Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

28 minutes ago, buckI said:

Arg,  do you do most or all booking online or do you call to check walking policies?  I know some courses or many do not layout the walking policies so wasn’t sure if it is a surprise when checking in to find out about the policies or you know ahead.   I walk 98+ percent of the time and carry but know courses especially weekends have cart only policies.   Thankfully our club does not have that but just back from Florida and since my friend is a member walking was available but only for members and their guests.

 

I book most rounds online. Walking policy is rarely stated on the websites, especially if it's a partial no-walking restriction. 

 

[buckI]

14 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I book most rounds online. Walking policy is rarely stated on the websites, especially if it's a partial no-walking restriction. 

 

That is what it seemed liked.   Definitely seems like an issue more in southeast and maybe Arizona than other places or could be a lot of your recent experiences have been in FL and southeast.

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, buckI said:

That is what it seemed liked.   Definitely seems like an issue more in southeast and maybe Arizona than other places or could be a lot of your recent experiences have been in FL and southeast.

 

Don't recall too many courses in Arizona that require a cart. I've played over 125 courses in the state, and the number that require a cart are probably fewer than 10. 

 

I'll don't really look into the walking policy when I book a round at a new course. I'll play pretty much anything once. If it's mandatory cart then the likelihood of me returning for a second round are practically nil. Since the vast majority of courses allow walking, my chances of getting some steps in are pretty high. 

 

[bcjim]

9 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Greensboro National, Summerfield, NC 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, maybe I'll settle down in a nice place overlooking a course 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/q0m4726xhvbrjoiwn6s82/AOFZgE4Xpn8FR8rJ_53-_Jw?rlkey=o2qn2vjt070xc9m1znfwjxenq&st=wvn506cl&dl=0

 

Always wonder about homes like that with solar panels. You can't be concerned about the environment in a crib like that and you can't be concerned with the power bill either one would think...so...?

[Double Mocha Man]

50 minutes ago, bcjim said:

Always wonder about homes like that with solar panels. You can't be concerned about the environment in a crib like that and you can't be concerned with the power bill either one would think...so...?

 

Maybe, but that's a lot of cubic feet to heat and to cool. But the panels do kind of destroy the design and look at the house.

[Argonne69]

7 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Maybe, but that's a lot of cubic feet to heat and to cool. But the panels do kind of destroy the design and look at the house.

 

'Might be powering the golf simulator in the walkout basement. 🙃

 

[caniac6]

Greensboro National is not very close to Greensboro. In fact, it is in a fairly rural area, and is probably closer to Reidsville. Those solar panels might be in case of a power outage. I can’t imagine that’s a high priority area in terms of repair.

[Double Mocha Man]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

'Might be powering the golf simulator in the walkout basement. 🙃

 

 

I am a big fan of solar power. Even have investments in it.  He/she could have mounted solar panels in their side yards. Actually, there are distinct advantages to ground mounted panels over roof-mounted.

[Argonne69]

Wonderful morning. Perfect weather with temps in the 50s, but it rose to the mid 60s by the end of the round. Long 90 minute drive north into Virginia. I thought Grand Bear had an interesting drive from the highway, but here it was over 7 miles of twisty roads to the lodge and course. It's basically in the middle of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. I arrived early, and was able to get out as a single before a large number of foursomes. Not sure if I was the first one out, but I never saw players ahead. The course doesn't allow walking, but while hilly, it would have been walkable. The fee included a token for BBQ at their Smoke Shack near the 10th green, and I enjoyed a tasty brisket and pulled pork sandwich after the round. 

 

The Highland Course at Primland Resort today. What a beauty. The course ranks #25 on Golf Digest's Top 100 Public Course list, and #1 on GolfWeek's best in state list. I think GD's ranking is much too high. The rolling parkland layout was designed by Donald Steel. Wonderful collection of elevated teeboxes with a handful of elevated greens tossed in. Fairway bunkering was very light. Greenside was a little better. Seemed set up as a resort course, but it still had teeth despite the bunkering. Surprised that there was water on just three holes, but there were numerous red staked areas with dense junk. Seven holes with left/right movement including 4 doglegs. 

 

Despite the light bunkering, it was tough off the tee with a few forced carries, less than generous fairways, a few pinching trees, and side slope that fed drives towards trouble. Minor misses would find the thick rough with a very good chance of an uneven lie. Big misses were burnt toast in the dense trees/junk. 

 

Approaches were also tough. For starters flat lies were rare. Plenty of elevated greens, and a few downhill shots as well. The par 3s all had forced carries. Greens were fairly large, and had significant contouring and slope. Putting was challenging to say the least. Plenty of closely mown areas, but the mounding near the greens made Texas wedges quite tricky. The rough was also thick, and putting spin on a wedge was difficult. 

