Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

Well that worked out well. My original 9:30 am tee time would have had me stuck behind a tournament. Ugh. Got to the 1st tee and there were two members getting ready to tee off behind another twosome. They were kind enough to let me join them, so I managed to shave off another 20 minutes. The 3:30 round wasn't too shabby, either. Gorgeous morning weatherwise, although a few pesky clouds did spoil a few pics. 

 

The Course at Wente Vineyards is a Greg Norman design. Simply beautiful piece of property. It's really three somewhat different sixes, with the final holes playing more prairie style. Very nice elevation changes with plenty of elevated teeboxes, and a couple of elevated greens. The vineyards are a nice touch. Bunkering was much too light for my tastes, fairway and greenside. Water on three holes. Two holes with left/right movement, including one dogleg. 

 

Very easy off the tee with wide fairways and few bunkers. Minor misses would catch the rough, but it was rather thick and penal. Big misses would be trouble in the native areas or vineyards. Approaches were fairly straightforward. Greens were moderate size, and many were lightly bunkered. Only recall a couple with solid front defenses. Greens had gentle contouring, but whoa, that slope. Rolling quickly, they required due diligence. Plenty of closely mown areas that gave options for up and downs. The green speeds were the toughest part of the up and downs as one could easily chip the ball 15' past the holes. 

 

Par 3s were decent with their elevated teeboxes, but could have used a little more trouble. Variety of length was very good ranging from a gap wedge to a hybrid. Par 5s were benign. The 5th was reachable, but little risk. The other three had little trouble. Two of the four short 4s were meh. The uphill 6th was decent with a tough uphill shot to a green with a big drop in front that had to be carried. The driveable 10th was golden. Practically no room for error if you went for the green. Otherwise it was easy if you played it safe. 

 

Conditions were outstanding. After a few rounds with crummy fairways, these were close to pristine. Rough was consistent and thick. Bunkers were pure bliss. Plenty of well groomed slightly wet sand. Greens were very good. They punched with small tines a week ago, but you could only see the tiny punches on a few of them. Morning dew had them rolling a little slower for a few holes, but then they got slick. Pushing 11 I'd say. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6266 yds (70.9/127). The driver continues to be an asset. No big drives, but keeping it in play and out of trouble. Irons were very good. Could not read a green to save my life. Putts that I'd see breaking one way went the other. One birdie and five bogies. The teeshot on the short par 3 3rd to 3' to set up the sole birdie was nice, but my playing partners were once again the highlight of the round. I was somewhat dreading the day with a tee time that would have likely had me finishing after 2 pm, but they were more than happy to let me join them, and we shared a ton of great stories. 

 

Disappointed to award 7 cows. What a gem of a property, but this shark has no teeth. Wanna get your head kicked in? Play Greg's Oak course at TPC San Antonio. Bunkering is weak. No risk/reward par 5s. Greens could use more contouring. After a couple of bargain rounds in the past two days, the $217 weekend rate was a kick in the head. Definitely appreciated that they allowed walking, and it wasn't a shock that they didn't offer a walking rate. This is definitely a must play in the area, but if I was a local I might play it once a year because of the price. 

 

Edited November 2, 2024 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

The Course at Wente Vineyards, Livermore, CA 

 

A wee bit cramped off the tee from the tips on the short par 4 2nd 

 

 

 

 

The 100+ year old VA hospital seemed out of place, but putting shell shocked vets out in the country probably made sense. 

 

 

Gulp. Lol. 

 

 

 

 

Clouds aren't always a bad thing 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ee57buupfuct94sseenb9/ANPmqddN7L0GF1wvbuJoW20?rlkey=ribz2r6qyemxarfckj5fqqtzh&st=ucf4evfi&dl=0

 

Edited November 2, 2024 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Wow. Dust Bowl Brewing Company in Livermore. Their Soul Crusher strong ale is like a flavor grenade going off in your mouth. Hope they have it to go. 

