Argonne69

Bittersweet day yesterday. Funerals are never a good time, but it was nice to see family that I haven't seen in a few years. Spent a few hours at the memorial service, and then we went for lunch at Aurelio's Pizza. Didn't snap any photos, though. Lol. I have a day in town before heading back to DC tomorrow. I "needed" to do a beer run into the city to pick up some Revolution Brewing Deth's Tar, so I decided to skip the expressways and take take a leisurely drive up the full length of DuSable Lake Shore Drive. It's been four years since I was in Chicago during the summer. Unfortunately the weather is crummy today with clouds and rain approaching. Chicago is a great tourist town in the summer. You won't find another city with ~20 miles of nearly uninterrupted lakefront park. The lakefront bike trail is a nice ride. Stopped at Adler Planetarium to snap a few pics of the city's skyline. On a sunny day it's the best spot to take in the views. The planetarium was a favorite as a kid. Drove through Grant Park and snapped a poor photo of Buckingham Fountain while waiting at a traffic light Stopped at Sydney R. Marovitz GC to use the restroom. Used to play this 9 hole city run lakefront course occasionally. Pace of play was always horrid (3 hours for 9 holes), so I'd only tee it up in the late fall when the weather was crummy. It's not a bad course, but could use the usual design tweaks.

Congrats. I've played BR 6 times, and have one par on the 9th.

Dame Lydia was a generational talent. Going to be a while until we see another teen winning tournaments in back to back years as an amateur, and beating her record for the youngest major winner. I mean, when you're winning tournaments as a snaggletooth 15 year old, it's hard to top. Unfortunately we've seen more than a few next great players come out of college and fail to light it up. Doesn't mean that it's not possible. The golf media doesn't help when it pumps up the next great thing that doesn't materialize. Lottie looks like she has an solid game, but then again, so did Maria Fassi when she won the 2019 NCAA Championship.

The first-ever baby pictures of a solar system that’s not our own. HOPS-315, a newborn star located 1,300 light-years away where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. The image was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. Image: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.

Any chance you can extend your stay a couple of days in northern Minnesota? Pity to travel up there are not add The Wilderness at Fortune Bay and The Classic at Maddens.

First order of business upon arrival after unpacking my good clothes for the memorial service tomorrow was ordering a pizza from Lou Malnati's. It's been 7 months since I had it last. Lol. Sitting down typing this while enjoying a Bourbon County. Going to hit the sack early tonight. Walking 18 on a hilly course, a 6 hour drive, a couple of large slices of deep dish, and a BBA imperial stout does make one sleepy.

Crazy 345 mile drive on US-30 after the round. I've done longer stretches on interstates, but this is the longest drive I've done on a single US highway. It wasn't half bad through most of Ohio with a speed limit of 70 mph for most of it, and only a few traffic lights. That changed significantly once I hit Fort Wayne, IN. The speed limit dropped to 60, and there were several long stretches with traffic lights every half mile or less. I had a very scary moment in Fort Wayne on I-69/US-30. I was following a truck that was hauling a large dumpster. The exit for US-30 was coming up, so I didn't want to try to get around it in heavy traffic, figuring that I could trail him for a half mile. I saw something black rise up above the dumpster, and I realized that it was the dumpster's heavy plastic lid, or one of them. The lid blew off, and luckily flew over my vehicle. Traffic was heavy, so there was no where to go had it flown towards my windshield. No idea if one or more of the vehicles behind my got clobbered. I really should know better than to follow any type of truck hauling rocks, junk, or dumpsters.

The Quarry GC, Canton, OH Lol. I think black cats are good luck. 'Had two growing up, a mother and daughter, that both lived over 20 years Hate teeing off into the morning sun Hmmm. Pretty sure I had some moisture on the lense Tough elevated green on the 13th Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/juut44tvi03z059gv7zmk/AMRQijFdpGyQHamjEDamAMc?rlkey=21uec8a2hwn0s7fapff2p4dnh&st=vj8wb6bu&dl=0

