Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[Chicago Lefty]

18 minutes ago, Shriner said:

 

Does your gracious host's first name have and "eff" after the J?

 

Their greens are amazing, especially since they keep them like that all season long.

His name is definitely Jeff

 

What an incredible day!  Nothing beats a round with friends, especially friends you have't seen in awhile.  Conditions were tough but I'll never forget seeing Ryan's ball drop on 7!

 

Flossmoor is top notch in every aspect and I love every opportunity I get to play out there. 

[VNutz]

34 minutes ago, Shriner said:

 

Does your gracious host's first name have and "eff" after the J?

 

Their greens are amazing, especially since they keep them like that all season long.

Indeed.

[DavePelz4]

1 hour ago, Shriner said:

 

Does your gracious host's first name have and "eff" after the J?

 

Their greens are amazing, especially since they keep them like that all season long.

 

Why yes, he does.

[Scratch2Plus]

On 6/4/2024 at 9:41 PM, ldchristopher said:

My daughter had a Pre-K 3 stepping up ceremony this morning so I took off work. After brunch, I had a coupon for a free round at a Golf Visions course from the golf show that was set to expire on Friday so I figured I’d cash it in at Foxford. Got there, showed the voucher, and was told by the manager Foxford is the only GV course that doesn’t honor that coupon. I mentioned Foxford was the only decent GV course other than maybe Oak Grove and he said, “What about Tanna Farms?” He was being serious. Sigh. I shoulda played Bonnie Brook. $55 wasn’t bad I guess. Not as good as free though. Onto the round. 
 

I got paired up with two high school kids. One guy could kind of play. Drives were either long, low and straight or rope hooks. The other guys…oof. Shanks on just about every hole. He kept dropping extra balls and kept shanking it over and over. He was even shanking drives and long irons. It was tough to watch. 
 

They asked if they could go ahead because, as we all know, carts play faster. I laughed. Sure guys. I’ll watch the horror show from behind. Eventually they asked me if I wanted to tee off right after they did then just wait for them to clear the green. If you’re reading this and thinking, “These guys are stupid,” you are correct. But, again, carts play faster. Whoever first insisted on that needs it on their epitaph. And no, I will never drop this argument. My anti-cart stance only strengthens with each passing day. 
 

The course was in okay shape. Fairways were giving tons of roll with huge hops off the tee. The ball was really flying with the dead, humid air. Bunkers had plenty of sand but also a lot of rocks. I was in three and my clubs emerged unscathed so…a win? The 9th toughest greens in Chicagoland were slow. I’ve played there when the greens moved at a very good pace. Not today. 
 

I played very well. I hit 8 of 9 greens on the front, had one birdie (2) and one bogey (3) for a 36 at the turn. With the weather, the course felt far shorter than the listed 7000. I continued solid ball striking on the back but couldn’t buy a putt. 2 lip outs from about 10 feet, 2 juuuuuust short. The story of my season. Had two bogies on 15 and 18 for a 74 that could (should?) have been lower. Starting to get into my summer groove though. 

 

Did you get to meet Bre at Foxford?  Bev cart girl / bar maid...she also cuts hair and is pretty good at it. 🙂

 

Playing Blackstone Sunday and HoE on Tuesday...

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2024 by Scratch2Plus

[Shriner]

2 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Why yes, he does.

 

Awesome guy, he has been my gracious host a few times too.  Some fun rounds out there.

[Quem24]

6 hours ago, Chicago Lefty said:

His name is definitely Jeff

 

What an incredible day!  Nothing beats a round with friends, especially friends you have't seen in awhile.  Conditions were tough but I'll never forget seeing Ryan's ball drop on 7!

 

Flossmoor is top notch in every aspect and I love every opportunity I get to play out there. 

Is yours Jeff too? 👀 

[Chicago Lefty]

12 minutes ago, Quem24 said:

Is yours Jeff too? 👀 

Mine is not Jeff 

[Quem24]

4 minutes ago, Chicago Lefty said:

Mine is not Jeff 

Oh.
 

The Jeff that hosted has a mutual poker connection (from back in the day) with myself and a lefty golfer named Jeff.

 

Thought maybe it came full circle here. Oh well!

