is in much better shape than the last time we were here, when the bunker renovation was underway. The new bunkers are excellent. The new owners will

need to pump a little more cash into the course to improve some of the greens and it’ll always be a maintenance hog but it’s a stellar layout with some really god holes on the back nine. I again birdied the first as well as 9 and 11 and thought I might shoot at or under par. However, I tired out and bogied the last three holes to finish with a 75. We’ll probably keep coming down here once every other year. Ideally with a little more sleep the night before. Lick Creek and Coyote Creek tomorrow. 

[Argonne69]

6 minutes ago, ldchristopher said:

Okay, back to golf talk. The Bear and I are in Pekin after enjoying Red Tail Run and Weaver Ridge (The Bear liked the front but the “Ray Floyd Turn on 13-17 did nothing for him). Red Tail Run is a huge prairie style layout that’s very long from the tips at over 7300 yards. After a 3:00 AM wake-up and 3 hour car drive, I played the blues at a little over 6700. Good choice. Made birdie on the first hole as well as two others (7 and 10). Overall, it’s a fun course. Not very difficult and reminds me of The Brassie (RIP) and Prairie Bluff. Would I drive down here to play it again? Maybe. It can be paired with a course in Indy if you want round one on central time to save an hour of sleep. 73. 
 

Weaver Ridge is in much better shape than the last time we were here, when the bunker renovation was underway. The new bunkers are excellent. The new owners will

need to pump a little more cash into the course to improve some of the greens and it’ll always be a maintenance hog but it’s a stellar layout with some really god holes on the back nine. I again birdied the first as well as 9 and 11 and thought I might shoot at or under par. However, I tired out and bogied the last three holes to finish with a 75. We’ll probably keep coming down here once every other year. Ideally with a little more sleep the night before. Lick Creek and Coyote Creek tomorrow. 

 

Lick Creek has some really tough holes. 

 

[ldchristopher]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Lick Creek has some really tough holes. 

 

We played there in 2022. I figured it would have some tight holes but it was even more hemmed in on the front than either of us expected. As Bear said, when a guy who has played a thousand courses says there are some really tough holes, it’s a challenging layout. 

[mci711]

@ldchristopher Nice to hear WR is getting back to the shape it was years ago. Such a fun layout, glad they are putting money into it. Last time I was there was a major disappointment and I haven't been back. 

[ldchristopher]

Lick Creek was outstanding this morning. Bear was not a fan the first time around but it was much drier in ‘22 and balls were bounding off hardpan into the ravines. This year, it was nice and lush. Weaver Ridge is a great layout but Lick Creek was the star of this trip. It’s an equally outstanding layout but it’s walkable. I made par on 1-5 but 6 (double) and 7 (bogey) kicked me in the junk and stole my lunch money. That tee shot on 6 (pictured) is about as snug as they come. I recovered and, after bogies on 10 and 11, parred out. Tough, tough course. I was thrilled with my birdie-free 77. 

The heat and horrid pace negatively impacted my overall view of Coyote Creek but I find it to be a poor layout. There are a bunch of short 4’s on the front that cause nothing but backups and the back is filled with mentally exhausting long 4’s. Plus, after outstanding bunkers on Lick Creek (same tour sand as Weaver Ridge), the traps at Coyote are awful. More of a mud/sand mix with exposed drainage tiles and they aren’t being groomed at all. I had the legs to finish the trip strong but I had an overheated Bear beside me. Two birdies on 3 and 8 and I just kinda survived the slog on the back for a 75. 
 

[Argonne69]

7 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Lick Creek was outstanding this morning. Bear was not a fan the first time around but it was much drier in ‘22 and balls were bounding off hardpan into the ravines. This year, it was nice and lush. Weaver Ridge is a great layout but Lick Creek was the star of this trip. It’s an equally outstanding layout but it’s walkable. I made par on 1-5 but 6 (double) and 7 (bogey) kicked me in the junk and stole my lunch money. That tee shot on 6 (pictured) is about as snug as they come. I recovered and, after bogies on 10 and 11, parred out. Tough, tough course. I was thrilled with my birdie-free 77. 

