Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[ldchristopher]

18 hours ago, thedunedain said:

On the topic of walking—is prairie bluff walkable/ walker friendly? I booked a tee time for next weekend but there was no option to take the cart charge off in the total. Won’t be charged till I get to the course so I’m hoping they’ll just ring it up accordingly but I would prefer not to show up and have them tell me I can’t walk. 

They allow walking and it’s an easy walk. 

[ldchristopher]

Broadlands yesterday. Usually that place is kept in good shape and the greens are generally on the firmer side. Not yesterday. The greens were pock-marked and slow, the rough hadn’t been cut all week, and the sand was comically hard. We were also stuck behind a threesome of beginners on the front and a scramble on the back that sometimes played as a threesome and sometimes as a sixsome. But none of that matters because I played well and, shockingly, we played in exactly 4 hours. 
 

I had three birdies (2, 9 and 10) with several other makeable looks (6 foot sliders on 4 and 13 are haunting me). That’s a great course to figure out driver issues because it’s just uncork-it-and-pork-it on all but like two holes. I did barf up a bogey on 16, which kept me from shooting even par. But shot a 73 with 10 fairways and 11 greens. 

[ode1]

1 hour ago, ldchristopher said:

Broadlands yesterday. Usually that place is kept in good shape and the greens are generally on the firmer side. Not yesterday. The greens were pock-marked and slow, the rough hadn’t been cut all week, and the sand was comically hard. We were also stuck behind a threesome of beginners on the front and a scramble on the back that sometimes played as a threesome and sometimes as a sixsome. But none of that matters because I played well and, shockingly, we played in exactly 4 hours. 
 

I had three birdies (2, 9 and 10) with several other makeable looks (6 foot sliders on 4 and 13 are haunting me). That’s a great course to figure out driver issues because it’s just uncork-it-and-pork-it on all but like two holes. I did barf up a bogey on 16, which kept me from shooting even par. But shot a 73 with 10 fairways and 11 greens. 

That's a fun course.  Morningstar (in the viscosity to Broadlands) and Mascoutin Blue 9 (if your ever up by Lawsonia, worth a play IMO) also designed by the same guy and fun to play.

 

Nice stretch of holes on the back 13-14-15-16......goofy ending on a par 3, but it is a solid par 3.  Buzzkill to bogey #16 as it's gettable!

[MountainKing]

23 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... That's insane. I am not fan of the front 9 and other than #4 and #8, I find it flat and visually boring. The back 9 is like a completely different course and I always enjoyed playing it. But about $50 is my limit and I figure that's $1 for the front and $49 for the back. 🤪

 

You haven't been in Chicago much recently.   That wouldn't get you on Fresh Meadows!

 

 

Bull Valley this morning.  Got through 8 holes and the heavens opened up and it was enough to shut it down.   Huge let down,  course was in great shape,  as expected for a private facility. Greens were as firm as they could be.

 

Two of the guys wanted to play the tips for laughs,  figured what the hell since the course was fairly firm.  7400 is crazy long for me, especially on a very tough course.   I'm a 1 cap, course handicap there was 7.  I was 3 over through 8 and very happy with that.   We'll never know how it would have ended up.

[ldchristopher]

8 hours ago, ode said:

That's a fun course.  Morningstar (in the viscosity to Broadlands) and Mascoutin Blue 9 (if your ever up by Lawsonia, worth a play IMO) also designed by the same guy and fun to play.

 

Nice stretch of holes on the back 13-14-15-16......goofy ending on a par 3, but it is a solid par 3.  Buzzkill to bogey #16 as it's gettable!

I’m positive they flipped the nines at Broadlands. Having the range right next to the 10th tee box and closing with a par 3 makes no sense given that 9 is a good par 4 that goes back to the clubhouse. Bear and I played Mascoutin Red to Blue over Memorial Day weekend. I’ve played it four times. Always enjoy it. Never played Morningstar. They used to have a carts only policy. Not sure if that’s the case anymore. 

[ldchristopher]

I finished my tour of mediocre Southern Wisconsin courses with Evergreen. It was in good shape. Sand was groomed, greens were smooth, rough was cut. I played in exactly three hours at twilight. I’ve always viewed Evergreen as a 3 wood/5 wood off the tee course but with my driver working like it has, I hit that whenever possible. The result was 13 greens but only two birdies for a 72. 

[ode1]

26 minutes ago, ldchristopher said:

Morningstar. They used to have a carts only policy

Ugh....these courses sticking it to walkers is irritating.  Purely financial making people take a cart when a course is easily walkable!

[chisag]

4 hours ago, MountainKing said:

You haven't been in Chicago much recently.   That wouldn't get you on Fresh Meadows!

