Colorado WRX 2020

[deadsolid...shank]

9 hours ago, CDM said:

 

Nice list.

Bayside.... Okay track. front is good, not a fan at the back 9. 

PC.... great 18's.  Dunes is and feels just massive. Interesting you got on. We went in June and I received an email about a month or so ago they were full for the rest of the year. Did you book early?

WW...just a great layout and conditions are typically on par with top country clubs.

Awarii.... the greens can be crazy, typical Engh setup and some blind shots to greens. 

Heritage Hills..... never played it but will have to look into it.

 

Have a great trip, let us know how it goes.

For a lot of years Heritage Hills was considered one of the best, and the toughest courses in the state. I never made it down there but my understanding is very hill with a lot of long forced carrries. Although those carries may not be that daunting anymore. 

[Hardrain]

Heritage Hills is a trip. I played it last summer. It isn't as nice as the other places you list, but definitely a different/fun track. It is tough and huge elevation changes. The first hole is a par 4 and the tee box and green are about the same elevation, but off the tee you hit it waaay down into a valley and then back up for your approach.

[CDM]

12 hours ago, Hardrain said:

Heritage Hills is a trip. I played it last summer. It isn't as nice as the other places you list, but definitely a different/fun track. It is tough and huge elevation changes. The first hole is a par 4 and the tee box and green are about the same elevation, but off the tee you hit it waaay down into a valley and then back up for your approach.

 

Just googled Heritage Hills, that does look crazy with the elevation changes. Have to figure out how to get that one in the next Wild Horse trip.  Looks to be a little over an hour south of Gothenburg?

[deadsolid...shank]

On 9/18/2020 at 9:17 AM, CDM said:

 

Just googled Heritage Hills, that does look crazy with the elevation changes. Have to figure out how to get that one in the next Wild Horse trip.  Looks to be a little over an hour south of Gothenburg?

About 70 miles south of North Platte, 30 miles from Gothenburg to North Platte. It’s been a few years since I was in McCook, but I believe a lot of that road is two lane. So it goes a little slower. I’d guess closer to two hours. 

[ALi3]

Alright, got back from Nebraska yesterday afternoon and wanted to  write a little about the courses.

 

The Prairie Club (Dunes):  Played a morning round at the dunes after driving up the day before. Man, this course is literally in the middle of nowhere. The sand hills are what I would imagine the Sahara Desert would look like if it was covered in grass. This course was in amazing condition in every aspect. Course design was challenging especially when you could be in the fairway and realize you hit the wrong side of it once you got up to your ball. Some elevation changes here and there, but nothing too crazy. Bunkers here were punishing. Almost no change of hitting the greens with some berms being 10+ feet high or having log posts. Club house food was great too. I would absolutely recommend this course for any golfer that likes to play a lot considering it was $195 for unlimited play all day at the one public course and their par 3. Pace of play was quick in my eyes for being a destination/resort course with public play, got around in 3:50.

 

Awarii Dunes: Fun and somewhat toned down course design from Jim Engh. 17 was a classic design with the approach to the green being completely hidden and bowl that your ball funnels to the flag. 18 was also a great hole to finish. It was long, but wide open to hit as far as you wanted. Par 3's alternated between short with tough greens or intimidatingly long with easy greens if you can reach. The rest of the course had the typical easier tee shots with difficult approaches based on pin placement in the wacky greens. Luckily they rolled slow in the morning so the 5 ft. elevation changes weren't as killer. Softest fairways on the trip and felt like a tour pro taking dollar bill divots on every shot. 

 

Wild Horse: Pure. Pure. Pure. Everything about this course being a top public course on the country are true. Greens were fantastic and I would give them the edge over the Prairie Club in terms of how they rolled. The course doesn't wow you with how it looks as you look out over it and are playing it, but every good shot was rewarded and bad shots were brutal. The wind starting picking up later in to my round and it got brutal. I usually hit my 4 iron about 200 on the fly in Denver with some roll out. Coming coming up 25-30 yards short into the wind on a 190 yard shot was a gut punch and the wind wasn't even bad. I would not want to play this course on a truly windy day. This course took the most concentration for me and I felt drained after playing it. At one point after hitting 10+ shots into the wind I spaced that we finally turned a corner and nuked a shot into the carts of the group in front of us, luckily they were ahead on the green, because I forgot I was playing with a helping wind. 

