Colorado WRX 2025

[Joelness]

58 minutes ago, dubbelbogey said:

 

Would be open to providing the name of this person in Longmont? Interested in TPI and some exercises to keep things in good shape.

 

Thanks!

 

Absolutely, I can't recommend her enough. Her name is Tanna Mauer.

[thaar]

8 minutes ago, Joelness said:

 

I still have a few on my bucket list: Whistling Straights, Kiawah, Bethpage, RTJ trail, the one in FL I can't remember the name.

 

Streamsong?

[Dancin]

1 hour ago, Joelness said:

 

I still have a few on my bucket list: Whistling Straights, Kiawah, Bethpage, RTJ trail, the one in FL I can't remember the name.

assume Streamsong

[Dancin]

I really like the two courses at TPC San Antonio for buddies trips and the resort is great but it's getting pretty pricey.

[Dancin]

For something cheaper in winter, I like the courses at Reunion south of Orlando too. If you are a 36 hole guy, there aren't many stay and play resorts that are cheaper in winter with the same quality of courses due to their unlimited golf deal. You will have to drive 5-15 minutes every morning as there are tons of condos all spread out around the courses that you could be located in. It's not like TPC San Antonio where you walk down from your room to the club house.

[Joelness]

3 hours ago, Dancin said:

For something cheaper in winter, I like the courses at Reunion south of Orlando too. If you are a 36 hole guy, there aren't many stay and play resorts that are cheaper in winter with the same quality of courses due to their unlimited golf deal. You will have to drive 5-15 minutes every morning as there are tons of condos all spread out around the courses that you could be located in. It's not like TPC San Antonio where you walk down from your room to the club house.

 

I'm immediately adding it to my list with that description. We are on the same wavelength in this regard.

[Dancin]

I thought the Watson course was much better than the Palmer and Nicklaus. It's still Florida golf, but it's a nice mix of courses and it has always been the cheapest in February when looking at package deals at different places. The Nicklaus course is from his more penal time so a lot of crowned greens and runoffs.

 

TPC San Antonio is definitely my favorite February golf trip location as I really like the Oaks course they hold the tournament on, but the price has gotten crazy

[bobbyclampett!!]

On 5/22/2025 at 12:04 PM, Joelness said:

 

Bandon is the best trip I've done, Pebble second. Outside of that I haven't done a lot of pure golf trips with groups. Hiltonhead was overrated outside of Chechessee Creek that we got to play and ran into Kisner and Chappel. Most of my favorite trips are my regulars: Ballyneal, Tucson, and New Smyrna Beach FL. 

 

I still have a few on my bucket list: Whistling Straights, Kiawah, Bethpage, RTJ trail, the one in FL I can't remember the name.

@Joelness Was Bandon windy for you? I loved the courses and the property so much, but holy cow it was windy. Also, how would you (or anyone else) rank the courses? I loved Trails and Bandon the most. Pac Dunes was fine but I thought it was a little overrated by the strategy wonks. 10-13 were special, though. Didn’t like Old Mac as much, but that could be because it was blowing 40mph. We actually didn’t get through all of Sheep Ranch because it was too windy to play. If anyone goes there I recommend 1) going at the least windy time of year (summer?), 2) tee off at 6:30am and 4:30pm to avoid the wind (have to stay in property to get tee times before 10, lodging was booked up when we made our tee times a year before). Not sure how possible it will be to engineer that because they are going to a lottery. Most people I talked to there said that kind of wind was typical. I mean, it is on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean on top of some cliffs… 

[ASak10]

On 5/21/2025 at 1:36 PM, jda said:

 

If you want to play somewhere kinda famous, then look at Kiawah and play the Ocean Course along with a handful of the Pointe Course.  This is expensive, but not Pebble or Bandon expensive.

Was going to say this when I saw the question. We recently went and paid $1,400 for a 3 bedroom villa (total, not per guy) for 4 nights and $1,290 for 5 rounds of golf (including Ocean Course with $120 caddie fee in that price). Cougar, Osprey, and Turtle are the others we played. 
 

