Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

20 minutes ago, ZephyrS4 said:

Very pretty…..what’s that building? Looks pretty sweet.

 

The tan stone building is the clubhouse. The white building is the old stable.

 

[ZephyrS4]

Might be the neatest clubhouse I’ve ever seen….

[ZephyrS4]

I could see sitting on that veranda having a few cold beverages!

[Argonne69]

Can't believe half the year is gone already. Had a very good year up to this point. Played 115 rounds through June in 9 states despite taking two weeks off in early January to visit family in Chicago, and a handful of weather days. Added 99 new courses with a handful of repeats in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina. 

 

Hope the rest of the year continues to go smoothly. 

 

[Argonne69]

Pleasant two hour drive to Winchester today. Straight shot up I-81. A few too many construction zones, but the views of Shenandoah Valley were very nice. Even had a tailwind for a while. Lol. 

 

Nice looking RV park. It's nice to be on a concrete pad, although there isn't any rain in the forecast. Fairly level, too. 

 

 

I was going to head into town for a drink, but almost all brewpubs don't open until 3 or 4 pm. Weird given that it's the day before a holiday. I bet a ton of people worked half a day before the long weekend. Guess I'll crack open a Golden Monkey and kick back in the recliner. 

 

Need to book an RV park near Philly for mid-July. I was originally planning to head to Harrisburg after Philly, but I might detour through Trenton and Allentown. The nearest RV park west of the city is over an hour away. On the Jersey side there's a KOA that's only 30 minutes away from city center. However, most of the decent courses I haven't played are west of town. Need to do a little more research. 

 

I have a round booked at Blue Ridge Shadows early tomorrow. Playing the Rock course at Rock Harbor on Sunday. The course is adjacent to the RV park, so it'll be nice to have a short drive. 

 

Taking Sunday off. Probably going to drive the northern stretch of Skyline Dr in Shenandoah National Park. Might visit one of the local caves. 

 

Still need to book a round for Monday. Looking at the Boulder course at Rock Harbor, and Shenandoah Valley GC.

 

[caniac6]

There is a course at a W.Va. state park a bit north of Winchester. I think it is a Robert Trent Jones course, it was a pretty good course. I played it a long time ago, so I have no idea how it is now, but it was good when I did play it. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name.

Edited July 3 by caniac6

[stevopagolf]

42 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Pleasant two hour drive to Winchester today. Straight shot up I-81. A few too many construction zones, but the views of Shenandoah Valley were very nice. Even had a tailwind for a while. Lol. 

 

Nice looking RV park. It's nice to be on a concrete pad, although there isn't any rain in the forecast. Fairly level, too. 

 

 

I was going to head into town for a drink, but almost all brewpubs don't open until 3 or 4 pm. Weird given that it's the day before a holiday. I bet a ton of people worked half a day before the long weekend. Guess I'll crack open a Golden Monkey and kick back in the recliner. 

 

Need to book an RV park near Philly for mid-July. I was originally planning to head to Harrisburg after Philly, but I might detour through Trenton and Allentown. The nearest RV park west of the city is over an hour away. On the Jersey side there's a KOA that's only 30 minutes away from city center. However, most of the decent courses I haven't played are west of town. Need to do a little more research. 

 

I have a round booked at Blue Ridge Shadows early tomorrow. Playing the Rock course at Rock Harbor on Sunday. The course is adjacent to the RV park, so it'll be nice to have a short drive. 

 

Taking Sunday off. Probably going to drive the northern stretch of Skyline Dr in Shenandoah National Park. Might visit one of the local caves. 

 

Still need to book a round for Monday. Looking at the Boulder course at Rock Harbor, and Shenandoah Valley GC.

 

Not a lot of great public golf near Trenton.  Makefield highlands  Mercer Oaks and Mountainview are all OK.  Heron Glen is pretty good and I don't think you played there.  I think you went to Neshanic Valley.  These are 5 around Trenton, none I would say are must play.  heron Glen has a nice rate for Seniors but a morning time is tough.

Depending on if you go west of the city towards Lancaster I probably have some suggestions and also Allentown.  I will stay tuned.

[caniac6]

Cacapon State Park

[Argonne69]

2 hours ago, stevopagolf said:

Not a lot of great public golf near Trenton.  Makefield highlands  Mercer Oaks and Mountainview are all OK.  Heron Glen is pretty good and I don't think you played there.  I think you went to Neshanic Valley.  These are 5 around Trenton, none I would say are must play.  heron Glen has a nice rate for Seniors but a morning time is tough.

