Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

2 minutes ago, Bonneville85308 said:

 

Allentown and Bethlehem have great inexpensive walker-friendly muni courses that have had a lot of renovations in recent years and are in the best condition I've seen them in during the past 25+ years.

 

What's your course list looking like for that area?

 

 

In Allentown I was looking at Architects Club, Great Bear, Burkleigh, Golden Oaks, Butter Valley, Macoby Run, Shepherd Hills, Twin Lakes, Turtle Creek, Fox Hollow, Hickory Valley Presidential, Blue Shamrock, and Willow Brook. 

 

Probably looking at 4 or 5 rounds. 

 

[Argonne69]

Saganaki (flaming Greek cheese) was invented in Chicago. The appetizer is made with fried kasseri cheese. The ritual of adding brandy and flambéing the cheese was started by restaurateurs in Chicago, who encouraged customers to yell "Opa!" as the plate was being ignited. Wouldn't be a visit to Greektown without a glass of dry Apelia Roditis Greek Rose. 

 

 

Entree was the Greek Stuffed Chicken, a chicken breast filled with spinach, feta cheese, and Mediterranean herbs, topped with mozzarella cheese and egg-lemon sauce, served on a bed of rice. Heavenly.

 

 

Edited July 19 by Argonne69

[Bonneville85308]

1 minute ago, Argonne69 said:

 

In Allentown I was looking at Architects Club, Great Bear, Burkleigh, Golden Oaks, Butter Valley, Macoby Run, Shepherd Hills, Twin Lakes, Turtle Creek, Fox Hollow, Hickory Valley Presidential, Blue Shamrock, and Willow Brook. 

 

Probably looking at 4 or 5 rounds. 

 

 

Good list. I've played all of these multiple times and just about every other public course between the NJ border and Harrisburg. Might also consider Reading CC (it went public 15-20 years ago, but solid bones). Olde Homestead is a solid course to try but screwy towards singles the last time I attempted to play it.

 

Willow Brook is down to only 9 holes and had weird hours last I checked...doesn't open until 10am or something, I'd probably skip it, architecturally it is nothing interesting. Shepherd Hills is a featureless snoozer housing development course that I'd probably only do as a backup and can't get a favorable tee time elsewhere, if you are only playing 4-5 courses in the area. Great Bear wasn't designed for walking and I'm not sure they'd let you do it, so might want to inquire about that ahead of time.

 

Architects is rumored to be potentially closing for redevelopment so you might want to play that while you can. Harkers Hollow is right near it and is a tough, hilly, but walkable former private club.

[buckI]

Is my calendar wrong?  It s Saturday right?  Doesn’t that mean Mole Saturday! How do we know the day of the week otherwise 😂

[StoutKing]

Greek food rocks

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

I really enjoyed Architect's when I played it 3 years ago. Great conditions and a nice, challenging layout.

[Looper34]

+1 for Architects. Fun course as you probably already know, designed to honor the great golf architects of the past. Each tee box has a plaque featuring an architect's bio and the hole (somewhat loosely) features something from their design style.

It's a nice layout and if they are closing it for a redesign, worth a look.

[Argonne69]

Wow, that was a long drive. Decided to skip the hotel tonight and drove the entire 750+ miles back to DC in one shot. Eleven and a half hours with a half dozen stops to get gas and stretch my back. I believe my longest previous drive was 9 hours (Chicago to Pigeon Forge). 'Hope I won't be doing this again soon. 

 

Heavy rain for the first hour heading south on I-65 to Indy, and a few showers near the Ohio River on I-470. Otherwise the weather wasn't bad. Had a 10 minute gapers delay near Frederick. Westbound I-70 was closed down due to an accident. Feel sorry for the folks stuck in the 5 mile backup heading west. 

 

Stopped at a rest stop just west of Cumberland to grab a small bite to eat. Enjoyed a nice slice of leftover Lou Malnati's deep dish while looking out at the beautiful western Maryland scenery. 

