Arg's Travel Log

[Lobby]

If someone were to ask you about a course you played a few months ago, would you remember much?

 

I played a new course last month and only remember 2 holes on it

[Double Mocha Man]

4 minutes ago, Lobby said:

If someone were to ask you about a course you played a few months ago, would you remember much?

 

I played a new course last month and only remember 2 holes on it

 

I can understand that.  If it's an interesting course with 18 distinctly different holes (and few houses or condos) I'll remember it.

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Double Mocha Man

[Argonne69]

9 hours ago, Lobby said:

If someone were to ask you about a course you played a few months ago, would you remember much?

 

I played a new course last month and only remember 2 holes on it

 

Depends on the course. Many are totally forgettable. Others are very memorable, and I can recall almost every hole, and most shots. Southern Pines comes to mind. 

 

If I don't remember every single hole, I'll often remember a stretch of holes. Obviously courses that we've seen on TV are very memorable, e.g. the final 3 holes at TPC Sawgrass, the final four holes at TPC Scottsdale, the opening and closing holes at Bethpage Black. Sometimes it's the opening holes that stick in my mind, e.g. the opening holes along the ocean at Spyglass.

 

Courses along large bodies of water are easy to member. The Ocean course, Whistling Straits, Pacific Dunes, Cabot Cliffs. 

 

Courses with wide vistas are quite memorable. Might not remember every hole at Erin Hills, Old Waverly, Wild Horse, Dismal River, or Chambers Bay, but I can still picture the view looking out from the clubhouse or high point(s), and the general topology.

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Argonne69

[mci711]

4 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Depends on the course. Many are totally forgettable. Others are very memorable, and I can recall almost every hole, and most shots. Southern Pines comes to mind. 

 

 

For me, remembering a course is almost direct correlation with how much I enjoyed it. 

[Argonne69]

8 hours ago, mci711 said:

 

For me, remembering a course is almost direct correlation with how much I enjoyed it. 

 

I generally agree, but it's funny how I remember some of the worst dog tracks. 

 

[Shankyouverymuch]

On 5/5/2023 at 2:23 PM, Argonne69 said:

Booked The Players Club at Foxfire in Columbus for next Wednesday. GC of Dublin is out. Maintenance on Wednesday and and an outing on Thursday pushes the first available tee times to the late afternoon. Booked Champions for Thursday.

 

I have played in a league at Champions for the past ten years.  Columbus Muni Course and I always say it is a hidden gem.  I am curious what your thoughts will be.  Robert Trent Jones design and used to be a private club.  So that is today you are playing?  I will be up there at 4:00 for league but I am sure you will be long gone by then.  I wish I had seen this earlier I would have offered to join you but my wife was in the hospital for the last week and I was not on this site for a bit.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Shankyouverymuch
add info

[Argonne69]

A pleasant morning for a walk. I got lucky, though. Showed up 30 minutes early at Champions, and they tell me good thing, because the have an outing going off shotgun at 9:10 am. Good thing I play fast, because I barely got out in front of them at the turn. Otherwise I would have been following several groups on the back. Oy. 

 

I wouldn't call Champions a hidden gem, bit it's better than your typical muni. Picturesque parkland payout with enough elevation change to break up the monotony. Good mix of left/right sweepers and doglegs. Very little water. Fairway bunkering was very light, but greenside was quite good. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee. Fairways weren't pinched, but they didn't promote bombs away with the trees in play. Rough was fairly generous, so minor misses where playable, but you might have a bit of tree trouble. Approaches were mixed. Many greens were fairly benign, but a handful were odd shaped and well protected. Greens weren't particularly difficult, but the thick rough made up and downs somewhat tricky. Putting was fairly easy. 

 

Par 3s were snoozers. The long 10th was fun from the elevated tee and raised green. Only two par 5s on the par 70 layout, and both were decent, but no risk/reward. The 15th was the better of the two, a shorter sweeper with trees blocking the inside corner, and an elevated green on the other side of a creek. Might be reachable by a long hitter, but I was on the inside, and had to hit a big ol draw to put myself into wedge range. Short 4s were nonexistent. 