Depending on if you go west of the city towards Lancaster I probably have some suggestions and also Allentown.  I will stay tuned.

 

Looks like I'm going to scratch Trenton off the list. The nearest RV park is in Philadelphia, an hour away. No surprise. The city doesn't seem like a big tourist town. Lol. 

 

'Same thing with Allentown. Hmm. 

 

Lancaster looks more promising. 

 

I've become quite the expert at analyzing satellite images. Unfortunately Google Maps displays mobile home parks when one searches for "RV park". Zoom in on an image, and if I don't see a motorhome, but rather a dozen double wides, it's on to the next park. Also, if I see nothing but trees, then I know it's not a satellite friendly park. If a campground has a handful of sites with clear views, I can sometimes make it work. If I see a park where I can't see a single RV, it's a no-go. 

 

Nope. Too many trees. 

 

 

Nope. Mobile Home Park. 

 

 

Goldilocks would be happy. 

 

 

Edited July 3 by Argonne69

[postfold]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Lancaster looks more promising. 

 

 

C'mon thread, this is the time to step up.  Surely there is someone out there who can get Arg on to Lancaster Country Club, site of In Gee Chun's glorious 2015 U.S. Women's Open win.

[Argonne69]

Oy. Holiday golf at its worst. Don't know why courses have rangers if they're just going to drive around and wave at people. Beautiful morning, but the 4:45 pace early in the morning was just awful. Ran into the group ahead on half the teeboxes. The threesome I was going to join showed up with four, but the starter allowed us to go out as a fivesome. Not that it mattered with the molasses pace. 

 

Blue Ridge Shadows GC today. Very nice looking parkland/meadow style layout. A few homes, and one big hotel, visible off property, but otherwise quite picturesque. Decent elevation changes. The 15th teebox is next to the clubhouse on a ridge, and plays down onto a low valley. Fairway bunkering was decent. Actually found three today. Greenside was also decent. Ten holes with water in play, including the final five. Six holes with left/right movement including one dogleg. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee with a few forced carries and a couple of narrowish fairways. Minor misses would catch the thick rough. Quite penal. Big misses were generally trouble with dense trees and native areas. 

 

Approaches were also moderately difficult. More than a few uneven lies and decent greenside bunkering. Greens were overly large. A couple of greens had decent contouring, but overall they were benign. Putting was straightforward. One of my playing partners joked that I was Mr 2Putt. Up and downs were much trickier coming out of the thick rough with plenty of uneven lies. 

 

Par 3s were decent. A pair had long carries over deep ravines. The 10th was the best. Variety of length was poor playing 5i to FW. Par 5s were OK. Nothing reachable. The Z shaped 14th was fun. One could shortcut the doglegs if the 2nd corner didn't have tall trees in play. Plenty of trouble near the green. I guess if you can hit a towering draw with a fairway wood it's a possible risk/reward hole. Short 4s were meh. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairways were lush. Rough was thick, but a consistent height. Bunker were fine. Greens had way too many poorly repaired hallmarks. Turf was in nice shape, though. Speed was sluggish. Maybe 9. 

 

Played a Blue/White combo at 6485 yds (72.3/132). Off and on day off the tee. Irons and woods were decent. Wedges were spotty. Putter had good speed control, but I couldn't quite dial in the line. Six bogies. No real shot of the day. Felt rushed with the group behind on our tails. Highlight of the morning was my four playing partners. Helped keep me somewhat sane as we traded stories while waiting. Low-light of the round was the lack of drinking water on the course. If 95% of courses didn't provide water, I'd have no choice but to accept it. However, I'd say 95% have it, so why the holdouts? 

 

I think this one sqeaks out 6 cows. Nice looking with a handful of fun holes, but a few too many meh ones. The stretch from 5 to 8 was benign. Needs more contouring on the greens, a couple of shorter par 3s, a tough short 4. Pretty sure the staffer in the pro shop charged me the wrong rate. It was supposed to be $75 w/ cart, but I was charged $25 to walk. Bet he charged me for a cart. Lol. Good looking and playable, but not a must play. 

 

[Argonne69]

Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club, Front Royal, VA 

 

Nice looking opening hole 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Par 3 10th 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xiov3ojughu4ajas1pzeg/AA-bPaV_DY9taNlGe_2QZ-k?rlkey=bwss42mrg3oxlc58dbz2zkxmm&st=amox7s85&dl=0

 

Edited July 4 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Backroom Brewery. Glad I didn't drive far for this one. Impressive large barn-like building on a farm, and an impressive list of beers on their website, but they only had a handful on tap. Bah. On a hot day I went with a lemon wheat. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Oy. Veh. Love driving around burning gas. At least I got to see lovely downtown Winchester. Lol. 

