Arg's Travel Log

[hammergolf]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Oak Hollow GC, High Point, NC 

 

 

 

 

Par 4 6th. Classic Pete. There's plenty of fairway right of the tree, but you're still shaking in your shoes. 

 

 

 

Lol. No, that's not a cigar that someone left on the course. 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u8zy1jmc6o2t67u/AAAPmgY4p6Dxn50OtjYcawBLa?dl=0

 

Never seen plugs that big!

[ThinkingPlus]

25 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Never seen plugs that big!

I have.  Not uncommon around here.

[hammergolf]

4 hours ago, ThinkingPlus said:

I have.  Not uncommon around here.

How long does it take to heal?

[kekoa]

This is really cool.  Something I can only dream of.  Oh and that rig is sick!!!

[ThinkingPlus]

43 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

How long does it take to heal?

When the grass grower at my former CC punched, it was 6 - 8 weeks at least. Other places around here do a bit better. Some places needle punch and do better. If they would stick to twice a year plus maybe verticut a couple times, it wouldn't be too bad. The problem around here is they punch another time or two in the late fall and winter. They will also verticut in the winter as well.

 

Punching or verticutting bermuda greens in the winter, even in deep south Texas, is just stupid. Greens end up bumpy and soft.  Since they are semi-dormant it takes longer for them to fully heal.  They throw tons of water on them to help, but that just makes them soggy. I prefer firmer surfaces and surrounds. Maybe the winter Texans like soggy. No idea.

[hammergolf]

9 minutes ago, ThinkingPlus said:

When the grass grower at my former CC punched, it was 6 - 8 weeks at least. Other places around here do a bit better. Some places needle punch and do better. If they would stick to twice a year plus maybe verticut a couple times, it wouldn't be too bad. The problem around here is they punch another time or two in the late fall and winter. They will also verticut in the winter as well.

 

Punching or verticutting bermuda greens in the winter, even in deep south Texas, is just stupid. Greens end up bumpy and soft.  Since they are semi-dormant it takes longer for them to fully heal.  They throw tons of water on them to help, but that just makes them soggy. I prefer firmer surfaces and surrounds. Maybe the winter Texans like soggy. No idea.

We’re lucky since our course use a water jet machine that is about the size and length of a pencil. It heals very quickly.

[caniac6]

I’m pretty sure Oak Hollow has bentgrass greens, and those big plugs were from fairways and tees. Fairly early for fairway aerification. A lot of courses in the area will only punch trouble spots, and not entire fairways. I have seen courses drag fairways to breakup plugs. Also, I have usually seen tees punched with the same machine as greens, not a pull behind fairway unit. After looking at the pictures again, it looks like the tees were done with a greens aerifier, and they just pulled big plugs.

Edited March 23, 2023 by caniac6

[Argonne69]

4 minutes ago, caniac6 said:

I’m pretty sure Oak Hollow has bentgrass greens, and those big plugs were from fairways and tees. Fairly early for fairway aerification. A lot of courses in the area will only punch trouble spots, and not entire fairways. I have seen courses drag fairways to breakup plugs. Also, I have usually seen tees punched with the same machine as greens, not a pull behind fairway unit.

 

Yes, there were two plug machines out there, along with one dragger. They were plugging everything, including the rough.

 

Unfortunately I caught the dragger on the 15th hole. The 17th was a minefield, as the dragger hadn't reached it yet. The pluggers were starting on the 18th when I played the hole. The tee boxes were a mess. Another disadvantage of being the first player on the course and playing in a sub 3 hour pace.

 

[mci711]

3 hours ago, caniac6 said:

I’m pretty sure Oak Hollow has bentgrass greens, and those big plugs were from fairways and tees. Fairly early for fairway aerification. A lot of courses in the area will only punch trouble spots, and not entire fairways. I have seen courses drag fairways to breakup plugs. Also, I have usually seen tees punched with the same machine as greens, not a pull behind fairway unit. After looking at the pictures again, it looks like the tees were done with a greens aerifier, and they just pulled big plugs.

 

I've always wondered what the furthest south all bent grass course was, thought it may have been 1 of the 2 here in St Louis. I guess not! Summer must be absolutely brutal keeping that course in decent shape. 