 

 

 

[imkirby34]

Ah, yes, Wente #2.  The first few times I played there, I tried to be "smart" and either hit the tree in front of the tee on the right or put it under the trees on the left.  Since then, I've just said to heck with it and hit 3W and shrug if I end up in the bunker.  🤷‍♂️😜

[Argonne69]

Heading back to I-680, I couldn't pass up Three Sheets Craft Beer Bar. 30 taps with a nice selection of regional brews. Enjoying a half pour of the Laughing Monk Brewing (San Francisco) Third Circle Belgian Tripel. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

4 minutes ago, imkirby34 said:

Ah, yes, Wente #2.  The first few times I played there, I tried to be "smart" and either hit the tree in front of the tee on the right or put it under the trees on the left.  Since then, I've just said to heck with it and hit 3W and shrug if I end up in the bunker.  🤷‍♂️😜

 

I hit the worst drive of the day, a low running draw that probably went 180 yds. Found the fairway just past the tree on the left, and had a wedge into the green. Definitely not pretty, but certainly effective. Lol. 

 

[Argonne69]

Casa Orozco in Dublin. Not a top 10 mole, but it was certainly better than average. Thick and creamy, it could use a little more kick. The salsa was excellent with a little more spice than expected. The margarita wasn't bad. Not a must visit, but it didn't disappoint. 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2024 by Argonne69

[StoutKing]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Well that worked out well. My original 9:30 am tee time would have had me stuck behind a tournament. Ugh. Got to the 1st tee and there were two members getting ready to tee off behind another twosome. They were kind enough to let me join them, so I managed to shave off another 20 minutes. The 3:30 round wasn't too shabby, either. Gorgeous morning weatherwise, although a few pesky clouds did spoil a few pics. 

 

The Course at Wente Vineyards is a Greg Norman design. Simply beautiful piece of property. It's really three somewhat different sixes, with the final holes playing more prairie style. Very nice elevation changes with plenty of elevated teeboxes, and a couple of elevated greens. The vineyards are a nice touch. Bunkering was much too light for my tastes, fairway and greenside. Water on three holes. Two holes with left/right movement, including one dogleg. 

 

Very easy off the tee with wide fairways and few bunkers. Minor misses would catch the rough, but it was rather thick and penal. Big misses would be trouble in the native areas or vineyards. Approaches were fairly straightforward. Greens were moderate size, and many were lightly bunkered. Only recall a couple with solid front defenses. Greens had gentle contouring, but whoa, that slope. Rolling quickly, they required due diligence. Plenty of closely mown areas that gave options for up and downs. The green speeds were the toughest part of the up and downs as one could easily chip the ball 15' past the holes. 

 

Par 3s were decent with their elevated teeboxes, but could have used a little more trouble. Variety of length was very good ranging from a gap wedge to a hybrid. Par 5s were benign. The 5th was reachable, but little risk. The other three had little trouble. Two of the four short 4s were meh. The uphill 6th was decent with a tough uphill shot to a green with a big drop in front that had to be carried. The driveable 10th was golden. Practically no room for error if you went for the green. Otherwise it was easy if you played it safe. 

 

Conditions were outstanding. After a few rounds with crummy fairways, these were close to pristine. Rough was consistent and thick. Bunkers were pure bliss. Plenty of well groomed slightly wet sand. Greens were very good. They punched with small tines a week ago, but you could only see the tiny punches on a few of them. Morning dew had them rolling a little slower for a few holes, but then they got slick. Pushing 11 I'd say. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6266 yds (70.9/127). The driver continues to be an asset. No big drives, but keeping it in play and out of trouble. Irons were very good. Could not read a green to save my life. Putts that I'd see breaking one way went the other. One birdie and five bogies. The teeshot on the short par 3 3rd to 3' to set up the sole birdie was nice, but my playing partners were once again the highlight of the round. I was somewhat dreading the day with a tee time that would have likely had me finishing after 2 pm, but they were more than happy to let me join them, and we shared a ton of great stories. 

 

Disappointed to award 7 cows. What a gem of a property, but this shark has no teeth. Wanna get your head kicked in? Play Greg's Oak course at TPC San Antonio. Bunkering is weak. No risk/reward par 5s. Greens could use more contouring. After a couple of bargain rounds in the past two days, the $217 weekend rate was a kick in the head. Definitely appreciated that they allowed walking, and it wasn't a shock that they didn't offer a walking rate. This is definitely a must play in the area, but if I was a local I might play it once a year because of the price. 

 

$217 for a Norman design?  Only if that's an annual pass.  Yikes

[aloha b.]

Don’t forget that daylight savings time ends at 2am Sunday!