The heat and horrid pace negatively impacted my overall view of Coyote Creek but I find it to be a poor layout. There are a bunch of short 4’s on the front that cause nothing but backups and the back is filled with mentally exhausting long 4’s. Plus, after outstanding bunkers on Lick Creek (same tour sand as Weaver Ridge), the traps at Coyote are awful. More of a mud/sand mix with exposed drainage tiles and they aren’t being groomed at all. I had the legs to finish the trip strong but I had an overheated Bear beside me. Two birdies on 3 and 8 and I just kinda survived the slog on the back for a 75. 
 

 

I remember that tee shot on the 6th. Daunting.

 

[MountainKing]

Idlewild yesterday.  I love these old golf courses, they have a sort of charm that modern courses tend to be missing.   It's not a mind blowing course, but it's all right in front of you with narrow fairways,  well placed bunkers and small difficult greens that were rolling around 12.   It's a private club so conditions were great,  pace was great.   The private experience just hits different and is a nice get away from the idiots we see on the public tracks.   1 birdie,  a couple bogies and a great day with the putter for a 73. 

 

 

[ldchristopher]

19 hours ago, mci711 said:

@ldchristopher Nice to hear WR is getting back to the shape it was years ago. Such a fun layout, glad they are putting money into it. Last time I was there was a major disappointment and I haven't been back. 

It’s worth a return trip. They’ve heavily invested in the property and seem committed to maintaining it. Not a golf thing but when we were there in 22, the water hazards were just all algae covered. Nothing moved and they were mosquito breeding grounds. Now the water is crystal clear. Not necessarily the…umm…traditional color of water (more like a mini golf course’s blue-green water) but clear. I think they’ll need to shrink the green on 12. That’s the beautiful 228-yard par 3 that goes about 10 stories downhill. They tried re-sodding the back fringe but that died. Just too much tree coverage behind and around the green. 

[ldchristopher]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I remember that tee shot on the 6th. Daunting.

 

Usually, par 5’s are scoring holes for me. Not at Lick Creek. 2 is a 550 90° dogleg, 6 is that comically tight collector of even moderately wayward drives and second shots, and 11 is a classic Larry Packard double dogleg that’s also 590 and goes uphill to a green that can’t be seen from outside of 75 yards. 18 is a scoring hole. A 502/486 par 5 with a split fairway. But there’s a huge water hazard right in the middle of the fairway to the right. Just a tough, tough course that punishes people who aren’t sharp off the tee. I love it. Can’t wait to go back. 

[Holy Moses]

First time playing Cog Hill #4 yesterday. Nice greens, huge bunkers (but I loved the sand), and some nasty falloffs from the green complexes. I loved the fairway bentgrass. So many courses have rock hard fairways and it’s too easy to hit thin shots from them. You can really hit some nice irons off of Dubs’. Almost felt like a combination of bent and low mow bluegrass. Like many courses due to this summer’s rain and humidity, turf diseases were everywhere. Obviously a tough course with juicy rough and holes that didn’t set up to my eye. Plenty of blindish tee shots. My only complaints were the terrible cart GPS and lack of drinking water on the course. My partners went through 3 carts because the GPS was malfunctioning. Mine wouldn’t give me the correct yardage half the time. But still a great experience on a really hot day.

Edited August 4, 2024 by Holy Moses

[@_the_crook]

On 7/31/2024 at 4:37 PM, zer0 said:

 

The Billy Caldwell/Edgebrook 27 hole loop followed by a stop at SuperDawg can't be beat!

don't forget the Bunny Hutch...