 

 

No golf tomorrow. Going to sleep in a bit, and then I might drive down to Mount Vernon. I was going to visit the place on Tuesday after a morning round, but I might take advantage of the bonus day and head down there in the mid morning after the rush has died down. 

 

Going to crack open a fresh can of Deth's Tar here in a minute 

 

Edited July 21 by Argonne69

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Thanks Arg! Wife agreed to leave a day early I was able to add a night at Wilderness Fortune Bay. Better than nothing! Glad you made it back safely! 

[Argonne69]

28 minutes ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

Thanks Arg! Wife agreed to leave a day early I was able to add a night at Wilderness Fortune Bay. Better than nothing! Glad you made it back safely! 

 

Should be an enjoyable round: https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1842161-args-travel-log/?do=findComment&comment=24889263

 

[cassel191919]

On 7/7/2025 at 12:36 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

 

$675 to play Pebble Beach today and the tee sheet is practically full. 

 

@cassel191919, what is the most expensive course you've ever paid to play? Would you pay more for history, tradition, beauty, location? Does that stuff interest you? Or is a golf course just a golf course, give me 18 holes. Are you a purist, an aficionado?  Or a guy who just wants to whack it around a nice green field?

Last week I paid $3,500 for 2 nights and rounds at Pebble, Spyglass, and Spanish Bay. Also another 425 for Pasatiempo. I love history and design a place like Kingsley Club in Northern Michigan really gets me excited for a day on the course. I am willing to pay just about any amount to play a masterpiece, but I will call out places like TPC Sawgrass who charge $600 to much because they have a famous Par 3. I understand the concept of charge what you can, I just won't pay it if I don't see the value. 

[cassel191919]

On 7/12/2025 at 9:37 PM, Dancin said:

Firestone is a private course that happens to allow some outside play to fill rooms and therefore is priced like an unaccompanied private course round. If you were a guest of a member you could play it for $330 without staying in a room.

$330 is still about $180 to high.

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Pinehurst Resort Quoted me $2600+ for 3 nights and 3 rounds on 2, 4, and 10. Easy pass, decided to stay an extra 10 days in Scotland for about the same amount of money. Pebble is insane. Maybe someday I'll spend the cash and play it, but it's not really at the top of my list right now.

[imagine29028]

On 7/15/2025 at 12:26 PM, Argonne69 said:

Very surprised that there isn't many brewpubs northeast of the city, especially near the University of Maryland in College Park. The handful that exist don't open until late afternoon on a Tuesday. Wound up heading back to the RV park to grab a cold one from the fridge. 

 

I was considering stopping at a Metro station to take a train ride to the Mall, but honestly, I've been there over a dozen times. Long two days ahead, so I decided to relax today. Might play golf and visit Mt Vernon next week. 

 

I think the MD area is still learning about the whole 'Brewery/Brew Pub' type scene. I moved away in 2017 to SC, and it's been major difference. They have breweries in MD, but it's stretched out, and not concentrated. Annapolis is getting a few BrewPub type places, so it's changing. 

[cassel191919]

2 hours ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

Pinehurst Resort Quoted me $2600+ for 3 nights and 3 rounds on 2, 4, and 10. Easy pass, decided to stay an extra 10 days in Scotland for about the same amount of money. Pebble is insane. Maybe someday I'll spend the cash and play it, but it's not really at the top of my list right now.

I believe 2, Pebble, Spyglass, and Pasatiempo are worth every penny, but 10 days in Scotland sounds like a much better use of hard earned cash.

[dcmidnight]

3 hours ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

Pinehurst Resort Quoted me $2600+ for 3 nights and 3 rounds on 2, 4, and 10. Easy pass, decided to stay an extra 10 days in Scotland for about the same amount of money. Pebble is insane. Maybe someday I'll spend the cash and play it, but it's not really at the top of my list right now.

 

I've priced out a similar package and it included breakfast/dinner plus a room at the Carolina.

 

To each his own. But I'd be hard pressed to find a better place for late summer/fall golf than Pinehurst.