Long day, but fun nonetheless. Golf in the morning and then a six hour drive to Chicago. Celebrated another minor milestone today playing my 1500th course. Amazing that it was only 28 months ago that I played my 1000th at Pinehurst #4. Weather was pretty good. The dew point was high, but a steady breeze kept it manageable while I walked the hilly course. Teed off early with another single, but he told me to play ahead on the 2nd hole. He passed me a few holes later as he looked like he was skipping holes. Finished in just over 3 hours. The Quarry GC today. As the name implies the course was built in an old quarry. Must have been many years ago, because I wouldn't have known it by looking at it. Very little exposed rock, and plenty of mature trees. Still a beautiful layout, though. It ranks #8 on GolfWeek's best in state list. Seems low. I'd rank it above Manakiki and Fowler's Mill. Primarily a parkland design, it does have a few holes that are more meadow style. Plenty of elevation change including a number of very elevated teeboxes, and a handful of elevated greens playing up from the fairways below. Plenty of sidehill lies, too. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside was pretty good. Water in play on 14 holes. Seven holes with left/right movement including three doglegs. Moderately difficult off the tee with a couple of forced carries, pinching trees, and the doglegs that required a little precision. Minor misses would catch the generous thick rough. Big misses were generally a big no-no with the dense trees and thick native areas. There were three pairs of parallel holes that might give you a chance from the other fairway. Approaches were tough. Greens weren't particularly large, and most had solid bunkering or water in play. Approaches often came from uneven lies. Greens were somewhat disappointing with gentle contouring and slope. Putting didn't get the blood flowing. Up and downs were tricky primarily due to uneven lies coming out of the thick rough. Par 3s were very good with plenty of trouble. The 17th with a pond left was the best. Variety of length was so-so. Three were GW to 9i. Par 3s were also OK. The short 7th was reachable with a good drive, but playing downhill the fairway was pinched by PAs on both sides, so there was some risk getting it to the bottom of the slope. The other three had moderate trouble with water in play. The pair of short 4s were mixed. The 4th was meh, but the dogleg 14th was a beaut. Uphill with a large rock on the inside corner. A good drive got zero rollout slamming into the slope, leaving a blind shot over the rock with little room to miss around the green. Conditions were good. Fairways had a handful of iffy areas, but were generally good. Rough was thick, but cut to a good height. Bunkers had sufficient sand, but needed grooming. Greens looked and rolled fine. Speed was probably 10. Played the Blue tees at 6313 yds (70.8/130). Very good day ballstriking. Wedges weren't too shabby. Putter was lukewarm. Two birdies, four bogies, and a double. The 10' birdie putt on the par 3 6th was nice, but the shot of the day was the teeshot on the par 3 17th. With the pin tucked back left I hit a nice high draw with the 6h that landed mid green and released to the back fringe. Highlight of the day was walking the beautiful course for my 1500th. I don't think I could have found something as nice in DC that I haven't played. Solid 7 cows. Very similar to the courses in Frederick. Beautiful looking with plenty of ups and downs, but needs a few design upgrades starting with the green contouring and fairway bunkering. Still a solid test, though. No walking rate, but the $55 weekday rate was silly good. Biggest nit with the course was the total lack of drinking water on the course. I was told that they haven't had any since the pandemic. Crazy to think that 95% of all courses don't seem to have a problem with water on the course. That said, it's a must play, and a real bargain.

Yup.

I do like when a brewery is on the way to the hotel. Lol. Stopped at Fat Head's Brewery in Canton. Two dozen taps with a decent mix. Sampled the tasty Maple Belgian Dubbel, but settled (once again) on their Zeus Juice Belgian Strong Golden Ale. 'Very surprised to see that they actually have a beer with a one word name, "Kolsch". Speaks for itself. Lol. Several brews with longer names, including Haulin' Down Espresso 77 Coffee Stout. Do like the Benjamin Danklin IPA. Gotta start posting the best names at each brewery. Wasn't sure if I'd have dinner after having breakfast this morning, but with no BBQ in store for the next week, I was drawn to the Quadruple B Burger with smoked brisket and bourbon BBQ sauce. Not bad. I really hope The Quarry allows walking tomorrow. With Lou Malnati's and Aurelio's pizza on deck for the next two days, and a visit to Greektown on Saturday, I need to get some steps in. Lol.