 

[Dancin]

2 hours ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

@Joelness Was Bandon windy for you? I loved the courses and the property so much, but holy cow it was windy. Also, how would you (or anyone else) rank the courses? I loved Trails and Bandon the most. Pac Dunes was fine but I thought it was a little overrated by the strategy wonks. 10-13 were special, though. Didn’t like Old Mac as much, but that could be because it was blowing 40mph. We actually didn’t get through all of Sheep Ranch because it was too windy to play. If anyone goes there I recommend 1) going at the least windy time of year (summer?), 2) tee off at 6:30am and 4:30pm to avoid the wind (have to stay in property to get tee times before 10, lodging was booked up when we made our tee times a year before). Not sure how possible it will be to engineer that because they are going to a lottery. Most people I talked to there said that kind of wind was typical. I mean, it is on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean on top of some cliffs… 

I went near the end of June and the wind wasn't that bad. We maybe had 25 mph at the most. Old Mac is torture in high winds. A lot of those greens are brutal when the wind is really blowing.

[bobbyclampett!!]

17 hours ago, Dancin said:

I went near the end of June and the wind wasn't that bad. We maybe had 25 mph at the most. Old Mac is torture in high winds. A lot of those greens are brutal when the wind is really blowing.

Yeah I’d say it was at least 25 sustained, gusts up to 35. Those elevated crowned greens were a no go in those conditions. 

[MickeyTankBank]

On 5/23/2025 at 8:29 PM, bobbyclampett!! said:

@Joelness Was Bandon windy for you? I loved the courses and the property so much, but holy cow it was windy. Also, how would you (or anyone else) rank the courses? I loved Trails and Bandon the most. Pac Dunes was fine but I thought it was a little overrated by the strategy wonks. 10-13 were special, though. Didn’t like Old Mac as much, but that could be because it was blowing 40mph. We actually didn’t get through all of Sheep Ranch because it was too windy to play. If anyone goes there I recommend 1) going at the least windy time of year (summer?), 2) tee off at 6:30am and 4:30pm to avoid the wind (have to stay in property to get tee times before 10, lodging was booked up when we made our tee times a year before). Not sure how possible it will be to engineer that because they are going to a lottery. Most people I talked to there said that kind of wind was typical. I mean, it is on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean on top of some cliffs… 

 

When did you go? I'll be there next week and can't wait

[Joelness]

On 5/23/2025 at 8:29 PM, bobbyclampett!! said:

@Joelness Was Bandon windy for you? I loved the courses and the property so much, but holy cow it was windy. Also, how would you (or anyone else) rank the courses? I loved Trails and Bandon the most. Pac Dunes was fine but I thought it was a little overrated by the strategy wonks. 10-13 were special, though. Didn’t like Old Mac as much, but that could be because it was blowing 40mph. We actually didn’t get through all of Sheep Ranch because it was too windy to play. If anyone goes there I recommend 1) going at the least windy time of year (summer?), 2) tee off at 6:30am and 4:30pm to avoid the wind (have to stay in property to get tee times before 10, lodging was booked up when we made our tee times a year before). Not sure how possible it will be to engineer that because they are going to a lottery. Most people I talked to there said that kind of wind was typical. I mean, it is on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean on top of some cliffs… 

 

We went in June and it was fine, something in the 10-20 range. As far as the courses I thought IMO they are that good. Sheep was easy and more average but the other four were top shelf. Old Mac is a straight up tournament course. It's hard to like unless you've studied all the runoffs and you know exactly where the pins are. It's not a course most people would probably enjoy for the first time. Personally, I really liked it because of the complexity and thought involved.

 

I had heard nothing but amazing things and after going to Bandon, everyone is right. I've never seen so many awesome, world class courses in one spot.

Edited May 26 by Joelness

[Joelness]

On 5/23/2025 at 8:41 PM, ASak10 said:

Was going to say this when I saw the question. We recently went and paid $1,400 for a 3 bedroom villa (total, not per guy) for 4 nights and $1,290 for 5 rounds of golf (including Ocean Course with $120 caddie fee in that price). Cougar, Osprey, and Turtle are the others we played. 

 

Ooooooo, that's a great price

[bobbyclampett!!]

On 5/25/2025 at 10:34 AM, MickeyTankBank said:

 

When did you go? I'll be there next week and can't wait

We were there May 4-6. I’m guessing that was a windier time of year, still being spring. Sounds like summer might be less windy. Hope you get some good weather!

