Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[Argonne69]

Turned out to be a gorgeous day at Pine Meadow. What a wonderful change of pace from the heat and humidity. The cool northern wind was refreshing. It's been 11 years since I last played the course, as they didn't allow singles to book for ages. I forgot what a wonderful piece of property it is. If you like isolation, this is the place.

Conditions were very wet. Every step brought water to the surface. Standing water in most of the low areas. Most bunkers were small lakes. There were many downed trees, and the greens were littered with twigs and leaves. The greens were bumpy and slow. Probably rolling no more than 8. It's clear they've had their hands busy with other things over the past few days.

It was cart path only, and it seems that a lot of folks canceled. Worked for me. I teed off just as the rain stopped, and blue skies appeared. I played through a foursome on the 5th hole, and didn't see another group the rest of the round. 2:30 on an empty course was fun.

Another good day with the driver. 11 fairways. Irons were solid as well with 13 greens. I stuck a nine iron to two feet for an easy birdie on the opening hole, but I didn't really give myself any legit birdie chances after that. Five bogies hurt the cause, with three of them coming with a three putt after a GIR. Just couldn't adjust to the slow greens.

Overall it was a fun day, conditions aside. A few hour difference might have meant playing in the rain.

[Shriner]

Yep, that course is an absolutely treat. Pure golf with no bad holes. It is up there with the top IL public courses if you take out the other amenities (clubhouses, 19th hole, etc.)

[Shriner]

Curious to hear back after you play it. I think it was 2-3 years ago for my last round, conditions were pretty bad. With some of the quirky holes, I didn't feel like going back. Hope it is in better shape.

[DavePelz4]

Settler's is a tough course when the humidity is high. Some of the low areas with no air movement are brutal. Have had a couple of playing partners stop after the walk up the 13th hole.

 

[B-Man]

Oak Brook tomorrow for the local school PTO fundraiser. Since I'm running the whole event, looks like our team might've already won. All good though. It's for the children.

[ldchristopher]

Chapel Hill tomorrow. New course for us, weekend rates are cheap, and I want to take the new 3 wood for a spin. Most of the par 4’s at Chapel Hill looks like possible 3 wood off the tee, plus two off the deck on 17.

[St Jimmy]

 

It's my "after dinner walk nine holes" course. Played it hundreds of times over the years.

Driver on 3 and 16. 17 if I'm feeling confident, but you can get in serious trouble if you're wild.

Lot's of overhanging trees, tiny greens, and the rough was US Open length last time I was there a few weeks ago.

 

12 and 13 are probably flooded after the rains.

[Well Played]

 

[TheBear95]

Well, that was a humbling experience, lol. Got my ass handed to me this morning at Chapel Hill. I was off with the driver today and paid for it. Poor drives, too many punch outs, and when in the fairway on the wrong side. One of those mornings when nothing was going right. Looking back at the round, I should just hit 4-iron off the tee primarily. Just awful course management. LD was roping his 3-wood, I think he hit his driver like 3 times. Smart guy.

I thought the front 9 wasn't bad. Liked the old oak trees and the gentle hills. The back 9, yikes. Holes #11-#14 are ugly.

They cut the rough, but the fairways were very shaggy. So, it was hard to tell the difference between the two. Honestly, a course like this would benefit greatly from the one-cut concept. Obviously, the maintenance budget is limited. Though the greens were decent.

 

[Argonne69]

How'd you do on the par 5 17th?

 

[TheBear95]

Bogey. I actually hit a good drive on #17. But, on my second shot, I was trying to hit a cut and started it way too far to the left. Clipped some branches and the ball fell pretty much straight down. Not good. So, I had to hit my 5 wood again for my third. Ok shot, but pushed it just a little too far to the right in the rough. Had about 90 yards in but had to get over the big oak tree that's on the front right side of the green. Clipped the top of the tree and the ball fell down just outside the right bunker. From there, pitched on and had a tap-in for bogey. Other than the good drive and chip, the rest of the hole summed up my round.

[St Jimmy]

 

Lol, I told you: Driver on 3, 16, and maybe 17!

It's worth playing again if you don't live far away.

 

 

 

I have a twilight round at Steeplechase today.