 

Heritage Hills:  I would guess this course would probably be hated by more serious golfers. Course conditions were good, probably comparable to south suburban or a Denver city course if it were in peak condition. Every shot is almost comical. Up, down, and all around was the theme of the round. No pictures can do the elevation changes justice, but I hit two good drives and one went 225 and the other went about 315. This is the perfect course to get a few beers, lower your expectations for "true golf", and enjoy a fun round laughing at your buddies. 

 

Augusta Winds: I also stopped at this 9 hole course with a $20 honesty box for all day unlimited play on my way to Valentine the night before The Prairie Club. They have a shed for members to store their golf carts and this place probably gets mowed about twice a week. Great walk at sunset with a Sunday bag and surprisingly difficult holes. Tee shots had to be accurate or they were in native since the rough was only about 2 ft. wide past the fairway. 

[007iron]

Was down in Denver over the weekend and played CommonGround - what an awesome course and amazing value. Greens were pretty good for the amount of play they're getting (over 30,000 rounds so far this year through August, as many as all of 2019 with 3+ months left). And pace was solid - Saturday afternoon and got around in 4:15

[pseudoswede]

Anyone else having issues with the forum on a desktop computer? Nothing but text. Looks fine on my phone. 

[geochitown]

36 minutes ago, pseudoswede said:

Anyone else having issues with the forum on a desktop computer? Nothing but text. Looks fine on my phone. 

 

Looks bad on internet explorer (all text,), but ok on Chrome

 

[pseudoswede]

20 hours ago, geochitown said:

 

Looks bad on internet explorer (all text,), but ok on Chrome

 

I use Chrome on my laptop (and phone). Maybe my company VPN is blocking it. 

 

(Yup. It's my corporate VPN. Oddly enough, just the forums, not the golf site.) 

 

Edited to add: it looks fine now. Weird.

Edited September 29, 2020 by pseudoswede

[pseudoswede]

tl;dr - play the right tees for your current game

 

All summer, I've been struggling to get off the tee. I'm talking drives that consistently didn't make the red tees--I even had a 2-inch drive at Willis Case. For every 300+ drive I had, I would have 10 that would dribble off the tee box--usually into deep grass between tee boxes. It didn't matter if I teed off with a driver, 3-iron, or a 6-iron. What made it aggravating was that the rest of my game was actually pretty decent; however, it doesn't help when you're lying 2 or 3 on your approach shot to the green where your drive off the tee should've been.

 

Before this summer, I was all about playing from the tips. I felt like I had the length to handle it, and the 3-6 extra pops in tournaments I figured would benefit me. I think my disasterous round at Heritage Eagle Bend was quite the gut-check. After HEB, I actually spent time looking at the course scorecard and how many pops I would get from the various tees; I started choosing two or three tee boxes from the tips.

 

It's been a pretty interesting past two weeks of golf for me...

 

On the 19th, we had a golf league tournament at Green Valley Ranch. I chose the blue tees, as did pretty much everyone but one person in the A flight. I snake in a hard breaking 20-foot birdie on #1, and then I proceed to triple #4 after shanking my 3 iron off the tee. In fact, I 3-putted four straight holes on the front nine, and I limped out with a 43. On the back nine, I was able to keep things in check, and I had a few good looks at birdie, converting 1 of 2 tries inside 10 feet. On #18, I needed a par to clinch low net, and it would greatly help our foursome bet. I drove it to the light rough of the left side, hit an 8-iron just to get it down the fairway and keep it out of trouble, then, probably my most clutch shot of the day, a 6-iron into a breeze to 20 feet. I two-putted for par for a 39, and I won low net (70) and was 2nd place low gross (no one had a particularly great day). Our team won the foursome bet, my partner and I won the two-some bet, and my birdie on #1 held up for a super skin. Except for #4, the rest of my tee shots were okay, save for a chunky shot on #17.

 

The other takeaway from the round: I always felt that GVR would be a brutal walk. We were given a entry fee discount for walking, so I gave it a shot. It's actually not that bad, even in pretty hot weather. I did have a push cart and an umbrella to hide under, so that really helped.

 

On Sunday, the golf league's "club championship" was held at Colorado National. This was my first time playing there. It was bleepin' freezing at 10am; so thankful I wore pants and had a hoodie with me. I chose the gold/copper combo tees when the rest of my group played just the gold tees. What made the round so strange was that I felt like I was putting solid wood behind my driver (definitely felt three off-center ones), but I only averaged 250 off the tee with my driver (10 drives; shortest at 210 and longest at 279). Regardless, the biggest difference was that I wasn't hitting my 2nd or 3rd shot from just after the red tees: I put the ball out there...in the fairway. I hit 12 of 14 fairways overall. Even with those "short" drives, I was able to attack most par 4's with short irons. I put them close (probably 15ft on average), but I missed them all (including a 3ft gimmie straight uphill that I hit 20 inches haha). My long iron approaches were also terrible--I hit them all poorly and thin; but, again, they travelled 150-175 yards straight down the fairway away from trouble. Another huge difference was that my short game was on fire: I converted 5 of 7 chips for pars. With all that, I shot a 37-38 for 75. I tied for low gross and demolished low net. It felt great.

