Where are you playing tomorrow - Chicago (Round 3)

[psygolf]

4 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

Hot in the seat?  You're the one coming up with every excuse in the book to why it's okay with them being out there lol.    The OP also noted that a staff member made note of these guys, so clearly they didn't have any special permission. Given that it's a park district course, nobody working at the course (including the head pro) has the ability to give "special permission", at least not without risking their job.  Last thing you want as a park district employee is some tax payer barking up the tree about something like this, and coming back down on you. 

 

 

OP and single staff member “noticed” the players from a distance, never went to actually see who they were.  

Easily could have been a fellow employee…assumptions all around on a innocuous situation.

 

 

[psygolf]

The neighbors that use the cart paths for walking their dogs during the season are the ones that need to be arrested - lol

[ldchristopher]

13 hours ago, psygolf said:

The neighbors that use the cart paths for walking their dogs during the season are the ones that need to be arrested - lol

If people want to do that, I’m fine with it. But my “fore” calls are exclusively for other golfers. 

[psygolf]

4 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

If people want to do that, I’m fine with it. But my “fore” calls are exclusively for other golfers. 

It’s trespassing by anyone’s definition…and affects the operation’s liability insurance according to some.

 

Cops need to be called! 🤪

Edited December 28, 2023 by psygolf

[psygolf]

Played Lofoten Links in Norway on a sim today…holy smokes what a course.

[Argonne69]

6 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

If people want to do that, I’m fine with it. But my “fore” calls are exclusively for other golfers. 

 

I think Canal Shores was the worst course for locals wandering the property. Numerous dog walkers, and I even had one couple having a picnic on a blanket on one of the fairways. 

 

[psygolf]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I think Canal Shores was the worst course for locals wandering the property. Numerous dog walkers, and I even had one couple having a picnic on a blanket on one of the fairways. 

 

Excited to head back to Canal next season to see the changes…most unique urban golf experience out there.

[ldchristopher]

9 minutes ago, psygolf said:

Excited to head back to Canal next season to see the changes…most unique urban golf experience out there.

I wonder if, as part of the redesign, Canal Shores will no longer be serving as a parking lot for Northwestern home games. 

[psygolf]

12 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

I wonder if, as part of the redesign, Canal Shores will no longer be serving as a parking lot for Northwestern home games. 

With the $ they pumped into the course, and I think a new management team, I would doubt it.  I hear there will still be outdoor concerts scheduled 👍

[ldchristopher]

Fellow stats nerds might be interested in this. I keep track of my greens fees so I calculated the percent increase in round cost from last year to this year and this year to 2021. $3308 this year over 83 rounds means $39.86 per round. Last year’s total was $2972 over 78 rounds for a $38.10 per round average. That means rounds were up (for me) 4.6%. $2773 over 75 rounds in 2021 was $36.97 per round and a percent increase of 7.7%. So there you go. When my students ask, “When will I use math in the real world?” I can refer back to this. Happy New Year everyone. 

[Chanceman]

On 1/1/2024 at 9:50 AM, ldchristopher said:

Fellow stats nerds might be interested in this. I keep track of my greens fees so I calculated the percent increase in round cost from last year to this year and this year to 2021. $3308 this year over 83 rounds means $39.86 per round. Last year’s total was $2972 over 78 rounds for a $38.10 per round average. That means rounds were up (for me) 4.6%. $2773 over 75 rounds in 2021 was $36.97 per round and a percent increase of 7.7%. So there you go. When my students ask, “When will I use math in the real world?” I can refer back to this. Happy New Year everyone. 

Next you can teach them how to calculate your handicap. That should be fun.

[MountainKing]

On 12/31/2023 at 4:50 PM, ldchristopher said:

Fellow stats nerds might be interested in this. I keep track of my greens fees so I calculated the percent increase in round cost from last year to this year and this year to 2021. $3308 this year over 83 rounds means $39.86 per round. Last year’s total was $2972 over 78 rounds for a $38.10 per round average. That means rounds were up (for me) 4.6%. $2773 over 75 rounds in 2021 was $36.97 per round and a percent increase of 7.7%. So there you go. When my students ask, “When will I use math in the real world?” I can refer back to this. Happy New Year everyone. 

 

You're going to have to teach me the trick to this one.  I played 60 rounds this year and spent at least double what you did.  Maybe refusing to walk on top of playing a lot of weekend prime rate golf plays a big part of it.   My guess is I averaged somewhere in the $70-$75 range per round, might even be higher since I seem to feel like I had a lot more $90-100+ rounds this year than ever before. 