 

My course is the 1 private in the area that is all bent, in the summer they have to keep it soaked basically all the time so it doesn't die out. Couldn't imagine being in a hotter location with bent grass. But can also confirm, we have similar plugs right now. 

[geauxtigers777]

4 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

I've always wondered what the furthest south all bent grass course was, thought it may have been 1 of the 2 here in St Louis. I guess not! Summer must be absolutely brutal keeping that course in decent shape. 

 

My course is the 1 private in the area that is all bent, in the summer they have to keep it soaked basically all the time so it doesn't die out. Couldn't imagine being in a hotter location with bent grass. But can also confirm, we have similar plugs right now. 

The furthest south I’ve seen them is just north of Birmingham,AL. They run fans on them nonstop in the summer. 

[Abh159]

15 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

I've always wondered what the furthest south all bent grass course was, thought it may have been 1 of the 2 here in St Louis. I guess not! Summer must be absolutely brutal keeping that course in decent shape. 

 

My course is the 1 private in the area that is all bent, in the summer they have to keep it soaked basically all the time so it doesn't die out. Couldn't imagine being in a hotter location with bent grass. But can also confirm, we have similar plugs right now. 

 

Still some courses in MS, AL, and GA with bent greens although a lot have converted to bermuda in the last decade.

 

The ones with bent are usually higher end private clubs which helps because they don't suffer as much play/damage as public courses. As the previous poster mentioned they'll have fans running 24/7 along with constant watering to keep them cool.

[mci711]

7 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

 

Still some courses in MS, AL, and GA with bent greens although a lot have converted to bermuda in the last decade.

 

The ones with bent are usually higher end private clubs which helps because they don't suffer as much play/damage as public courses. As the previous poster mentioned they'll have fans running 24/7 along with constant watering to keep them cool.

 

Yea, my course has fans and unlimited water. There is a Missouri River tributary that runs along the course and the pump water from there. So that helps. Course is prime in Spring and Fall, summer it is hit or miss and the greens a usually slow. Any day that is over 90 is cart path only etc.. We only do 40/50 rounds a day so that is helpful for condition. But I'd prefer a non cool weather grass. 

[Argonne69]

Isn't this part of North Carolina considered higher elevation? I know it's not the Smokey Mountains, but it's still close to 900' above sea level. 

 

[Argonne69]

Cloudy and cool again this morning. Of course in classic Arg fashion the blue skies appeared as I pulled out of the parking lot. Lol. I'm so sore. In preparation for my surgery next week the doctor has taken me off all meds and supplements. That includes my daily dose of Alege. Ugh. You forget how much discomfort a little joint inflammation can cause. 

 

Anyway, caught a break at Jamestown Park GC today. They don't give tee times to singles, so I was told to show up and they'd get me on. Don't know who I spoke with, but there's league play on Wednesdays, and I showed up to find 32 golfers ready to tee off. There was another twosome itching to head out, so the staffer called the superintendent and asked if she could send the three of of us out 10 minutes early. Thankfully the super said yes, and we were able to jump out in front of the eight groups. The twosome sent me ahead on the 2nd hole, so once again I got to play a very nice parkland course solo. Sweet. 

 

Nice rolling terrain again. Plenty of elevated tees and greens. Water on a few holes. Very light fairway bunkering. Greenside a little better, although it looks like they let a few grow in. The front was fairly boring with straight, parallel holes. Thought I might have made a mistake, but the back was a bit of a gem with a handful of sweepers, and more up and down. A few homes were visible on the perimeter of the property, but nothing crazy. The course was tough given it's length. With a couple of short 5s, uphill landing areas, and elevated greens, the par 4s were long. 

 

Fairly easy off the tee with few bunkers, but one had to be aware of the side slopes. Hit the wrong shot shape and you'd easily roll down into the junk. Rough was fairly wide, but the dormant turf wasn't holding much. Approaches were tough. Plenty of uphill shots from uphill and sidehill lies. Throw in firm greens, and a few that sloped front to back, and it was a challenge. Up and downs were also challenging. Iffy lies and severe dropoffs required a delicate touch. Green contours didn't appear crazy, but there was a lot more break than met the eye, and the grain was a serious PITA. 

