How'd you play?

[Shlax]

Played a very unpleasant course today.

Now knowing the course conditions, I can now say that it was way too expensive for a tee time after 14:00 and layout was Mickey Mouse-y at best. First time playing there and never returning again. 12/14 par 4 and par 5 holes were dog legs. Used driver 3 times and it was a stretch.

50 (+14) & 41 (+5) for 91 (+19). 21 putts on the front-nine.

Most tee boxes were confined in corridors with unreasonably tight launch windows. I didn’t have many issues with this aspect but my playing partner has a slinging push hook as a stock shot shape and was totally shackled off the tee. Many good shots were punished during the round. Some shots that landed in the fairway did not give an access to the green on the following approach shot because of overhanging tree branches. I can go on and on.

Greens were unreadable as they had small dimples or mounds randomly dispersed all around (less than 1-2’ in diameter). As a result, breaks often occurred on the opposite side of what the line read because the cup was on some of these very small dimples. My playing partners experienced the same thing. The level of randomness on putts was unbearable. You had to read the greens as if you were playing at the miniputt.

Nothing good to say about this course other than I’m glad that I tried it only to be sure that I’m never going back and to make sure that no other golfing enthousiast gets conned there.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Shlax
Softening my comments

[Byrnzee]

I was able to get out yesterday for 18 holes at Heritage Oaks outside Chicago. The weather was absolutely perfect for some Fall golf: low 70s and sunny with a slight breeze.

I had never played this course before but it was recommended by a friend and I decided to check It out. First thing that I immediately noticed is that the facilities were beautiful. The pro shop looked practically brand new and they had a Trackman range that allowed you to follow your shots in real time on your phone.

The course is also very fairly priced, in my opinion. $59 walking and $80 to ride on a Saturday morning. You don't see prices like that too often in Chicago.

I only had two complaints about the course: 1) The golf carts were gas-powered and very slow. Even though they were slow, they peeled out every time you pressed the gas from standstill. It made a loud "skrrrt" noise several times. It wasn't a deal-breaker, just something that was evident throughout the round. 2) It might have just been the particular day, but there were an unacceptable amount of ball marks on the greens. I probably fixed a hundred throughout our round. I know this isn't necessarily the courses fault, but it was definitely noticeable.

The course itself played fairly short (6400 from the tips), but was challenging especially with the club championship happening over the weekend. Pin placements were tough, rough was longer and the greens were pretty firm.

I ended up shooting an 86 (45-41) which was +16 on the par 70 course. Although the score doesn't show it, I was mostly content with how I played. I had some great drives, superb saves out of the sand and my putting stroke was feeling great. My irons were probably the weakest part of my game yesterday. Had some hosel rockets from the middle of the fairway that had me fighting for bogeys instead of birdies.

Playing again this afternoon! Hoping to improve on yesterday's round and keep working on becoming more consistent.

Until next time!

 

[Parshooter36]

I was 1 over through 16 when I closed out my opponent in the club championship final! I ended up beating the 3 guys that have combined to win the club championship for the past 10 years, and could not be more proud.

[Byrnzee]

Settle in spies... this is a good one.

My plan for this afternoon was to get out for a solo round while my fiancée is out of town. The course I chose was at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club: Course No. 2 - Ravines. For those unfamiliar, Cog Hill has four courses on the property. No's. 1 and 3 are considered more budget friendly/easier, No. 2 is a great value and a fun track, and No. 4 - Dubsdread is a championship-level course that has hosted professional events over the years (Tiger has won at Dubsdread 5 times: three times as an amateur and twice when the course hosted the BMW Championship in 2007 and 2009).

When I showed up for my tee time at the No.2 Course, I was told they couldn't find my reservation. I showed them my email confirmation, but was told that someone accidentally moved my reservation to next weekend. I asked if it was still possible to sneak out as a walking single. I was told it might be tough because the No. 2 course was hosting a tournament tomorrow and there were players on the course practicing.

The starter was the MVP of the day. He asked if I'd be open to playing the No. 4 course instead. I thought he was pulling my leg at first. I had already paid to walk the No. 2 course, which was only $40. Having the opportunity to play this legendary course (#65 on Golf Digest's best public courses in America) for next-to-nothing was a dream come true. On top of that, it was a beautiful, sunny day in Chicago.