[ldchristopher]

Chapel Hill opened with some variety and challenging holes before settling into short par 4 after short par 4. Great place to get lots of practice hitting 3 wood off the tee but not a course where driver should be pulled more than a few times. Always trust local knowledge and St. Jimmy was 100% correct. The front nine is moderately interesting but 11-14 gave me an Edgebrook vibe. From the tee, 17 looks like a longer version of 9 at Big Run. However, while 9 at BR tightens up and funnels towards the green, 17 at CH opens way up once you’re inside 200 yards. I played well but couldn’t buy a birdie putt for a 73. Bear’s morning was summed up on the 18th tee, when he was chipping while we waited for the green to clear and flipped a brand new yellow ProV1X into the flower bed, where it disappeared. Can’t complain about the 3:10 pace, but it’s super sad to see everyone else playing in a cart on a 6100 yard course.

[cpeck12]

Rough morning at Settler's Hill... course was actually in decent shape for the most part. Tee boxes were a bit of joke with being both beat up and not very level. Tee boxes that aren't level are one of my biggest pet peeves. Fairways and greens were in good shape and traps were a little wet. Course was more damp than I had expected, but nothing crazy. We were paired up with another 2some and the 4th guy might as well drove his car straight to the tee box. I got nervous it was going to be a long round after one of the two topped his ball about 15yds off the first tee. My buddy and I both hit great shots and I think he was flustered that his friend was late, because he was fine after that.

 

I played aggressively the entire round and pulled driver out a lot of times that I shouldn't have. You barely need driver at Settler's, so stupid on my part. My buddy was talking a lot of sh*t pre-round so I was looking to score. That backfired, as somewhat expected. Today was probably one of my worst days with the driver when it's been one of the best clubs in my bag so far this year. I just couldn't get it dialed in and was spraying a bit. Didn't give myself many opportunities when I pulled out the big stick.

 

Got to the 14th tee box and the sky was getting dark. Seemed far enough away, so we carried on (the group two ahead of us decided to come in). Finished our putts on #15 and it started down pouring! Flew over to #16 to get under cover and waited about 10min for the rain to settle down. We tee'd off, but it never stopped raining after that. Rain was anywhere from just a minor annoyance to a pretty solid down pour. There's a good chance we were one of only a few groups that decided to keep playing, because the course looked empty after #15 and there were a ton of carts parked at the "club house" when we finished.

 

Went into the 18th tied with my buddy (I was giving him 7 strokes) and I piped a 5 iron. He was slightly behind me so he hit his second shot first; bunker. I took a smooth 9 and aimed for the middle of the green. Took a par and he doubled. Probably my worst round of the year so far, but I beat my buddy by 2 while giving him 7 strokes, so that's all that mattered in my mind for today :)

[St Jimmy]

Met some old friends at Steeplechase for a twilight round. Course was in great shape for so late in the day.

There was a foursome in front of us that had a couple guys teaching their ladies to play. Once they let us jump, it was smooth sailing through the whole round.

 

I doubled 1 and 3, but birded 4 and 8 to finish +2 through nine.

I won't talk about the back nine, but I finished un-smoothly at +15.

 

Overall a great time, but I probably should've waited until after the round to start consuming the beer instead of at the turn.

[cpeck12]

I think you meant you should have started consuming beer before the round instead of at the turn? ?

[Holy Moses]

Anyone know a good putting coach who gives lessons in Chicago?

[geochitown]

I've had good success with Todd Sones, but not cheap.

Video summary of lessons he and his guys provide are really top-notch.

(current option to get more lesson time is below)

He does do a 5 lesson package where he does 1st and 5th lesson and his other instructors do middle 3.

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Loius Sauer golf also does putting and has a SAM setup.

[DavePelz4]

Our group played Arrowhead on Saturday and as usual, the course didn't disappoint. The conditions were wonderful and I sincerely believe their greens are the best in the Chicago area. They're fast, true and hold very well. Can;t remember playing the course in the last 5-10 years when the conditions weren't wonderful. Our round was caught up in the weather delay but it basically hit the groups while they were somewhere between the 9th tee and the 10th green.

