Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

Blue Mountain Brewery. Very impressive digs. Ten taps with a limited selection, but the Monticello Mountain (Honey) Ale isn't bad. Their Dark Hollow barrel aged imperial stout is also very good. 

 

 

Lol. Really got to figure out a way to get a camera to focus on the near object and background at the same time. 

 

The Pepper Jelly and Bacon Smashburger (w/ cream cheese) is heavenly. 

 

 

Edited June 27 by Argonne69

[Double Mocha Man]

1 minute ago, Argonne69 said:

Blue Mountain Brewery. Very impressive digs. Ten taps with a limited selection, but the Monticello Mountain (Honey) Ale isn't bad. Their Dark Hollow barrel aged imperial stout is also very good. 

 

 

Lol. Really got to figure out a way to get a camera to focus on the near object and background at the same time. 

 

 

Deepen your depth of field. And I hope you tasted the Key Lime on Acid.

[stevopagolf]

27 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Stoney Creek GC at Wintergreen Resort, Nellysford, VA 

 

Tuckahoe does have a nice looking opening hole 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/lv5vf81wcm39ofmzspdik/ALCW9ZA7xAUY0MvyxxE5zfc?rlkey=420ylakqq2q2b5z62mq8koxoe&st=zw9u7hlm&dl=0

 

I too was a little underwhelmed with Stoney Creek.  I preferred Devil's Knob of the two Wintergreen courses...

[Argonne69]

14 minutes ago, stevopagolf said:

I too was a little underwhelmed with Stoney Creek.  I preferred Devil's Knob of the two Wintergreen courses...

 

Devil's Knob is the highest course in Virginia. Unfortunately DK is a stay and play course. Sounds like fun, though. 

 

Edited June 27 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

17 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Deepen your depth of field. And I hope you tasted the Key Lime on Acid.

 

Looks like they have Raspberries on Acid at the moment. 

 

[spud3]

On 6/25/2025 at 3:02 AM, Argonne69 said:

Shadow Creek is the only Top 20 public course I haven't played. 'Was hoping to play it two years ago as my 1000th course, but I couldn't get a tee time due to some celebrity outing. Was planning to play it late last year, but they had just punched the greens, and they were offering no discount. 'Not going to drop $2000 for a one-time round and play on bumpy greens.

 

I'm sure it's overpriced, but it looks like a fun track. Hope to get on it soon. I'll save a few bucks by staying at the MGM Grand. I don't believe one can stay at New York New York or Excalibur.

 

Personally, I don't consider a course that costs $2K 'public'...

[buckI]

If you are near Harrisonburg, go to Feel the Rain Brothers Brewing.   One of the brothers is the son in law of a great friend.   They have some bourbon barrel stouts but probably only in bottles.

[Argonne69]

42 minutes ago, spud3 said:

Personally, I don't consider a course that costs $2K 'public'...

 

I've had that conversation with the staff at Golfweek. Plenty of their top best "public" courses you can play are resort courses that require an expensive stay at the resort or affiliated hotel(s). Don't mind a $150 room at a casino, but many are $500 to $1000 rooms on top of the pricey golf.

 

[ZephyrS4]

Cream cheese on a burger…..interesting! Sounds like something I might really like!

[Argonne69]

7 minutes ago, ZephyrS4 said:

Cream cheese on a burger…..interesting! Sounds like something I might really like!

 

Paired well with the pepper jelly. First time ever having cream cheese on a burger if I recall. 

 

[ZephyrS4]

It sounds great…..would be good in a burger too ala juicy lucy 

[mci711]

3 hours ago, spud3 said:

Personally, I don't consider a course that costs $2K 'public'...

 

I called the pro shop and got a tee time = public. 

[dcmidnight]

51 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

I called the pro shop and got a tee time = public. 

 

Exactly - plus I'm pretty sure its still $1250 - not $2000. 