The course was in immaculate shape (see pictures below). It's definitely a challenging track and I was put to the test throughout the round with thick rough, deep bunkers and lightning fast greens. I played from the blue tees at 6750 yards, and ended up shooting 88 (43-45). For how tough that course is, I was thrilled to break 90. My bunker play has been great and my ball striking with my irons was much improved from yesterday.

All in all, I consider myself extremely lucky and privileged to have played this course. I walked the course with my push cart and was able to soak it all in as I played alone. It was a completely surreal, once-in-a-lifetime round of golf that I'll cherish forever. As I was finishing my round, I was told that this was the last day of the year that the course would be open. You can't make this stuff up. 

Shoutout to the starter at Cog Hill for giving me a day I'll never forget!

 

[ZackS]

With not getting to play/practice as much as I would like having rounds that seem to be either good or horrible shots seems to be the norm right now. But I was still able to card a 78 today and it was a beautiful day and had the course pretty much to myself since I played during the Cowboys game.  

Edited October 2, 2023 by ZackS

[taylorjonasher]

Played in my first VGA event today at Hunter's Ridge - Marion, IA. Whoa boy, it was ugly. 97, with the driver and the putter being all but worthless. I hit 7 balls OB today - 6 with the driver!!! Just atrocious. Missed several short putts (like inside 3 feet). I'm doing my best to flush this turd out of my mind.  

[MattF]

Played with @DiscipleofPenick, @MaxEntropy and @Mr_Theoo at Ashland Country Club yesterday. Had a great time as always.

I ended up 46/43 89. Hit some good shots and some poor ones, that's golf.

[Shapotomous]

I played in a shamble yesterday which was a new format for me after about 50 years of golf.  (I guess i dont get out much )  i of course have played in countless scrambles but i dont ever remember playing in a shamble before. For those as unfamiliar as i was, all hit drives and pick the best drive and you play your own ball from there. 

This is a great format for your ego!  We always had a good drive to hit from.  The two best balls are picked for scoring.  We never came close to scoring a bogey and had 15 birdies through the day.  The worst personal gross score in the group was -1.  

It was beautiful weather and a good group to play with.  I think what helped us immensely was playing without being held up and getting done in less than 4 hours.  The course had about 5 open holes and we started on 1 with other groups starting behind us back to 13.  

[Mr_Theoo]

1 hour ago, MattF said:

Played with @DiscipleofPenick, @MaxEntropy and @Mr_Theoo at Ashland Country Club yesterday. Had a great time as always.

I ended up 46/43 89. Hit some good shots and some poor ones, that's golf.

A lot of 5s from you and 7s for me. At least I had that one huge drive and I hit every possible tree I could

[GaryF]

Played 18 yesterday with very mixed results, shooting 86, with some of the bad cancelled by some good.  I typically drive extremely  well with 85% FIRs, but lately have been lights out with the driver.  I’ve also been lights out with my new Ping G430 Max 4w.  My GIRs have also been creeping up.

Starting Friday, I started to experience another episode of extreme dry-eye combined with inflammation resulting in degraded vision, something I experienced a year ago as a fairly rare side-effect from Covid.  Fortunately I have eye meds to help.  The side effect has been documented by those that study such things, and can appear multiple times.  I also had similar reaction when I took the vaccines, which I will never partake of again - not against vaccines, this one just isn’t for me.  

I started out fine with my drives but very slight pulls.  As the round progressed, the pulls got worse, resulting in only 6/13 FIRs, and 1 lost ball.  So many second shots from snarly Bermuda roughs.  On the bright side, I made a lot of good recovery shots combined with 5 1-putts.  Last spring while getting fit for irons, we had a number of discussions and one had to do with lie angle.  While debating the difference of 1*, his comment was you’ll adjust - you play with your eyes.  I’ll take an 86 as a really bad round given my recent scores have been in the 79-82 range.  
 

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by GaryF

[cnosil]

Tale of opposite 9s yesterday.   
 

9 FW, 7GIR,  35 putts, 47/38:85

5 doubles and a bogey on the front is really all that you need to know.   Couldn’t hit anything well and even thought I had 2 three putts on the front it actually kept the score from being worse.    Back was pretty solid with 3 bogeys and a birdie.   

[NubianRugby]

Been slowing down on the amount that I've been practicing and playing since the start of September. Played in a couple of tournaments where we didn't have a chance at winning cause I was the best golfer in our group. I'll hit a couple of good shots every round, but if you're counting on me to carry the team it's going to be a long day.