[Holy Moses]

Mount Prospect is a tough course. The greens are as undulating as any in Chicago and the tight fairways make for tough scoring. On Saturday I saw a mix of young and old, men and women, weekend warriors and low handicappers. I’m getting more familiar with the greens and I’ll keep coming back for the challenge.

[geochitown]

It is less than 10 minutes from my office, and the challenge is why I chose to play in a league there last year.

I live pretty far from the course, so I haven't made it there this year, as the league was a casualty of COVID.

 

[VNutz]

Arrowhead Saturday. First time I've played there in peak summer in years, gotta say I was impressed. Usually I play it in the spring and as all courses around it can be a bit rough, not Saturday. Greens were perfect, receptive if hit well, but very smooth and sneaky quick, especially with the slope some of the greens have. Heard a rumble around 6 or 7 that we assumed was a plane as it was clear blue skies, and after all the forecast was for late afternoon showers. As we came down 9 it was very evident that the showers were nearly there, and we putted out on 9 under the horn to come in. About an hour break and back at it for the back. Even after the rains the greens still ran out, very true and smooth.

 

Highlight of the day was a guy in our group recording, or perhaps getting screwed out of, an ace on 6 south. Tees were way up, and I was on the 5th green and looked over just in time to see him hit. One bounce short of the pin and then another at the base of the pin/cup before bouncing away, but no sound of hitting the stick. We surmised that the ball hit the covid foam in the bottom of the cup and bounced away. Had there not been a foam ring it likely would have flown in on the 1st hop.

[zer0]

Deerfield on Saturday at noon. Course was packed, yet the pace of play was nice. Waited on a few shots at most all day and we finished in 4 hours. Course is in great shape. Greens rolling really nice. $59 with a cart is a steal in that neck of the woods. Sunset Valley is $79. Tale of two nines for me. Was very sore after playing hockey the two previous nights and hit my first drive 50 yards. Hopped on the bogey train on the front nine with 8 of them and a par for a 44. Didn't help that I would get a shot of sciatic pain on every swing. But, back started to loosen up on the back and got on the par train with one bogey, one double and one birdie for a 38 and a 82 overall. Aside from a 96 at Thunderhawk back in May, I've been between 80-84 every round.

 

Moved to Deerfield from Chicago back in March and couldn't be happier about it. I'm now 5-10 minutes from several golf courses as opposed to being 45 minutes away.

Only thing that sucks about leaving Chicago is the food. Suburban food has definitely gotten better over the past 10-15 years, but it still doesn't hold a candle to what you can get in the city.

[mci711]

Food is probably the only thing I miss about the city as well. Luckily downtown Naperville has some pretty good options. I do miss RPM Steak though.

[Dashfast]

Looking to play a few solid rounds within 30 minutes of Evanston. It'll be me and my dad. He's a 15HCP and I'm a 10HCP. Neither of us are particularly long off the tee. Glen Club, Sunset Valley, and Glencoe? Am I missing any places that y'all prefer? Thanks.

 

Played Preserve this morning and am finally coming around to the "#9 Haters" side. Also had 6 3-putts, but my best GIR (56%)... SMH.

[geochitown]

Wilmette could be another one

might be a bit farther away, but not too much

Chevy Chase

Mt Prospect

 

[Argonne69]

I'd add Glenview Park.

[WAB]

Played deerfield on Thursday Morning. Extreme heat and we had most of the course to ourselves which was great. Cause we finished in 3 hours 20 mins (walking). Had what was a good round for myself (79 from the back tees). I noticed the next day, after posting my score, that a “-1” PCC was applied to my differential for that day. That means the course was supposedly playing easier than normal. Not sure about that with heat and all. Quite strange.

As far as the food up here, you 100% correct. Slim pickings for “good” restaurants. Much better food in the city, but worth the sacrifice IMO with all the great golf up here.

[mci711]

PCC is such a stupid change. It is going off of other scores posted that day. The fact that you walked in extreme heat doesn't take consideration that other scores from the day are from people probably mostly riding and not being affected by the heat in any way but are comfortably driving to their ball. Also, I think most golfers, myself included, would score better in high heat no wind rather than the alternatives.

[Argonne69]

Isn't PCC also based on scores posted that day only? If someone posts their round in the next few days, it's not factored into the adjustment.