 

 

... Good point. My friend was the assistant GM so I played Fresh Meadows for free. 🤪  I always played twilite and used Golfnow so under $50 was easily doable mon-fri. I played Naperbrook for $19 walking twilite and think Prairie Bluff was around $34. If the Head Pro was at the desk he always gave me resident rates. But yea, it's been almost 4 years so it sucks to hear prices are so much higher. Not quite Phoenix $250-350 high in winter but over $100 for Whitetail is robbery imo.

[VNutz]

On 7/6/2024 at 10:58 AM, DavePelz4 said:

Going through severe cranial rectitus to the point of thinking of getting a lesson or two.  Or going to see a sports psychologist.  Maybe I just care too much.

 

That's what the drinks are for.

[DavePelz4]

4 hours ago, VNutz said:

That's what the drinks are for.

 

Might not be enough alcohol to remedy these issues.

[ssp]

On 7/6/2024 at 10:37 PM, Holy Moses said:

Got my second hole-in-one today on the 3rd at Prairie Landing and shot 69. Hard to beat that for a day on the course!

That is some good golf!!  Not sure what Tee's you were on - but the gold were at 180 - so that is a good ace regardless of T.  I played in the afternoon with my son which is a treat!  Congrats on the Ace!

[braincramp52]

2 minutes ago, ssp said:

That is some good golf!!  Not sure what Tee's you were on - but the gold were at 180 - so that is a good ace regardless of T.  I played in the afternoon with my son which is a treat!  Congrats on the Ace!

I'd take a HIO at any yardage.🤣 37 years and I still don't have one.

[Holy Moses]

6 minutes ago, ssp said:

That is some good golf!!  Not sure what Tee's you were on - but the gold were at 180 - so that is a good ace regardless of T.  I played in the afternoon with my son which is a treat!  Congrats on the Ace!

186 with a 6 iron. There was only one group behind us all day. Eerily quiet for a holiday weekend with great weather. Is Prairie Landing too expensive? 

[MountainKing]

38 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

186 with a 6 iron. There was only one group behind us all day. Eerily quiet for a holiday weekend with great weather. Is Prairie Landing too expensive? 

 

I've played PL 7 times this year,  all prime weekend times and the place has indeed been empty.    Half full parking lot would confirm that.   I do believe they have out priced themselves, especially with where they are located.  

 

It's a great course in great condition,  but the way that place is run and the staff leave a ton to be desired.   Most people paying that sort of money want the Cantigny experience.   Prairie more often than not treats guys like they're an inconvenience.

[Holy Moses]

2 hours ago, ssp said:

That is some good golf!!  Not sure what Tee's you were on - but the gold were at 180 - so that is a good ace regardless of T.  I played in the afternoon with my son which is a treat!  Congrats on the Ace!

On the last hole if I birdie I shoot 68, my personal record. Big drive on the par 5. Hit a perfect shot from 215 for my second. I get to the hole and it's not visible. I jump out of the cart and think I holed out for a 66. But I hit at the wrong hole. There's two holes next to each other - 9 and 18. My approach was 5 feet from the cup on the 9th. I chipped from the side of the green to the correct hole and missed the birdie. It’s not even the first time I’ve done this and I still hit my shot into 18 at the 9th hole 🤪.

Edited July 8, 2024 by Holy Moses

[chisag]

1 hour ago, MountainKing said:

 

I've played PL 7 times this year,  all prime weekend times and the place has indeed been empty.    Half full parking lot would confirm that.   I do believe they have out priced themselves, especially with where they are located.  

 

It's a great course in great condition,  but the way that place is run and the staff leave a ton to be desired.   Most people paying that sort of money want the Cantigny experience.   Prairie more often than not treats guys like they're an inconvenience.

 

 

... A friend of mine was the Head Groundskeeper at PL before moving to Hilton Head. I learned a lot from him and he was excellent at his job but felt management fought him every step of the way and hastened his departure. This was back in the mid 90's. I was never a fan of Seven Bridges but they certainly understood catering to their customers and could not have been friendlier. As Mr Knopfler reminded us "That's the way you do it". 

[DavePelz4]

20 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... A friend of mine was the Head Groundskeeper at PL before moving to Hilton Head. I learned a lot from him and he was excellent at his job but felt management fought him every step of the way and hastened his departure. This was back in the mid 90's. I was never a fan of Seven Bridges but they certainly understood catering to their customers and could not have been friendlier. As Mr Knopfler reminded us "That's the way you do it". 

 

Played PL earlier this year and was BSing with the starter before our tee time.  Asked how he liked working there and he said it blows. He was working there for the free tee times and they took that away from them and make them pay.  Never heard of that before.

[Argonne69]

55 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... A friend of mine was the Head Groundskeeper at PL before moving to Hilton Head. I learned a lot from him and he was excellent at his job but felt management fought him every step of the way and hastened his departure. This was back in the mid 90's. I was never a fan of Seven Bridges but they certainly understood catering to their customers and could not have been friendlier. As Mr Knopfler reminded us "That's the way you do it". 