[MountainKing]

5 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

First time playing Cog Hill #4 yesterday. Nice greens, huge bunkers (but I loved the sand), and some nasty falloffs from the green complexes. I loved the fairway bentgrass. So many courses have rock hard fairways and it’s too easy to hit thin shots from them. You can really hit some nice irons off of Dubs’. Almost felt like a combination of bent and low mow bluegrass. Like many courses due to this summer’s rain and humidity, turf diseases were everywhere. Obviously a tough course with juicy rough and holes that didn’t set up to my eye. Plenty of blindish tee shots. My only complaints were the terrible cart GPS and lack of drinking water on the course. My partners went through 3 carts because the GPS was malfunctioning. Mine wouldn’t give me the correct yardage half the time. But still a great experience on a really hot day.

 

Imo the tighter the fairway the better.   Much easier to control spin, and you don't have to deal with accidental fliers that fluffier bent fairways or bluegrass fairways can hit you with. 

[Holy Moses]

20 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

Imo the tighter the fairway the better.   Much easier to control spin, and you don't have to deal with accidental fliers that fluffier bent fairways or bluegrass fairways can hit you with. 

You’d like Arrowhead. Hardest bent fairways I have ever played.

[DavePelz4]

Our comp group played Ruffled Feathers Saturday. Golf Visions.  Those 2 words should be put on the home page of every website as a signal to stay away.  

 

Let's start with making tee times.  Anyone trying to book multiple groups can only book 1 time online, it's prepaid, and to book more than 1 you have to call.  Easy enough, right? Yeah, no. When calling in I suggested using the same credit card to book the other slots and they confirmed it. Checked the credit card, it was done, so we'll be all good, right?  I'm always the first to arrive just to insure there are no issues, and of course, there were. The young lady, who was kind, said the other groups weren't pre-paid so I popped open the cell to show they were.  She said no, I said yes, let's get the GM to mediate.  A bit of foreshadowing, but he's not one to sing the praises of Golf Visions, either.  Took 20 minutes to resolve.  BTW, I called in on Wednesday to let them know we had a cancellation so they could fill the slot if a single wanted to play.  Remember the Seinfeld where Jerry had booked a rental car but they didn't have one? Well in this case, they took the cancellation, but didn't want to honor the cancellation.

 

Golf Visions.

 

Let's go to the range, or let's call it the area where you hit balls before your round that has minimal grass and minimal targets.  Ironically, on the way in on the left side, it appeared they had a wonderful short game area. I had high hopes. My preference is to have targets, shoot the distance, and then warm up with clubs short and long of target numbers to get a feel of exactly how much I suck that particular day.  Yeah, no. At least the balls were included in the greens fees, and some were washed.

 

Golf Visions.

 

The starter, who said he was an 8 handicap as I always ask about their game, told us the bunkers were considered GUR, not to hit from any of them, pull the ball out, no penalty. He also said they had bottled water on "most of the holes" and to look for the box filled with ice, if needed, and water. Um...after the first hole, there were exactly ZERO holes that had boxes with either ice or water.  While I'm at it, on a day with Real Feel temps of 98, we saw the beverage assistant twice.  Hey Tim Miles Sr. and Tim Miles Jr., seeing that you're all about money, why not have a cart on the front and one on the back, on 90 degree days?  More on that coming up, too. It takes a ton of the challenge out of a course when you can intentionally aim for a bunker knowing that you can pull it out if you hit it there? While I would have only been in 1, my match play opponent was in many and was advantaged by being able to play from an improved lie. RF didn't have rakes in the bunkers, except for 1 on the 18th hole.  Really? 18?

 

Golf Visions.

 

On to the course...there were some really nice hole designs, liked the mix of lengthy par 4s coupled with a few that were more strategic and second shot oriented. There were some great green complexes where you had high or low options.  Wish the bunkers were more in play as you really didn't need to consider those. Think it was the 15th hole that was somewhat unplayable related to a recent water line break. Pretty sure I repaired over 100 ball marks on the greens. I should send them a bill. My friend VNutz would suggest these are COVID golfers, and I don't think he's wrong. And what's the deal with hitting drives over a street?  Anyone see potential issues with this?  Please don't say the stop signs because in the burbs of Chicago, those apparently only mean to hurry the F up.

