Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[ldchristopher]

Played some Irish golf at Wedgewood today with Bear. The course was pretty wet but there was very little standing water. Just lots of mud balls, particularly in the rough. It felt like every pin was back except for the Hawk Auto hole. The new holes are growing on me, but 14 is still dumb. I played like boiled @$$. Hit some good iron shots and putted pretty well considering the constant drizzle but driver and 3 wood were both going all over the place. Very much not like me. 78. 

[MountainKing]

Springbrook this morning, in the as mentioned irish weather.   It was misting and cold at tee off, but the mist cleared up after a few holes.  Course was wet, but drains really well.  No mud balls there, and greens rolled fantastic, better than Prairie Landing for sure.  As DP mentioned tho, ball marks all over the place.  Why is this so hard?  The 4 of us repaired 3-4 each on every hole and there was still a ton left.   Pace was solid at 4 hours.   Much better results today, but my putting is still a complete mess.   Birdied 1, pin high in 2 on the 2nd and 11th and missed the 3 foot birdies on both.  Had another handful of 10 footers for birdie I couldn't drop, and some bad 3 putts.  I did add a chip in birdie, but a bad double on 7, and 2 3 putts brought me at 74. 

 

Next weekend looks like Sunset Valley, then 36 out at Fyre Lake. 

[@_the_crook]

what a godawful morning that was.

on top of the rain & chill, the greens had been recently aerated. all were slow as can be with lots of loose sand.

two of our guys actually dropped out at the turn, said they were chilled to the bone.

one stalwart & I played on, and around #12, the rain let up.

we finished with a decent time, but were just worn out.

think I went through a half gallon of coffee and soaked two pair of cold weather gloves.

so far - four weekends played in crummy weather.

the things we endure......

 

ETA, and my shoes leaked.

Aargh!

 

Edited April 20 by @_the_crook
info

[DavePelz4]

Played a tournament round yesterday at Silver Lakes South. Smaller comp group. The crappy weather forecasted held off until the 18th green and all in all it was a pleasant day. Played in a polo and compression shirt which was perfect. Forced to ride again due to a flare up of osteoarthritis. Note to everyone, don't get old, parts of it suck. On to golf.

 

After a well struck tee shot, and a second shot with a bad bounce, managed to start off with an 8. Yikes.  It gets better no doubt, right? Solid drive on 2, wedge to 15 feet and THREE PUTTS. Well that's not a good start.

 

Now, things get turned around and for the remainder of the round, the kind of golf I was capable of playing started to show, finally.  Long story short, the short game and putter got hot, up and down from where ever, and I won the overall competition by NINE shots. Even after that horrific start, and with a handicap reflective of a crappy 2024, shot 8 better than my index. Let's make this even more entertaining. The team competition, which is a net best ball, does a blind drawing post round, so you don't know who your partner was until the results are published. In a stroke of total luck, my partner was the person who finished in second, and we shot a combined, net best ball of 55 (par 70). And, to finish out the day, guess who won 2 of the CTP's with shots of 5'4" and 3'8" inches, yep. Quite the day. Have yet to see the final payout amounts but guessing it had to be in excess of 60% of the total prize pool.

 

Of course, the exceptional score, coupled with the differential from the round, knocked 4 shots off the index, which it should. Almost at the point of the pre-heart surgery index, and a much happier camper on the course and obviously enjoying the game more. Being retired, stress free, able to practice and playing double to triple the amount I've played for the last few years is making all the difference.  Three comp rounds this week, the new regular Friday/Sunday at SL and our long standing comp group ventures to Foxford Hills on Saturday. With the forecast, hoping to get at least 1 additional round and 1 good practice session in.