[Argonne69]

Minus the drive back to the RV park, it was an enjoyable day off. Still no idea why drivers insist on crashing into each other in the middle of the afternoon in light traffic. The Beltway is nuts. 

 

Slept in a bit, enjoyed my morning coffee, and then drove down to George Washington's Mount Vernon. I think Thomas Jefferson’s pad is nicer, but those views of the Potomac are to die for. Walked around the estate, stopped at his tomb, and had a very brief tour of the mansion. Unfortunately the mansion is undergoing renovation, so only the New Room is finished. His gardens are nice. Probably should have spent a little time in the museum, but traffic was getting heavier on the dreaded Beltway. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite the view from the back porch 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/buoggly3sb9qpnreosc63/ANnsmVL9nojuefgSyrv1J_w?rlkey=rq28qpzfhu7jklp3ii2pw8idu&st=0ikphe95&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Ah. Enjoying an extremely tasty full pour of a Revolution Thundertaker BBA imperial rye stout. Nice to have it in a glass. Lol. That could be the finest imperial stout I've had. 

 

 

Booked an RV park in Hershey for mid-August. I have a round at Blue Mash tomorrow morning. Also booked a round at Wyncote for Thursday. 

 

Edited July 21 by Argonne69

[bcjim]

Should be as good a July 22nd as you could ever ask for at Blue Mash. Finally a few days of dry-ish air in this horribly humid DC summer.  UV index though will be very high and little to no shade on that course.  

[Argonne69]

I wasn't planning to play Blue Mash given that it's fairly open and the heat index has been off the charts recently, but it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Very pleasant morning with cooler temps, lower humidity, and a nice breeze. Joined an interesting group consisting of two brothers and three of their kids. Only one of the juniors was playing, hitting driver off the tees, so we pretty much played as a threesome. Pace was excellent at 3:20. 

 

Blue Mash today. The prairie/parkland hybrid was designed by Arthur Hills. Nice rolling piece of property out in farm country. Half the holes nearest the clubhouse are prairie style with thick native areas. The holes furthest from the clubhouse are parkland holes. Fairway bunkering was very light. Greenside was much better. Water in play on 5 holes, but again, most of the native areas should have red stakes. Six holes with gentle left/right movement. While the overall property is fairly flat, there was some nice mounding that produced more than a few uneven lies and squirrely bounces. 

 

Fairly easy off the tee with generous fairways and a couple of short forced carries. A few of the shorter par 4s were more pinched off the tee. Minor misses would catch the thick, penal rough. Big misses were generally lost in the junk, but a handful of holes had parallel fairways that could be utilized. Lol. 

 

Approaches were moderately difficult with solid bunkering on many holes. Seemed to be quite a few pins tucked behind them. Greens had a good amount of contouring and slope. Nice to have to think about a few putts. Up and downs were a mixed bag. Many holes had closely mown areas where an easy chip or Texas wedge were the play. Hitting out of the thick rough was much tougher, especially if one had to carry a bunker to a short sided pin. 

 

The five par 3s were OK with sufficient trouble. The long 11th was the best with all carry over a pond. The 17th also had all carry with a long, narrow green. Variety of length was good playing 9i to FW with three playing long. Par 5s were OK. The short 12th was a bit of a risk/reward hole with water near the green. Two of the longer ones had a little trouble in play on the layup. The sole short par 4 8th was decent. The right to left sweeper was driveable with a solid teeshot. 

 

Conditions were generally good. Teeboxes had a few sketchy areas. Fairways were fine. Rough was thick. Bunkers had plenty of wet sand that needed grooming. Greens were disappointing. Sanded and slow. Don't think they reached 9. 

 

Played the Blue/White combo at 6294 yds on the par 71 layout (69.6/124). Good day off the tee, but got a couple of weird bounces that found the rough. Irons were OK, but a couple of right misses. Short game was spot on saving quite a few strokes. Putter struggled to get to the hole too many times. One birdie and five bogies. Shot of the day was my 9w off the tee on the long par 3 11th. Nice low draw that landed in the front of the green and rolled past the back pin to 12'. Made the birdie putt. Highlight of the round was my interesting group of playing partners. The dads were letting the young ones drive the carts, and they were having a great time. Also nice to finally have a lower humidity day. I don't feel shagged out. Lol. 