[ldchristopher]

8 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

You're going to have to teach me the trick to this one.  I played 60 rounds this year and spent at least double what you did.  Maybe refusing to walk on top of playing a lot of weekend prime rate golf plays a big part of it.   My guess is I averaged somewhere in the $70-$75 range per round, might even be higher since I seem to feel like I had a lot more $90-100+ rounds this year than ever before. 

I took a cart twice all year. I also played some low budget turds (Deer Creek, a round at Scherwood, Palmira) and good value courses (Brighton Dale, GCI). I also had 22 rounds from early January to the end of April and sought out courses that actually have Fall rates in October and November. The most expensive round I played all year was $69 at Mistwood (which is apparently a dump with a great marketing department, per the dumbest thread ever on GolfWRX). Walking will save you literal thousands of dollars. 

[ldchristopher]

Forgot to add, but if you want to save money on greens fees, Southern Wisconsin is where it’s at. Along with Brighton Dale, there’s Ives Grove (super cheap), Glen Erin ($69 to take a cart, $39 to walk on weekends), Old Hickory ($35 to walk and it was the 2023 recipient of the prestigious LDChristopher Course of the Year Award), Washington County ($30 on a weekday), Browns Lake ($30), Dellbrook ($40), and Broadlands ($50). The greens and overall conditioning at every aforementioned course except maybe Browns Lake were just as good as Chicago area munis and they have these wacky things a lot of Chicago facilities are missing called hills. 

[TBone0576]

5 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Forgot to add, but if you want to save money on greens fees, Southern Wisconsin is where it’s at. Along with Brighton Dale, there’s Ives Grove (super cheap), Glen Erin ($69 to take a cart, $39 to walk on weekends), Old Hickory ($35 to walk and it was the 2023 recipient of the prestigious LDChristopher Course of the Year Award), Washington County ($30 on a weekday), Browns Lake ($30), Dellbrook ($40), and Broadlands ($50). The greens and overall conditioning at every aforementioned course except maybe Browns Lake were just as good as Chicago area munis and they have these wacky things a lot of Chicago facilities are missing called hills. 

 

I got the membership to Brighton Dale with the cart last year which runs a bit over $2000 when you add in the taxes.  It's $1200 to walk which is a phenomenal deal.  I did that for many years but I'm pushing 50 years old and trying to keep up with my partners in a cart just doesn't spark any interest in me any longer.   With the cart, it's still the best deal I have been able to find in my area and almost always have one of the first tee times on the weekends so we are generally done in 3 hours or less.  I got out 55 times this year so with my limited math skills I am still able to divide it out and come up with just over $36 per 18 with a cart.   

[ode1]

6 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

Forgot to add, but if you want to save money on greens fees, Southern Wisconsin is where it’s at. Along with Brighton Dale, there’s Ives Grove (super cheap), Glen Erin ($69 to take a cart, $39 to walk on weekends), Old Hickory ($35 to walk and it was the 2023 recipient of the prestigious LDChristopher Course of the Year Award), Washington County ($30 on a weekday), Browns Lake ($30), Dellbrook ($40), and Broadlands ($50). The greens and overall conditioning at every aforementioned course except maybe Browns Lake were just as good as Chicago area munis and they have these wacky things a lot of Chicago facilities are missing called hills. 

I will have to check out Ives Groves and Browns Lake.  When in college I got the $99 student membership at Dellbrook....sadly this was before I took golf seriously so I don't remember a lot about  the course.  That was quite the value🙃.  If in Janesville check out Riverside.  On the north side of town, so a bit more of a hike, but reasonable greens fees and a fun play and always in really good condition!

[MountainKing]

14 hours ago, ldchristopher said:

I took a cart twice all year. I also played some low budget turds (Deer Creek, a round at Scherwood, Palmira) and good value courses (Brighton Dale, GCI). I also had 22 rounds from early January to the end of April and sought out courses that actually have Fall rates in October and November. The most expensive round I played all year was $69 at Mistwood (which is apparently a dump with a great marketing department, per the dumbest thread ever on GolfWRX). Walking will save you literal thousands of dollars. 

 

I probably should start walking more just for my health alone, my weight gain has been impressive in recent years.  It's tough to get my group out to some of those courses, a couple guys in the rotation are every other week guys and only get 20-25 rounds in a year so when they do play they want to play somewhere decent.