 

Lol. Seven Bridges got on my permanent s-list after bumping my partner and I from the first tee time on a Thanksgiving morning after a frost delay. We booked the first slot so we could get back to our families for the holiday, and as we were getting ready to tee off a twosome jumped in front of us. We complained to the starter, but his replay was "Oh, they won't hold you up." We rode their backsides the entire round. Idiots. My buddy and I concluded that they were friends of the head pro, and that they didn't want to be inconvenienced by the frost delay, so they decided to move them in front of us. Pffftttt.

 

I played over 1000 rounds of golf in Chicagoland after that round, and never once gave them a dime.

 

Edited July 8, 2024 by Argonne69

[TheBear95]

20 minutes ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Played PL earlier this year and was BSing with the starter before our tee time.  Asked how he liked working there and he said it blows. He was working there for the free tee times and they took that away from them and make them pay.  Never heard of that before.

 

DuPage Airport Authority needs to suck every dollar they can out of PL.

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, DavePelz4 said:

 

Played PL earlier this year and was BSing with the starter before our tee time.  Asked how he liked working there and he said it blows. He was working there for the free tee times and they took that away from them and make them pay.  Never heard of that before.

 

I heard something on that lines from somebody else.   I really can't imagine working at a course for zero golf.   Even private clubs aren't that bad.   The only reason I keep playing there is with some connections I don't pay anything near their actual rate.   Otherwise not a chance I'd give them business.

[Holy Moses]

Anyone else had starters tell you that you have to tee off before your tee time because the group in front of you didn’t show up? Not asking you if you would like to, but telling you that you have to? I don’t like being rushed and this has happened a few times this year.

[Holy Moses]

19 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

I heard something on that lines from somebody else.   I really can't imagine working at a course for zero golf.   Even private clubs aren't that bad.   The only reason I keep playing there is with some connections I don't pay anything near their actual rate.   Otherwise not a chance I'd give them business.

That’s brutal. Maybe they are trying to save every penny and charge too much to pay for the clubhouse renovation. 

[@_the_crook]

2 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

Anyone else had starters tell you that you have to tee off before your tee time because the group in front of you didn’t show up? Not asking you if you would like to, but telling you that you have to? I don’t like being rushed and this has happened a few times this year.

a simple - "Hey guys, can we move you up 9 minutes? We had a no-show and you all can start a little early" would have been nice.

 

 

[Holy Moses]

15 minutes ago, @_the_crook said:

a simple - "Hey guys, can we move you up 9 minutes? We had a no-show and you all can start a little early" would have been nice.

 

 

The starter just says, “You’re on the tee right now” as I’m driving up in the cart to the practice putting green 10 minutes before my tee time and basically says I can’t putt a few because my group is on the tee now. 

[ldchristopher]

3 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

Anyone else had starters tell you that you have to tee off before your tee time because the group in front of you didn’t show up? Not asking you if you would like to, but telling you that you have to? I don’t like being rushed and this has happened a few times this year.

That’s code for, “We’re falling behind and when that happens I’m the one who looks bad.” Tell the starter to pound sand. Odds are you’ll catch the group ahead soon enough. 

[DavePelz4]

Just talked to the GM at Redtail about walking.  They are actually OK with it, if you agree that if you're not keeping pace, they can move you into position.  Actually, a very fair policy.

[Argonne69]

Just now, DavePelz4 said:

Just talked to the GM at Redtail about walking.  They are actually OK with it, if you agree that if you're not keeping pace, they can move you into position.  Actually, a very fair policy.

 

Shouldn't that be the case for any player who falls out of position?

 

[DavePelz4]

1 minute ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Shouldn't that be the case for any player who falls out of position?

 

 

Excellent point, but the focus of our conversation was walking.  It cracks me up though that the GM of a golf course, who has perceptually been at this for a while, would think that walkers are generally slower.  In 50+ years of playing, I can't think of a slow walker, although I can think of a lot of slow riders.

[Argonne69]

Just now, DavePelz4 said:

 

Excellent point, but the focus of our conversation was walking.  It cracks me up though that the GM of a golf course, who has perceptually been at this for a while, would think that walkers are generally slower.  In 50+ years of playing, I can't think of a slow walker, although I can think of a lot of slow riders.

 

Seems that they do a very poor job of communicating their policy to their staff and players. We've gone from no walking allowed, to members only walking, to allowing walking. Obviously someone isn't getting the policy across.

 

I've had many round where I ask about the walking policy when booking the round over the phone, and was told that walking is allowed, only to show up and be told otherwise. 

 

Yeah, the whole walkers are slow thing has got to die. I'll gladly admit that a single player in a cart can outpace a single walking, but when you get two players in a cart, especially if they don't know how to use it properly, it's a wash.

 

[Holy Moses]

Going to Settler’s Hill for the first time since the renovation on Friday. I’ve heard it’s still in rough shape.