Bend's 2022-2024 Golf Log

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

I tried to get the wife to play today, but she balked at the idea since she is playing tomorrow. 

 

I did get her to stop at Johnson BBQ in Plant City, FL. This place has awesome BBQ, have NEVER had a bad meal here!

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

We played a nice course today at the beginning of our drive back to Ohio. My wife and I played the Mid Carolina Golf Club, just North of Columbia, SC in Prosperity. I have seen this golf course from I-26 for over 30 years, it is a private club, but now offers public play on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Finally drove past on a Tuesday so we could play it. Play was pretty slow (both groups ahead of us played like molasses), but we played nine holes in about 2 hours so I really can't complain. Mid Carolina is not very long from the tips, ~6600 yards, it was just a nice, solid golf course. I could tell they have cut down a ton of trees lately and the place appears to be well taken care of.  Overall, the golf course was great; great conditions, greens played faster than they looked, sand traps were all good and consistent. Many of the greens were on the smaller side here.  Heck, after playing Streamsong Blue, any green complex is gonna be small. Starter siad they were in a drought, but played great, and was not dried out. Most golf courses are over watered anyway.  I will be moving to SC in  about 4 years, this is a club that I could easily join. Mid Carolina Golf Club is a classic, Carolina golf course. 

 

Now to figure out how to get a few new golf courses next week without the wife cracking down.

Edited June 29, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[caniac6]

That’s a really nice looking course.

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

10 hours ago, caniac6 said:

That’s a really nice looking course.

It was. I really enjoyed it.

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

I am hoping to sneak out early Sunday morning to play 18. My issue here, back home, is that I have to drive at least 90 minutes (Lexington, KY or Indianapolis, IN)  to get to a course that I have never played. I am leaning towards Lexington, KY as it's a pretty easy drive. I have played almost all of the courses around Indy except for a handful.

 

Connemara GC

UK Wildcat Course

Thoroughbred GC

 

These are my choices if I want to play a new golf course.

Edited July 9, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[lazyjk]

On 6/21/2022 at 8:13 PM, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

Post some pics if you beat me to Medicine Hole! 

Unfortunately a big storm system went through North Dakota and put a literal damper on my plans to play Medicine Hole on my way back home to Montana today ☹️

 

Also, FYI I played the Links of ND on Saturday and while the greens and 90% of the fairways are in great shape, most of the tee boxes are in very rough shape. I think it's carryover damage from last summer when they didn't get any moisture for like 3 months. Didn't look like they have sprinklers for them. Since it's the tee boxes, it thankfully didn't impact the round much at all outside of aesthetics. Course was very enjoyable to play though!

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

As long as the greens are OK, I don't care. It's really a sightseeing trip, that I am squeezing some golf into. Many have said that it's not worth playing, but I may never get back to North Dakota anytime soon, if ever. We are actually staying one night on site at Links ND so we can star gaze. Should be pitch black there at night without any city lights ruining it. 

 

I still have not played golf this week unfortunately. Probably good, need a break of sorts. 

Edited July 6, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[trilinkrealty]

If you end up in Lexington go eat dinner at Carson's.  One of the best meals I have ever had.     Filet and Shrimp over cajun cream sauce, grits etc

 

Golfing wise I only had a quick round at Gay Brewer Picadome, really quirky old muni that was in very good shape.  I played right after a rain and the course was empty

[Argonne69]

3 hours ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

As long as the greens are OK, I don't care. It's really a sightseeing trip, that I am squeezing some golf into. Many have said that it's not worth playing, but I may never get back to North Dakota anytime soon, if ever. We are actually staying one night on site at Links ND so we can star gaze. Should be pitch black there at night without any city lights ruining it. 

 

I still have not played golf this week unfortunately. Probably good, need a break of sorts. 

 

I've been on the road for 8 months, and I've yet to dig out my telescope. Definitely going to have to do so when I hit Maine. I have a decent 127 mm Mak-Cass that needs to see the planets. 

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

I have my rounds set for drive out to North and South Dakota.

 

Links Lawsonia (WI)

Dakota Winds (ND)

Hawktree (ND)

Painted Woods (ND) maybe, but probably not

Links of North Dakota (ND)

Bully Pulpit (ND)

Medicine Hole (ND)

 

Hoping to sneak out early AM while the wife sleeps in and at least play 9 at these two courses.

Elkhorn Ridge (SD)

Spearfish Canyon (SD)

 

GC Red Rock (SD)

 

I was hoping to play Minot CC but it's private, and although they are receptive to allowing me to play, they said not on a Wednesday (men's day) or a Weekend. We are in Minot on a Wed, oh well.

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

No golf updates; went to Gatlinburg for a few days with the kids. I was going to sneak out and play at Gatlinburg GC, but decided against it. I'll get 3 new courses in before we head out West. Family had a mini golf tourney, I played left handed and tied for 1st, 4 over. Hate losing at mini golf.