 

Par 3s were mixed. The front pair were fairly benign I but the back pair had forced carries to well guarded greens. The 17th added a shallow green to boot. 5s were OK. Three were very short and reachable, but little risk. Short 4s were meh. 

 

Conditions were very good. The dormant fairways were thin in spots, but I generally had reasonable lies. Rough was cut low. Bunkers were quite good with slightly wet sand. Greens were excellent. Love a cheap muni with smooth greens rolling 10 to 11. 

 

Played the White tees at 6153 yds (70.0/123). Glad I didn't do a Blue/White combo, as it was playing much longer. Struggled on the opening 11 holes with the long 4s, but got it turned around on the par 5 12th. Two birdies and six bogies. Highlight of the day was a nice 27' birdie putt on the par 5 12th. 

 

JP gets a solid 5 cows. $23 to walk is crazy good, even for a muni. Lovely parkland layout with some nice elevation changes. I'd like to see a couple of tougher 3s, a risk/reward 5, and a whole lot more bunkering. Like Oak Hollow, I'd be a regular as a local. Won't win any awards, but it's worth a play in the area. 

 

[Argonne69]

Jamestown Park GC, Jamestown, NC 

 

 

 

 

No 11. Tough, long par 4. 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lr5hylpf2rd0h3p/AAD8xeaL_LGUAqyUc-V01ur7a?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Took a short drive to Greensboro. Seems to be plenty of brewerys, but they don't open until 2 pm or later. Wound up at Old Town Draught House near the UNC Greensboro campus. 27 taps with a heavy dose of IPAs, but they do have a nice Booneshine Maple Imperial stout. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Amazing how I wind up at World of Beer or Flying Saucer. If a brewpub doesn't open until late afternoon, they're certainly missing out on the day drinking crowd. Lol. 

 

Enjoying a nice Belgian flight at WoB with a Deep River dubbel, an Epic Brewing raspberry golden, a Unibroue La Fin du Monde tripel, and a Weyerbacher quad. Quite the spread. 

 

 

[caniac6]

2 hours ago, mci711 said:

 

I've always wondered what the furthest south all bent grass course was, thought it may have been 1 of the 2 here in St Louis. I guess not! Summer must be absolutely brutal keeping that course in decent shape. 

 

My course is the 1 private in the area that is all bent, in the summer they have to keep it soaked basically all the time so it doesn't die out. Couldn't imagine being in a hotter location with bent grass. But can also confirm, we have similar plugs right now. 

My old boss is the superintendent at Alamance Country Club in Burlington, NC. It’s a Ross course that went through a major renovation a couple years ago. Rather than convert to bermuda, they went with a new heat tolerant bent, and have had tremendous success. The course where I belong was going to convert the greens to bermuda, but after seeing the greens at Alamance, decided to go with the new bent.

[Argonne69]

Was considering BBQ, but it's been a while since I had a good burger. Bites and Pints in Greensboro. The double Breakfast Burger with cheddar, bacon, and egg is seriously good. The loaded tots with jalepenos, chilli, and sour cream is a fantastic side. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

It's going to be a long day tomorrow. I have a 5.5+ hour drive to Knoxville, and then an afternoon appointment for pre-op lab work. 

 

Anyone drive I-81 from Roanoke to Knoxville? I recall I-40 being a tough drive with severe grades. I-81 appears to be roughly the same length, and hopefully it's a little less rugged. 

 

[caniac6]

220 to Roanoke is a bit curvy and hilly. Roanoke to I-77 is a bit of the same, but nothing like going over the mountain on 40 east of Asheville. Never been west of 77 on 81, so I don’t know what’s there. Lot of truck traffic on 81.

[Alex H]

 

23 hours ago, mci711 said:

 

I've always wondered what the furthest south all bent grass course was, thought it may have been 1 of the 2 here in St Louis. I guess not! Summer must be absolutely brutal keeping that course in decent shape. 