[stasek]

Finally got my golf season started last Saturday at Oak Brook.   Considering I haven't played a single round in roughly 6 months (and only hit the driving range few times in that span), things went pretty well.   Surprisingly avoided big numbers (Oak Brook is where I had my "Tin Cup" moment few years ago - 18 on a short par 4) and the putter generally behaved (only managed to putt off the green twice).   6 bogeys, 2 birdies later - 76.   Our "tour's" next stop is this Saturday at George Dunne, followed by our club's Spring Classic at Ruffled Feathers, and our tour's 3rd stop is at TPC Deere Run 2 weeks later.   If it weren't for the "tour", I'd hardly get a chance to play - damn work.   Not sure how many peeps had to readjust their swing after decent weight loss (~35 lbs - 210 to 175), but so far I'm liking the "new" me 😅. 

 

[Holy Moses]

Did anyone lose a wedding ring at Blackstone in front of the 6th tee Saturday morning? One of my friends found it in the rough on the side of the tee. We turned it in to the pro shop, but one of my other friends said, “How do you know this person wasn’t trying to lose the ring?” 😂.

[TheBear95]

1 hour ago, Holy Moses said:

Did anyone lose a wedding ring at Blackstone in front of the 6th tee Saturday morning? One of my friends found it in the rough on the side of the tee. We turned it in to the pro shop, but one of my other friends said, “How do you know this person wasn’t trying to lose the ring?” 😂.

 

Amazing the stuff you find out on the course. Beyond the usual golf stuff (I have picked up at least 50 wedges), I once came across some guy's dentures. Not sure how that happens. And, no, I didn't pick them up.

[ldchristopher]

23 hours ago, TheBear95 said:

 

Amazing the stuff you find out on the course. Beyond the usual golf stuff (I have picked up at least 50 wedges), I once came across some guy's dentures. Not sure how that happens. And, no, I didn't pick them up.

I remember when Bear told the shop jockey someone left his denture on the course. I expected him to be surprised. Nope. Not even the first time that had happened. 

[MountainKing]

52 minutes ago, ldchristopher said:

I remember when Bear told the shop jockey someone left his denture on the course. I expected him to be surprised. Nope. Not even the first time that had happened. 

 

Having worked at a course for 10 years...can confirm.  Like most things in life, when you think you've seen it all, something new pops up and tops it.

[MountainKing]

I'm pretty pumped that it's raining out right now.  I was getting worried that tomorrow's round was going to end up being in dry conditions. 

[TheBear95]

7 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

I'm pretty pumped that it's raining out right now.  I was getting worried that tomorrow's round was going to end up being in dry conditions. 

 

We will get two glorious weeks of dry turf conditions in late July. Unless, you play HoE. 

 

Embrace the mud balls!

[MountainKing]

1 minute ago, TheBear95 said:

 

We will get two glorious weeks of dry turf conditions in late July. Unless, you play HoE. 

 

Embrace the mud balls!

 

I'm kind of assuming this is gonna end up like two years back when the spring monsoon season stopped in May and we didn't see an ounce of rain again until August. 

 

Even tho I will fail at it, because we have a guy in our group that loves HoE, I am going to do my best to avoid it.  I've fallen out of love with that course over the years...it's never in even what I would call decent shape,  with the wow factor of the quary holes having worn off I've realized how bad the other holes really are, and like you mentioned, they water that place like there's a risk of water disappearing.

[@_the_crook]

We tee off tomorrow morning at 6am. The RealFeel will be in the mid to high 30's . I'd really like to stop dressing like a kid on the way to school in winter.

 

[Argonne69]

6 hours ago, @_the_crook said:

We tee off tomorrow morning at 6am. The RealFeel will be in the mid to high 30's . I'd really like to stop dressing like a kid on the way to school in winter.

 

 

Do you galoshes have spikes?

 

 

 

[MountainKing]

Another awful weather morning at Sunset Valley.   Very cold,  very windy.   Added frustration to show up and see greens loaded with sand.  When I booked the time two weeks ago the lady on the phone said they had already punched when I asked,  I go back in today to ask what gives "oh we punched this past Monday and Tuesday".   Why lie about it?  We would have flipped weeks if we had the right answer.  Anyway,  course drains well so it was at least dry.  With the cold I wasn't ever really able to get loose, but managed to sneak out with a 77 despite tough conditions.    Luckily we got through in 3:30, nobody wanted to be out there longer than necessary.