Edited July 16, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Finally got to play a round! I drove down to Lexington, KY and played Connemara GC this morning.  Course number 543. Purchased my round of Golfnow for slightly less than $50. Course had three par 5's and three par 3's on the front nine. Birdied both of the par 5's on the back nine and only had 28 putts which was great. Some pretty tough pin placements on these greens, overall a decent public golf course with good greens, but they played a bit slow due to last night's rain. Pace of play was great too, right at about 4 hours. Hoping to jump out of the car and play Shepherd's Crook in Zion, Illinois tomorrow. Stay tuned, lots of courses coming right up!

Edited July 16, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Was rained out today, so no golf in Illinois. Had a nice relaxing dinner with a few beers in Osh Kosh, WI this evening. Lake Winnebago, pretty big lake but it's only 21 feet deep. The cheese curds were amazing. Starting on 8/1 I am back on the right eating plan! 

[Argonne69]

Corona? 😄

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Corona? 😄

 

I take breaks from craft beers, I gain weight pretty fast drinking too many craft beers. Using my extra calories for food, lol. Weight is back up to 220 so I'll need to buckle down here soon and get back to 200. Luckily, I can lose the weight as fast as I gain it. 

[Argonne69]

6 hours ago, BEND OF THE RIVER GC said:

I take breaks from craft beers, I gain weight pretty fast drinking too many craft beers. Using my extra calories for food, lol. Weight is back up to 220 so I'll need to buckle down here soon and get back to 200. Luckily, I can lose the weight as fast as I gain it. 

 

Do you walk many rounds? 

 

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

I walk about 30% of the time, my knee is trashed from 3 knee surgeries (thanks US Army). No meniscus in right knee. When my wife golfs with me, she inists on a cart! When I was younger I almost NEVER took a golf cart, I would flip out when they would not let you walk (Myrtle Beach etc...) The game is MUCH better walking for sure.

Edited July 19, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Course number 544.

 

I played The Links of Lawsonia in Wisconsin today. Pretty hot today, 91 degrees. Very nice golf course, but not really (IMO) worth all of the the crazy hype that it gets. I liked the front nine a lot more than the back nine. Course was in pretty nice shape, bunkers were OK at best. Not the best sand here. I did make a sandy par though. Super slow play on the back, on the par 4 15th there were literally 4 groups on the hole and the ranger was totally useless. Why have a ranger at all? He drove by and said absolutely nothing; I cannot stand waiting 15 minutes to hit every single shot, which we did. The round itself only took a wee bit over 4 hours, but it should have been three hours max! Cost was $95 with cart, and they were willing to charge the wife a nine hole rate and cart fee only for the second nine. I did not bother to play the other golf course here, it was a fairly tight looking, really green, parkland layout. Tomorrow I play Dakota Winds in North Dakota. Have not decided if it will be 9 or 18 holes. Pretty boring drive from Lawsonia to Minneapolis after golfing, pretty much nothing for 200 miles! Luckily those Kwik Trip gas stations have everything imagineable to eat. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Stopped at the Mall of America in Minneapolis today on our way to North Dakota. It has 3 roller coasters and a water floom ride as well. Next course is Dakota Dunes at The Dakota Magic Casino. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Tomorrow morning I'll play Dakota Winds GC. I made an online tee time for 18 at Hawktree GC in Bismarck, ND. Sunset is 9:30 pm, hopefully I can get all 18 in! I'll get there a little early and see if I can tee off earlier than the 5:40. 5:40 was the earliest afteroon time I could get. Hawktree is $115 w cart ($85 without). I'll walk if it's not 95 degrees. Dakota Winds is free with hotel room, $139. 

[TBone0576]

Sorry you missed out on Shepherds Crook as that is a pretty nice Muni.   Understand your disappointment with Lawsonia.  I played up there with a buddy this spring and played both courses with a cart for $115 I think.  I think the interesting part about the original course is the architecture and how they were able to build up greens and tees with steam shovels and such.  The other course is nice enough but very different than the original.  

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Very nice morning golfing today at Dakota Winds (at the Dakota Magic Casino). The hotel was similar to a nice Super 8, we didn't gamble at all as it was super smoky in the gambling area, we hate cigarette smoke.  Saved me from losing any money! Awesome conditions all around, and we had the golf course 100% all to ourselves. I don't think it gets all that much play. We decided not to play yesterday afternoon as the winds were 40-45 mph. Still pretty windy here today and it makes some holes a lot longer into the wind. 18 holes with the second 9 holes being "reversible", the scorecard has 3 nines on the card. Not sure what the greens fees are, but we paid $139 for the room which included one round of golf with a cart. My wife's round was only $25 more. Nice golf course literally in the middle of NOWHERE! Was my 545th different course played.