 

The last two tournaments also vaulted me into the golf league's end of season points race, which gave me an invite to the invite-only tournament at Bear Dance on October 10.

 

How's this for a roller coaster summer? (Tournament scores only.)

 

 

So I've had a 75 and 104 in tournament play this year. Can anyone beat that? haha

[asianplow]

This last weekend, I got to play Balleyneal for 3 days. What a great place! There was 8 of us, playing Ryder Cup style matches and side games. Golf was great, weather was great (minus Sunday morning), food was great! Drove up Friday morning, played 18 in the afternoon and the par 3 course in the early evening. Saturday, played 36. And on Sunday, played 18. It's so cool how there isn't a tee marker and you tee off anywhere. We would tee off from the sides of greens, or tee off hitting over the previous hole's green. We would tee off in the middle of a fairway to make a par 4 driveable. Such a unique place and can't wait to go back.

 

If you have a chance to play, GO! Also, they're building another 18 up there and supposed to break ground soon.

[pseudoswede]

What good fortune giveth, bad luck taketh away.

 

Played Deer Creek with the wife on Saturday. After three booming drives on the first three holes, my reality came crashing back down, and I couldn't get off the tee if I tried. Actually, on the par 5 6th, I crushed two drives, but I simply pushed them into the junk.

 

It's a shame that Deer Creek never really got off the ground. The front nine is so incredibly challenging.

Edited October 5, 2020 by pseudoswede

[Noodler]

23 minutes ago, pseudoswede said:

What good fortune giveth, bad luck taketh away.

 

Played Deer Creek with the wife on Saturday. After three booming drives on the first three holes, my reality came crashing back down, and I couldn't get off the tee if I tried. Actually, on the par 5 6th, I crushed two drives, but I simply pushed them into the junk.

 

It's a shame that Deer Creek never really got off the ground. The front nine is so incredibly challenging.

 

Sorry to hear that.  Hopefully you'll get things straightened before Saturday at Bear Dance.

 

We played Plum Creek on Saturday and I was once again struck by what a great track Pete Dye created there.  It's just a shame that the Bear Dance ownership won't put any money into that course.  The range is pitiful (they won't even wash the balls) and there are numerous places on the course that need lots of housekeeping.  At least they're now watering the course to grow the grass, unlike the last time I played there.

[thaar]

Haven't been playing much golf lately, aside from our drinking filled, bs 9-hole rounds on Thursdays. Finally got out to play 18 at Lone Tree yesterday. I was really interested to see how my game was going to be, particularly since my putting game lately has been trash. I haven't played a full 18 since the 3rd week of August.

 

After starting out even thru 5, I found the road with my approach shot and limped off with a triple. I pulled it back together and par'd 7, but then had some bad luck on two shots on 8, and ended up with a double. Had some missed opportunities throughout the day, but all in all, I was pretty happy with my game. My putting game wasn't terrible despite 3 3-putts, and my chipping game was solid. Ended up shooting an 80. Not bad with a double and a triple. 

 

That score apparently kicked out a higher score on my card cause my index dropped from an 8.0 to a 7.4. Pretty stoked about that. Been a pretty good season overall. 

 

 

[thaar]

On another note, I have this posted in WRX Club Techs, but I'm not getting any traction, so maybe someone here can help 🙂

 

Looking to upgrade my driver from the F8+ to the Speedzone. I currently have the Evenflow Blue 65 in x-stiff, and like it quite a bit, but they don't offer it as an option. Normally, I'd just use the current shaft and put it in the new SZ, but my brother-in-law hit my driver really well last time we played, so I was going to give it to him. I don't think any of the HZRDUS offerings will work since they're all low spin, but was thinking maybe the Fujikura ATMOS Blue 7 might be a comparable shaft, though it is quite a bit heavier at 77g as opposed to 69g. Is this a good option, or are there other shafts that I should consider instead? Trying to stick with the shafts that don't require an upgrade charge...