 

The five par 3s were a bit disappointing. Four looked and played basically the same. Elevated tees playing down to the greens with a carry over junk. Tough, but a little monotonous. The 8th was the best of the bunch. Variety of length was OK playing PW to FW. The five par 5s were also a little disappointing. Three were reachable, but only the dogleg 13th had any real risk. The one could risk cutting the corner off the tee to bring the green into reach, but coming up short was a lost ball in the thick junk. The 1st and short 3rd had downhill landing areas, and one could get significant rollout. The three short 4s were benign. Tight driving holes, but no other trouble. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairway turf was in great shape, but a few fairways were CPO. Rough was thick. Bunkers looked great, but needed another inch of sand. Greens looked fine other than the number of unrepaired hallmarks. I guess for $300+ some players expect the resort to repair them. Oy. Speed was at least 11. 

 

Played a Red/Blue combo at 6380 yds (71.5/146). Generally good day off the tee, but the fairway side slopes bit me twice. Irons were off and on. Short game was very good. Putter has certainly been better. Took advantage of two of the reachable par 5s with two birdies to go along with five bogies and a double. Shot of the day was the "impressive" 306 yd drive on the par 5 3rd. The very generous speed slot must have added 75 yds. Lol. Highlight of the day was having the scenic course to myself. Never gets old. Could have used a few more views of the surrounding mountains, though. 

 

Tough call here, but I'll go with 8 cows. It's deserving of a spot in the Top 100, but not the Top 25. Yes, it's a tough course on a beautiful piece of property, but it still needs a few design tweaks starting with tougher short par 4s. The $315 weekday fee was high, but I didn't think it was crazy. I understand why they wouldn't generally want walkers on the course, but given that there are no long stretches between holes, it's certainly walkable for us hikers. Definitely a must play, but it's location makes it tough to get to. 

 

[Argonne69]

The Highland Course at Primland Resort, Meadows of Dan, VA 

 

Great view of the practice green, 10th (right), and 18th (left) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/3au8em83sgtwiw28j2u67/AJBnU4n2n5YWb7KbBEhbikY?rlkey=dzv2th0fie7bq0eqd4pxm2etu&st=l7ycs2ee&dl=0

 

Edited June 2 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Foothills Brewpub in Winston-Salem. Small brewery with just 9 taps. Their Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout isn't bad. 

 

 

[buckI]

No pictures of the Q?

[Argonne69]

13 minutes ago, buckI said:

No pictures of the Q?

 

Lol. The photo was in the course album. 

 

Pulled pork and brisket were very good. Moist and tender. The macaroni salad was also very good. The slaw wasn't bad, but had a tad too much vinegar. The sweet/tangy and Carolina vinegar sauces were decent. 

 

 

 

[bossman641]

I've played Primland twice and was curious to see your thoughts on it. It's a beautiful course. Like you said you lose the mountain views for a bit on the back 9 but some of the views (behind the first green and tee/fairway on 18) are great. I didn't see any, but the employees said bear sightings are fairly common.

[Argonne69]

10 hours ago, bossman641 said:

I've played Primland twice and was curious to see your thoughts on it. It's a beautiful course. Like you said you lose the mountain views for a bit on the back 9 but some of the views (behind the first green and tee/fairway on 18) are great. I didn't see any, but the employees said bear sightings are fairly common.

 

Yeah, the starter gave me a warning about a mama bear and her cub in the area.

 

[Argonne69]

Ugh. Short drive to Raleigh this morning, and I just found out that check-in time isn't until 3 pm at the North Carolina Fairgrounds Campground. Grrr. It's only a 90 minute drive, and I have to be out of my spot here in Greensboro at 11 am.

 

I'll go ahead and show up at 12:30 pm, and hope that they allow me to set up. Check out time is noon, so my reserved spot should be vacant. I wouldn't be shocked if I encountered a locked gate. I'll have to scope out the area to find a large parking lot if necessary.

 

[Double Mocha Man]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Ugh. Short drive to Raleigh this morning, and I just found out that check-in time isn't until 3 pm at the North Carolina Fairgrounds Campground. Grrr. It's only a 90 minute drive, and I have to be out of my spot here in Greensboro at 11 am.

 

I'll go ahead and show up at 12:30 pm, and hope that they allow me to set up. Check out time is noon, so my reserved spot should be vacant. I wouldn't be shocked if I encountered a locked gate. I'll have to scope out the area to find a large parking lot if necessary.

 

 

Every town has a church with a parking lot.

[Argonne69]

22 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

Every town has a church with a parking lot.

 

Lol. The fairgrounds is adjacent to the NC State stadium and Lenovo Center. Looks like a big parking lot if it isn't blocked off on non-game days. 