[TBD203]

6 hours ago, aloha b. said:

Don’t forget that daylight savings time ends at 2am Sunday!

My body didn't forget when I woke up at 4:07 this morning!

[jzkhockey]

On 11/1/2024 at 12:54 PM, Mullenboy said:

My issue wasn't the difficulty.  I play and enjoy plenty of difficult courses.  I recall winning a sunday event at the Bridges with a round close to par.  And I am not that good.

 

 My issue at The Bridges was stupid design - good shots being punished - nowhere to hit several.  You mentioned goofy holes.  I kinda thought all  18 were goofy.  And it was overpriced (back then anyway).

 

To each his own.

 

 

 

 

I think I paid $100 to play it last year. Only got through the front 9 before rain, but definitely got my a** handed to me a few times. It was pretty empty when I went which was kind of surprising.

[Argonne69]

11 hours ago, aloha b. said:

Don’t forget that daylight savings time ends at 2am Sunday!

 

Definitely helped. I had to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual, but I woke up well before the alarm. 

 

Sitting at the gate at OAK waiting to board in a few minutes. Definitely looking forward to a few days in Maui, but I could do without the nearly 6 hour flight. I thought West Coast flights to the islands were short, but once again my geography let's me down. Must be the jet stream. Lol. 

 

[aloha b.]

14 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Definitely helped. I had to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual, but I woke up well before the alarm. 

 

Sitting at the gate at OAK waiting to board in a few minutes. Definitely looking forward to a few days in Maui, but I could do without the nearly 6 hour flight. I thought West Coast flights to the islands were short, but once again my geography let's me down. Must be the jet stream. Lol. 

 

Arg, wishing you the best on your Maui trip! Flying to Hawaii has the headwinds and coming back is usually faster. Well, you’ll still be able to get Mexican food on Maui! 🌮

[Argonne69]

Ugh. Early boarding has gotten out of hand. Paid extra for Southwest Early Bird check-in, and I probably won't get an aisle or window seat. Crazy. 

 

Well, what do you know. Grabbed a window seat in lucky row 7. Looked like there were a few aisle seats open in the back of the plane, but didn't want to sit in steerage. Lol. It's a full flight, so no chance of having an open seat next to me, so I may as well start enjoying Hawaii 15 minutes sooner. 

 

Hopefully I don't have a football offensive lineman sit in the middle seat. Had that happened a few years ago on a flight from Chicago to Phoenix. Thought I got lucky with a window seat and an empty middle seat next to me, but the last person boarding the plane was a huge guy that was close to 300 lbs. I was crammed against the bulkhead, and spent the flight with one shoulder off the back of my seat. Oy. 

 

Edited November 3, 2024 by Argonne69

[aloha b.]

15 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Ugh. Early boarding has gotten out of hand. Paid extra for Southwest Early Bird check-in, and I probably won't get an aisle or window seat. Crazy. 

 

Unfortunately early bird check-in doesn’t guarantee “A” boarding. We bite the bullet and pay for early boarding. When we do this, you get “A” boarding 1-15 and we’ve been lucky enough to be within the first six persons to board, not including passengers with wheelchair help.

Edited November 3, 2024 by aloha b.

[Argonne69]

1 minute ago, aloha b. said:

Unfortunately early bird check-in doesn’t guarantee “A” boarding. We bite the bullet and pay for early boarding. When we do this, we’ve always got “A” boarding and within the first six persons to board, not including passengers with wheelchair help.

 

I remember a February flight I had from Chicago to Fort Meyers. There were a dozen passengers in wheelchairs lined up for early boarding. I was seated near the front of the plane, and when the door opened upon arrival nine of those passengers got up and walked off the plane. There were three wheelchairs waiting in the gangway. Amazing how the warm Florida weather has rejuvenating powers. Lol. 

 

[Argonne69]

Wow, the luck continues. The passenger on the aisle got up and moved to sit next to a friend, so the passenger in the middle seat scooted over just as the door shut. 5+ hour flight with an open seat next to me. Lol. Next thing I know they'll be handing out free mai tais. 

 

[carrera]

22 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Amazing how the warm Florida weather has rejuvenating powers. Lol. 