 

https://www.cobragolf.com/speedzone-tour-length-driver

[RobotDoctor]

I played 4 holes at Collindale Golf Club in Fort Collins this morning before I had to leave due to a personal situation I had to attend to.  I had not played since August 25th and only have been to the range a couple/three times since.  Double edged sword since I have picked up some work as of late.  I was 2 over after 4 (double on #2, my nemesis hole).  I had par, double, par, par before I had to go.  I'll try it again tomorrow morning.  Brrrrrrrrrrr.

[pseudoswede]

Yikes. Looking to get out to play 18 with my dad on Wednesday morning. Nothing is available.

 

edited to add: luckily found a 9am tee time at Colorado National, but it's an hour away. blah.

Edited October 19, 2020 by pseudoswede

[geochitown]

On 10/5/2020 at 2:13 PM, thaar said:

On another note, I have this posted in WRX Club Techs, but I'm not getting any traction, so maybe someone here can help 🙂

 

Looking to upgrade my driver from the F8+ to the Speedzone. I currently have the Evenflow Blue 65 in x-stiff, and like it quite a bit, but they don't offer it as an option. Normally, I'd just use the current shaft and put it in the new SZ, but my brother-in-law hit my driver really well last time we played, so I was going to give it to him. I don't think any of the HZRDUS offerings will work since they're all low spin, but was thinking maybe the Fujikura ATMOS Blue 7 might be a comparable shaft, though it is quite a bit heavier at 77g as opposed to 69g. Is this a good option, or are there other shafts that I should consider instead? Trying to stick with the shafts that don't require an upgrade charge...

 

https://www.cobragolf.com/speedzone-tour-length-driver

 

Buy head and shaft separately?

 

head

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=cobra+speedzone+head+only&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=evenflow+blue+65+x-stiff+cobra

 

shaft

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=evenflow+blue+65+x-stiff+cobra&_sacat=0

 

 

[pseudoswede]

On 10/19/2020 at 9:43 AM, pseudoswede said:

Yikes. Looking to get out to play 18 with my dad on Wednesday morning. Nothing is available.

 

edited to add: luckily found a 9am tee time at Colorado National, but it's an hour away. blah.

 

Pretty chilly in the morning (my car said 43° when we got out of the car). The pro shop said they were running 20 minutes behind due to frost, but the starter was able to catch up rather quickly.

 

I shot a 78 from the gold tees with a triple, double, and four bogeys. I also burned the lip on about five putts.

 

Regardless, it was nice getting out on the course with my dad.

[thaar]

That's an impressive round with all those bogeys! 

 

I have a tee time this afternoon for 9 at the Burb, but the temps are supposed to nose dive later today, so we'll see. I'll likely still play tho. 

 

I'm certainly missing the California weather from last week! Had a great week - got to play Torrey South, played twilight at Encinitas Ranch (got 13 holes in) and did a wedge fitting at Titleist.

 

Played Torrey from the tips. Definitely a fun experience but I didn't bring my A-game whatsoever - disappointing since I was so excited to play. I really struggled to find my swing, just an off day. Fairways were in great shape, greens were pristine, but quite a bit slower than I anticipated. Fortunately the rough wasn't overly penal, otherwise it would have made for a super tough day. Doesn't help when you find the bunkers as much as I did that day either :lol:. Sand was super soft and fluffy - much different than what I'm used to out here.

 

It was a tale of 6's - I was +8 thru the first 6 holes and it had nothing to do with the course, then +1 for the next 6 (shoulda been even, but lipped out my bogey putt), then +8 for the final 6. I did attempt a new shot on the long par 3 16th hole, with a strong wind in the face that I didn't execute at all lol, which hurt bad, but my playing partners were both scratch golfers so I thought I'd try something new after talking with them about it. Then 3-putted 17 for a double after finding the greenside bunker, and skulled my 100yd approach on 18 in a terrible spot, so those last three holes there ended up being +6. 

 

The 13th hole was super cool though...since I was playing with locals, we decided to tee it up all the way in back where they play from on Sunday at the Farmers. You couldn't see those tee boxes at all from the normal tee area. Probably played another 130yds further, with a huge carry (probably 250ish) to get to the fairway. I lipped out my putt for par after barely missing the green and it trickling way down, but was pretty happy with bogey with that long of a hole.

 

 

Then a couple days later I headed out to TPI for a wedge fitting. I went in completely blind and never asked or looked what club I was hitting. Learned quite a bit from the experience and was amazed how much spin one can get on the ball no matter where you are. I was able to get the ball to check and slowly release from just off the green. The guy I worked with was great and gave me some pointers on my technique, so I need to work on that so it feels more natural. Anyway, I got fit for the following:

 

46.10 F grind bent 1 degree strong to replace my PW - I really liked this club.
50.12 F grind bent 1 degree strong
54.14 F grind
58.08 M grind

 

All with KBS Tour stiff. My current wedges are AMT X100's so I was surprised to step it down in both weight and stiffness, but they felt great.