 

The practice putting green is probably the biggest defense of the golf course.  I can only think of the practice green at GCI in Algonquin that has a green that doesn't remotely mirror the course. The practice green at RF is hidden under trees, minimal sunshine, and I've putted on faster pile carpeting. Guessing that green rolled at an 6-7. On 1, 2 and 3, my birdie putts were blasted a good 4-5 feet past the hole. In reality, guessing the greens were an 11 and the adjustment took a bit to kick in.

 

Golf Visions.

 

It's a Saturday, so I'm not expecting a 3:15 round.  OK with 4:15, but 5:15 is just beyond appropriate. Of course Golf Visions doesn't believe in rangers, it's an expense, like sand IN bunkers at Oak Grove, yeah, no. On some holes, we were able to spend time with our entire comp group and watch their shots, and putts. While fun, it was a totally slow round.

 

Golf Visions.

 

So after the round who did I casually bump into but the GM again.  He asks, "what did you think of the course?" Understanding that I'm never going to be the Ambassador to Switzerland, I decided to share my thoughts.  Potentially great course, totally devoid of investments from reservations, to employee training, to course maintenance, no water despite what the starter told us, and I had to mention the lack of sand. His response, and he sounded like a Cubs fan, was "Maybe next year." 

 

Golf Visions.

 

Oh, this isn't done.  Our group generally has a beverage or two while we go through results, skins, par 3s, distribute cash, etc. The bar, wasn't able to serve. They directed us outside to the halfway house as they didn't have staff.  That's OK, we love to be outside as much as possible.  Being in the last group, others had beverages in hand, so I went to get them just for our foursome. The service "professional" at the window is engaged in a conversation with another employee and who are they discussing?  Golf Visions and how they treat people. Hmmm...well maybe I understand. However, after his conversation ends, and mind you, this person is about 1.5 feet away from where I'm standing, he turns and walks away, only to return 7 minutes later. He graciously apologizes and shares that they've had a lot of employees quit because of how they were treated so they're slow on everything.

 

So to summarize, if you want to play an overpriced course, with a  range that sucks, that doesn't let you hit out of the bunkers, takes shi**y care of players, doesn't invest in course maintenance, couldn't care about pace, etc., I highly endorse RF.

 

Next comp round at the Highlands. Whew.

 

Edited August 5, 2024 by DavePelz4

[ldchristopher]

5 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

Our comp group played Ruffled Feathers Saturday. Golf Visions.  Those 2 words should be put on the home page of every website as a signal to stay away.  

 

Let's start with making tee times.  Anyone trying to book multiple groups can only book 1 time online, it's prepaid, and to book more than 1 you have to call.  Easy enough, right? Yeah, no. When calling in I suggested using the same credit card to book the other slots and they confirmed it. Checked the credit card, it was done, so we'll be all good, right?  I'm always the first to arrive just to insure there are no issues, and of course, there were. The young lady, who was kind, said the other groups weren't pre-paid so I popped open the cell to show they were.  She said no, I said yes, let's get the GM to mediate.  A bit of foreshadowing, but he's not one to sing the praises of Golf Visions, either.  Took 20 minutes to resolve.  BTW, I called in on Wednesday to let them know we had a cancellation so they could fill the slot if a single wanted to play.  Remember the Seinfeld where Jerry had booked a rental car but they didn't have one? Well in this case, they took the cancellation, but didn't want to honor the cancellation.

 

Golf Visions.

 

Let's go to the range, or let's call it the area where you hit balls before your round that has minimal grass and minimal targets.  Ironically, on the way in on the left side, it appeared they had a wonderful short game area. I had high hopes. My preference is to have targets, shoot the distance, and then warm up with clubs short and long of target numbers to get a feel of exactly how much I suck that particular day.  Yeah, no. At least the balls were included in the greens fees, and some were washed.