Played 9 holes yesterday with a single ball and still shot 48. Nothing in the woods, nothing OB, very under control but I did skull a few balls. Only hit 2 fairways, but did make 4 greens in regulation and wasn't able to turn any of those chances into birdies. Two 3-putts is an improvement over the last couple of times I played; I'm spending more time lining up my putts and that seems to be helping.

Heading towards the end of the season now; I'll finally get to play Bulle Rock on 10/9 and I have another tournament on 10/13. I will probably get put in a group with randos for this last tournament because I signed up solo, but that could be a good thing if I get hooked up with real golfers and have a chance to compete for the win.

[chisag]

5 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

I played in a shamble yesterday which was a new format for me after about 50 years of golf.  (I guess i dont get out much )  i of course have played in countless scrambles but i dont ever remember playing in a shamble before. For those as unfamiliar as i was, all hit drives and pick the best drive and you play your own ball from there. 

This is a great format for your ego!  We always had a good drive to hit from.  The two best balls are picked for scoring.  We never came close to scoring a bogey and had 15 birdies through the day.  The worst personal gross score in the group was -1.  

It was beautiful weather and a good group to play with.  I think what helped us immensely was playing without being held up and getting done in less than 4 hours.  The course had about 5 open holes and we started on 1 with other groups starting behind us back to 13.  

 

... Wow, unless it was a short course that is some seriously awesome approach shots. I just played in a Scramble outing Friday and on some of the longer par 4's we had hybrids and fairway wood approaches and still missed 3 greens. (we had a no show so only 3 players) We managed 9 birdies playing from the best position for each shot so 15 birdies is very impressive!!! 

 

[MH15]

Had my lowest score thru 18 yesterday morning: 84.

41 front 43 back (fun fact - back 9 I scored ALL 5's except a par on a par 3.)

Driver felt great, really didn't miss many fairways in general, and not any too harshly aside from hole #1 at 8:00 am with no warmup .

I watched one of those Instagram long winded and click-baity videos about "use this ONE simple trick and drill for less than 5 minutes to ELIMINATE your slice!" and it actually helped - all without me having to buy the $150 virtual course! I essentially took their "scientific approach" of trying to square my clubface at impact, which I did by lining the ball up a few inches more towards the back in my stance.

Wedges/Irons were off, but not too harmful. 

I hit a few putts I was definitely proud of. 2 30+ footers, one was a texas wedge as well. 

My two best rounds this year, 84 and 85, have come from hitting some really big putts or chip ins. The goal now is to start scoring like this without having to do anything flashy!

[Shapotomous]

4 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Wow, unless it was a short course that is some seriously awesome approach shots. I just played in a Scramble outing Friday and on some of the longer par 4's we had hybrids and fairway wood approaches and still missed 3 greens. (we had a no show so only 3 players) We managed 9 birdies playing from the best position for each shot so 15 birdies is very impressive!!! 

 

It is a short course, playing about 6000 yds.  About 6 very short par 4's with some longer ones to stretch the overall yardage.  And they were kind to us with pin placements because the greens had been aerated and sanded so they bounced instead of rolled.

There were 5 holes where we counted two birds and 1 hole where we counted a bird and an eagle.  So we were -13 on 6 holes and 'only' 4 birds on the remaining 12 holes.  There are three dogleg holes that play long unless you get a safe drive.  Then you can try to hit a towering 250 yd drive over 70' trees and parachute the ball into a narrow fairway and keep it from bouncing thru to the woods on the far side.  If successful you have 150 yards for your approach instead of 210+.  We were successful on all three!  I was loving the altitude from the new to me 10.5* driver!

[fixyurdivot]

39/40 at Granite Falls North which just re-opened today after being closed since May for renovations.  They've got it in gorgeous shape but the new greens are challenging.  Pretty firm and hard to see ball marks (to see how their holding or not). My putter was luke warm all round and was of little help.  But they rolled true, so it's just an adjustment.  Bremuda rough is quite tough and many were complaining about balls half covered.  I only had one drive that was nearly submerged in it.   Really nice having this track back in play .

[NubianRugby]

Shot 47 on the front 9 at Langston. 

1 3-putt, 3 greens in regulation, went 0/3 on birdie putts, and had the realization that hitting the fairway (while nice & fun & good, I was 3/7) is irrelevant to cutting strokes.

Wait, did y'all already know that?

2 pars, 4 bogies, 2 doubles, and a triple. Chunked a couple of fairway shots and was short on two chips, definitely left some shots out there. 

