Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[MountainKing]

23 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

Every website says you will be charged for no shows and I feel like very rarely that actually happens. They should 100% be charged for no shows. I can't believe a course wouldn't do that, but it shocking how often it happens. 

 

Yup! I think most don't because you can just call the credit card company and do a charge back and that causes a slew of issues.  I can also tell you that most booking engines don't validate the actual credit card you use.  Most of the time I just use a visa gift card that has a few dollars on it, if somebody did that and did the no show the charge obviously wouldn't go through.  I 100% agree the course should be charging this to them when they show up.  You book 4, don't have 4 when you show up, then you need to pay for whatever your short.

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, Gdane said:

 

I caddied for a decade at various clubs on the north shore and this was my experience as well.  The low capper rounds were always the slowest, despite every vet move caddies pulled to move the rounds along. 

 

 

It's wild that you and Psy have managed to caddie for so many low handicappers to reach this conclusion. The CDGA has about 150,000 members with a handicap, so based on USGA statistics, that means there are about 5,000 low handicappers in the Chicago region. It's crazy how you both managed to beat the odds, and caddie for enough low caps to make this determination.

[Holy Moses]

I think in the LA scandal, the tee times were so hot that the buyer had no issue reselling them. I wonder if he or she had to hold them with a credit card though.

[zer0]

Only people I want to kick off the golf courses are the a-holes who spit sunflower seeds on the greens.

[MountainKing]

17 minutes ago, zer0 said:

Only people I want to kick off the golf courses are the a-holes who spit sunflower seeds on the greens.

 

You can add the smokers who leave their butts behind on the greens.

[zer0]

26 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

You can add the smokers who leave their butts behind on the greens.

 

I don't see that one very often.    Do see cigar ash on the greens, but that doesn't bother me at all since it is easily brushed away.  Its those damn seeds that drive me nuts.

[Gdane]

36 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

 

It's wild that you and Psy have managed to caddie for so many low handicappers to reach this conclusion. The CDGA has about 150,000 members with a handicap, so based on USGA statistics, that means there are about 5,000 low handicappers in the Chicago region. It's crazy how you both managed to beat the odds, and caddie for enough low caps to make this determination.

 

The population of golfers at a country club with $70k+ initiation fees and a multi-year waiting list is going to be a lot different than what you see on a weekend at Fresh Meadow.  If you spend a decade at 70-100 loops a year you're going to run into a significant number of championship and A flight players, especially if you're a caddie worth your salt and are requested for the money games.  Those guys play every weekend (and a lot of time were grinding on their games during the week while stiffs are managing their 9-5's).  There's really nothing "wild" or "crazy" about it at a club with a national membership.   These were the slower rounds, and if I had to generalize it its because the 20 handicaps had no problem picking their ball up once they reached their max and didn't really have anything to prove to anyone.  The low cappers were almost always putting everything out, and quite deliberate about their routines.

 

That said, this is different than the complaints about public golf on here.  The country clubs I spent the majority of my time at were walking only with posted pace expectations.  The caddies made this happen.   Publics in Chicagoland in my opinion couldn't care less about making people play at any expected pace and there are no repercussions to playing slow on a public golf course.

[MountainKing]

36 minutes ago, zer0 said:

 

I don't see that one very often.    Do see cigar ash on the greens, but that doesn't bother me at all since it is easily brushed away.  Its those damn seeds that drive me nuts.

 

Yeah that's just gross - and without touching them they're impossible to move without damaging the green.

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

I think in the LA scandal, the tee times were so hot that the buyer had no issue reselling them. I wonder if he or she had to hold them with a credit card though.

 

To (somewhat) address the issue, they started charging a small fee to book and cancel tee times. Don't think it's going to make much of a difference, as the scammers would simply past the cost on to the player buying the tee time. 

 

Without requiring proof of identity, it's not going to do much. 

 

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

You can add the smokers who leave their butts behind on the greens.

 

And A-hats that toss empty beer cans in the bushes along the cart paths. No way all that trash gets blown out of the carts. 

 

If it did accidentally get blown out, stop the cart, and go retrieve the can/wrapper. 