 

 

Drove to the first brewery because they had a couple of Belgians and showed holiday hours opening at 2 pm. Closed. 

 

Drove to the 2nd brewery a few blocks away because they had a Belgian Single on their website. Kicked last night. 

 

Wound up at Broken Window Brewing. Small brewery with seven taps. The chocolate porter isn't bad, but I had my heart set on a Belgian. Lol. 

 

 

[tlknight]

$25 for a round on July 4th in 2025?

 

You might have set a record for lowest paid today nationwide!

[Argonne69]

Well, that worked out. Well, almost. Lol. 

 

Riley's ChiCorkfish is located in an Exxon gas station. When it comes to BBQ and breweries, I learned that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Excellent brisket and pulled pork. If I hadn't been driving around to closed joints I would have gotten the last half slab of ribs. The brisket was tender and juicy with just enough fat for me to consider it non-lean. Don't norm get pulled pork, but it was also very juicy. The beans and mac salad were very good. The original sauce was very good with a nice balance of sweet and tangy. The mustard sauce was very good, but it would have been better served on a jalepeno and cheddar hot link. Once again I didn't care for the vinegar based sauce 

 

 

Definitely worth a visit, but get there early. They have a small number of tables, so you can dine in. Most of their business appears to be take out. Prices were reasonable, and I have leftovers for Sunday. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

26 minutes ago, tlknight said:

$25 for a round on July 4th in 2025?

 

You might have set a record for lowest paid today nationwide!

 

I'm a little hard of hearing, and I thought he said he was taking $25 off for the cart. There was no starter asking to see the receipt, so I didn't look at it until I was writing my review. 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

$25 divided by 6 Cows.  4.17.  That may be the cheapest course per cow you've ever played

[spud3]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Well, that worked out. Well, almost. Lol. 

 

Riley's ChiCorkfish is located in an Exxon gas station. When it comes to BBQ and breweries, I learned that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Excellent brisket and pulled pork. If I hadn't been driving around to closed joints I would have gotten the last half slab of ribs. The brisket was tender and juicy with just enough fat for me to consider it non-lean. Don't norm get pulled pork, but it was also very juicy. The beans and mac salad were very good. The original sauce was very good with a nice balance of sweet and tangy. The mustard sauce was very good, but it would have been better served on a jalepeno and cheddar hot link. Once again I didn't care for the vinegar based sauce 

 

 

Definitely worth a visit, but get there early. They have a small number of tables, so you can dine in. Most of their business appears to be take out. Prices were reasonable, and I have leftovers for Sunday. 

 

 

 

Gas Station Sushi = "hard NO"

Gas Station Q = "....perhaps....."

 

[golfwb]

Happy 4th buddy. Thanks for letting us all travel around the US with you 

[dcmidnight]

10 cows for you if you walked BRS, that's not an easy trek by any means!

[Argonne69]

10 hours ago, dcmidnight said:

10 cows for you if you walked BRS, that's not an easy trek by any means!

 

The snail's pace allowed me to take my time. I'd hole out and start the slow hike to the next hole. As you can see from the photos the group ahead is in the picture most of the time. I pretty much caught them on the teebox on every hole, but allowed them to drive off a number of times before snapping the pic.

 

The hike up the hill from the 14th to the 15th was fun. There was nearly a ten minute wait up there, so I could catch my breath.

 

[Argonne69]

Well that was a blast. Near perfect weather. Humidity still too high for my liking. Showed up early for my tee time on the Rock course, but I was able to get out thirty minutes early on the Boulder course. Glad I did because Boulder looked better, and was more challenging according to my two local playing partners. Big tip of the straw gambler hat to the staffer in the pro shop who allowed me to walk the tough layout. They don't normally allow walking on weekend mornings, but my friendly demeanor seemed to convince him that I wouldn't be a burden. We finished in four hours on the tail of the group ahead. The group behind us was at least two holes off the pace. 

 

The Boulder course at Rock Harbor today. The two courses are built in an old quarry. I've probably played a half dozen quarry courses, and this one is no slouch. The "Harbor" part of the name alludes to the water in play on the courses. Boulder had water in play on a dozen holes, including the entire back nine. Primarily a parkland layout, it does have a handful of holes I'd consider meadow style. The front nine has some fairly dramatic elevation changes. The back is flatter, but there are still plenty of ups and downs. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside wasn't bad. Plenty of exposed rock and a number of large boulders that come into play on several holes. A handful of homes lined some of the front nine holes. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee with a couple of forced carries and some side slopes that could funnel decent drives down into the thick rough. Minor misses could be played from the thick rough, but it was quite penal. Big misses were generally goners, but a couple of holes on the back had adjacent fairways that could catch a wild miss. 

