Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[Dashfast]

@Symphonize Glad to hear you had a good time - it's not easy to go low there. How do you think it compares to the other Chicagoland area courses in terms of difficulty?

[DavePelz4]

Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

[Symphonize]

> @Dashfast said:

> @Symphonize Glad to hear you had a good time - it's not easy to go low there. How do you think it compares to the other Chicagoland area courses in terms of difficulty?

 

It didn’t seem overly crazy difficult. Not saying it was easy, but we also played the gold silver combos at 6000 yards, so I can definitely see if you played the tips, it would be a lot tougher. Also helped it was a perfect day with no wind. I’m sure it gets windy there any that makes for some difficult shots. Was expecting the greens to be a little thougher than they were, but I putted pretty well for myself.

[Holy Moses]

> @DavePelz4 said:

> Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

 

I played it last year. Was not a fan.

[ldchristopher]

Washington County and Mascoutin today. WC was a given to close out weekday non-holiday doubles for the year (back to work tomorrow) and we thought about Lawsonia Links for round 2 but, honestly (looks around for Zer0...doesn’t see him...all clear...speaking in a whisper voice) Bear and I like Mascoutin better provided we play the Blue nine. Washington County charged us a whopping $26 for the first tee time and the course was terrific but dew-covered on a few holes. The logical trade off for walking a round in 2:40. That place always delivers but I can’t seem to go sub-75 no matter how well I’m striking the ball. 77.

 

Mascoutin...WOW! Such a great, great course. I’m not sure I’d call it a hidden gem because people who frequent Lawsonia know of it, but it’s definitely not something the Chicago-to Green Lake crowd go out of their way to play. The greens were excellent and essentially void of marks on most of the holes, the White course’s degree of difficulty has increased as it has aged with trees hanging over the sides of fairways leaving some tight but fair tee shots, the bunkers have fescue above them similar to Bowes, and the Blue course feels like it belongs in Michigan (tall pines, ravines, large undulating greens, marshes, a feeling of isolation on every hole, etc.). I generally like Rick Jacobsen designs and the Blue nine at Mascoutin is no exception. 75.

[chrisokeefe12]

So I was lucky enough to play a private course outside the Chicago area called black sheep. It was such a great course and a very cool. Not sure if anyone has played it or even heard of it.

[Holy Moses]

> @DavePelz4 said:

> Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

 

I played it last year. Was not a fan. > @chrisokeefe12 said:

> So I was lucky enough to play a private course outside the Chicago area called black sheep. It was such a great course and a very cool. Not sure if anyone has played it or even heard of it.

 

Is it male only?

[chrisokeefe12]

> @"Holy Moses" said:

> > @DavePelz4 said:

> > Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

>

> I played it last year. Was not a fan. > @chrisokeefe12 said:

> > So I was lucky enough to play a private course outside the Chicago area called black sheep. It was such a great course and a very cool. Not sure if anyone has played it or even heard of it.

>

> Is it male only?

 

Yes it is a male only club.

[sma]

What are the membership costs like at Black Sheep?

[B-Man]

Midlothian yesterday. Whilst the course was in very good condition considering the massive dump Sunday morning, I'm not a fan. It suffers from a common problem to similar courses of that heritage. Designed 100 or so years a go it's a great layout but the greens just cannot support the level of speed they are cut at today. Ravisloe is similar but not as bad. There's just no way you can have a fair game on big-sloped greens that fast. They weren't designed for it. What's the solution. Either slow all the greens down or rebuild each green (expensive) with lesser slope for the faster speeds to better reflect the design's original intention.

 

Other than that it was a fantastic day event there, mostly cloudy with a nice breeze. Our scramble group shot 61 which wasn't even close to winning. Why am I not surprised. One thing I'd never seen before is each group had a caddy who ran around the whole course picking up stray balls. These kids could move!

[DavePelz4]

> @"Holy Moses" said:

> > @DavePelz4 said:

> > Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

>

> I played it last year. Was not a fan.

 

HM...can you share what you didn't like? We're going to play a test round on Sunday but any extra info would be appreciated.