[MickeyTankBank]

2 hours ago, bobbyclampett!! said:

We were there May 4-6. I’m guessing that was a windier time of year, still being spring. Sounds like summer might be less windy. Hope you get some good weather!

 

 

If you played Shorty's how was it? Read some let's say "mixed" reviews of people who have been lately. That it's not quite ready yet. 

[ASak10]

18 hours ago, Joelness said:

 

Ooooooo, that's a great price

It was the last week or two of the non-peak season so the prices were great. The caddies mentioned how that transition time is their favorite weather and I see why. We did have one round we couldn’t finish due to lightning/rain but they refunded us the whole round so it worked out fine (we would have rather been able to play but what can you do). 

[bobbyclampett!!]

On 5/26/2025 at 6:46 PM, MickeyTankBank said:

 

 

If you played Shorty's how was it? Read some let's say "mixed" reviews of people who have been lately. That it's not quite ready yet. 

Didn’t play Shorty’s. Did play the Preserve (13 hole par 3) and I loved that. So relaxing. Nice stroll. Didn’t give crap what I “shot.” Fun holes. Highly recommend. 

[CDM]

On 5/22/2025 at 12:12 PM, thaar said:

 

Streamsong?

 

On 5/22/2025 at 1:55 PM, Dancin said:

assume Streamsong

 

I went to streamsong WAY back with my uncle who lived in Florida. It was right after the second course opened

 

First the golf staff was aweseome..........second the rest left me never wanting to go back.  The "hospitality" side was horrid, pretty much the staff did not want to be there and they really did not want to deal with customers. 

 

About 5 months later  as told they had massive turn over as it was remote (sort of for the time) and getting people to drive out there every day was a problem for them.  

 

I have heard its better now, but that one trip has removed it from my list, and we all know I have some addiction for golf travel 😂

[CDM]

On 5/23/2025 at 10:56 PM, Dancin said:

I went near the end of June and the wind wasn't that bad. We maybe had 25 mph at the most. Old Mac is torture in high winds. A lot of those greens are brutal when the wind is really blowing.

 

Old Mac was disapointing to me.  Pac Dunes, that is an amazing course...!  Doak killed it with that one..! 

[pseudoswede]

51 minutes ago, CDM said:

The "hospitality" side was horrid, pretty much the staff did not want to be there and they really did not want to deal with customers. 

 

Maybe because they had to deal with you. 🤣🤣🤣

 

Staff: Mr. CDM, can we post your score on GHIN for you?

CDM: NO!

Edited May 28 by pseudoswede

[jda]

22 hours ago, CDM said:

The "hospitality" side was horrid, pretty much the staff did not want to be there and they really did not want to deal with customers.

 

This has been a problem since the golf boom.  Even if people are nice, they have so many stupid things that they expect you to put up with - no Mastercard, only one Credit Card per room, ordering only on apps, charging only to room (which sucks when your have to divvy it up later), etc.

 

I have no time for people who whine about prices - you know what these are so go or do not go.  However, having to pay because you are the only one with a Visa, trying to help your friends figure out how to get Venmo setup, having to call the CC company to extend their limit to non-merchant and all of that is just stupid.  Stress that nobody needs.

 

I cannot remember where we were, but a pair of our twosomes got caddies that were brand new within a few days.  They had the papers with the breaks on the greens and yardages, but were not helpful.  They were still full price and expected good tips.  Complaints fell on deaf ears.  My caddie was in the mix to be on a pro bag when needed so we had a good one, but I felt for these guys.

 

We went to one place where you HAD to use their valet for rental cars at $40 a night - free parking was only for owner-used cars.  We had to smuggle in refillable water bottles some place - only drinking fountains or their $7 bottle of water was allowed.  Ranges closed without warning.  Temporary greens - this happens at Pebble/Spanish/Spy a lot.  Had 2 holes closed once somewhere, but still full price.  Everybody hates aerated greens on vacation.

 

At some point, this is just too much garbage for some people to eat.  This will change whenever the next economic downturn comes.

 

/rant

 

EDIT: and 18% automatic gratuity at the resort nearly always guarantees bad service... good luck getting your water glass refilled.