Edited June 7, 2024 by Quem24

[Jc0]

There are bad ideas. Then there is playing Makray from the tips in the wind. Nothing like a 460 par 4 straight into a 20 mph wind. They had the greens running quick to. 

[Springsteennut]

Shepards Crook on Saturday and Redtail on Tuesday. Never been to Shepards but always enjoy Redtail.

Edited June 8, 2024 by Springsteennut

[Chicago Lefty]

1 hour ago, Quem24 said:

Oh.
 

The Jeff that hosted has a mutual poker connection (from back in the day) with myself and a lefty golfer named Jeff.

 

Thought maybe it came full circle here. Oh well!

Ahh interesting. I too played poker with Jeff back in the day haha. Little league too 😉

[MountainKing]

Trekked down to Kankakee Elks, given the rain up here I'm glad we did.  Love these old school layouts with insane green complexes.  Course was over all in nice shape, I found one of the 3 bunkers and it was in nice shape.   Greens were slower,  looks like they tried to run them too fast too early and now have some disease setting in.   They still rolled nice and destroyed me.  Nobody in front of us so solid pace at 3:30.

 

Ballsyriking was great,  but the greens destroyed me.   Small,  so a lot of shots that would hit greens elsewhere,  found brutal locations making up and down almost impossible.   No birdies, few three putts and lack of getting up and down for a 78.  I look forward to going back,  now that I've seen it I know where to miss.   Pin high doesn't work here.   Really enjoyed the day.

Edited June 10, 2024 by MountainKing

[J3H]

Has anyone played Lake Barrington Shores?  Appears it used to be private but now open to the public as of a couple months ago.  There golfnow description is a bit odd and gives me a bit of hesitation but has anyone had any luck here?

 

Golfnow description:

"Now open to the public as of 4/12/2024. Public players must book online. Gate entrance backups may occur past 12:00 PM. Arrival 30 minutes before your tee time is recommended. Not far from Barrington, Lake Barrington Shores offers terrific views and challenging play for golfers at every skill level. Well-groomed fairways and greens keep Lake Barrington Shores difficult yet friendly, and the staff can offer tips and tricks for playing your best round. Lake Barrington Shores is a terrific choice for your regular rounds of golf or a new destination for you and friends when visiting Barrington."

[VNutz]

On 6/7/2024 at 7:34 PM, Chicago Lefty said:

Ahh interesting. I too played poker with Jeff back in the day haha. Little league too 😉

VP Little league? Now this I have to know.

[Gdane]

Played Dubsdread for the first time Saturday afternoon.  Seems like we got the worst side of the weather forecast as it rained/drizzled off and on for the last 3 hours of the round after looking like the rain may miss us completely the day before.

 

I haven't been on property there since the days of the western open.  What a beautiful place that is.  Conditions were pristine and the greens were running so so fast before the rain started.   We played in the afternoon, and I was surprised by the number of high school to college age walkers there were on the course.  There must be a summer reciprocal for schools, because a lot of them seemed pretty comfortable out there given the antics and 5-some we ended up playing behind towards the end of the round. 

 

Hope to make it back later in the season on a chamber of commerce weather day.

[DavePelz4]

3 hours ago, J3H said:

Has anyone played Lake Barrington Shores?  Appears it used to be private but now open to the public as of a couple months ago.  There golfnow description is a bit odd and gives me a bit of hesitation but has anyone had any luck here?

 

Golfnow description:

"Now open to the public as of 4/12/2024. Public players must book online. Gate entrance backups may occur past 12:00 PM. Arrival 30 minutes before your tee time is recommended. Not far from Barrington, Lake Barrington Shores offers terrific views and challenging play for golfers at every skill level. Well-groomed fairways and greens keep Lake Barrington Shores difficult yet friendly, and the staff can offer tips and tricks for playing your best round. Lake Barrington Shores is a terrific choice for your regular rounds of golf or a new destination for you and friends when visiting Barrington."

 

Think it was always semi-private.  Hit the ball straight Sir.