 

Gawd, I've walked many a course with bushes littered with trash. 

 

[golfnut071]

Just played Exmoor CC.  Fun course with generous fairways overall and course played fast.

[MountainKing]

What an adventure today was at Prairie Landing! The tee sheet was almost full, even with rates heading upwards of $140 (luckily, we don't pay anywhere near that). It's crazy for the end of October. They punched the greens over a month ago, so we figured they would be in great shape, and the lack of trees is a bonus in the fall. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case—the greens have healed zero since the punching; they looked like they were done just a few days ago. If we had paid full price based on the practice green and the holes, we would have gone right inside and asked for our money back.

 

While we were on the practice green by 1, we had the joy of watching group after group tee it up from the gold tees, with many players hitting tee shots who should have been playing from much closer tees. This was a rare round with just the two of us, but of course our playing partners decided they wanted to play from the back as well. The first guy hit a decent drive, but the second guy hit his shot right into the water, then did the same on his re-tee, and again on his drop. A few holes in, that trend continued, and even his best drives barely made the fairway. We suggested he move up, but nope, he liked the challenge! He also refused to pick up; he insisted on grinding out putts for 9, 11, and 12 on terrible greens. There wasn’t a single hole he could reach in regulation, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that the groups in front of us were moving at a snail’s pace, we would have been the ones holding up the course because of him. Two hours and 40 minutes later, we walked off the 9th hole. My buddy went in to complain, and they said they’d do what they could, but they were running a light staff because it’s fall (YET THEY'RE CHARGING FULL RATES??).

 

Finally, on the 14th green, a ranger came up to us and said they had asked the offending group to pick up and move up two holes, but by then the damage was done. Despite what some might think, today proved that it’s not just the low handicappers causing slow play. We finally got off the 18th hole after 5 hours on the dot. Even on an empty course, I doubt we could have played in less than 5 hours because of the guys we got paired with—just clueless. If you cannot reach a green in regulation, you need to move up tee boxes until you can, even if  it means you're on the forward tees.  I know ego's are easily bruised, but you look like an idiot playing from 7000 yards when you can barely drive it to the fairway.

 

Despite all of this, I managed to make the best of it since this is probably one of the last rounds of the year, if not the last. The wind was brutal and blowing in a strange direction, and the greens were awful, but I managed to score four birdies, balanced out by three bogeys and a double for a 73. The highlight was definitely on the 18th hole, playing into the wind and still managing to get a driver and 3-wood to the back of the green, leaving me with a nice chip and a putt for birdie. A great way to end the season if that turns out to be my last hole for 2024.

[Holy Moses]

$140 at Prairie Landing? I knew weekend mornings were over $100, but wow. The dry weather we’ve had doesn’t help the greens recover from aerations.

Edited October 27, 2024 by Holy Moses

[MountainKing]

9 hours ago, Holy Moses said:

$140 at Prairie Landing? I knew weekend mornings were over $100, but wow. The dry weather we’ve had doesn’t help the greens recover from aerations.

From a few days back.   They aren't recovered because they did it too late.   Punch in Sept and you're fully healed in just over a week.   

[Holy Moses]

3 hours ago, MountainKing said:

From a few days back.   They aren't recovered because they did it too late.   Punch in Sept and you're fully healed in just over a week.   

Are the prime weekend times like that during the spring and summer also?

[MountainKing]

18 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

Are the prime weekend times like that during the spring and summer also?

 

They're high,  but i haven't seen anything on their sheet during the summer as high as $138.

[ldchristopher]

6 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

They're high,  but i haven't seen anything on their sheet during the summer as high as $138.

Looks like they’ve followed the Mistwood model. Keep increasing rates until people won’t pay. Then slightly roll back until it fills up and the price is set. 

[Bonneville85308]

On 10/21/2024 at 11:38 AM, zer0 said:

 

 

I would like to see handicap proof be a requirement to play the tips, but agree with the rest of your sentiment.