[Hparkgolf]

> @chrisokeefe12 said:

> So I was lucky enough to play a private course outside the Chicago area called black sheep. It was such a great course and a very cool. Not sure if anyone has played it or even heard of it.

 

> @chrisokeefe12 said:

> So I was lucky enough to play a private course outside the Chicago area called black sheep. It was such a great course and a very cool. Not sure if anyone has played it or even heard of it.

 

 

I play Black Sheep regularly with a good friend and have played in some of their Member/Guest events and it is quite the experience.

 

It is all male.

[Holy Moses]

> @DavePelz4 said:

> > @"Holy Moses" said:

> > > @DavePelz4 said:

> > > Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

> >

> > I played it last year. Was not a fan.

>

> HM...can you share what you didn't like? We're going to play a test round on Sunday but any extra info would be appreciated.

 

Conditioning was ok. It’s a $40 or so course, so it’s probably not going to be as well-maintained as the courses I’ve heard you enjoy which are a little pricier. Few of the holes were memorable to me.

[Shriner]

> @DavePelz4 said:

> Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

 

At that point, you could just use Marengo Ridge. Was in pretty good condition about a month ago and is a scenic, challenging layout. I think Blackstone is 6700 yards and Marengo is 6600 yards. Otherwise, the next closest alternative that is on par with Blackstone is probably Bowes Creek.

[DavePelz4]

> @Shriner said:

> > @DavePelz4 said:

> > Our season long competition is sadly nearing its end. We usually finish at Blackstone as it's a great course that is nearby to our closing party. Blackstone isn't going to be available on 9/14 which is a date we're locked into for scheduling purposes. Looking at nearby alternatives and thought of Turnberry. Anyone played it since it's gone public? Thoughts on its worthiness to host a "final round" as compared to a Blackstone?

>

> At that point, you could just use Marengo Ridge. Was in pretty good condition about a month ago and is a scenic, challenging layout. I think Blackstone is 6700 yards and Marengo is 6600 yards. Otherwise, the next closest alternative that is on par with Blackstone is probably Bowes Creek.

 

Thanks for the thought but Marengo Ridge is a pace of play disaster on weekends. We quit playing it because of the 6 hour rounds. It's sad because I like the course but based on how they don't push people, we stopped playing there. We are looking at either Bowes or The Highlands if Turnberry doesn't pan out.

[Shriner]

Wow! I have never experienced it there; there just aren't enough golfers usually for it to get backed up. I don't blame you if you have had that experience though...

[DavePelz4]

Your comment isn't wrong...all it takes is one extremely slow group to bring the course to a stop. We've literally gone in at nine and talked to whoever was behind the desk and the issue is they don't have a ranger to push people along. One of the guys in our group took his wife a couple of Sunday's back. They teed off around 11 and it took 3 hours to finish the front.

[ME27]

Best bang for your buck course around woodridge/Darien area other than cog hill?

[propman]

Big Run or Old Oak

[Argonne69]

> @ME27 said:

> Best bang for your buck course around woodridge/Darien area other than cog hill?

 

Big Run appears to be running a $45 weekday special. Love it or hate it, that's a good value.

 

[propman]

Strong rumors that Big Run has been sold to a developer.

[DavePelz4]

> @propman said:

> Strong rumors that Big Run has been sold to a developer.

 

There is an 8 phase 515 unit residential development plan. That was announced back in January and the pre-annexation plan was approved in Feb. They still have some engineering work to do and because of an agreement that Lockport has with Romeoville and a couple of other neighboring towns, they have to all agree on a few other infrastructure developments to make this fly. I don't think this is a question of if but more of a question of when Big Run will close. There are HUGE tax/revenue opportunities for Lockport in this so they're going to do whatever is needed to make this happen.

[MountainKing]

> @DavePelz4 said:

> > @propman said:

> > Strong rumors that Big Run has been sold to a developer.