 

Golf Visions.

 

The starter, who said he was an 8 handicap as I always ask about their game, told us the bunkers were considered GUR, not to hit from any of them, pull the ball out, no penalty. He also said they had bottled water on "most of the holes" and to look for the box filled with ice, if needed, and water. Um...after the first hole, there were exactly ZERO holes that had boxes with either ice or water.  While I'm at it, on a day with Real Feel temps of 98, we saw the beverage assistant twice.  Hey Tim Miles Sr. and Tim Miles Jr., seeing that you're all about money, why not have a cart on the front and one on the back, on 90 degree days?  More on that coming up, too. It takes a ton of the challenge out of a course when you can intentionally aim for a bunker knowing that you can pull it out if you hit it there? While I would have only been in 1, my match play opponent was in many and was advantaged by being able to play from an improved lie. RF didn't have rakes in the bunkers, except for 1 on the 18th hole.  Really? 18?

 

Golf Visions.

 

On to the course...there were some really nice hole designs, liked the mix of lengthy par 4s coupled with a few that were more strategic and second shot oriented. There were some great green complexes where you had high or low options.  Wish the bunkers were more in play as you really didn't need to consider those. Think it was the 15th hole that was somewhat unplayable related to a recent water line break. Pretty sure I repaired over 100 ball marks on the greens. I should send them a bill. My friend VNutz would suggest these are COVID golfers, and I don't think he's wrong. And what's the deal with hitting drives over a street?  Anyone see potential issues with this?  Please don't say the stop signs because in the burbs of Chicago, those apparently only mean to hurry the F up.

 

The practice putting green is probably the biggest defense of the golf course.  I can only think of the practice green at GCI in Algonquin that has a green that doesn't remotely mirror the course. The practice green at RF is hidden under trees, minimal sunshine, and I've putted on faster pile carpeting. Guessing that green rolled at an 6-7. On 1, 2 and 3, my birdie putts were blasted a good 4-5 feet past the hole. In reality, guessing the greens were an 11 and the adjustment took a bit to kick in.

 

Golf Visions.

 

It's a Saturday, so I'm not expecting a 3:15 round.  OK with 4:15, but 5:15 is just beyond appropriate. Of course Golf Visions doesn't believe in rangers, it's an expense, like sand IN bunkers at Oak Grove, yeah, no. On some holes, we were able to spend time with our entire comp group and watch their shots, and putts. While fun, it was a totally slow round.

 

Golf Visions.

 

So after the round who did I casually bump into but the GM again.  He asks, "what did you think of the course?" Understanding that I'm never going to be the Ambassador to Switzerland, I decided to share my thoughts.  Potentially great course, totally devoid of investments from reservations, to employee training, to course maintenance, no water despite what the starter told us, and I had to mention the lack of sand. His response, and he sounded like a Cubs fan, was "Maybe next year." 

 

Golf Visions.

 

Oh, this isn't done.  Our group generally has a beverage or two while we go through results, skins, par 3s, distribute cash, etc. The bar, wasn't able to serve. They directed us outside to the halfway house as they didn't have staff.  That's OK, we love to be outside as much as possible.  Being in the last group, others had beverages in hand, so I went to get them just for our foursome. The service "professional" at the window is engaged in a conversation with another employee and who are they discussing?  Golf Visions and how they treat people. Hmmm...well maybe I understand. However, after his conversation ends, and mind you, this person is about 1.5 feet away from where I'm standing, he turns and walks away, only to return 7 minutes later. He graciously apologizes and shares that they've had a lot of employees quit because of how they were treated so they're slow on everything.

 

So to summarize, if you want to play an overpriced course, with a  range that sucks, that doesn't let you hit out of the bunkers, takes shi**y care of players, doesn't invest in course maintenance, couldn't care about pace, etc., I highly endorse RF.

 

Next comp round at the Highlands. Whew.

 

Tell us how you really feel. 
 

