Mr. Mushball

I am assuming that since you said GHAP you are using the Grint.   
 
The grint also shows your course handicap when you look at the scorecard.   Scroll to the right and it shows total, course handicap, net.   

I love all the changes!!!! Great decisions!

Good luck on season 3 everyone and thank you MGS team for organizing all of this!!!!

This sounds exactly like what would get me into some more golf challenges. The problem with having a 6 month golf season is that I just don't feel confident enough with my game at the beginning of the season to join a league. Maybe this'll be my chance to get my competitive juices flowing!

With the VCT, you can come and go as you please. There is no weekly obligation to post a score. If you post weekly, great! If you miss a week or three, no worries.

Hoping to participate for the first time. Hurt my back yesterday, hoping to bounce back by the weekend...what happens if you miss a week? 

Michigan golf season is back so I am excited for another season!

Date 04/24/2024 Course Name Eastmoreland Gross Score 118 Course Handicap 46 Gross Strokes over/under par 46 Net Score to Par 0 Net Score 72 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive
 
Cleaned it up a little bit.  Tee shots were not working at all today, but scrambling and putting was better.  Still lost it on the back 9, but feel like I'm trending in the right direction this season.  Only lost two balls!  On this course that's pretty good.

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name Rose City Gross Score 120 Course Handicap 40 Gross Strokes over/under par 48 Net Score to Par 8 Net Score 80 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0
 
Started off ok, though a little weak.  Things were going as planned to hit net par until the wheels fell off on the last three holes.   The whole back 9 was a bit more of a scramble as my normally trusty 4 wood tee shot stopped going straight, and putting took a dive.  Hopefully will have a better score to share this weekend.  Horribly beautiful day in the low 60's with plenty of sun and fresh cut grass.

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name Rose City Gross Score 120 Course Handicap 40 Gross Strokes over/under par 48 Net Score to Par 8 Net Score 80 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0
 
Started off ok, though a little weak.  Things were going as planned to hit net par until the wheels fell off on the last three holes.   The whole back 9 was a bit more of a scramble as my normally trusty 4 wood tee shot stopped going straight, and putting took a dive.  Hopefully will have a better score to share this weekend.  Horribly beautiful day in the low 60's with plenty of sun and fresh cut grass.

Date 04/24/2024 Course Name Eastmoreland Gross Score 118 Course Handicap 46 Gross Strokes over/under par 46 Net Score to Par 0 Net Score 72 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive
 
Cleaned it up a little bit.  Tee shots were not working at all today, but scrambling and putting was better.  Still lost it on the back 9, but feel like I'm trending in the right direction this season.  Only lost two balls!  On this course that's pretty good.

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name Rose City Gross Score 120 Course Handicap 40 Gross Strokes over/under par 48 Net Score to Par 8 Net Score 80 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0
 
Started off ok, though a little weak.  Things were going as planned to hit net par until the wheels fell off on the last three holes.   The whole back 9 was a bit more of a scramble as my normally trusty 4 wood tee shot stopped going straight, and putting took a dive.  Hopefully will have a better score to share this weekend.  Horribly beautiful day in the low 60's with plenty of sun and fresh cut grass.

Date 04/24/2024 Course Name Eastmoreland Gross Score 118 Course Handicap 46 Gross Strokes over/under par 46 Net Score to Par 0 Net Score 72 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive
 
Cleaned it up a little bit.  Tee shots were not working at all today, but scrambling and putting was better.  Still lost it on the back 9, but feel like I'm trending in the right direction this season.  Only lost two balls!  On this course that's pretty good.

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name Soule Park Gross Score 86 Course Handicap 11 Gross Strokes over/under par 14 Net Score to Par 3 Net Score 75 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0 Throwing my hat in there with @GolfSpy SAM.  Like he said, Soule Park is a great course that really prioritizes angles.  If you're in the wrong place relative to the green and pin you're in real trouble.... as in short sided chipping out of rough over a steep 3 foot tall berm onto a 4% downslope that's going to shoot your ball 20 feet by the hole unless you can nail a pinpoint flop.  (And if you fail the flop you either get to try it again or watch it sail into the river.)  See the attached diagram.  FYI Blue is 2% downslope 😆
Can't wait to play it again.
71.6/125 from the Orange.  Like Sam said it's gettable so I think the 71.6 is accurate.  The 125?  Probably not, there's a lot of  trouble and trickiness that could destroy a bogey golfer.  Slopes that funnel into hazards and such.  

I should add that the cup absolutely robbed Sam on his putt.  More than 90º lip out.

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name Rose City Gross Score 120 Course Handicap 40 Gross Strokes over/under par 48 Net Score to Par 8 Net Score 80 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0
 
Started off ok, though a little weak.  Things were going as planned to hit net par until the wheels fell off on the last three holes.   The whole back 9 was a bit more of a scramble as my normally trusty 4 wood tee shot stopped going straight, and putting took a dive.  Hopefully will have a better score to share this weekend.  Horribly beautiful day in the low 60's with plenty of sun and fresh cut grass.

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name Rose City Gross Score 120 Course Handicap 40 Gross Strokes over/under par 48 Net Score to Par 8 Net Score 80 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0
 
Started off ok, though a little weak.  Things were going as planned to hit net par until the wheels fell off on the last three holes.   The whole back 9 was a bit more of a scramble as my normally trusty 4 wood tee shot stopped going straight, and putting took a dive.  Hopefully will have a better score to share this weekend.  Horribly beautiful day in the low 60's with plenty of sun and fresh cut grass.

Interested to see how this goes.  I've had two good scores over the last few weeks that I've been hoping to put up, but no place to put them!  Next week should be even better to start with.
 
