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Early Christmas Present


Kenny B

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Well, I got my wife and I an early Christmas present.  As you know we have been members of a 9-hole executive course for over 15 years.  I even held the 9-hole course record for a few years!  I saw it when it was built by our pro and it's been run on a shoestring ever since.  It was a fun place to play even though the course was never in very good shape.  We made a lot of friends; some are still there and many have moved on.  We even got married on the first tee!!  

 

Over the years I've complained about certain things that I thought would be easy to fix and make the course a little nicer.  The pro just laughed.  One year I suggested buying some heavier flagsticks since the wind blows pretty hard here and the ones he had were very light weight and ruined the edge of the hole in a windstorm.  He laughed.  I was willing to purchase them, and started a campaign with some of the other members to buy them as a gift to the course.  The pro got wind of it and bought them himself.  It was a very good investment that I think he realizes now.  The pro is the kind of guy that gets an idea and starts a project then it sits for months half done.  Last year he started building a new tee box; it's almost done!

 

We can't complain too much because the membership is cheap for our area ($900 for both of us with a cart).  It has a GHIN rating but I never post scores when I play it because I don't believe the rating is accurate. I have always used this course for practice and fun golf with friends.  Certain times of the day I can head out to any hole I want and hit shots and nobody will come along; if they do, I just let them play through and keep practicing.  The negative for this course is that the fairways are rough length at any other course in the area, and the greens are like other courses' fairways; putts are slooooooow!  The final straw was a month or two ago when he filled divots on tee boxes and in the fairways with sand and gravel.  That's right, gravel!!  About 3/8" chip.  When the grass grows back and my SCORs hit that, I will be really pissed.

 

Well, my wife and I discussed what to do and we decided to join another club for 2016.  There is a pro that we like and play with quite a bit at a local muni, so we went to that course and played a few rounds.  You may remember a couple of weeks ago, I shot 71 on that par 70 course.  It's OK and it's the cheapest option but still twice what we are paying now.  This picture is #18 taken a couple of weeks ago.  As you can see, a little rough around the edges.

 

IMG_0344.jpg

 

It's in a flood plain and it floods every year; sometimes up to the green shown here.  There is also a sewage treatment plant located next to #7,8 and 9.  This is the course where I learned how to play golf 24 years ago.  It would be OK, but I was looking for something better.

 

We have one private country club that has hosted a Hogan, Nike, buy.com, Nationwide tournament but it's way out of my price range.  We also have a semi-private country club, but membership is pretty steep too and we would probably not use the other facilities.  That leaves 4 public courses to choose from.  One is a little far away for evening golf after work (my wife still works; I don't!) and it has lots of tournaments and shotgun starts on Sat and Sun when they don't have tournaments.  Another course is also a little far away and is laid out in a housing development with lots of elevation changes and long distances from greens to the next tee; not conducive to walking.  The remaining two courses are similar in price and condition; one close and the other further away.  The good thing about these courses is that they are owned and operated by the same company.  While a membership in one doesn't get you a membership in the other; it does get you 50% off any posted greens fees.  So, we opted for the closest one.

Hole #3

IMG_0352.jpg

 

Hole #7

IMG_0356.jpg

 

It's fairly short 6600 yards from the tips;  37/35 =  par 72.  Three par 5's on the front and one on the back.  The course is rated 71.7/132.  As you can see, there are not many trees and the wind can really affect your round.  I normally play from the Blues which are 6100 yards, and shot 78 yesterday.  The course can be easily walked, but now I have to make a tee time.  How quaint!  Never had to do that at my old course.  The challenge now is to make new friends.  Gee, I hope they are friendly here.

 

 

 

 

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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That's great - I hope you enjoy!  I'm loving my club but I'm afraid it's a bit too much for me - don't really want to go back to the muni because now I'm spoiled - there's another nice club that's actually closer to my house - it once hosted an LPGA event - of course you get what you get at half the price - it's not always in primo condition, the amenities are no where near as nice and the membership is nowhere near as stable - the greens are always in great shape though and the layout is fun.

 

I will have to make a decision in the next month or so.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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Kenny-- that looks like a fun course sorta like the ones I grew up on. 

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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It used to be a muni; a par 66 with lots of big trees, tough little course.  But in 1990 around New Years we got a wind storm in the middle of the night; greater than 70 mph and several trees came down.  Then in 1997 the city decided to develop the land; shopping, condos by the Columbia River.

 

"I bet they'd love a great shopping mall right here!  Condos over there! Plenty of parking.  I tell you, country clubs and cemeteries are the biggest wasters of prime real estate!"

 

They hired a golf course architect, took out a lot more trees and put in a bunch of mounds.  I don't really care much for the mounds, not because I am in them, but because you can't see people in the adjacent fairway, so nobody yells FORE! when they hit one over the mounds.  If I could change one thing about the course, I would get rid of the mounds and put trees back in.

 

I'll give the membership one year and then make a decision.