 

Conditions were good. Similar to Foxfire, fairways were very nice, but not quite Dublin. Rough was very good. Nice height, but still penal. Bunkers were sandy, but wet, compacted, and in need of a proper grooming. Greens looked very nice, but they went overboard with the sprinklers this morning, and the speed was only 9 at best. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6222 yds on the par 70 layout (70.2/125). Another rough day with the big stick. Not a course you want to be playing from the rough. One birdie, five bogies, and a double. Highlight of the day was getting up and down for par on each of the par 3s. Two nice short sided chips from the nasty rough on two, and a sweet high flop from way below the hole on the 10th. 

 

I'll give Champions 4 cows. Don't think it measures up to Neumann for challenge, especially the greens, but I don't think it warrants three cows. Solid inexpensive muni that provides a good challenge if you're not hitting them straight. I'm digging the senior rate thing. Lol. $29 to walk was my kind of price. Not going to win awards, but the isolation itself is worth it. 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Champions GC, Columbus, OH (18th tee start due to maintenance) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/opth4k7rdbo58lx/AAD5sXIaW46xr3iDpUDgwQCHa?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Zaftig Brewing Company. Coffee shop and brewery is nice for us day drinkers. Lol. 14 taps with a few gems. The coconut carmel stout was tasty. The barleywine looks promising. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Saucy Brew Works near the Ohio State University campus. Nice selection of imperial stouts. The Wait Don't Tell Me Turkish style coffee stout is interesting. The Numb Nuts imperial peanut butter vanilla coffee stout wins the award for best beer name. 

 

 

The "swing" chairs are an interesting touch, but my lord, they have to be a liability issue. Lol. 

 

 

[vallygolf]

30 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Saucy Brew Works near the Ohio State University campus. Nice selection of imperial stouts. The Wait Don't Tell Me Turkish style coffee stout is interesting. The Numb Nuts imperial peanut butter vanilla coffee stout wins the award for best beer name. 

 

 

The "swing" chairs are an interesting touch, but my lord, they have to be a liability issue. Lol. 

 

 

Oh wow.  My friend doesnt see swings....he sees stacks of green C notes.  He is an accident/injury lawyer.

[mshills]

I don't see how a golf course could stay open and charge $29, let alone look like that one!  Looks incredible for less than the cost of a Coke per hole.

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Mostly because they probably do not have any debt payments for the course. It was paid for a long time ago.

 

Champions, IIRC, was a private country club (Winding Hollow CC) at one time, long ago. It was originally a 9 hole club. They sold it to the city when the nearby neighborhood started changing, and had a newer country club built over on the East side off of Rte. 161 called, again, Winding Hollow CC. The club eventually went under, was acquired and was even public for a bit (it was now called Tartan East) and now it is NLE. The new course was not as nice of a layout as the old one TBH. Free history lesson.

 

Champions really could be a special place, but they probably run it on a shoestring budget at most, like most municipal courses nowadays. Luckily, it's still available to play.  Ohio has a crap ton of $20-40 courses, some even including a cart!

 

The last time I played it (1995) the high school golf team I coached made the state tourney at Ohio State. We played a warm up round at Champions before the Ohio state High School Championship. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[JungleJimbo]

@Argonne69 Have you ever played Mission Inn and Resort’s El Campeon Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida (site of this NCAA Division III women's golf championship,  that's going viral in this week's news)

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/severe-hole-location-leads-cancellation-third-round-ncaa-d-iii-womens-championship 
 

 

[Argonne69]

4 hours ago, JungleJimbo said:

@Argonne69 Have you ever played Mission Inn and Resort’s El Campeon Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida (site of this NCAA Division III women's golf championship,  that's going viral in this week's news)

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/severe-hole-location-leads-cancellation-third-round-ncaa-d-iii-womens-championship 
 

 

 

Yeah, I played it in 2017 on a visit to Orlando. 'Nice course.