 

Interested to see how this goes.  I've had two good scores over the last few weeks that I've been hoping to put up, but no place to put them!  Next week should be even better to start with.
 
 

Interested to see how this goes.  I've had two good scores over the last few weeks that I've been hoping to put up, but no place to put them!  Next week should be even better to start with.
 
 

Interested to see how this goes.  I've had two good scores over the last few weeks that I've been hoping to put up, but no place to put them!  Next week should be even better to start with.
 
 

Interested to see how this goes.  I've had two good scores over the last few weeks that I've been hoping to put up, but no place to put them!  Next week should be even better to start with.
 
 

Interested to see how this goes.  I've had two good scores over the last few weeks that I've been hoping to put up, but no place to put them!  Next week should be even better to start with.
 
 

I'm playing there tomorrow, I'll report back.

Hey everyone! Nice to see some other Portlander's here, I moved here last year and I am part of the Heron Lake's Men's Club. Excited to get to meet some of you.
How long have you been playing golf? What’s your handicap or normal score? 
I've been golfing regularly for about 10 years. My handicap is floating around 11/12 currently, but trying to lower it. Eliminating the blow-up holes is my downfall usually... typically shoot in the 83-87 range.
What do you love about golf? 
The challenge, being outdoors, constantly looking for a hole-in-one, social aspect with people I enjoy spending time with.
What brings you to MyGolfSpy? Do you already know any other Spies? 
I do not know of any spies. Been following on IG for a while and thought I would get a little more active in the community.
Where are you from? What is your home course? 
I am originally from Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley area. Spent a lot of years in Philly as well during college.
Prior home course: Allentown Muni (Allentown, PA)
Current home course: Heron Lakes
What are the best and worst things about golf in your region? 
In love with the ability to golf all year round (mostly). The rain and mud are probably my least favorite, but I am adapting 
What do you do for a living?  
Studio Manager for an Architecture Firm. We do high rise, mixed use residential towers. I've been involved throughout the whole process, but mainly produce construction drawings and perform contract administration
How’d you pick your user name?
This is my typical go-to

Separate subject, but back issues.  I'm sure you can get a bunch of advice from those here on the forum, as many of us have or are dealing with something along that line.  I've had back issues since I was in a car wreck at 17, so have 30+ years of stuff that did or didn't work.
There are three main things I would recommend for you to allow yourself in order to minimize pain and work towards healing.  First is get good regular sleep.  Sleep hygiene can not be overrated. It's a foundation to so many physical and mental processes that without it you have no foundation.
Building on that is minimizing distress (not eustress!).  This means good nutrition, healthy relationship habits and not letting things weigh on you.  This is not an easy task, but gos so far in being able to be in a healing mode.
Lastly, is a good exercise routine that supports the tissues that are healing.  Your level of need may vary, but for myself I have worked up to a low-key resistance routine that focuses on supporting the core.  For low back issues, you need to gently rebuild your core, glutes and get your hamstrings and quads to work in conjunction.  Your hold yourself up from the ground, and tie it all together with your core.  If one component in that chain isn't working, the rest has to compensate.  This means that the weak link suffers.  I myself use and recommend professional help in this regard and can recommend my DC and PT. 

Welcome!  

What part of town are you in?  From the courses you listed you are closer to the peninsula, but I could be off.  I myself typically play Glendoveer on Sundays (usually a 4th available!) but when I can get a 9:30-10:00 slot on Thursdays I'll play around the various city courses.  I tend to favor Heron Lakes as it's closest to me, but like to play the others for a bit of variety.  Haven't played Rose City in a while, probably about time.  Last time I played Red Tail was early March and was still soggy.  I thought it had been dry enough, but that course was 50% water.

Glendoveer is a good practice spot on the east side.  They have a decent range, plus two putting areas, a chipping area and a practice bunker.  The putting green on the West Course is pretty small and is mostly there for warm up and standby waiting for your tee.  The East Course practice area is pretty large and has the chipping and bunker area.  

Glendoveer aslo has a Player Development Program (PDP).  It's ~$40/mo and gets you free range balls, or a round + cart for $19.  Pretty good if you play 2x a month or hit the range a bunch.  I play weekends there as my buddy and I became members at the start of the pandemic and we were getting into golf.

Another good practice spot on the east side is Eastmoreland.  Not only is it a beautiful course and nearly as challenging as Red Tail, but has a larger practice area.  Separate putting and chipping greens, plus a protected chipping area with a small bunker at the end.  This bunker is less maintained that the one at Glendoveer, which gets the same treatment as the course pits.  

As a YA! Golf person, you may get a discount at Colwood.  They also have a pretty good range and large putting green.  This one is more contoured than the other two, so adds some challenge.  It's typical of the 9 greens on this par 3 course.  I like to use it to practice my short game as a non discount round is $18 and they have a punch card.  It's managed by Kemper Sports, the same folks that manage Heron Lakes, so they share instructors.
PDX has a PDX Players Card for the Portland Parks courses (Red Tail, Heron Lakes, Rose City, Eastmoreland and Colwood).  It's a once a year purchase on sale soon around mid May.  It's $750, but gets you discounts throughout the year.  Details are at https://www.portland.gov/parks/sports/golf, same page as YA! Golf.  Might as well stick with YA! if you still qualify.

Not sure about west side options as it's out of the way for me.  Randy ( @Vegan_Golfer_PNW ) could tell you more as that's his haunt.  I believe he typically plays Forest Hills, which is a very fun and pretty course.  Just watch out for the ground squirrels.
I'm hoping we can find a time for local forum players to get together this year and get an event organized!  Let me know if you want to join on a Sunday afternoon or Thursday morning.