Edited October 4, 2023 by NubianRugby

[Blaine Dye]

Went out and shot and i feel like im back to my old self -1 on my local 9 hole all in all very happy with the way i shot just need to do better on the mid to long putts so i dont three putt 

[MaxEntropy]

Driver has been a struggle the past few weeks. On Sunday (with @DiscipleofPenick, @Mr_Theoo, and @MattF), too many big high slices and was almost constantly in trouble. As we were stepping to the 18th tee, I remembered a drill that had been recommended to me many years ago when I was slicing the crap out of the ball. Place a tee in the ground a couple feet behind and just outside the ball. Try to hit the tee on the takeaway. I mentally did that on 18 and hit the best drive of the day. I was hoping that would carry over to league night yesterday and it did. I believe my takeaway was getting too inside so I had no choice but the big over-the-top swing to get back to the ball. At least it makes sense to me. I only had one drive that wasn't pretty long and didn't have a shot to the green. Too bad the rest of my game was garbage. I ended up with a +7 43 with a birdie, par, double, and the rest bogies.

I've also started to question the accuracy of Arccos recently - some of the numbers don't seem to add up. On 13 last night, Arcoss told me I had a "plays like" distance of 145 to the middle (with a back pin). That should be a stock 8i to be just past middle. I launched it over the green to a really crappy lie next to a bunker with the ball about a foot below my feet. After the fact, Arccos said I hit that 8i 142. On 17, it was another "plays like" of 145 to the middle, so I hit another 8i and ended up short of the green with another reported shot distance of 142. I actually hit it farther than that as that hole has a huge false front and the ball would have come back 30 yards if the grass hadn't been a little longer than normal. As it was, it only came back about 5 yards from the pitch mark (which was still a few yards short of the green). There was virtually no breeze last night, so wind did not affect it. I have no idea what's going on. Is anyone else noticing any discrepancies? I'll post in the Arccos users group thread too, but between things like this and the number of false detections since the most recent update, I might be about done with Arccos.

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by MaxEntropy

[cksurfdude]

On 10/1/2023 at 7:20 PM, Parshooter36 said:

I was 1 over through 16 when I closed out my opponent in the club championship final! I ended up beating the 3 guys that have combined to win the club championship for the past 10 years, and could not be more proud.

Awesome achievement!! Congrats on that clearly very difficult to pull off feat

[cksurfdude]

Got out to play a short course 9 yesterday afternoon with a friend. Used to play there a lot but haven't been back in several years. Fun little course with it's own quirks and challenges, and except for a few scruffy tee boxes and a few extra bumpy greens, it's generally in pretty good shape.

Wish I could say I played well but despite hitting ok off the tee, and making some second shots, I threw away a bunch of strokes from like 60 yds and in...

..which is an interesting turnaround from where I've been at in my golf game with the short game generally on point and relatively better vs my full swing long game.

G.O.L.F.!

...

Oh, PS: my buddy told me a funny one yesterday on one of the greens - "That was a LISA" = Left It Short Again (stupid a@@hole)

 

[DiscipleofPenick]

Well it was an up and down front nine with the spies at Ashland GC this Sunday for a 42. Then I got going on the back for a 37 with 3 birdies. Two of them were on shortish par-5s I was green high in two and able to chip it inside 5 feet. The other was a big uphill breaker on 18 with at least 2 feet of movement that I buried. It was an awesome day with perfect weather and the course was a ton of fun to play.

[Big moose]

Shot 42,44. Double bogeyed both par 3s on the back. This is the last time we will probably play this course, end of the month it is going to be turned in to a solar farm. What a shame I really like this course. Have fun everyone. 

[GaryF]

Last time I played I struggled with a severe eye issue that cropped up with bad dry eye, some eye and eyelid swelling and had a bad round of 86 and uncharacteristic bad drives (I’m 85 % FIRs).  

Played 9 late this afternoon, eyes significantly improved with medication and shot a 40 for 9 holes on a tougher course.  6/7 FIRs and the one I missed was because I ran out of fairway.  15 putts, 4 GIRS but the misses weren’t bad.  

Had been struggling with my longer irons going between strong pull/draws to push fades.  Something after my round on Sunday clicked with my setup and backswing.  Setup a bit closer, make sure I set the hands at the top, but need to come inside more in the back swing.  Significant improvement today. Much straighter ball flight with slight draw.  But, I hit my 140 yard 8i 153.  I can deal with that.  
 