 

Yeah I lost many brain cells on that Mistwood thread.  At some point I feel like that was one of you creating a fake account just to mess with us.

[Argonne69]

3 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

I probably should start walking more just for my health alone, my weight gain has been impressive in recent years.  It's tough to get my group out to some of those courses, a couple guys in the rotation are every other week guys and only get 20-25 rounds in a year so when they do play they want to play somewhere decent.

 

Yeah I lost many brain cells on that Mistwood thread.  At some point I feel like that was one of you creating a fake account just to mess with us.

 

In 32 years working in IT, and sitting at a computer 8+ hours a day, I gained nearly 80 lbs. The fast food lunches five days a week certainly didn't help. Two rounds of golf per week couldn't offset the caloric intake. 

 

I've been retired for 4 years now, and have lost over 40 lbs. Probably walked 850 rounds, and over 4000 miles. Skipping the burgers, burritos, fried chicken, pizza, tacos, and fish and chip lunches has certainly helped. Four years ago I couldn't walk up four flights of stairs without stopping to catch my breath half way up. Last Sunday I hiked 9 miles with a 2000' climb. My knees and lower back are still troublesome, but miles better than before. Amazing what removing several bowling balls worth of weight can do for your joints. 

 

Gotta start somewhere. Walking when everyone else is riding can definitely feel isolating, but there's still opportunities to chatter on the teeboxes and greens. 

 

Edited January 4, 2024 by Argonne69

[MountainKing]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

 

In 32 years working in IT, and sitting at a computer 8+ hours a day, I gained nearly 80 lbs. The fast food lunches five days a week certainly didn't help. Two rounds of golf per week couldn't offset the caloric intake. 

 

I've been retired for 4 years now, and have lost over 40 lbs. Probably walked 850 rounds, and over 4000 miles. Skipping the burgers, burritos, fried chicken, pizza, tacos, and fish and chip lunches has certainly helped. Four years ago I couldn't walk up four flights of stairs without stopping to catch my breath half way up. Last Sunday I hiked 9 miles with a 2000' climb. My knees and lower back are still troublesome, but miles better than before. Amazing what removing several bowling balls worth of weight can do for your joints. 

 

Gotta start somewhere. Walking when everyone else is riding can definitely feel isolating, but there's still opportunities to chatter on the teeboxes and greens. 

 

 

I used to be fit as could be.  I could run marathons, during hockey season between coaching and playing I was on the ice from 5pm until almost 11pm daily on top of time in the gym. During hockey season I probably put away 4000+ calories a day and still struggled to keep weight on.  All said done I was always doing something active that when golfing for fun I didn't care to make it a workout.  Anyway, Injuries from hockey that kept me off my feet for months on end, divorce, child loss, laziness, a craft beer hobby and eating like I still skate/workout non stop has all combined to a good 100 pounds added on (and you can include the 8 million excuses I come up with as well).  With a child on the way I'm really motivated to get my butt in gear, first moves have been giving up the craft beer and just walking 3 days a week on the treadmill.    I got 26 years in IT so far and yeah that doesn't help, but working from home allows me to get on the treadmill when I have downtime which is nice. 

[Argonne69]

25 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

I used to be fit as could be.  I could run marathons, during hockey season between coaching and playing I was on the ice from 5pm until almost 11pm daily on top of time in the gym. During hockey season I probably put away 4000+ calories a day and still struggled to keep weight on.  All said done I was always doing something active that when golfing for fun I didn't care to make it a workout.  Anyway, Injuries from hockey that kept me off my feet for months on end, divorce, child loss, laziness, a craft beer hobby and eating like I still skate/workout non stop has all combined to a good 100 pounds added on (and you can include the 8 million excuses I come up with as well).  With a child on the way I'm really motivated to get my butt in gear, first moves have been giving up the craft beer and just walking 3 days a week on the treadmill.    I got 26 years in IT so far and yeah that doesn't help, but working from home allows me to get on the treadmill when I have downtime which is nice. 

 

Give up craft beer? The horror. I'd rather double my miles per day than start drinking light lagers. Lol.

 

[MountainKing]

2 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Give up craft beer? The horror. I'd rather double my miles per day than start drinking light lagers. Lol.

 

 

Full disclosure, that means I just give up beer for now.  Rather drink nothing than drink miller light again!  I'll still have a whiskey now and then, but I'm okay without the beer.

[St Jimmy]

Well this sucks.  

I thought it wasn't going to snow until Tuesday so I was under the assumption I had two more round before hibernation.  