 

Approaches were a mixed bag. There were a number of greens that were simply huge. Miss those and you should really consider a different hobby. Several greens were small or long and skinny. Several played downhill one to two clubs. Greens were interesting. Contouring was a bit light, but there were plenty of tiers. Slope was moderate. Putting required work if you weren't on the right tier primarily due to the slow green speeds. You really needed to smash a ball to get it up the ridges. Up and downs were also a mixed bag. A good miss left a fairly straightforward chip. Miss in the thick rough on an uneven lie and good luck. 

 

Another odd course with six 3s, six 5s, and six 4s. The par 3s were very good. Plenty of trouble, and some great views. The 5th and 8th had elevated tees that reminded me of Quintero playing at least two clubs down. The long 2nd played uphill two clubs with a deep front bunker in front. I'd say the 8th was the best of the bunch. Excellent variety of length playing GW to 3w. The par 5s were interesting to say the least. The 4th and 9th had split fairways that gave risky options. The dogleg 4th was a fun risk/reward hole with a boulder field at the end of the right fairway. Risk getting stuck behind one of the big rocks, and one had a shot at the green. The 10th was a long brute with water in play on the 2nd and 3rd shots. The long 16th played downhill, so a good drive that caught the speed slot could be a green light, but the large green was protected in front by a large pond. No short 4s, but the dogleg 3rd was driveable by cutting the corner with plenty of risk coming up short or right. 

 

Conditions were OK. Fairway turf was lush, but very shaggy. They probably weren't cut all week. Rough was consistent and thick. Bunkers were generally poor with little sand. A handful were GUR. Greens looked good from a distance, but were shaggy and had countless poorly repaired ballmarks. Speed couldn't have been 8. 

 

Played a Blue/White combo at 6540 yds (71.7/138). The course played shorter due to several fairly steep downhill holes. Very happy with the driver today. Irons were solid. Wedges were well behaved. Putter was warm, but left a few birdie putts short on the slow greens. Three birdies, four bogies, and a double. Shots of the day came early with back to back birdies on the 3rd and 4th. Nice 18' birdie putt on the 3rd. Took the aggressive right side on the par 5 4th, and was able to hack an 8i out of the rough to the front of the green. Stuck a GW to 3' on the closing par 5. Low-light was blocking a 7i into the pond on the par 3 17th that led to the double. Grrr. Highlight of the day was being allowed to walk. Heck of a workout. 

 

Solid 7 cows. Great looking with plenty of fun holes. I'd like to see a few more bunkers, and more contouring on the greens. The $53 weekend rate was silly good. Don't think it was a walking rate, but either way it was a bargain. Don't consider it a destination course, but if you're in northern Virginia, definitely check it out. 

 

Edited July 5 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Rock Harbor Golf Course, Boulder Course, Winchester, VA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/uigurc6nwqbe2ts6041vr/AMpTctv0JWniWp6Fhi6on2E?rlkey=uwwxqkx7qpjio69ur7t5gnv4s&st=y1k77n6c&dl=0

 

Edited July 5 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Slightly different schedule today. Only one brewery in town that has a decent lineup, and they don't open until 2 pm. The course is adjacent to the RV park, so I headed back and grabbed a nice Chimay Premier Belgian Dubbel from the fridge while writing my review. Going to go hop in the swimming pool, shower, and take a short nap. I'll head out after that for a mid afternoon beer and dinner. 

 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

Remember, it's Holy Mole Saturday.

[Argonne69]

Hmmm. Just not my weekend I guess. Another brewery that tapped out the good stuff. Winchester Brew Works. Ten taps with a limited selection. Went with their Pink Lemonade Shandy. 

 

 

[caniac6]

On 7/4/2025 at 1:16 PM, Argonne69 said:

Oy. Holiday golf at its worst. Don't know why courses have rangers if they're just going to drive around and wave at people. Beautiful morning, but the 4:45 pace early in the morning was just awful. Ran into the group ahead on half the teeboxes. The threesome I was going to join showed up with four, but the starter allowed us to go out as a fivesome. Not that it mattered with the molasses pace. 