I actually don’t recall RF being in the GolfVisions portfolio until this year. Feathers has always been a big hit or a woeful miss on conditioning. At least by becoming a GV course they’re fully committing to the woeful miss. 

[MountainKing]

14 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

Our comp group played Ruffled Feathers Saturday. Golf Visions.  Those 2 words should be put on the home page of every website as a signal to stay away.  

 

Let's start with making tee times.  Anyone trying to book multiple groups can only book 1 time online, it's prepaid, and to book more than 1 you have to call.  Easy enough, right? Yeah, no. When calling in I suggested using the same credit card to book the other slots and they confirmed it. Checked the credit card, it was done, so we'll be all good, right?  I'm always the first to arrive just to insure there are no issues, and of course, there were. The young lady, who was kind, said the other groups weren't pre-paid so I popped open the cell to show they were.  She said no, I said yes, let's get the GM to mediate.  A bit of foreshadowing, but he's not one to sing the praises of Golf Visions, either.  Took 20 minutes to resolve.  BTW, I called in on Wednesday to let them know we had a cancellation so they could fill the slot if a single wanted to play.  Remember the Seinfeld where Jerry had booked a rental car but they didn't have one? Well in this case, they took the cancellation, but didn't want to honor the cancellation.

 

Golf Visions.

 

Let's go to the range, or let's call it the area where you hit balls before your round that has minimal grass and minimal targets.  Ironically, on the way in on the left side, it appeared they had a wonderful short game area. I had high hopes. My preference is to have targets, shoot the distance, and then warm up with clubs short and long of target numbers to get a feel of exactly how much I suck that particular day.  Yeah, no. At least the balls were included in the greens fees, and some were washed.

 

Golf Visions.

 

The starter, who said he was an 8 handicap as I always ask about their game, told us the bunkers were considered GUR, not to hit from any of them, pull the ball out, no penalty. He also said they had bottled water on "most of the holes" and to look for the box filled with ice, if needed, and water. Um...after the first hole, there were exactly ZERO holes that had boxes with either ice or water.  While I'm at it, on a day with Real Feel temps of 98, we saw the beverage assistant twice.  Hey Tim Miles Sr. and Tim Miles Jr., seeing that you're all about money, why not have a cart on the front and one on the back, on 90 degree days?  More on that coming up, too. It takes a ton of the challenge out of a course when you can intentionally aim for a bunker knowing that you can pull it out if you hit it there? While I would have only been in 1, my match play opponent was in many and was advantaged by being able to play from an improved lie. RF didn't have rakes in the bunkers, except for 1 on the 18th hole.  Really? 18?

 

Golf Visions.

 

On to the course...there were some really nice hole designs, liked the mix of lengthy par 4s coupled with a few that were more strategic and second shot oriented. There were some great green complexes where you had high or low options.  Wish the bunkers were more in play as you really didn't need to consider those. Think it was the 15th hole that was somewhat unplayable related to a recent water line break. Pretty sure I repaired over 100 ball marks on the greens. I should send them a bill. My friend VNutz would suggest these are COVID golfers, and I don't think he's wrong. And what's the deal with hitting drives over a street?  Anyone see potential issues with this?  Please don't say the stop signs because in the burbs of Chicago, those apparently only mean to hurry the F up.

 

The practice putting green is probably the biggest defense of the golf course.  I can only think of the practice green at GCI in Algonquin that has a green that doesn't remotely mirror the course. The practice green at RF is hidden under trees, minimal sunshine, and I've putted on faster pile carpeting. Guessing that green rolled at an 6-7. On 1, 2 and 3, my birdie putts were blasted a good 4-5 feet past the hole. In reality, guessing the greens were an 11 and the adjustment took a bit to kick in.

 

Golf Visions.