 

[Argonne69]

Well, other than 15 miles of construction on I-40 that had it down to 2 lanes on uneven pavement, it wasn't a bad drive to Raleigh. Not much to see, but having three and four lanes of highway make for a little less stress. 

 

Speaking of stress, I arrived at the NC State Fairgrounds Campground to find the gate open (yeah!), but someone set up in my reserved spot. He said that he extended his stay by a week, and after a call to the camp host we got it sorted out. Appears that they moved me three spots over after he extended his visit. I checked the email I received yesterday from the campground, and sure enough in the small print was my new site number. At least it also has a clear view of the southwest sky. 

 

Small RV park at the state fairgrounds with no amenities. Water, electric, and sewer hookups, but no bathhouse or laundry. I knew this going in, so I'll either be showering at the golf courses, or cleaning out the cleaning supplies and beer stash from Bessie's shower. Lol. 

 

 

Booked an RV park near Lynchburg VA for mid-June. 

 

No plans today. If there's a brewery nearby I might venture out, but if not I'll grab a cold one from the fridge. 

 

Early morning round at River Ridge tomorrow. I have the eye doctor appointment on Thursday afternoon in Clayton, so I may book a rare mid morning round at Neuse CC so I don't have an extended wait after the round before seeing the doctor. 

 

I played Duke, UNC Finley, Lonnie Poole, and Pine Hollow on my previous two visits to the area, so I'll be looking for a couple more new courses. I have Wildwood Green, Mill Creek, and Woodlake on my short list. 

 

Edited June 5 by Argonne69

[krtgolfing]

4 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Well, other than 15 miles of construction on I-40 that had it down to 2 lanes on uneven pavement, it wasn't a bad drive to Raleigh. Not much to see, but having three and four lanes of highway make for a little less stress. 

 

Speaking of stress, I arrived at the NC State Fairgrounds Campground to find the gate open (yeah!), but someone set up in my reserved spot. He said that he extended his stay by a week, and after a call to the camp host we got it sorted out. Appears that they moved me three spots over after he extended his visit. I checked the email I received yesterday from the campground, and sure enough in the small print wasn't my new site number. At least it also has a clear view of the southwest sky. 

 

Small RV park at the state fairgrounds with no amenities. Water, electric, and sewer hookups, but no bathhouse or laundry. I knew this going in, so I'll either be showering at the golf courses, or cleaning out the cleaning supplies and beer stash from Bessie's shower. Lol. 

 

 

Booked an RV park near Lynchburg VA for mid-June. 

 

No plans today. If there's a brewery nearby I might venture out, but if not I'll grab a cold one from the fridge. 

 

Early morning round at River Ridge tomorrow. I have the eye doctor appointment on Thursday afternoon in Clayton, so I may book a rare mid morning round at Neuse CC so I don't have an extended wait after the round before seeing the doctor. 

 

I played Duke, UNC Finley, Lonnie Poole, and Pine Hollow on my previous two visits to the area, so I'll be looking for a couple more new courses. I have Wildwood Green, Mill Creek, and Woodlake on my short list. 

 

 

Raleigh Brewing Company is probably under 10 minutes away. When I was there last year for a concert to PNC / Lenovo center they had a decent mix of stuff.

[ZephyrS4]

Golf with BBQ included……think we found Arg’s spot! Very pretty course! Nice little Q stand.

[ZephyrS4]

Q lady looks like she means business too!

[Gdane]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Well, other than 15 miles of construction on I-40 that had it down to 2 lanes on uneven pavement, it wasn't a bad drive to Raleigh. Not much to see, but having three and four lanes of highway make for a little less stress. 

 

Speaking of stress, I arrived at the NC State Fairgrounds Campground to find the gate open (yeah!), but someone set up in my reserved spot. He said that he extended his stay by a week, and after a call to the camp host we got it sorted out. Appears that they moved me three spots over after he extended his visit. I checked the email I received yesterday from the campground, and sure enough in the small print wasn't my new site number. At least it also has a clear view of the southwest sky. 

 

Small RV park at the state fairgrounds with no amenities. Water, electric, and sewer hookups, but no bathhouse or laundry. I knew this going in, so I'll either be showering at the golf courses, or cleaning out the cleaning supplies and beer stash from Bessie's shower. Lol. 

 

 

Booked an RV park near Lynchburg VA for mid-June. 

 

No plans today. If there's a brewery nearby I might venture out, but if not I'll grab a cold one from the fridge. 

 

Early morning round at River Ridge tomorrow. I have the eye doctor appointment on Thursday afternoon in Clayton, so I may book a rare mid morning round at Neuse CC so I don't have an extended wait after the round before seeing the doctor. 