 

Blue Ridge Shadows GC today. Very nice looking parkland/meadow style layout. A few homes, and one big hotel, visible off property, but otherwise quite picturesque. Decent elevation changes. The 15th teebox is next to the clubhouse on a ridge, and plays down onto a low valley. Fairway bunkering was decent. Actually found three today. Greenside was also decent. Ten holes with water in play, including the final five. Six holes with left/right movement including one dogleg. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee with a few forced carries and a couple of narrowish fairways. Minor misses would catch the thick rough. Quite penal. Big misses were generally trouble with dense trees and native areas. 

 

Approaches were also moderately difficult. More than a few uneven lies and decent greenside bunkering. Greens were overly large. A couple of greens had decent contouring, but overall they were benign. Putting was straightforward. One of my playing partners joked that I was Mr 2Putt. Up and downs were much trickier coming out of the thick rough with plenty of uneven lies. 

 

Par 3s were decent. A pair had long carries over deep ravines. The 10th was the best. Variety of length was poor playing 5i to FW. Par 5s were OK. Nothing reachable. The Z shaped 14th was fun. One could shortcut the doglegs if the 2nd corner didn't have tall trees in play. Plenty of trouble near the green. I guess if you can hit a towering draw with a fairway wood it's a possible risk/reward hole. Short 4s were meh. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairways were lush. Rough was thick, but a consistent height. Bunker were fine. Greens had way too many poorly repaired hallmarks. Turf was in nice shape, though. Speed was sluggish. Maybe 9. 

 

Played a Blue/White combo at 6485 yds (72.3/132). Off and on day off the tee. Irons and woods were decent. Wedges were spotty. Putter had good speed control, but I couldn't quite dial in the line. Six bogies. No real shot of the day. Felt rushed with the group behind on our tails. Highlight of the morning was my four playing partners. Helped keep me somewhat sane as we traded stories while waiting. Low-light of the round was the lack of drinking water on the course. If 95% of courses didn't provide water, I'd have no choice but to accept it. However, I'd say 95% have it, so why the holdouts? 

 

I think this one sqeaks out 6 cows. Nice looking with a handful of fun holes, but a few too many meh ones. The stretch from 5 to 8 was benign. Needs more contouring on the greens, a couple of shorter par 3s, a tough short 4. Pretty sure the staffer in the pro shop charged me the wrong rate. It was supposed to be $75 w/ cart, but I was charged $25 to walk. Bet he charged me for a cart. Lol. Good looking and playable, but not a must play. 

 

I’m pretty sure my nephew has played there. He lives in Northern Virginia, and I gave him my set of Mizuno Hot Metals when I switched from stiff to regular shafts. I did not remove my name tags, and I got a call at 7 am on a Sunday morning letting me know they had my wedge. I called my nephew to let him know, and encouraged him to get his own I.D. labels.

[Argonne69]

That wasn't half bad. Altos de Jalisco Mexican Grill. Got a chuckle when I asked the young server if the mole negro was mole pablano. Got a blank stare like I was speaking Portuguese. The mole was tasty, but needed more kick. I prefer my pollo boneless, but I can't complain about getting two drumsticks and thighs. I can complain about this recent spat of strinkflation. Meals without beans. Paying $4 for 25 cents worth of beans is criminal. Marg and salsa were both very good. 

 

 

[Argonne69]

Very enjoyable morning. Well, until the drive home when I got stuck in heavy traffic for 20 miles on a two lane road with limited passing zones doing 10 under the speed limit. Lol. 

 

Drove to the northern entrance of Shenandoah National Park, and drove south for 30 miles. The northern entrance is also milepost 0 for the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather was nice, but there was a lot of haze in the air. Don't know if it was moisture or air pollution, but it did spoil the photos somewhat. Stopped at numerous lookouts with nice views of the valleys on both sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

 

Did a short 2.5 mile hike up to Compton Peak (East and West). Climbed 755' on the trek. The East leg was a letdown. I was expecting a nice view of the valley, but the trail ended at a wall of rocks with very a limited view of the valley. This spur was tough with plenty of scrambling over rocks. The West spur was much better with a very nice view of the valley from a rocky outcrop. Most of the trail follows the Appal Trail, so I able to finally hike a part of it. 

 

I've been to over a dozen national parks, and unfortunately this one ranks near the bottom. Lovely views from the lookouts along Skyline Drive, but there's just not a lot of variety. Seems most of the trails are in the forests until one reaches an outlook with the same views as the outlooks along the drive. Enjoyed the visits, but I can't say I'd go out of my way to visit the park. 

 

 

 

 

View from Compton Peak (West) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set (appended to last Monday's photos): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/af0ck8e2vd2ngh616tevf/AK40JCUXmrku78-ovgv26_U?rlkey=3gjmn87b6i73ib1dsjep8fek1&st=ml0vahr5&dl=0