 

I played it a few years ago when it was "only" $500. It was worth every penny. And I'm a nobody, all I had to do was stay at an MGM property and send a couple of emails. So yeah thats a public course.

[Argonne69]

10 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

 

Exactly - plus I'm pretty sure its still $1250 - not $2000. 

 

I played it a few years ago when it was "only" $500. It was worth every penny. And I'm a nobody, all I had to do was stay at an MGM property and send a couple of emails. So yeah thats a public course.

 

I mentioned $2000 for the total if you include the price of a room at the MGM Grand, and a the caddie's tip. Might be a little less. 

 

[Argonne69]

Very enjoyable morning. Nice breeze to help offset the high humidity. Very odd to pull into a course's parking lot at 7:30 am and find it empty on a Saturday morning. I went off first as a single and there were still no players there. Nice 2:45 pace. Only nits were the clowns who decided to start on the 10th without permission that I had to play through on the 13th. No drinking water on the course was also irritating. When the heat index can reach triple digits, I have no idea why the handful of courses refuse to put out water. 

 

Heritage Oaks GC today. Mildly impressed. The parkland/meadow style muni looked great. A few hills, and only a few homes visible off property, it was a nice walk. The clubhouse sits at the high point with nice views of the opening and closing holes. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside was decent. Water in play on six holes, but plenty more should have been red staked along the thick native areas. Half the holes had left/right movement including four doglegs. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee primarily due to the doglegs. Of course three of the four favored a fade. Minor misses wound catch the fairly thick rough. Not super penal, but thick enough to grab a clubhead. Big misses were big trouble. The native areas were thick. The trees had thick junk under them. Zero chance of finding a ball. 

 

Approaches were also moderately difficult. A handful of easy ones with light bunkering, but more than a few had solid defenses. Greens had gentle contouring and slope. Putting was relatively stress free. Up and downs were mixed. Short misses were fairly straightforward chips. Pin high in the rough was tricky. 

 

The five par 3s were fairly benign. The 8th was the best of the bunch with a pond short and left. Variety of length was very good. Played 9i to 3W. The three par 5s were decent. The dogleg 16th was a reachable risk/reward hole. Hug the inside corner with junk to the right, and one could go for the green with all carry over the junk and a creek crossing diagonally in front of the green. The 7th had a rough 2nd with a crossing creek in play and a downhill lie. The pair of short 4s were meh. 

 

Conditions were very good, especially for a cheap muni. Fairways were in great shape. Rough was thick without being silly. Bunkers had plenty of sand, but needed a proper grooming. Greens looked good minus the numerous poorly repaired ballmarks. Nice that players make an attempt, but someone needs to teach them that they can't pull up and damage the roots. Speed was 10. 

 

Played the Gold tees (tips) at 6324 yds on the par 70 layout (70.2/129). Really need to pay more attention to the par. Lol. Probably played more like 6500 yds. Driver has been very good lately. Been messing with a weaker grip, and the low draws have been somewhat tamed. Continue to be impressed with the PXG Gen3 irons. Thought the switch back from the i200s would be tough, but they're working fine. Wedges were dialed in. Putter was cool. One birdie and six bogies. Shot of the day was the teeshot on the par 3 17th. Pin was back left, and I hit a sweet high draw with the 6h that landed in the front of the green and buzzed the flagstick before coming to rest on the back fringe. Highlight of the day was being out on a great looking course with nobody around but the crazy buck that I ran into four times. He wasn't particularly pleased when I saw him on the 18th teebox. He kept lowering his head, and I really thought he was going to charge. Lol. Lowlight was the lack of drinking water. Oy. Seriously, 98% of courses have water out there. No reason there shouldn't be at least one jug per nine. 

 

Being nice again and going with 6 cows. Very nice looking muni with more than a few fun holes. A few too many underwhelmed. Needs more challenging greens, a few more fairway bunkers, and more trouble on the par 3s and short 4s. The $40 weekend walking rate was silly good. Gotta love an inexpensive muni. Not a must play, but certainly worth a visit if you're in the area. I'd certainly be a regular if I was a local. 