 

I left work early yesterday and walked nine holes at Oak Grove, but left at the turn because I was saving my energy for today.  Had I known, I would've stayed until dark.

 

Does anyone know far south the snow hit?

 

 

Edited January 6, 2024 by St Jimmy

[St Jimmy]

On 12/31/2023 at 4:50 PM, ldchristopher said:

Fellow stats nerds might be interested in this. I keep track of my greens fees so I calculated the percent increase in round cost from last year to this year and this year to 2021. $3308 this year over 83 rounds means $39.86 per round. Last year’s total was $2972 over 78 rounds for a $38.10 per round average. That means rounds were up (for me) 4.6%. $2773 over 75 rounds in 2021 was $36.97 per round and a percent increase of 7.7%. So there you go. When my students ask, “When will I use math in the real world?” I can refer back to this. Happy New Year everyone. 

 

I buy the season pass to Oak Grove every year (yeah, I know).  It's only $1100 and is 20 minutes from my office in Richmond, IL.

 

That allows me to play other courses a few times a month and not break the bank.  I walk 90% of my rounds.  Usually only ride if the course forces me to (Fox Lake, Hawks View, etc) or it's really hot and humid.  I didn't track my number, but if you count the nine holes after work as a round, it's near triple digits.  

 

OG is a good course to be stuck at because mixing up the tee boxes offers completely different experiences per hole.  

 

I would switch to the Kenosha County pass, but it's too far away to consistently drive up there and would probably cut my number of rounds in half. 

 

 

[mci711]

1 hour ago, St Jimmy said:

Well this sucks.  

I thought it wasn't going to snow until Tuesday so I was under the assumption I had two more round before hibernation.  

 

I left work early yesterday and walked nine holes at Oak Grove, but left at the turn because I was saving my energy for today.  Had I known, I would've stayed until dark.

 

Does anyone know far south the snow hit?

 

 

 

 Pretty far South... I am in St Louis and got it 😂

[@_the_crook]

On 12/31/2023 at 4:50 PM, ldchristopher said:

Fellow stats nerds might be interested in this. I keep track of my greens fees so I calculated the percent increase in round cost from last year to this year and this year to 2021. $3308 this year over 83 rounds means $39.86 per round. Last year’s total was $2972 over 78 rounds for a $38.10 per round average. That means rounds were up (for me) 4.6%. $2773 over 75 rounds in 2021 was $36.97 per round and a percent increase of 7.7%. So there you go. When my students ask, “When will I use math in the real world?” I can refer back to this. Happy New Year everyone. 

my average round was about $68 last year and I only ride about 2x a year.

still, I consider that well spent for all the benefits it brings to my life.

 

[taylorx300]

Quick heads up for the Chi group.

PGASS is moving all of last year model demos to the clearance aisle. Aerojet, Paradym and Stealth 2 metals are marked down. If you go hunting, look for the demos from the Studio, as these are barely used and in some cases may still have plastic on the heads ( new ). 

[ldchristopher]

Got a clean bill of health from my surgeon and PT. Next weekend looks playable. Both conditions and my game could be ugly but I’ll be playing somewhere. 

[St Jimmy]

Walked GCI today.

Front nine was soft, but fine.

Back was sloppy wet.

 

No issues getting a tee in the ground and the greens were receptive!

Round 2 tomorrow!  

 

 

*edit- I cannot remember ever playing outside Pebble Beach weekend.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2024 by St Jimmy

[ldchristopher]

GDN this morning with Bear. First round in over two months. I was worried about rust but my ball striking was excellent and my knee felt great. We had a 70 minute frost delay but the course was in okay shape. The bunkers were trash and the greens were slow but the fairways were surprisingly brownish green rather than the usual early February dormant yellow that I’m so used to seeing. There were certainly plenty of wet spots and drives were mostly hitting and stopping but overall I was just happy to be back out on a course and the weather was excellent with high 40’s temps and sun. Two birdies on 14 and 16 for a 76. 

[TheBear95]

As LD mentioned, we got out to GDN yesterday. We were the first guys out following the frost delay, so it was a treat to have GDN to ourselves. 

 

I was not anticipating this winter thaw, so I sold my irons a few weeks ago (back during the deep freeze) and have yet to order my new set. So, I had to borrow some irons from LD's backup bag. A Mizuno MP 60/MP 5 combo with S300s. I'm aging WAY too rapidly for these things. The ball flight with the irons was umm.... Let's just call it low, lol.

 

Edited February 5, 2024 by TheBear95