Yeah, played Glen Mills, Dauphin Highlands, and Iron Valley during my first visit. These are the courses on my list. There's overlap if l can't play one or more due to scheduling issues. West Philly: Wyncote, Honeybrook, Inniscrone, Pilgrim's Oak, Turtle Creek, Broad Run, Hickory Valley Presidential, Pickering Valley, Kimberton, Spring Hollow, Mainland, Lederach Allentown: Architects Club, Great Bear, Burkleigh, Butter Valley, Macoby Run, Shepherd Hills, Twin Lakes, Golden Oaks, Turtle Creek, Fox Hollow, Hickory Valley Presidential, Blue Shamrock, Willow Brook Lancaster: Wyncote, Crossgates GC, Pilgrim's Oak, Foxchase, Four Seasons, Tanglewood Manor, Bridgewater GC (9 Hole), Inniscrone, Broad Run Harrisburg/Hershey: Pilgrim's Oak, Cool Creek 'Definitely going to hit Hersheypark. Been too long since I tortured myself on some first class rollercoasters.

Well, I made it to Canton in one piece. Six and a half hours with a short stop at Denny's for a Super Slam breakfast. Crazy drive to say the least. Getting out of DC was a pain with morning traffic, but I managed to make it to I-70W. Took that to I-68W where the fun began. I don't think that 80 mile stretch of highway has 5 miles of flat pavement. You're either heading up a steep hill, or down a steep grade. At one point you cross the eastern Continental Divide. I'll be back on the highway in a few weeks when I hit Cumberland and Morgantown. Beautiful scenery, especially the church spires in Cumberland. Short drive north on I-79N to Washington, where Google Maps sent me on another expedition. You can always count on Google Maps to find some interesting shortcuts. Good thing I wasn't driving Bessie, because a few of the roads in rural West Virginia were "single" lane 20 mph twisties. I finally made it to the Ohio River, and crossed in Stuebenville where I picked up US-22W to US250W. West on that route to I-77N, and then north into Canton. Traffic was generally light, but there were a few slow stretches on US-250. I really need to download my location history from Google. With over 80,000 miles traveled in nearly four years, I bet I've hit half of the interstates in the country. Would make for an interesting map. Lol. Looks like a fun drive tomorrow. Canton seems to be in no-man's land as far as interstates. I'll probably wind up driving 340 miles on US-30. Old fashioned driving. I remember my family's first trip down to Southern Florida in the early 70s. The interstate system was still under construction, so you'd travel extended distances on US highways. Downtown Canton looks like it's seen better days. I do like football, but don't really feel like heading to the NFL Hall of Fame. Maybe in September when I'm back in the area. Stopped at Woodshop in Canton. Small brewery with eight taps that specializes in barrel fermented beers. Had a taste of their B-A Shrouded dark Saison. Blended with cherries, it packed a flavorful punch. Settled on their Guidestone Golden Strong Ale.

No, haven't played Lulu.

Booked an RV park in Lancaster for early-August. The triangular area between west Philadelphia, Allentown, and Harrisburg looks very good for public courses. 'Looking forward to it.

In this proud land we grew up strong We were wanted all along I was taught to fight, taught to win I never thought I could fail No fight left or so it seems I am a man whose dreams have all deserted I've changed my face, I've changed my name But no one wants you when you lose Don't give up 'cause you have friends Don't give up, you're not beaten yet Don't give up, I know you can make it good Though I saw it all around Never thought that I could be affected Thought that we'd be last to go It is so strange the way things turn Drove the night toward my home The place that I was born, on the lakeside As daylight broke, I saw the earth The trees had burned down to the ground Don't give up, you still have us Don't give up, we don't need much of anything Don't give up, 'cause somewhere there's a place where we belong Rest your head, you worry too much It's gonna be alright When times get rough, you can fall back on us Don't give up, please don't give up Got to walk out of here, I can't take any more Gonna stand on that bridge, keep my eyes down below Whatever may come and whatever may go That river's flowing, that river's flowing Moved on to another town Tried hard to settle down For every job, so many men So many men no-one needs Don't give up 'cause you have friends Don't give up, you're not the only one Don't give up, no reason to be ashamed Don't give up, you still have us Don't give up now, we're proud of who you are Don't give up, you know it's never been easy Don't give up 'cause I believe there's a place There's a place where we belong - Peter Gabriel featuring Kate Bush

Attention K-Mart shoppers. We have a Blue Light Special in aisle 11....

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.