[DavePelz4]

Our comp group played Bolingbrook Saturday, in yet another rain storm with sucky winds.  Tired of playing in rain gloves.  At one point, the temps dropped close to 20 degrees when the front started. As much as I love the practice facility, just not a fan of the course.  Haven't played it in a long time and found trouble in places that I didn't remember were there.  Can only think of a couple greens that held approach shots.  Got to the point of hitting 10 yards short, intentionally, and hoping it would hold the green. The course played relatively fast overall, and the bunkers all had sand, or at least the couple I was in.

 

One of the worst parts of getting older is attempting to play from wet rough. In my youth, it wasn't a big deal, knew the ball flight would just be lower.  Saturday, the ball would sink to the bottom of the wet rough and I was fortunate to be able to hit a wedge and get 50-75 yards from it.  Lost 2 balls in the rough as well which always gets my dander up.  

 

The starter said they're attempting to see how difficult they can get the course to play knowing the professionals from that other tour will eat the course up. 

 

Heading to the range tonight to video a simply ugly driver swing.  Cost myself numerous strokes with a tee ball that had zero consistency.  The chest is still frozen from my little event, but if I don't find some consistency in the driver, it's going to be a long and ugly season. 

 

On a positive note, added an MGI Navigator trolley to take care of moving the clubs through the round.  Walking is still my favorite and the MGI took the stress of the back.  Very easy to set up and control, although I came close to running myself over once or twice.  Like babysitting a wayward kid at times. 

 

Next comp round Saturday at Bowes.  The forecast says 80 and a 9% chance of rain. At the rate we're going, that 9% will probably be 90% come Saturday.

 

 

[Shriner]

37 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

Our comp group played Bolingbrook Saturday, in yet another rain storm with sucky winds.  Tired of playing in rain gloves.  At one point, the temps dropped close to 20 degrees when the front started. As much as I love the practice facility, just not a fan of the course.  Haven't played it in a long time and found trouble in places that I didn't remember were there.  Can only think of a couple greens that held approach shots.  Got to the point of hitting 10 yards short, intentionally, and hoping it would hold the green. The course played relatively fast overall, and the bunkers all had sand, or at least the couple I was in.

 

One of the worst parts of getting older is attempting to play from wet rough. In my youth, it wasn't a big deal, knew the ball flight would just be lower.  Saturday, the ball would sink to the bottom of the wet rough and I was fortunate to be able to hit a wedge and get 50-75 yards from it.  Lost 2 balls in the rough as well which always gets my dander up.  

 

The starter said they're attempting to see how difficult they can get the course to play knowing the professionals from that other tour will eat the course up. 

 

Heading to the range tonight to video a simply ugly driver swing.  Cost myself numerous strokes with a tee ball that had zero consistency.  The chest is still frozen from my little event, but if I don't find some consistency in the driver, it's going to be a long and ugly season. 

 

On a positive note, added an MGI Navigator trolley to take care of moving the clubs through the round.  Walking is still my favorite and the MGI took the stress of the back.  Very easy to set up and control, although I came close to running myself over once or twice.  Like babysitting a wayward kid at times. 

 

Next comp round Saturday at Bowes.  The forecast says 80 and a 9% chance of rain. At the rate we're going, that 9% will probably be 90% come Saturday.

 

 

 

It begs the question...and we all know it is coming.  How soon before the majority of decent golfers will be using GPS balls on the courses?  Without spotters, it is all too easy to (a) lose a ball in the rough (b) have somebody else hit your ball or (c) not know where to drop because you didn't see where a ball entered a hazard.  I'll say within next 3-5 years.

[zer0]

Got back from my golf trip last night. Fantastic time. Unfortunately my back did not hold up and I couldn't finish the round at the best course we played and then struggled to play the next and final day of the trip. here is a breakdown:

Day 1: lunch at Shapiros. So good. If you are ever in Indy you must go there. Best corned beef and pastrami around, even better than any you can find in Chicago. Then we played The Fort. Very nice course to play on the travel day. Great way to get everyone's feet wet. I played pretty good considering I spent 3 hours in the car prior to the round. Shot an 88.

Dinner was at the famous St Elmo's steakhouse. It was good, but I would say it was average at best compared to fancy steakhouses in Chicago. Steak was great, but the sides and apps were not up to the standard I would expect at a fancy steakhouse.