 

My course is the 1 private in the area that is all bent, in the summer they have to keep it soaked basically all the time so it doesn't die out. Couldn't imagine being in a hotter location with bent grass. But can also confirm, we have similar plugs right now. 

 

My home course in NC has two 18s. One with Bermuda greens the other with Bentgrass. They do have to keep it pretty wet in the summer (i think they run sprinklers at noon and 6pm) but it's nice to have in the winter. If we get a cold snap and they have to cover the Bermuda greens, the Bentgrass course is still open. That said, that 18 definitely doesn't get as much play in general. 

[Argonne69]

Fun six hour drive today to Knoxville. I took I-40 through the Smokey Mountains. I did a little research, and I-81 didn't seem any less treacherous, and added 20 miles. Beautiful scenery along the way, but some of the downhill sections are white knucklers. Uphill isn't bad. You stay in the right lane with your 4-ways on as you struggle to maintain 40 mph. Oh, the curving, downhill tunnel was fun. Nothing like entering the dark tunnel blind and having to negotiate the curve while on the brakes. Lol. 

 

I booked a prepaid round at Island Pointe tomorrow morning, but it's looking like t-storms and 15 to 20 mph winds. Hopefully the rain passes before I tee off. 

 

Oh, and construction is always fun. 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Argonne69

[jcook10]

33 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Fun six hour drive today to Knoxville. I took I-40 through the Smokey Mountains. I did a little research, and I-81 didn't seem any less treacherous, and added 20 miles. Beautiful scenery along the way, but some of the downhill sections are white knucklers. Uphill isn't bad. You stay in the right lane with your 4-ways on as you struggle to maintain 40 mph. Oh, the curving, downhill tunnel was fun. Nothing like entering the dark tunnel blind and having to negotiate the curve while on the brakes. Lol. 

 

I booked a prepaid round at Island Pointe tomorrow morning, but it's looking like t-storms and 15 to 20 mph winds. Hopefully the rain passes before I tee off. 

 

I recently came back from my first experience with steep grade driving on I-70 outside Denver and while the skiing was wonderful I will not be the driver again on those straight downhill tunnels anytime soon!

[Argonne69]

Lab work done, so it's time for a late liquid lunch. Enjoying a sampling a the Russian Imperial and fruited tripel at Voodoo Brewing in Knoxville. 24 taps with the usual stuff. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

The fun continues at Albright Grove Brewing Company. Wow, that's good. The Orodruin bourbon barrel aged Belgian Quad is heavenly. 

 

 

[caniac6]

My brother and sister in law lived in Knoxville over 40 years. They liked a place called Liton’s Market and Restaurant. I believe they really liked the burgers, but it looks like they also have comfort food.

[Argonne69]

Well, if my surgery goes south next week, at least I had some decent Q before shuffling through the pearly gates. Sweet P's Barbecue and Downtown Dive. Brisket isn't Austin good, but it's tasty. Hot link was very tasty. Pulled pork was moist and smokey. The Memphis style ribs had an excellent rub, and were meaty and tender. 

 

Mac and cheese was better than average. Greens & Things were good. The banana pudding was excellent. So good. 

 

Three sauces available, Thin, Thick, and Hot. Thin was a vinegar based sauce, and was actually quite tasty. Good on the pulled pork. Hot was a variant of the thin with a nice kick. No surprise that the thick was my favorite. Good blend of sweet and tangy. Definitely recommended. 

 

 

[wjets]

Arg I always look forward to reading about your golf adventures and beer and meal reviews I’m sure that your up coming surgery will be very successful and you will be golfing in a month or so.I’d like to see you come out to Alberta and golf a few of our courses as you seem to  like courses that have lot of elevation changes.All the best with your surgery and looking forward to your next golfing adventurers. Take care

[Argonne69]

9 hours ago, wjets said:

Arg I always look forward to reading about your golf adventures and beer and meal reviews I’m sure that your up coming surgery will be very successful and you will be golfing in a month or so.I’d like to see you come out to Alberta and golf a few of our courses as you seem to  like courses that have lot of elevation changes.All the best with your surgery and looking forward to your next golfing adventurers. Take care

 

Thanks. I'll likely be in Alberta in the summer of 2024. There are some beautiful courses up there.