 

In my ideal world, you'd have to have a GHIN to tee off during the first hour of the tee sheet (whether your 'cap is a +6 or a 36 doesn't matter, just need a GHIN) and a single digit GHIN 'cap to play the tips regardless of tee time. Slow players come in all ages, abilities, and economic classes, but I feel like people who take the step to get a legit GHIN handicap usually have a decent understanding of etiquette, how to get around a golf course, and aren't there to get drunk with their bros.

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

In my ideal world, you'd have to have a GHIN to tee off during the first hour of the tee sheet (whether your 'cap is a +6 or a 36 doesn't matter, just need a GHIN) and a single digit GHIN 'cap to play the tips regardless of tee time. Slow players come in all ages, abilities, and economic classes, but I feel like people who take the step to get a legit GHIN handicap usually have a decent understanding of etiquette, how to get around a golf course, and aren't there to get drunk with their bros.

 

Exactly what I'm getting at.   First hour tho would do nothing,  95% of time guys playing in the first two hours of the day are moving.  I do agree the cap doesn't matter as much as it does that you just have one.

[Argonne69]

40 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

Exactly what I'm getting at.   First hour tho would do nothing,  95% of time guys playing in the first two hours of the day are moving.  I do agree the cap doesn't matter as much as it does that you just have one.

 

Unfortunately I've seen more than my share of decent players slog through an early morning round, and high cappers blaze a trail. 

 

I think the first few groups should sign a pledge. Finish in 3:30 to 3:45, and you get a free drink in the clubhouse, or a discount on your next round. Miss the time and you don't get another early tee time. A little risk/reward is a good thing. 

 

[DavePelz4]

8 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Looks like they’ve followed the Mistwood model. Keep increasing rates until people won’t pay. Then slightly roll back until it fills up and the price is set. 

 

Prior to Jim's passing, we talked about his continual raising of rates. He said EXACTLY what you shared. It's basically ECON 101.

[Holy Moses]

Mount Prospect was in really nice shape yesterday. The pace of play improved after the 5th hole like it usually does. The pins were in impossible positions all day. Pins were in corners or on the toughest spots on pretty much every green. I understand that you want that on a few holes, but is it really necessary on every hole?

[4PUTT- AD]

Played Bartlett Hills and Cantigny last week. First time at Bartlett and was pleasantly surprised. Nice layout, challenging, little tight but the greens were running pretty true, glad I played

 

Cantigny - have not been there for a month and the condition has improved, the condition took a down turn this season - I heard due to drought and the excessive time the crews were helping on Hillside .

 

Going to Cantigny again this week 

[B-Man]

Winnetka yesterday. Whatever.

[ldchristopher]

33 minutes ago, B-Man said:

Winnetka yesterday. Whatever.

That kind of round or just unimpressed with the redesign? 

[B-Man]

1 hour ago, ldchristopher said:

That kind of round or just unimpressed with the redesign? 

I had not played it before but it appears they are trying hard to be a country club. Some of those par 4s are just horrendous (4, 9, and 12). Not the best shape for the hole with a few greens over the top. The 18th is a great hole though. Par 3s are nothing special.

[Chanceman]

On 10/26/2024 at 4:49 AM, zer0 said:

 

I don't see that one very often.    Do see cigar ash on the greens, but that doesn't bother me at all since it is easily brushed away.  Its those damn seeds that drive me nuts.

Very funny.

[RGlaze978]

Played Mistwood on Sunday, in great condition for late fall, and played faster than usual. Tee sheet wasn't super full - but my wife and I were luckily waved through by a few groups. Played like a**. 

Played Oakbrook GC yesterday - shot my low round of the year. 37 (+1) on the back 9 tipped out makes me happy if its my last full round of the year. 

Edited October 29, 2024 by RGlaze978

[mikes919]

Got in a round on this beautiful 80 degree day, played Chevy Chase and went 44/38 for an 82. Felt really great on the back 9 and played the last 7 holes at even par, despite some really crazy winds. The quest for 79 continues…

[Springsteennut]

Played my usual Tuesday at Redtail. Beautiful but windy morning. Greens were smooth and quick. Fairways were hard and fast. Bunkers were actually in nice shape. Wind got me on a couple of approach shots. Other than that I felt pretty good about how I played. Hey even if I played bad wearing shorts and polo in late October makes for a great day.