 

Then I met my best friend after work at Encinitas Ranch later that day for some twilight golf. Fun and pretty course. Wasn't overly tough and shot a 38 on the first 9. I was a bit lazy on the first hole and ended up with a three-putt bogey, then missed a 4-5 footer on 2 to save par. I'd play the course again though for sure. 

Edited October 22, 2020 by thaar

[hoselpalooza]

i'm officially in denver!

 

recently picked up this CO whiskey (love the name 😂) from a local bottle shop. just in time to make some hot toddies when this cold front hits later this week. can't believe the temp is about to dip down to 9ºF on sunday -- yikes!

 

[pseudoswede]

15 hours ago, hoselpalooza said:

i'm officially in denver!

 

recently picked up this CO whiskey (love the name 😂) from a local bottle shop. just in time to make some hot toddies when this cold front hits later this week. can't believe the temp is about to dip down to 9ºF on sunday -- yikes!

 

I thought Tin Cup was nationally distributed? (I'm not a whiskey drinker, so I wouldn't know.)

 

Welcome to Denver! Hope you can get out on Saturday and then brace for the winter weather...then be back out late next week in shorts.

[hoselpalooza]

17 minutes ago, pseudoswede said:

 

I thought Tin Cup was nationally distributed? (I'm not a whiskey drinker, so I wouldn't know.)

 

Welcome to Denver! Hope you can get out on Saturday and then brace for the winter weather...then be back out late next week in shorts.

 

thanks! i'm not sure if tin cup is nationally distributed; just asked the bottle shop guy to recommend a reasonably priced whiskey and that's what he recommended. 

 

miiiiight be able to get out there saturday but still have so many things to do to get properly settled. 🤞

[hoselpalooza]

separate topic -- can anyone recommend a top-notch physio (not PT) in denver? 

 

i need to establish with someone to monitor and maintain some very minor back issues. have asked local friends and family for recommendations but apparently i'm the only one who needs a physio. 😅

 

no surprise here, but to cover all my bases i would prefer someone who's worked with elite athletes, particularly golfers. 

 

thank you!!

Edited October 23, 2020 by hoselpalooza
a word

[deadsolid...shank]

6 hours ago, pseudoswede said:

 

I thought Tin Cup was nationally distributed? (I'm not a whiskey drinker, so I wouldn't know.)

 

Welcome to Denver! Hope you can get out on Saturday and then brace for the winter weather...then be back out late next week in shorts.

Man I hope so. We have a tournament next weekend (only one this year for me), really hope we don’t get too much snow so we can play. 

[hoselpalooza]

11 hours ago, deadsolid...shank said:

Man I hope so. We have a tournament next weekend (only one this year for me), really hope we don’t get too much snow so we can play. 

 

looks like it's gonna be gorgeous next weekend. forecast for this upcoming monday just keeps getting colder and colder though! 🥶

 

[CDM]

On 10/23/2020 at 2:11 PM, hoselpalooza said:

separate topic -- can anyone recommend a top-notch physio (not PT) in denver? 

 

i need to establish with someone to monitor and maintain some very minor back issues. have asked local friends and family for recommendations but apparently i'm the only one who needs a physio. 😅

 

no surprise here, but to cover all my bases i would prefer someone who's worked with elite athletes, particularly golfers. 

 

thank you!!

 

I think Krush (could be wrong) on this thread covers what you are looking for, plus he plays golf. 

 

He has a carry distance of 199.9 yards off the tee with driver..........  😃 (JK)

Edited October 26, 2020 by CDM

[pseudoswede]

I was looking to go golfing on Sunday early afternoon with the wife, but we'll be up at 5 bleepin' AM that morning because Arapahoe Hockey doesn't want kids to have fun on Halloween. Who the heck schedules a 7am hockey game for 13/14-year-olds the morning after Halloween?!

Edited October 26, 2020 by pseudoswede

[deadsolid...shank]

On 10/24/2020 at 8:14 AM, hoselpalooza said:

 

looks like it's gonna be gorgeous next weekend. forecast for this upcoming monday just keeps getting colder and colder though! 🥶

 

They got today right.....brrrr. 
 

About 6-8” of snow here in Greeley,  hope it melts quickly. 

[pseudoswede]

We got 4-ish inches in my neighborhood. My kids shoveled the driveway around noon, and by 4pm it was already bone dry (as is the majority of the surrounding streets).