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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That's great - I hope you enjoy!  I'm loving my club but I'm afraid it's a bit too much for me - don't really want to go back to the muni because now I'm spoiled - there's another nice club that's actually closer to my house - it once hosted an LPGA event - of course you get what you get at half the price - it's not always in primo condition, the amenities are no where near as nice and the membership is nowhere near as stable - the greens are always in great shape though and the layout is fun.

 

I will have to make a decision in the next month or so.

 

Rev, you're not going to leave what you have.  I know it, and deep down, you know it.  It's a bit of a sacrifice, but its for a priority in your life.  Enjoying golf the way you do I'm sure being able to enjoy your club enables you to better do the good that you do.  You deserve it.  Don't even hesitate.

Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

In my Ogio Ozone XX Cart Stand Bag:

Ping G400 10.5 Deg Driver, stock Stiff shaft
TM Rocketballz 19 Deg 5 Wood, stock Matrix Osik Stiff shaft
TM Rocketballz Stage 2 21 Deg Tour 4 Hybrid, Rocketfuel 80h Stiff shaft 

Callaway Apex CF 16 Irons, 4-P, Stiff Shafts
 
Scor 48 and 55 degree wedges.  
Renegar 60 Deg Steel Shaft Lob Wedge

TM Ghost Spider Si 38" Counterbalanced Putter

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Congrats Kenny,

 

I am sure you picked the right one.......now go and enjoy it before the bad weather sets in.

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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I like the look of the new one Kenny. Also the course isn't 7100 freaking yards. And green. The courses where I live are green alright but more of a dull green. Bermuda fairways.

My Sun Mountain bag currently includes:   TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 771CSI 5i - PW and TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges

                                                                               :755178188_TourEdge: EXS 10.5*, TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 929-HS FW4 16.5* 

                                                                                :edel-golf-1: Willimette w/GolfPride Contour

 

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I thought you were gonna say you bought th first course! That would be one incredible early Christmas present.

 

Good luck at the new club!

WITB:

Stan Thompson “Reactionizer” persimmon woods 1-4

Spalding Tour Edition 3-PW

Spalding Top-Flite E.V.A. Sand Club

Rife Legend Z Putter

 

 

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That's great - I hope you enjoy!  I'm loving my club but I'm afraid it's a bit too much for me - don't really want to go back to the muni because now I'm spoiled - there's another nice club that's actually closer to my house - it once hosted an LPGA event - of course you get what you get at half the price - it's not always in primo condition, the amenities are no where near as nice and the membership is nowhere near as stable - the greens are always in great shape though and the layout is fun.

 

I will have to make a decision in the next month or so.

 

I'm with jax on this.  Pull some strings and play where you enjoy your golf.  This is why I decided to change my membership.  I'm older than you, and I want to play golf on a nicer course because there might not be many years left.  After years of traveling around the country and playing nice courses, I think I got spoiled and want to play nice courses all the time.  Pros don't have to play crappy courses; why should I?

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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I'm with jax on this.  Pull some strings and play where you enjoy your golf.  This is why I decided to change my membership.  I'm older than you, and I want to play golf on a nicer course because there might not be many years left.  After years of traveling around the country and playing nice courses, I think I got spoiled and want to play nice courses all the time.  Pros don't have to play crappy courses; why should I?

 

My thoughts exactly.

My Sun Mountain bag currently includes:   TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 771CSI 5i - PW and TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges

                                                                               :755178188_TourEdge: EXS 10.5*, TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 929-HS FW4 16.5* 

                                                                                :edel-golf-1: Willimette w/GolfPride Contour

 

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Gravel in the fairway is rough! I am with you on playing a course you enjoy while you can. The two local courses here are pretty cheap so I have membership at both and I am spoiled. Hope the new course works out for you!

My Mixed-Bag:

 

Driver:      :callaway-small: Mavrik Sub zero, ventus black 7x

Fairway:     Still looking!

Irons:         :mizuno-small:MP-18 MB 4-PW

Wedges:     Miura K Grinds

Putter:       Evnroll 1.2 blade

Ball:        :srixon-small: Z star XV

 

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Well, on Thursday I met two guys on the range at my new course and hooked up with them for a round.  Even though I have an annual cart pass now, they were walking so I went back to the car and got my Sun Mountain push cart.  Actually, that's where I store it just in case I need it.  Great guys!  Things are looking up at the new course.

 

Today they had a tournament at the course, so my wife and I went back to our old course.  We both hated the poor conditions and only walked nine holes.  It's getting tougher and tougher to go back when we have a much nicer course to play.  I've got 3 more months on that membership!

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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  • 4 weeks later...

Went out to my old course today.  Here is the photo of #18 from my original post taken at the end of October.

 

IMG_0344.jpg

 

Here is #18 taken this morning.

 

image1.jpg

 

The Yakima River is suppose to crest this afternoon, but it will take a week before the water subsides, and probably another week before anyone plays golf.  Sure glad I moved my membership!!

 

Did I mention that it has been raining in the Northwest?

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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