 

[Argonne69]

17 hours ago, mshills said:

I don't see how a golf course could stay open and charge $29, let alone look like that one!  Looks incredible for less than the cost of a Coke per hole.

 

Keep in mind that that's the weekday senior walking rate. The standard weekend rate is $59. 

 

I've played plenty of cheap munis. Don't have to turn a profit. I image many don't break even. 

 

[mci711]

9 hours ago, JungleJimbo said:

@Argonne69 Have you ever played Mission Inn and Resort’s El Campeon Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida (site of this NCAA Division III women's golf championship,  that's going viral in this week's news)

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/severe-hole-location-leads-cancellation-third-round-ncaa-d-iii-womens-championship 
 

 

 

Not to get too off topic on your channel Arg. But my wife played this course for her d1 conference championships a few years ago and said they had the same problems and she wasn't shocked to see this. I am guessing the course superintendent is in charge these weeks, unlike when the USGA or PGA take over for a major or something. Guy might get a talking to 😂 

[Dancin]

40 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

Not to get too off topic on your channel Arg. But my wife played this course for her d1 conference championships a few years ago and said they had the same problems and she wasn't shocked to see this. I am guessing the course superintendent is in charge these weeks, unlike when the USGA or PGA take over for a major or something. Guy might get a talking to 😂 

"The NCAA is responsible for placing the pins each round, not the course."

[Argonne69]

Long drive to Ypsilanti. Never paid attention to the fact that there's no interstate connecting Columbus and Toledo. Guess the two cities don't like each other. Lol. Combination of U.S. and State highways until I could connect with I-75 coming north from Dayton made for all much more stressful drive than expected. The closure of Ohio 31 and subsequent detour didn't help. 

 

You could blindfold me and drive me around and I could easily tell you when we crossed into Michigan. Roads go from mediocre to gawd awful. Beats the heck out of Bessie. I'll be in Michigan for 5 weeks. Hopefully Bessie is on one piece when I cross into Wisconsin. 

 

Sitting in the gravel parking lot at the RV park running my generator to get some AC. I've stayed at over 100 parks in the past 18 months, an only a couple refused to check you in before the normal check-in time, even though my spot is open. Grrr. Wonder how much gas I'll burn between now and 2 pm. 

 

I have rounds booked at Lakes of Taylor tomorrow, and Pheasant Run (North/South) on Sunday. PR is mandatory cart, so my ClicGear will stay put. 

 

Going to book an RV park near Saginaw for the week after next. Making my way towards the UP. 

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

I have played both Lakes of Taylor and Pheasant Run. IIRC, Pheasant Run is 27 holes. One of the nines I played had a huge tree right smack dab in the middle of the fairway. 

 

The Lakes of Taylor gets it water from airport run off a few miles away, or so I was told when I played there. 

[Argonne69]

I managed to book 3 days near Saginaw, but not the 5 days I was planning. Forgot about Memorial Day weekend. Called several RV parks and they're booked solid. Going to have to expand my search area and plan for a long drive to the courses. 

 

Found a spot 55 miles northwest of Saginaw. Pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. It's close enough to Buck's Run near Mt Pleasant, but a little too far of a drive back in the Saginaw area. In addition to Buck's Run I'll find a (somewhat) local course between Mt Pleasant and Harrison. 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Friday afternoon and I had to get out. Short drive to Ypsilanti and Arbor Brewing Company. 23 taps, but no imperial stouts. They do have a very fine Old Fashioned Jack Whiskey Oaked American Strong Ale, though. 

 

 

The double smoked burger isn't bad, but medium does not mean well done. Grrr. Smoked bacon, smoked gouda, and BBQ sauce on a pretzel bun. 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Argonne69

[SnowbirdTom]

That looks to be a proper color for beer.