 

 

[underwaterDMS]

2 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Another awful weather morning at Sunset Valley.   Very cold,  very windy.   Added frustration to show up and see greens loaded with sand.  When I booked the time two weeks ago the lady on the phone said they had already punched when I asked,  I go back in today to ask what gives "oh we punched this past Monday and Tuesday".   Why lie about it?  We would have flipped weeks if we had the right answer.  Anyway,  course drains well so it was at least dry.  With the cold I wasn't ever really able to get loose, but managed to sneak out with a 77 despite tough conditions.    Luckily we got through in 3:30, nobody wanted to be out there longer than necessary.

 

 

They've been doing something different with their greens this year and last.  In prior years, they did a standard punch with a light dressing of sand.  Last year they REALLY overdid it with the sand.  The greens ran relatively slowly for a solid 4-6 weeks thereafter.  Was disappointing, as I find that they normally have the greens running very nicely, especially when compared to most other North Shore public tracks.  I play Sunset a ton, and do not remember this degree of sanding before 2024.

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, underwaterDMS said:

They've been doing something different with their greens this year and last.  In prior years, they did a standard punch with a light dressing of sand.  Last year they REALLY overdid it with the sand.  The greens ran relatively slowly for a solid 4-6 weeks thereafter.  Was disappointing, as I find that they normally have the greens running very nicely, especially when compared to most other North Shore public tracks.  I play Sunset a ton, and do not remember this degree of sanding before 2024.

 

I'm less annoyed by the maintenance and more annoyed that when i called and asked they claimed it was done 5 days prior to my call,  when it wasn't, and wouldn't be for two more weeks.    The website even has the incorrect date.  We really do our best to work around spring and fall maintenance by asking and booking accordingly.   Obviously weather can change timelines, but this was just overall poor service on the courses part.  

[ldchristopher]

36 in NWI today. I started with Palmira. Real feel at 6:30 was a balmy 31° with consistent 20+ mph winds. Just lovely weather. The course was very lush and the bunkers all have fresh sand for the season. Surprise, surprise. By not being open year round anymore and letting the course rest in the winter, it was in significantly better shape than years past. Palmira’s not gonna win any awards but it’s probably my favorite budget course. Despite the stupid wind, I played very well. Birdied 11 and 15, only one 3 putt, and shot a 74. 
 

White Hawk for round two. Yeah, it was kind of miserable weather but I got the okay for 36 and wasn’t gonna miss that. The wind kept up but the sun actually came out. With the winds so high, the greens were really moving and the rest of the course was in solid shape as always. Some of the bunkers on Silver were washed out though. I was absolutely striping the ball on Red. 6/7 fairways, 9 greens………18 putts. FML. I got tired on Silver after pushing my cart into that f****** wind all day and bogied 2, 4, and 8 but I birdied 6. Another 74. After two rough rounds at Stonehenge and Wedgewood, my swing is back where it should be. 16 miles walked today. Gonna relax tomorrow. 

[@_the_crook]

18 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Another awful weather morning at Sunset Valley.   Very cold,  very windy.   Added frustration to show up and see greens loaded with sand.  When I booked the time two weeks ago the lady on the phone said they had already punched when I asked,  I go back in today to ask what gives "oh we punched this past Monday and Tuesday".   Why lie about it?  We would have flipped weeks if we had the right answer.  Anyway,  course drains well so it was at least dry.  With the cold I wasn't ever really able to get loose, but managed to sneak out with a 77 despite tough conditions.    Luckily we got through in 3:30, nobody wanted to be out there longer than necessary.

 

 

what time did you start?  we might have been on parallel fairways a few times.

also have noticed an excess of sand - but hope in another 3/4 weeks the greens will be in better shape.

I really have no complaints about the grounds crew. they really do try to keep the place in good order. .