>

> There is an 8 phase 515 unit residential development plan. That was announced back in January and the pre-annexation plan was approved in Feb. They still have some engineering work to do and because of an agreement that Lockport has with Romeoville and a couple of other neighboring towns, they have to all agree on a few other infrastructure developments to make this fly. I don't think this is a question of if but more of a question of when Big Run will close. There are HUGE tax/revenue opportunities for Lockport in this so they're going to do whatever is needed to make this happen.

 

It still crushes me to read that even tho I've read it numerous times this year. I've been playing Big Run since I was a kid and despite it's often questionable conditioning it's still one of my favorite courses. I always had hopes that somebody would come buy the course, renovate it and make it a top tier course in the state.

[Argonne69]

> @MountainKing said:

> > @DavePelz4 said:

> > > @propman said:

> > > Strong rumors that Big Run has been sold to a developer.

> >

> > There is an 8 phase 515 unit residential development plan. That was announced back in January and the pre-annexation plan was approved in Feb. They still have some engineering work to do and because of an agreement that Lockport has with Romeoville and a couple of other neighboring towns, they have to all agree on a few other infrastructure developments to make this fly. I don't think this is a question of if but more of a question of when Big Run will close. There are HUGE tax/revenue opportunities for Lockport in this so they're going to do whatever is needed to make this happen.

>

> It still crushes me to read that even tho I've read it numerous times this year. I've been playing Big Run since I was a kid and despite it's often questionable conditioning it's still one of my favorite courses. I always had hopes that somebody would come buy the course, renovate it and make it a top tier course in the state.

 

My initial thought is that the land is more valuable than any income that could be derived from a top flight course. However, Mistwood seems to be doing quite well after their renovation. Apparently there seems to be enough interest in a $100+ course to make a go of it. 'Not sure if the area could support two, though.

 

[VNutz]

> @ME27 said:

> Best bang for your buck course around woodridge/Darien area other than cog hill?

 

Whatever you do, resist the urge to play Carriage Greens or Village Greens.

[DavePelz4]

If you're looking for an entertaining read related to BR ownership and some of the "interesting" things they've allegedly done, you can read the following article:

 

[https://chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2011-07-29-ct-met-golf-course-suit-20110729-story.html](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2011-07-29-ct-met-golf-course-suit-20110729-story.html "https://chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2011-07-29-ct-met-golf-course-suit-20110729-story.html")

[MountainKing]

All the Big Run talk and a day off, I went out there to give it a whirl. I talked to the pro out there a bit and indicated that a couple things were in the works but as of now the course hasn't been sold. It sounds the land around the course has been bought (maybe what DP is referring to?) up, but the course owners are still working on trying to find buyers for the course. He said things can change quick but they're more than likely still going to be there for 2-3 more years.

 

Anyway, course was a bit wet from the rains yesterday but nothing out of control. The fairways were what you expect from Big Run, the greens were slow as usual but rolled nice and true. My game has finally come back around after adjusting to the couple small changes in the setup. I managed 8 fairways and 10 greens which doesn't sound great, but the misses were a yard or two off the fairway and same around the greens (except hole 11). Hole 11 killed me like it always does. I 'm not sure what it is about that hole but I always become super man for my 2nd shot and manage to fly the green. The pin of course was in the back, I tried to get cute with the shot and duffed it a few feet, the next shot I hit as perfect as you can get and it of course ran all the way to the front. I don't remember when I last parred the hole. 3 bogies, 1 double and a birdie, pretty happy I'm back to shooting where I expect to be. I love the challenge the course presents and it'll be sad losing the course.

[DavePelz4]

The group that is buying it is the "Big Run Development Group." Pretty creative naming don't you think? There is allegedly land that needs to be required to build other access roads into the development. They also need to develop the plan with Romeoville for waste water treatment considering that is going to be a huge change from where things are now and if I understand it properly, the EPA needs to become involved as well. Could be 2-3 years before all this comes together.

[ME27]

What happened to George Dunne? Played there this afternoon and this is the worst I’ve ever seen this course. Around every green the fringe was burnt out and diseased or something. I played there earlier this spring and it was in pretty good condition but it was horrible today.

 

[DONNYWOOD]

Medinah