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Landed in Bismarck. Ate lunch at the Space Alien Grill and Bar. Food was great. Checked into the hotel, dropped off the wife and headed to Hawktree GC for my 5pm tee time. Standing on the first tee I notice all fivesomes ahead of me. Total Crap. The group ahead lets me play through and then tells me there are 10 fivesomes playing mens' night. Damn, why didn't they tell me that? I was pissed. The next fivesome was not going to allow me play through, funny because it took them almost 15-20 minutes on the hard par 3 number 3. Lol, I stuck one to 5 feet and then they let me play through. EVERY SINGLE fivesome ahead allowed me to play through, some offered, some grumbled. I must say all these guys were really cool to let me play though during their league night. I never held anyone up at all and I finished 18 holes in 2 hours 35 min!  It could have been a terrible 6 hour round finishing in the dark. The golf course is really awesome, pretty hard, some homes are around, but none are near the course itself.  Conditions here are awesome, pretty fast greens. A few blind tee shots as well to keep things interesting. All the sand traps are like a black sand/slag. Tricky golf course, not at all good for walking.  Was about 87-89 degrees and really windy. Lost 5 balls and shot a stupid 93. Hawktree is definitely worth playing should you somehow end up in Bismarck. Cost was $115 with cart, $85 without. They had some cool scooters but the guy ahead of me in line got the last one. Hawktree was course number 546.

Edited July 21, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

This afternoon's round is at The Links of North Dakota. I may not be able to get Medicine Hole in this trip.  Have worn out my welcome with the wife with all my golfing, lol.  So, I can play there while she sleeps in on Saturday if I can get out really early. Medicine Hole is only 30 miles from our hotel. The last round in North Dakota will be at Bully Pulpit tomorrow morning.

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Played The Links of North Dakota yesterday and I was quite a bit disappointed with the conditioning of the course. Many tee boxes were without grass, the fairways were not do great, thank goodness the greens were good. In my opinion it was NOT worth the $95 for 18 holes. The views of the Missouri River are pretty incredible. The cabin here that we are staying is in nice for one night. A little pricey at $175 a night with no internet service and no microwave. If I had a do over, I would skip this golf course. The views of the Missouri River are impressive. I wish I has chosen to play the $20 nine hole Medicine Hole course instead. Was tough to find a place to eat in Williston, we tried to eat at a Hawaiin place that looked great but sign said, "no staff", closed. Mybe pay people more? Ended up finding an Asian place called Rice Bomb that was decent enough. The oil industry is booming out here. Williston is North Dakota's 5th largest city; population ~29,000. 

 

Tomorrow is Bully Pulpit GC in Medora. 

Edited July 23, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Course 548, Bully Pulpit GC in Medora, ND. 

 

Nice golf course, was almost unbearably hot out today. Free bottled water on the course, probably drank 6-8 bottles. $110 with cart. They charged my wife $69 for 9 holes. Course has some new holes (built due to flooding issues from a nearby riverbed) and one more new hole under construction on back 9 that is not seeded yet. Still 18 holes right now. They will have 19 at some point. Super easy to lose golf balls here, and you really cannot go into the tall grass because of rattlesnakes. Some neat holes, and a few forgettable holes as well. Everyone here was super friendly. Course is about 2 miles from the touristy town of Medora. 
 

It looks like I am not going to be able to fit in Medicine Hole GC this time around. My wife is sick of golfing. If I ever get back to ND, I'll play Minot CC, Painted Woods and Medicine Hole. I'll just have to be satisfied with the four courses that I was able to play in North Dakota.

Edited July 23, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

After golfing we drove a short few miles to see the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which was pretty cool. There is a 24 mile driving loop, but some of it was closed for construction. We saw a lot of Bison, and tons of prairie dogs, lol. The scenery is simply incredible and pictures do not really do it justice. I almost tried the roadkill snack, not.

Edited July 23, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Tomorrow morning we head over to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. We'll see if I can sneak out for a few early morning or late evening 9 hole rounds without my wife. 

 

Just made a 6:30 AM tee time for Sunday at Elkhorn Ridge GC. 

Edited July 23, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

We drove four hours from Dickinson, ND to Devil's Tower, WY National Park. Devil's Tower is an awesome sight. I think just about every grasshopper in Montana is stuck in my front grill, gross. 

Edited July 24, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

We are staying in the small town of Spearfish, SD. It's a pretty nice place. I played the front 9 at Elkhorn Ridge GC this morning and was off the tee at 6:20 am which was awesome. Walked off at 8:15. Fun golf course and in great shape everywhere. A few quirky holes, but overall I really enjoyed it. The back nine is supposedly better as it routes through a canyon. Shooting a 40 was great, wish I could have played all 18 as my game was ON. It's located about a mile, if that, off I-90. I could live here from May to October, but Winter here is probably brutal! The course had a really nice pro shop with a club repair facility inside which was cool to see. I paid $60 with cart for nine holes  which included a free divot repair tool. You can join here for $2200 per year which includes summer pool access at the local KOA. The member I played with was great. The wife was still asleep when I got back. I made a 6:30 am tee time for tomorrow morning at Spearfish Canyon CC.

Edited July 24, 2022 by BEND OF THE RIVER GC