 

I think this one squeaks out 6 cows. Nice looking course with expansive views. Plenty of trouble if you're wild, but needs more fairway bunkering. No walking rate, but the $69 senior weekday rate was fine. Don't consider it a must play, but it's not a bad option on a cloudy and/or cool day. 

 

Edited July 22 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Blue Mash GC, Laytonsville, MD 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/kb8q2gwgdqzkqvq7do24z/ACwFb6Gep74RyBVVuMXJ9G0?rlkey=tnc2riu00mh0rm1r5k753ujnw&st=09ijhppx&dl=0

 

Edited July 22 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

The weather is so nice that I'm actually sitting outside enjoying a beer. Brookeville Beer Farm has a very nice beer garden and 30 taps with a decent mix. Their 16 Bar Stools Belgian Tripel is tasty. 

 

 

 

[ZephyrS4]

Beer Farm looks pretty cool…..no pizza?

[Argonne69]

7 minutes ago, ZephyrS4 said:

Beer Farm looks pretty cool…..no pizza?

 

Thought about it, but I have other plans today. 

 

[Argonne69]

Traveling around this part of Maryland is simply nuts. I thought the Beltway was goofy, but the hinterlands are no better. 45 minutes to travel 18 miles with light traffic. Seems every town has 30 mph speed limits with photo radar. Traffic should be flowing at 35 to 40, but it's at a crawl. 

 

[Argonne69]

If you're keeping your calendar by my dining plans, you're in for another shock. Lol. Tomorrow is a travel day, so I decided to grab a bite a day early. Gotta tip about Taqueria Habanero in College Park. Thought I might be downing street tacos, but I was surprised to see mole pablano on the menu at this counter served taqueria. The chorizo taco was very good, but at $4.50 each I'd pass next time.

 

 

The kitchen was very busy with take out orders, so they comped me a small serving of guac while I waited. Excellent guac. 

 

The mole was excellent. Thick with a nice kick. The chicken breast was a nice size, but a tad dry. Still, the mole was worth the trip. Unfortunately no liquor license, so no margarita. 

 

 

[ZephyrS4]

I’ll allow it…..😂😂

[ZephyrS4]

42 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

If you're keeping your calendar by my dining plans, you're in for another shock. Lol. Tomorrow is a travel day, so I decided to grab a bite a day early. Gotta tip about Taqueria Habanero in College Park. Thought I might be downing street tacos, but I was surprised to see mole pablano on the menu at this counter served taqueria. The chorizo taco was very good, but at $4.50 each I'd pass next time.

 

 

The kitchen was very busy with take out orders, so they comped me a small serving of guac while I waited. Excellent guac. 

 

The mole was excellent. Thick with a nice kick. The chicken breast was a nice size, but a tad dry. Still, the mole was worth the trip. Unfortunately no liquor license, so no margarita. 

 

 

I’ll allow it….😂😂

[caniac6]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

If you're keeping your calendar by my dining plans, you're in for another shock. Lol. Tomorrow is a travel day, so I decided to grab a bite a day early. Gotta tip about Taqueria Habanero in College Park. Thought I might be downing street tacos, but I was surprised to see mole pablano on the menu at this counter served taqueria. The chorizo taco was very good, but at $4.50 each I'd pass next time.

 

 

The kitchen was very busy with take out orders, so they comped me a small serving of guac while I waited. Excellent guac. 

 

The mole was excellent. Thick with a nice kick. The chicken breast was a nice size, but a tad dry. Still, the mole was worth the trip. Unfortunately no liquor license, so no margarita. 

 

 

Talk about throwing a curve ball!

[Argonne69]

Booked Inniscrone for Friday, and Honeybrook for Saturday. With Wyncote on Thursday it should be a good start to the Downingtown stay. Probably going to take the day off on Sunday. 

 

Edited July 22 by Argonne69