Day 2: Drove to French Lick. Afternoon round at Donald Ross. Amazing course, some of the toughest greens you'll ever play. This was my 3rd time playing it so knew what to expect. 2 club wind most of the day. Played my best round of the weekend and finished with an 85, my first time breaking 90 at this course. Dinner was at Hagans in teh clubhouse. Great ribs.

Day 3: 18 hole scramble at Valley Links. Its' a 9 hole course next to hotel, but we played it twice. I played pretty good, had a great up and down for eagle where I hit a 190 yard hybrid to 40 feet and then drained the putt. Had lunnhc and then a 20 minute rest before heading to the famous Pete Dye course for 4:00 round. My back said "Fvck you" to me and decided to call it quits. Lots of throbbing pain in lower back and also sciatic pain going down leg. Game fell apart and when that does it always leads to uncontrolled hozzle shanks. Had about 8 of them before I finally called it quits on #17 tee box. I was tracking for 100+ and they gave me a 102 which was generous.

Dinner at Legendz sports bar, one of the only halfway decent places to eat in town.

Day 4: final round at Sultan's Run. Love this course. But, I gave myself a 30% chance of finishing. i was happy that I was able to finish, but my back continued to be a mess and I had about 6 shanks. Several other fat shots because that is the only way I can recover from the shanks. Finished with a 96, but was just happy I finished.


A great trip, great bunch of guys. Only knew 2 of the guys going in, met the other 6 there and by day 2 we were all buddies. Already talks about next year's plans. Wish my back held up, but it is what it is. This is my 3rd trip to French Lick and the 2nd time my back stopped me from playing. Might have to axe French Lick from the rotation. Thinking maybe all the driving is leading to the quicker decline of my back as the weekend progresses.

[ssp]

On 6/8/2024 at 8:00 PM, MountainKing said:

Trekked down to Kankakee Elks, given the rain up here I'm glad we did.  Love these old school layouts with insane green complexes.  Course was over all in nice shape, I found one of the 3 bunkers and it was in nice shape.   Greens were slower,  looks like they tried to run them too fast too early and done disease set in.   They still rolled nice and destroyed me.  Nobody in front of us so solid pace at 3:30.

 

Ballsyriking was great,  but the greens destroyed me.   Small,  so a lot of shots that would hit greens elsewhere,  found brutal locations making up and down almost impossible.   No birdies, few three putts and lack of getting up and down for a 78.  I look forward to going back,  now that I've seen it I know where to miss.   Pin high doesn't work here.   Really enjoyed the day.

I am a little biased, but I think K3 Elks is a gem and maybe the best bargain going.  I grew up (and worked a few years) on the Elks and have a lot of good memories.  

[MountainKing]

4 hours ago, ssp said:

I am a little biased, but I think K3 Elks is a gem and maybe the best bargain going.  I grew up (and worked a few years) on the Elks and have a lot of good memories.  

 

Gotta be a toss up between there and Prarieview for great deals, if you don't count the 2+ hours of driving and $25 in gas.  I wish I saw the course with better greens, but I'm terms of deals to drive towards I would do the Elks over PV. 

[ldchristopher]

3 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

Gotta be a toss up between there and Prarieview for great deals, if you don't count the 2+ hours of driving and $25 in gas.  I wish I saw the course with better greens, but I'm terms of deals to drive towards I would do the Elks over PV. 

Best bargains in the area. Now you’re speaking my language. Along with Kankakee Elks and Prairie View, I’ll add: 

Brighton Dale Links
Ledges

Atwood-Homestead

 

I feel like I’m missing an obvious one. 

 

[MountainKing]

10 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Best bargains in the area. Now you’re speaking my language. Along with Kankakee Elks and Prairie View, I’ll add: 

Brighton Dale Links
Ledges

Atwood-Homestead

 

I feel like I’m missing an obvious one. 

 

 

It just sucks you gotta drive to get em.  $55-60 for a round, but $20 in gas and 2+ hours of driving time (yes I'm weird and I think about what my time is worth) and the round is now over $100.   I generally try to stick to the rule of 36 holes if the drives is over an hour. 