 

It's a Saturday, so I'm not expecting a 3:15 round.  OK with 4:15, but 5:15 is just beyond appropriate. Of course Golf Visions doesn't believe in rangers, it's an expense, like sand IN bunkers at Oak Grove, yeah, no. On some holes, we were able to spend time with our entire comp group and watch their shots, and putts. While fun, it was a totally slow round.

 

Golf Visions.

 

So after the round who did I casually bump into but the GM again.  He asks, "what did you think of the course?" Understanding that I'm never going to be the Ambassador to Switzerland, I decided to share my thoughts.  Potentially great course, totally devoid of investments from reservations, to employee training, to course maintenance, no water despite what the starter told us, and I had to mention the lack of sand. His response, and he sounded like a Cubs fan, was "Maybe next year." 

 

Golf Visions.

 

Oh, this isn't done.  Our group generally has a beverage or two while we go through results, skins, par 3s, distribute cash, etc. The bar, wasn't able to serve. They directed us outside to the halfway house as they didn't have staff.  That's OK, we love to be outside as much as possible.  Being in the last group, others had beverages in hand, so I went to get them just for our foursome. The service "professional" at the window is engaged in a conversation with another employee and who are they discussing?  Golf Visions and how they treat people. Hmmm...well maybe I understand. However, after his conversation ends, and mind you, this person is about 1.5 feet away from where I'm standing, he turns and walks away, only to return 7 minutes later. He graciously apologizes and shares that they've had a lot of employees quit because of how they were treated so they're slow on everything.

 

So to summarize, if you want to play an overpriced course, with a  range that sucks, that doesn't let you hit out of the bunkers, takes shi**y care of players, doesn't invest in course maintenance, couldn't care about pace, etc., I highly endorse RF.

 

Next comp round at the Highlands. Whew.

 

 

I know Ruffled has been part of Arcis for a while, along with two other gems in Tamerack and Fresh Meadows.  It's always been a weird one, it was designed by Pete's son and then randomly they just started leaning hard on it being a Pete Dye design.   Even when it was pristine I honestly never cared much for it.  It's a typical squeezed in housing golf course, especially when you get to the far part of the course of 12-16.   Not enough room to build a proper length par 5?  No problem we'll just put tall trees in front of the green to make it one.  16 is up there as one of the dumbest holes in Chicago. Just a lot of manufactured target golf which doesn't appeal to me.  The course going to garbage 10 years back was a blessing, the guys who wanted in the rotation decided to take it out due to poor conditions.

[DavePelz4]

24 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

I know Ruffled has been part of Arcis for a while, along with two other gems in Tamerack and Fresh Meadows.  It's always been a weird one, it was designed by Pete's son and then randomly they just started leaning hard on it being a Pete Dye design.   Even when it was pristine I honestly never cared much for it.  It's a typical squeezed in housing golf course, especially when you get to the far part of the course of 12-16.   Not enough room to build a proper length par 5?  No problem we'll just put tall trees in front of the green to make it one.  16 is up there as one of the dumbest holes in Chicago. Just a lot of manufactured target golf which doesn't appeal to me.  The course going to garbage 10 years back was a blessing, the guys who wanted in the rotation decided to take it out due to poor conditions.

 

Totally with you. 16 is a disaster. Hit 5W off the tee and was about 1 foot in the rough and couldn't play to the green unless attempting a huge hook, over the water and you know that's not stopping on the green easily.  Had to hit a wedge about 40 yards and then hit another wedge into the green. And that green isn't very receptive, either. 

[MountainKing]

2 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Totally with you. 16 is a disaster. Hit 5W off the tee and was about 1 foot in the rough and couldn't play to the green unless attempting a huge hook, over the water and you know that's not stopping on the green easily.  Had to hit a wedge about 40 yards and then hit another wedge into the green. And that green isn't very receptive, either. 

 

That stretch over there has 3 short par 4's and 2 short par 5's.  PB had to turn it into mini golf.  Do they still have the reeds up on 16?  At one point they had them so high that even with being familiar with the hole you were still guessing where to hit it because you couldn't see anything over them.