 

They call that Jetway Jesus.   Only saving grace with that on SW is that those passengers and all the pre-boarders can't sit in exit rows, so when I used to fly SWA regularly for work I could usually manage to get one of the exit row seats that doesn't have a seat in front.  Of course, exit row seats don't recline, so not great for a six-hour flight.

 

Will be interesting to see how things go for SW when they switch to assigned seating next year.

[aloha b.]

15 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Wow, the luck continues. The passenger on the aisle got up and moved to sit next to a friend, so the passenger in the middle seat scooted over just as the door shut. 5+ hour flight with an open seat next to me. Lol. Next thing I know they'll be handing out free mai tais. 

 

Congrats! It probably wasn’t luck as good things happen to good people!

[StoutKing]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Definitely helped. I had to get up 30 minutes earlier than usual, but I woke up well before the alarm. 

 

Sitting at the gate at OAK waiting to board in a few minutes. Definitely looking forward to a few days in Maui, but I could do without the nearly 6 hour flight. I thought West Coast flights to the islands were short, but once again my geography let's me down. Must be the jet stream. Lol. 

 

Enjoy the trip!

[Double Mocha Man]

3 hours ago, aloha b. said:

Well, you’ll still be able to get Mexican food on Maui!

 

I think you need to seek out a Roasted Pig Hawaiian Luau.

[StoutKing]

2 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

I think you need to seek out a Roasted Pig Hawaiian Luau.

Always enjoyed Coconut's Fish Tacos in Kihei.  A tiny bit of Mexican flavor

[aloha b.]

26 minutes ago, StoutKing said:

Always enjoyed Coconut's Fish Tacos in Kihei.  A tiny bit of Mexican flavor

We’ll have to try the place the next time we stay in Wailea. In Wailea, Monkey Pod is pretty good and has some good beers and cocktails. At the Shops at Wailea there’s also The Pint & Cork, Waikiki Brewing Company. If you like ice cream there’s Lappert’s Ice Cream & Coffee. Mama’s Fish House in Paia is really good but it’s expensive.

[Argonne69]

Just touched down. I had plenty of time to kill on the 5 hour flight, so I took a few photos. Hope you like clouds. Lol. I'll post them later after I get to hotel. Probably going to be 2 hours by the time I get my luggage, rental car, and drive to Kapalua. 

 

[mshills]

7 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I remember a February flight I had from Chicago to Fort Meyers. There were a dozen passengers in wheelchairs lined up for early boarding. I was seated near the front of the plane, and when the door opened upon arrival nine of those passengers got up and walked off the plane. There were three wheelchairs waiting in the gangway. Amazing how the warm Florida weather has rejuvenating powers. Lol. 

Never mind, I’m out. 

Edited November 4, 2024 by mshills

[aloha b.]

32 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Just touched down. I had plenty of time to kill on the 5 hour flight, so I took a few photos. Hope you like clouds. Lol. I'll post them later after I get to hotel. Probably going to be 2 hours by the time I get my luggage, rental car, and drive to Kapalua. 

 

I like clouds and in Dec. 2022 during Christmas week flying to Hawaii Island we not only saw clouds but a lot of snow on Mauna Kea. Yeah, it’s about a 55 minute drive on highway 30 to Kapalua.

 

Edited November 4, 2024 by aloha b.

[Argonne69]

Five hours with a camera and nothing to do but look out the window... 

 

Golden Gate Park 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lol. Hope you like clouds 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ohsv66p9qfl8maebxlcth/AEC33bkJKMwtLSPxLn33RGM?rlkey=98v4kt5msttzf6f71nkliv8a1&st=aa2c9mff&dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

 

 

 

[ThinkingPlus]

1 minute ago, Argonne69 said:

 

 

 

Pretty as always. I never cared for traveling to Maui. It was always for work and consequently a PITA. Drive up to the top of the mountain, work all day, drive down, hope you can get into a restaurant typically full of tourists, then rinse and repeat. It got old really quickly. Enjoy your trip!

[Argonne69]

Took a short swim in the ocean, and then jumped in the pool for a few minutes. Very relaxing. Can't recall the last time I went swimming in the ocean or Gulf of Mexico. Probably Playa del Carmen in 2005. 

 

Might take a drive up to Haleakala summit tomorrow after my round. We'll see. It's 2 hours to the summit from Kapalua, and then 1:40 to Wailea. Bit of a hike. 

 

Edited November 4, 2024 by Argonne69