[ldchristopher]

2 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

It just sucks you gotta drive to get em.  $55-60 for a round, but $20 in gas and 2+ hours of driving time (yes I'm weird and I think about what my time is worth) and the round is now over $100.   I generally try to stick to the rule of 36 holes if the drives is over an hour. 

Brighton Dale isn't an issue. It's an hour from the city but I can fill up on cheap Wisconsin gas while there and it's a 45 hole facility. The two 18's are both good and they're an excellent value. $35 to walk on weekends, $26 on weekdays. Atwood Homestead and Ledges are both hauls, yes, but they're cheap first rounds for a 36 hole day. $30 on a weekend is nuts. Yet that's the rate at those places. You won't get the GolfWRX-mandatory fast greens but they are always smooth, especially when playing them at 6:00 AM. Dad life has restricted the amount of times I actually play those courses but they're about 40 minutes from our place in Wisconsin so that's when I get them over the summer. 

[Holy Moses]

Has Settler’s Hill improved in condition much? 

[MountainKing]

5 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Brighton Dale isn't an issue. It's an hour from the city but I can fill up on cheap Wisconsin gas while there and it's a 45 hole facility. The two 18's are both good and they're an excellent value. $35 to walk on weekends, $26 on weekdays. Atwood Homestead and Ledges are both hauls, yes, but they're cheap first rounds for a 36 hole day. $30 on a weekend is nuts. Yet that's the rate at those places. You won't get the GolfWRX-mandatory fast greens but they are always smooth, especially when playing them at 6:00 AM. Dad life has restricted the amount of times I actually play those courses but they're about 40 minutes from our place in Wisconsin so that's when I get them over the summer. 

 Smooth greens > fast greens

[MountainKing]

51 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

Has Settler’s Hill improved in condition much? 

 

Saw some recent pictures last week,  it still looked very rough.  Patchy grass, weeds everywhere...

[stasek]

Last minute “can you play Broken Arrow today at 1:30”, while I was in Loves Park…. Being a model employee, it took me few minutes to oblige….played East/North (old dual flag 9).  Course was in decent condition (wet spots here and there, but otherwise fine). Bunkers?  Yes… they were there…. Played rake and roll, since they were a complete mess. Mixture of footprints and mud/water. 
For the most part - decent round altogether.  6 bogeys (couple WTF moments) and 2 birdies - 76.  Not to piss off golf gods, but the recent “swing reset” is looking promising.  

[DavePelz4]

Pretirement golf yesterday at Prairie Bluff.  $29 to walk?  Wow, that's a helluva deal. PB is playing fast but the greens aren't super crazy.  Sand in bunkers. Titleist range balls that were washed and clean. Pace was amazing at 3:40 and we never waited on a shot. Think a very small adjustment in terms of ball position straightened the driver out...at least it did yesterday. 

 

The only negative to the day was while enjoying a post round beverage and doing email, there was a total a**hat who couldn't wait the 12 seconds for the bartender to address his alcohol needs. He cussed her out so badly to the point when he left, everyone else apologized for his extremely rude and uncalled for behavior.  I'd bet he's just a treat to golf with. In case you're on this site and reading this dude, grow freaking up and treat people respectfully.

 

Comp round Saturday at Bowes, fingers crossed on the driver.

 

 

[propman]

5 hours ago, DavePelz4 said:

Pretirement golf yesterday at Prairie Bluff.  $29 to walk?  Wow, that's a helluva deal. PB is playing fast but the greens aren't super crazy.  Sand in bunkers. Titleist range balls that were washed and clean. Pace was amazing at 3:40 and we never waited on a shot. Think a very small adjustment in terms of ball position straightened the driver out...at least it did yesterday. 

 

The only negative to the day was while enjoying a post round beverage and doing email, there was a total a**hat who couldn't wait the 12 seconds for the bartender to address his alcohol needs. He cussed her out so badly to the point when he left, everyone else apologized for his extremely rude and uncalled for behavior.  I'd bet he's just a treat to golf with. In case you're on this site and reading this dude, grow freaking up and treat people respectfully.

 

Comp round Saturday at Bowes, fingers crossed on the driver.

 

 

PB is one of favorites along with Cinder Ridge. No escaping a**holes unfortunately.