 

I played Duke, UNC Finley, Lonnie Poole, and Pine Hollow on my previous two visits to the area, so I'll be looking for a couple more new courses. I have Wildwood Green, Mill Creek, and Woodlake on my short list. 

 

One of my best friends moved from Chicagoland to the Raleigh area 7-8 years ago and Neuse is his go-to course in the area (when not ponying up for one of the University courses).  

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, Gdane said:

One of my best friends moved from Chicagoland to the Raleigh area 7-8 years ago and Neuse is his go-to course in the area (when not ponying up for one of the University courses).  

 

Unfortunately Neuse aerated the greens today. Bummer. I booked Riverwood instead. Hopefully I'll get a chance to play it in the fall when I'm on my way south for the winter. 

 

[postfold]

9 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

I played Duke, UNC Finley, Lonnie Poole, and Pine Hollow on my previous two visits to the area, so I'll be looking for a couple more new courses. I have Wildwood Green, Mill Creek, and Woodlake on my short list. 

 

 

Have you played the Preserve at Jordan Lake?

[ssp]

On 6/2/2025 at 4:34 PM, Argonne69 said:

 

Lol. The photo was in the course album. 

 

Pulled pork and brisket were very good. Moist and tender. The macaroni salad was also very good. The slaw wasn't bad, but had a tad too much vinegar. The sweet/tangy and Carolina vinegar sauces were decent. 

 

 

 

 

Love the vibe/look of this place.  Screams - eat here.

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Where are you going to be the 2nd week of August? I have permission to golf golfing for a few days before my trip to Scotland.

[Argonne69]

12 minutes ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

Where are you going to be the 2nd week of August? I have permission to golf golfing for a few days before my trip to Scotland.

 

No idea at this point. Probably near Pittsburgh or Akron. 

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

If you are near Akron, I'll come up and play a few rounds with you. I have a few on my Ohio list that I still need to knock out:

 

Links Firestone Farms

Boulder Creek

Ellsworth Meadows

Mill Creek Park (36 holes)

Kensington

Avalon Lakes

Buhl Park

Salem Hills

 

Not much decent public golf around Pittsburgh IIRC. The only courses that I have played near Pittsburgh are Totteridge and Birdsfoot.

 

 

[Argonne69]

Enjoyable morning. Nice to be able to walk a golf course. Go figure. Warm and humid. I was drenched by the end of the round. Would have been nice if the course had drinking water on the course. Didn't see the beverage cart until the 17th hole. Too late. Got out in the third group, and finished in a leisurely 3:40. 

 

River Ridge GC today. Not bad. Lovely rolling terrain with a handful of elevated tees and more than a few uneven lies. A few homes visible, but most were tucked behind the dense trees. Fairway bunkering was on the light side. Greenside was a little better. Water in play on half the holes. Eight holes with left/right movement, including a pair of doglegs. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee despite the light bunkering due to a handful of forced carries, and a handful of holes with somewhat narrow fairways. Minor misses would catch the thick rough. Lies were dicey. Big misses were big trouble. OB or lost in the trees/junk. 

 

Approaches were fairly straightforward, although flag hunting could bring a few bunkers into play. Greens had a good amount of contouring and slope. Putting was actually work. Up and downs were equally tough. Plenty of uneven lies, and small landing areas to handle the green contours. 

 

Par 3s were decent, but not overly memorable. The 17th was probably the best of the bunch with an elevated tee, a small pond short, and a marsh left. Variety of length was poor. 7i to FW. Par 5s were meh. Three were reachable with good drives, but not a lot of risk. The 6th was a tough layup with a sliver of fairway between the pond left and trees right. The sole short par 4 11th was OK. The fairway slopes left towards the junk, so one couldn't get careless with less than driver off the tee. The green was also shallow with a creek in front. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairways were in very nice shape, but quite wet from the heavy morning dew. Rough was much thicker than I've encountered recently. Bunkers needed an inch of sand and a good grooming. Greens were excellent. Looked great and were very speedy after the dew burned off. At least 11. 

 

Played a Black Blue combo at 6430 yds (71.6/136). Good day driving. Irons were a little off, but didn't get me in any trouble. Wedges worked. Putter struggled on the tough greens. Did take advantage of the par 5s. Two birdies, four bogies, and a double. Highlight of the day was my playing partners. Great bunch of guys. Unfortunately one had to bail at the turn after a phone call from work. Bah. Lowlight was stumbling on a curb and landing on my right wrist again. The poor thing is never going to heal properly if I keep falling on it. 

 

6 cows here. Could use a bunch of design tweaks, but overall it was a good looking course with plenty of trouble. Definitely liked the greens. The $40 weekday walking rate was crazy. Not a must play, but I'd certainly be a regular if I was local. 

 

Edited June 4 by Argonne69