 

at least there was no frost delay - and the coffee's good.

[@_the_crook]

On 4/26/2025 at 5:29 AM, Argonne69 said:

 

Do you galoshes have spikes?

 

 

 

damn if I'm not old - yeah, those were our grammar school boots.

yesterday though, I wore a more grown up version.

 

[MountainKing]

7 minutes ago, @_the_crook said:

what time did you start?  we might have been on parallel fairways a few times.

also have noticed an excess of sand - but hope in another 3/4 weeks the greens will be in better shape.

I really have no complaints about the grounds crew. they really do try to keep the place in good order. .

 

at least there was no frost delay - and the coffee's good.

 

We had 7:18, went off a bit after 7.     We were squeezed behind a 3some and in front of a 2some, the 3some were behind a slow 4some that in the end wasn't all that slow since we got around in well under 4 hours.

 

I agree that they do keep the place in great shape.  Just a bizarre set of interactions around the maintenance.

[Argonne69]

11 minutes ago, @_the_crook said:

damn if I'm not old - yeah, those were our grammar school boots.

yesterday though, I wore a more grown up version.

 

 

I got in trouble with my kindergarten teacher in the winter of 68-69. Forgot to put plastic bread bags over my shoes before putting on the galoshes. She couldn't get the things off my feet, so I had to wear them all morning. When I got home from school my mom had a rough time getting them off. Always remember to use Butternut bread bags. Lol. 

 

[@_the_crook]

28 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I got in trouble with my kindergarten teacher in the winter of 68-69. Forgot to put plastic bread bags over my shoes before putting on the galoshes. She couldn't get the things off my feet, so I had to wear them all morning. When I got home from school my mom had a rough time getting them off. Always remember to use Butternut bread bags. Lol. 

 

Oh man -

Wonder bread, Silvercup, Butternut.

the store breads of youth.

no Roman Meal in our house.

[@_the_crook]

31 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

We had 7:18, went off a bit after 7.     We were squeezed behind a 3some and in front of a 2some, the 3some were behind a slow 4some that in the end wasn't all that slow since we got around in well under 4 hours.

 

I agree that they do keep the place in great shape.  Just a bizarre set of interactions around the maintenance.

We had the 6:06 and were told no one had the 6:15.  We wrapped in about 3:35.

 

Early players pace has been good, seen a lot of new faces - but those usually drop off once the PTT players are there.

The regular starter - Scotty, knows everyone and is a super guy, has been out due to a medical issue. His replacement, Willie, seems kind of mechanical about things.

 

 

 

 

 

[Holy Moses]

Nice round at Mill Creek yesterday. Greens were in good shape and the course is improving from year-to-year. For as short of a course as Mill Creek is (6,000 yard par 71 from the tips), they have two par 3s over 200 yards. Couple that with some 500+ par 5s that most people medium to long hitters can’t hit driver on (which results in 250-300 yards for a second shot) and some very tough pin locations, and Mill Creek can play pretty tough. A single got wedged before my group and the group ahead of him and he was very unhappy with how long he had to wait between shots. What did he expect?

[ldchristopher]

2 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

Nice round at Mill Creek yesterday. Greens were in good shape and the course is improving from year-to-year. For as short of a course as Mill Creek is (6,000 yard par 71 from the tips), they have two par 3s over 200 yards. Couple that with some 500+ par 5s that most people medium to long hitters can’t hit driver on (which results in 250-300 yards for a second shot) and some very tough pin locations, and Mill Creek can play pretty tough. A single got wedged before my group and the group ahead of him and he was very unhappy with how long he had to wait between shots. What did he expect?

I remember Mill Creek being a touch longer. I wanna say about 6400 yards. Did they - or, more likely, GolfVisions - shorten some holes? 

[Holy Moses]

14 minutes ago, ldchristopher said:

I remember Mill Creek being a touch longer. I wanna say about 6400 yards. Did they - or, more likely, GolfVisions - shorten some holes? 