Enterprise GC, Mitchellville, MD Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qd2rk5hcw714t12nfxl5x/AJXIYvCYS_1dk-duswQJJDc?rlkey=0jlmo3pz1hpu1wn0dbaapj6db&st=k8c3bjia&dl=0

Another day, another inexpensive muni. The clouds helped keep the temperature down, but it sure didn't do anything for the humidity. Glad I stopped to buy a pair of rain gloves yesterday. Joined another single as the first group out, and we finished in 2:40. I told him that he could play ahead if he wanted given that he was riding, but he hung around and we had a good time. Enterprise GC today. This parkland muni is operated by The Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission, and sits on the old property that was formerly the old Newton White Dairy Farm. I wouldn't call it hilly, but it does have a few ups and downs, as well as some side slopes. Didn't think the design differed all that much from Northwest. The front was a little too much back and forth, but the back had a few gems. Bunkering was once again light. Water in play on six holes with several more that should have red staked native areas. Eight holes with left right movement including four doglegs. I'll say moderately difficult off the tee due to a couple of forced carries, too many trees on the right "penalizing" us right to left ballstrikers, and the doglegs that requires good teeshots to clear the trees on the inside corners. Minor misses would catch the generous, thick rough. Pretty penal, though. Big misses were a mixed bag. Plenty of adjacent fairways, and pinestraw under many of the trees, so one could find and play an errant shot. The 10th through 16th holes had no room for error with dense junk under the trees, and OB left on 12 and 14. Approaches were straightforward with moderate sized greens and light bunkering. One could run the ball up on most holes. Like Northwest, the greens were pretty meh. The par 3 15th and par 4 18th were the exceptions, with plenty of slope. Putting was pretty stress free. Up and downs were a little trickier coming out of the thick, wet rough Par 3s were real snoozers. Very little trouble. Variety of length was poor with three playing 9i to 8i. The 8th was a FW. Par 5s were meh. The 14th was reachable, but other than being narrow it didn't have much trouble. The dogleg 10th played downhill, and could likely be reached if your drive caught the speed slot, but again, little risk near the green. The two short 4s were sleepers. Special mention to the par 4 11th and long dogleg 16th. The 11th had an intimidating teeshot with a forced carry over a pond to a basically hidden fairway. The 16th required a solid drive to clear the corner, and then you were still left with a very long approach. Conditions were better than I expected after heavy rain last night. Surprised that it wasn't cart path only. Fairways were freshly cut, looked great, but very wet. Rough was thick but cut to a good height. Bunkers had plenty of sand, but it was wet and compacted. 'Just needed a grooming. Greens looked nice, and while the moisture kept the speed in check, they were still rolling 10. Played the White tees at 6335 yds (69.8/116). Very good day off the tee, but the soft conditions were stealing rollout. Irons were solid. Wedges meh. Putter was hot and cold. Made a few midrange par putts, but birdies missed low. One birdie and five bogies. Shot of the round was sticking a lob wedge to 3' on the par 5 9th to set up the birdie. Highlight of the day was my playing partner. Solid game and good company. Picked my brain about my travels. Same as yesterday, going with 5 cows. Quality inexpensive muni that needs the usual Arg renovation starting with the greens and the addition of bunkers. The $32 senior walking rate was silly. I'll take it. Another decent local course for knocking a ball around, but it can be skipped.

Oy. Arrived an hour early hoping to get out before the heat gets crazy and it turns out that my 8 am tee time is the first of the day. Apparently they push times back an hour on Tuesdays, two hours after sunrise. Bah. Walked into the pro shop and it had to be 90 degrees in there. Seems that the AC is broken.

Probably too late for that. The vehicle will have 120,000 miles on it after the drive to Canton. Most of my drives are short, so as a daily driver it's fine.

JWST images the Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132), also called the "Eight-Burst nebula" for its figure-eight shape. It is located 2,500 light years away. The diameter of the cloud of gas and dust in this planetary nebula is 1/2 light-year. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

That pretty much describes the Chicago area. There are over 200 public courses within 90 minutes of The Loop, which includes southeast Wisconsin, Rockford, northwest Indiana, and southwest Michigan. We all like playing Top 100 courses, but the $50 rounds fill out the schedule.

Booked a hotel room in Canton for tomorrow night, and a round at The Quarry on Thursday morning. It's ~5 hours to Chicago from there, but I'll gain an hour, so I should arrive in time for a Lou Malnati's pizza. Lol. 'Looking forward to the golf, but not the drive. I'm OK with four hours, but my 'ol back doesn't like longer drives. The seats in the Honda aren't the greatest.