 

Edited June 28 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Heritage Oaks GC, Harrisonburg, VA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go or no-go on the par 5 16th 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/m8518oks6fg3863vby5k9/AJvY_JqNaRdlAF0i4dxQEQs?rlkey=h149s3g72tzraq0fhnbu5wf3b&st=sb8ur8i4&dl=0

 

Edited June 28 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Short drive to Capital Ale House in Harrisonburg. The regional taphouse chain has 80 taps with a very nice mix. Enjoying the air conditioning and a tasty Chimay Grand Reserve Blue Belgian Strong Dark Ale. 

 

 

 

Edited June 28 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Headed south towards Staunton and the RV park. Swung into town for a nice Saison at Redbeard Brewing Company. Small brewery with with 14 taps. 

 

 

Staunton is the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson. 

 

Edited June 28 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Mi Rancho. Better than average. The portion size was very good, and the pollo was very tender and juicy. The mole pablano needed a little kick, though. Salsa was very good. The margarita wasn't bad. 

 

 

[buckI]

Bummed you didn’t hit Brothers in Harrisonburg or try and get one of their stouts.   Curious of your review.

[caniac6]

My nephew is going to play baseball at Eastern Mennonite U in Harrisonburg, and is also an avid golfer. It’s good to know that there’s a nice course for him to play. I’ll let him know about it.

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, buckI said:

Bummed you didn’t hit Brothers in Harrisonburg or try and get one of their stouts.   Curious of your review.

 

Unfortunately they didn't open until noon. Didn't want to sit around for an hour. 😒

 

[Argonne69]

Not quite the usual afternoon. Well, the mole was right up my alley. I was planning to catch the Amtrak Cardinal in Staunton on its way to DC, but I misread the schedule. The train only runs three times a week, and it's due in town tomorrow, not today. 

 

On the way to lunch/dinner I passed by Thornrose Cemetery. Looked like a beautiful place to take the final deep sleep. After eating I took a short drive through the place on the way back to the RV park. The approaching thunderstorm added an interesting element to the visit. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2on641o5kwwb5mtlp9c91/AHMbSQA6b8XZhYil0iuH6Zg?rlkey=23rt2ur4tm09z5trluq5dbdeu&st=qeqtxbba&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Very enjoyable morning. Mother Nature cooperated and gave me mostly sunny skies for my 27 mile drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway from I-64 to VA-56. Four hours of scenic, twisty roads and a couple of short hikes. Stopped at numerous overlooks to take photos of the Rockfish Valley and Shenandoah Valley. A bit of haze in the air due to the high humidity. Again. Lol. 

 

Highlight of the morning was the 1.8 mile out and back hike up to Humpback Rocks. Oy. I haven't done a proper climb since Bells Pass in Scottsdale back in early December. I've walked plenty of miles since then, but I wasn't quite ready for the steady climb up the very rocky trail. The hike ascends 787 feet. I made a mistake of wearing a full base layer instead of just arm sleeves, and the humidity really got to me even though the early morning temps were in the 70s. Thankfully most of the trail was under the trees. Worth the climb, though. 

 

Did a second shorter hike to White Rock Falls. Probably a mile in length (down and up) with a descent of 300'. Disappointing because the trail passes through dense forest with little to see, and the falls were less than impressive this time of the year. Also managed to slip in the mud on the descent, fall backwards, and land on my right wrist again. Sheesh. 

 

The Blue Ridge Parkway is pretty special. Traffic is very light, and you can take your time stopping at the overlooks. Needs a few more bunkers, err, overlooks, though. 'Found myself looking off in the distance at a mountain and wishing there was a pullout to snap a photo. Would have liked to hike part of the Appalachian Trail, but I don't think I missed much. The forest is so dense in this section that the views are minimal. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trip down is never easy with bad knees 

 

 

 

Meh. 3 bears. 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qsuaabasdqg10zxzproz0/AJv268HBAI9KZXM8DJRA-Pk?rlkey=8vbxqvar0bfo9pnwarqxk9okf&st=nak815do&dl=0

 

Edited June 29 by Argonne69

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Your parents must have "made you" eat your veggies as a kid huh? Those last ribs looked great! I finally get to play tomorrow!