[postfold]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Found a spot 55 miles northwest of Saginaw. Pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. It's close enough to Buck's Run near Mt Pleasant, but a little too far of a drive back in the Saginaw area. In addition to Buck's Run I'll find a (somewhat) local course between Mt Pleasant and Harrison. 

 

 

Only course I can think of in that area that I've played is Eagle Glen in Farwell which was okay.  Won't make anyone's top 100 list, but conditions were good (in 2020).  I liked Buck's Run, also played Pohlcat in Mt. Pleasant.

[Argonne69]

Mostly enjoyable round this morning. First time teeing it up in Michigan on this venture, but I've played numerous rounds in the state over the years. Cloudy with a few sprinkles, but at least the sun tried to peek out. Honestly, I'm simply not cut out for weekend golf. When your typical round is less that 3 hours, it feels like a death march playing 4+ hour rounds while waiting on every shot. Watching the clowns in front of you hit 100 yd tee shots, or slice one over into the next county gets old when it's pretty much on every hole. If you can't break 120, maybe consider not teeing off at 7:40 a on a busy Saturday. 

 

Anyway, Lakes of Taylor GC today. Very enjoyable layout. It's a parkland/prairie/marshland layout. Not as much water as I as expecting with "Lake" in the name, but plenty of native areas. Only two holes bend left or right, but it was far from boring. Good use of mounding to kick mild misses back into play. While generally flat, there were a few moderate elevation changes. Bunkering was on the light side. Nice mix of hole lengths. 

 

Fairly generous off the tee. There were a couple of holes that had some good bunkering. Rough was quite wide, so minor misses were still playable. Plenty of adjacent holes, so some big misses could also be played provided you didn't find a native area or water. Approaches were a bit tougher. Greenside bunkering was good. Up and downs were straightforward. Plenty of closely mown areas, and gentle greens. Putting was stress free for the most part, but there were a couple of greens where being above the hole was dicey. 

 

Par 3s were decent, but needed a short one. The 17th was the best of the bunch with a forced carry over a pond. 5s were very good. The 8th and 18th were both good risk reward holes with plenty of danger near the green. Bunkers on the 8th and the small lake on the finishing hole. Short 4s were mixed. A couple had tough tee shots. 

 

Conditions were generally very good. A few iffy patches in the fairways. Rough was patchy in spots, but a good height otherwise. Bunkers head plenty of sand, but it was wet and compacted. Been the story of the past two weeks. Greens we're a little bumpy, and rolling at 9 early, and 10 after the dew burned off. 

 

Played the White tees at 6386 yds (71.6/132). Game is starting to come back, but I've lost a little distance off the tee. One birdie, four bogies, and a double. Highlight of the day was a sweet 28' birdie putt on the par 5 8th. The starter told me it was the toughest hole in Michigan. Lol. I think he needs to get out more. 

 

I'll give LoT 5 cows. Plenty of challenge, and very good looking. $52 to walk on a weekend was a decent value. I'd like to see a few more bunkers, and a tough, short par 3. Not a destination course, but worth a visit if you're in the area. 

 

[Argonne69]

Lakes of Taylor GC, Taylor, MI 

 

 

 

 

Go or no-go on the 8th 

 

 

 

 

 

Go or no-go on the 18th 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pl1x1mwahjugats/AADBVdh5ZtLmoIhqLK5uaD8Ja?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Frustrating day on the beer front. The area west of the city near the airport is a beer desert. Wound up driving nearly 30 minutes north to Plymouth to find a brewpub with a decent selection, and of course they were out of the dubbel. Bah. Looks like I'll have to trek a few miles further north to Northville. 

 

[stevopagolf]

Lakes of Taylor was one I missed when I lived in Michigan.  I think it's an Arthur Hills.  If you are still in the area Golden Fox was a pretty good golf course in Plymouth, Michigan.

[Argonne69]

Success. A decent Belgian tripel. Pain Killer at North Center Brewing in Northville. 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Argonne69

[DrDon]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

When your typical round is less that 3 hours, it feels like a death march playing 4+ hour rounds while waiting on every shot.

 

+++++++++