 

[fixyurdivot]

37/36 tying my PB a month+ ago .  Played the afternoon shotgun at Granite Falls South; starting off #10. I had a great chance to finally shoot even par with a 7' putt for birdie on #9 for the -1 back... oohhh so teasingly close .  I really shouldn't have needed the birdie but 3 putted the par 3 #8 from about 30' away.  It's like I hit a draw with my first lag putt and it caught the moon shaped ridge leaving me a gadawful 8' putt for par.  I still cannot figure out just what the heck I did.  I was cussing myself all the way to the next tee.

The round included a really good up and down on the #1 handicap hole - which felt like a birdie.  You get some, you give some.  I'm so close to checking off that even par box (maybe sub par), I can taste it.  It's going to happen, I just know it .

[Kenny B]

Found out today that physical therapy exercises followed by walking 9-holes carry my MGS Forum Jones bag do not mix well.  Who knew??  Could not hit my driver… unless you call a pull hook a “hit”.  Usually only miss 1 fairway or none.  However, other clubs saved me…

#1. Started with an up and down par with a 6 foot putt for the save.
#2. Downhill/side hill lie from left rough to just in front of green; 48º to 4’ and putt made breaking a foot R2L.
#3.  Left again into the pond; drop and HeaveWood 3rd shot over water to 15y in front of green; 60º to tap-in for bogey.
#4.  Par 3; missed right; poor chip; made 10’ par putt.
#5.  Left rough again; managed a DB on this par 5.
#6.  Managed to get to right green side rough on this par 5 and used the “Monte” putter chip-in for birdie ( @cksurfdude knows this shot)
#7.  Barely in left side of fairway but short off tee; HeaveWood hit tree but got through to 8”; missed birdie putt
#8.  Par 3; missed green right in fringe; missed birdie putt by an inch.
#9.  Another pull hook to left rough on this par 5; HeaveWood to middle of fairway; 9W to 12’; missed birdie putt.

So, I only hit ONE fairway… barely and TWO GIR and shot 39 (+2).   I have GOT to figure my driver out by Saturday!!

[Kenny B]

9 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Oh, PS: my buddy told me a funny one yesterday on one of the greens - "That was a LISA" = Left It Short Again (stupid a@@hole)

Now that’s funny!!   Tell Lisa HI for me!!

[fixyurdivot]

21 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Found out today that physical therapy exercises followed by walking 9-holes carry my MGS Forum Jones bag do not mix well.  Who knew??  Could not hit my driver… unless you call a pull hook a “hit”.  Usually only miss 1 fairway or none.  However, other clubs saved me…

#1. Started with an up and down par with a 6 foot putt for the save.
#2. Downhill/side hill lie from left rough to just in front of green; 48º to 4’ and putt made breaking a foot R2L.
#3.  Left again into the pond; drop and HeaveWood 3rd shot over water to 15y in front of green; 60º to tap-in for bogey.
#4.  Par 3; missed right; poor chip; made 10’ par putt.
#5.  Left rough again; managed a DB on this par 5.
#6.  Managed to get to right green side rough on this par 5 and used the “Monte” putter chip-in for birdie ( @cksurfdude knows this shot)
#7.  Barely in left side of fairway but short off tee; HeaveWood hit tree but got through to 8”; missed birdie putt
#8.  Par 3; missed green right in fringe; missed birdie putt by an inch.
#9.  Another pull hook to left rough on this par 5; HeaveWood to middle of fairway; 9W to 12’; missed birdie putt.

So, I only hit ONE fairway… barely and TWO GIR and shot 39 (+2).   I have GOT to figure my driver out by Saturday!!

Kind of weird that when one part of the game goes goofy another part often comes to the rescue.  Maybe it's like our senses; sight, smell, sound? I'm sure you'll have the big stick tuned quick enough.

[Shlax]

Played a very difficult round at the par 70 course of my local club yesterday.

It really seems like I can't have my long and short games working in unison.

I drove the ball great and was average at best with irons but I definitely couldn't make a putt outside 3'. The greens were very long because they were spiked last week so it was impossible to manage pace and break.

Incurred 6 penalty strokes and only one of them was off the tee which is the world upside down for me.

Shot 43(+8) and 43(+8) for 86(+16). My course handicap is 7.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Had a hell of a nine this morning. 2/3 of my game was on fire. The putter, not so much.