Maybe I misread the card, but I thought it said 6,000 yards. Some websites have it at 6,400 yards though. No holes seemed shortened. 

Edited April 27 by Holy Moses

[Argonne69]

10 minutes ago, ldchristopher said:

I remember Mill Creek being a touch longer. I wanna say about 6400 yards. Did they - or, more likely, GolfVisions - shorten some holes? 

 

I played it once in 2008. The Black tees were 6420 yds. 

 

[DavePelz4]

Quite the weekend of 3 comp rounds Fri - Sun. Couldn't have been more different. Silver Lake South on Friday, 156 scheduled players. Looked at AccuWeather and Weather.com before the round and each forecasted about .01/inch between 11 and 12:30. OK, packed the lightweight rain gear.

 

Our group was all playing well, feeding off each other, and I was the one on the bottom at -2 through 7. Then, the first raindrop fell, went into full metal raingear mode and covered up. In the next 5 minutes, I thought Noah joined our foursome as the course flooded.  Seriously. Never seen a course get so bad, so quickly. And it didn't stop raining throughout the remainder of the round. Oh, those great starts completely fell apart as there was no LCP, mudballs were the norm, it was freaking cold and freezing, yet we played on.  As if this isn't bad enough, over 50 people left the course and didn't finish or didn't start. Fine, if you're going to be playing wet cold golf, at least it'll be FAST, right? Hell to the NO. 2 groups in front of played on, kudos to you on that, but you turned it into a FIVE AND A HALF ******* hour round of cold and wet golf. Seriously, I think at one point, my gonads moved north to the pancreas area trying to find warmth. 

 

Won nothing that day as the early groups got the favorable draw and kicked arse.

 

Saturday, our 24 year group played Foxford. 9A - ish tee time and by 9:15, it was a polo only. So nice out! Foxford could be such an amazing course with a little management (thanks Tim Miles and the AH's at Golf Visions). Another 5 hour round and it was 2 groups in front of ours that had 3 holes open at the end. Sheesh, as much as I love golf, just sitting there waiting isn't fun. Through the first 2 holes I found 4 bunkers, put an 8 in there, 3 putted number 3 from about 8 feet, terrible start. If this was last year, I'd have given up on the round, but with a more relaxed approach, was confident things would turn around. On 5, holed a 35 foot putt, on 6, spun a wedge to a foot and made it, on 7, hit a flop over the bunker that stopped inside 2 feet and made it, parred 8, on 9, hit a great drive but totally messed up a 7w. Had to play out to the right of the green...and hit a bellied wedge (thank you VNutz who had to putt a round with a wedge a couple of years ago and taught me something) and it just creeped over the front edge and in. Ended up making the most Stableford points on the day, 2 for 2 on the year with a long season to go.

 

Today was a 4 man team event on Silver Lake North. 90 minute frost delay wasn't fun. The format was net birdies or better only, so it led to hitting some shots that I might not normally have hit. Started like a house on fire and holed a wedge on 3, which is a 430 yard par 4 and longish for this old guy. Contributed 4 points in the first 3 holes.  Played solid and contributed 6 points on the front. Had a really ugly stretch on holes that I normally play well. The driver reverted to 2024 form, including an OB on a hole that I swear has a 100 yard fairway. It was terrible, but then I drained a 45 foot putt on that hole, WTH, that's golf. Birdied 17 and on 18, which is a par 3, hit my new "Rory" flighted shot. Well hell, that worked, and when I left the course, the 4'3" inch shot was the closest. Someone will probably beat that? Overall, our team had 13 net birdies or better, my contribution was 9. Our A player and our D player had really rough days. Pretty sure we finished second to last. In the flight comp, looks like an envelope should be forthcoming for a 2nd place finish.

Edited April 28 by DavePelz4

[mikes919]

Took off work this morning and played Mount Prospect. Only $38 to walk and conditions were outstanding all around. Pins were in pretty reasonable locations too, it’s the first time I’ve ever played there and didn’t have to deal with a double-break on pretty much every putt.