 

 

[Argonne69]

45 minutes ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

Your parents must have "made you" eat your veggies as a kid huh? Those last ribs looked great! I finally get to play tomorrow!

 

 

Whats the old saying? I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to eat Brussels sprouts. 

 

[stevopagolf]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Whats the old saying? I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to eat Brussels sprouts. 

 

Or I don't eat my foods food...

Edited June 30 by stevopagolf
omission

[Argonne69]

Ugh. Normally I'd say pleasant morning, but today was a bit of a slog. Getting a little tired of these courses that don't start play until 8 am, over 2 hours after sunrise. It was 95 degrees in the parking lot after the round. Went out as a single walking behind a 5some and threesome. The 5some finished in 2:50. The three finished in three hours. Probably could have played through them, but there was really nowhere to go. Teeing off an hour early would have been nice. 

 

Old Trail today. Another very nice looking course with great views of the mountains, but the design was so-so. The parkland/meadow style layout had gentle rolling hills on half the holes. A handful of homes visible off property. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside was a little better. Nine holes with water in play, but most of that was small crossing streams. Nine holes with left/right movement including three doglegs. 

 

Fairly easy off the tee with generous fairways. There were a few holes with short forced carries. Minor misses would catch the thick rough. Fairly penal. Big misses were lost in the thick junk. 

 

Approaches were moderately difficult. A handful were fairly benign with light bunkering, but more than a few had pins tucked behind bunkers. Greens had gentle contouring and slope. Pretty boring. Putting didn't get the blood pumping. Up and downs were mixed. Chips from short of the greens were generally straightforward. Pin high pitches from the rough could be tricky. 

 

Other than the 2nd, the five par 3s were pretty ho hum. Not a ton of trouble and fairly meh looking. I guess the 15th was OK with a small creek in front of the green. Variety of length was very good playing PW to 3W. The five par 5s were meh. You can't design one with a tough shot? Nothing reachable, and little danger. The pair of short 4s were benign. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairways were lush. Ball sat up nicely. Rough was thick. Bunkers were OK, but could have used a half inch more sand. Greens looks great. Speed was at least 10. 

 

Played a Black/White combo at 6430 yds (71.3/138). I've certainly had better days driving the ball. Way to many low draws. Didn't get me in any trouble, though. Irons were solid. Wedges were cool. Putter was icy. One birdie and seven bogies. Low-light of the day was shanking a 7i on the 17th from a perfect lie in the fairway. Luckily the thick rough captured it before it found the junk. Next shot was the shot of the day, a nice LW from the thick rough to 3' to save par. Whew. Lol. Had a nice sandy on the long par 3 2nd. 

 

Being stingy again and going with 5 cows. I guess I get cranky when I'm having a heat stroke. Lovely piece of property that needs plenty of design improvements, including a few contours on the greens, and some trouble on the par 5s and short 4s. Only members are allowed to walk, but the staffer in the pro shop was kind enough to allow me to walk given that I'd be following two groups. Much appreciated. The $76 weekday rate was decent. Can't say it's a must play, but it's playable. 

 

[caniac6]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Whats the old saying? I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to eat Brussels sprouts. 

 

Not sure I’d eat them if I were at the bottom of the food chain.

[Argonne69]

Old Trail, Crozet, VA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/t50zdk2mxld3yk0pgqu4q/AP6fsYXOZUUOuggrM-cGImQ?rlkey=7kax3ijn9fhbp07warlpo79tv&st=50c5qvf5&dl=0

 

Edited June 30 by Argonne69