Edited May 29 by jda

[pseudoswede]

First 9 holes out since the all-clear from the doctor. @seven dewey and I played the Meadows with the Thursday night gang. I figured I would be super rusty off the tee, but that was not the case. I only had one bad drive off the tee; and I almost drove #5. I also figured that my short game would save my round, and that was furthest from the truth. I think I shanked 6-7 shots around the green, two literally went sideways. I'm definitely scratching my head about those. Highlight was going driver/7-iron on #9, and I just missed my eagle putt.

 

But, really, for the first time out since late October, and sitting in the doctor's office six weeks ago thinking I might not even play golf this season, I'll happily accept my 44.

 

I'm bummed I'm going to miss FRGC at GVR this weekend because I'm flying out to San Francisco for a conference on Sunday, but I should be able to play at Red Hawk Ridge on 6/8. Then I'm off to Sweden a few days later for almost four weeks. Days I suppose I would've spent playing golf over there has been replaced with a 5-day trip to Budapest.

Edited May 30 by pseudoswede

[Dancin]

Crap. Course I am playing in Japan hasn't dropped their sport coat requirement in summer, so I will need to go buy a cheap sport coat. Traditionally courses in Japan required you to show up in sport coats and dress pants before changing to golf attire in the locker room. Many have removed that restriction in summer, but not all.

[Dancin]

Every time I come back here and play with my old King Cobra II irons from the 90s it really makes me think I need to go back to cavity backs. So easy to get these up in the air and simple to draw them with the big offset they have. They definitely don't have the feel of my mizuno irons though. No idea where on the face I hit the ball.

[Joelness]

Nothing feels like a mizuno outside of other small Japanese brands. I've used forged sets from all the other big manufacturers and I will attest to it. I spent those six years just missing my old MP-4's.

 

I'm not sure I'll buy another brand from here unless something changes.

[Coupeguy23]

Got an open spot on the 9:10am tee time at Redhawk Ridge tomorrow if anyone wants to join. I released it back earlier this morning but its still up if anyone wants to hack it around.

[MickeyTankBank]

Just got back from Bandon yesterday and it was awesome.

 

Got there Saturday afternoon and played a round a little bit at The Punchbowl then played Shorty's. It's a fun little par 3 course. There are still a few spots on the a couple greens that need to be repaired/grown in. Overall it's a lot of fun and good play for betting and drinking.

 

Played Shorty's again Sunday morning then played Bandon Dunes in the afternoon. That was a mistake. Wind was blowing a steady 25-30mph with gusts over 50mph. Took a pull cart, which was another mistake, and it just wasn't golf. It was just survival. Somehow shot a 90 from the green tees. My ShotScope said had a drive that went 318y and another that went 167y. The flagstick actually blew out of the hole on 15, that par 3 at the top of the hill next to the ocean. It was fun hitting the weird shots but walking between each shot was miserable. 

 

Played Pacific Dunes Monday morning. Took a caddie and played the gold tees cause I learned my lesson, shot an 81. It was still really windy, probably 20-25mph with gusts around 40mph, but manageable. Loved the course. The four par 3s and three par 5s on the back is great. Was supposed to play the Trails that afternoon but decided not to after I started getting a blister on my heel.

 

Played Old Mac on Tuesday morning. Also had a caddie and stayed on the gold tees, shot a 78. Still really windy at 7:30am but also a little but better than the day before. Another course I really liked a lot. Literally hit my drive 6" right of the Ghost Tree and right between 2 branches, ended up on the right side of the green, 3 putt par. The tree was leaning real bad and they had 3 cables holding it up. That reveal when you walk over the hill next to the tree and see most of the course laid out in front of you was amazing. Looked like all those links courses you watched during The Open your whole life. Played with a guy in my group from the UK and he said it's exactly like the courses he used to play back there. 

 

Played Trails in the afternoon. Kept my caddie and and stayed on the gold tees, shot 83. Still really windy but during those middle holes you get away from it in the trees, and it actually started to get hot. Had to peel some layers off. Another course I really liked, some really great holes on that course. Kinda felt a lot like Bear Dance. Those last few holes when you get back out of the trees straight into the wind are brutal. My eyes were destroyed and I didn't know how I even hit the ball the ball. 

 

Played Sheep Ranch in the morning on Wednesday the last day. Had a caddie and stuck with the gold tees, shot a 76. Probably the best I played the whole trip, other than one double bogey it was a good round. Very calm conditions helped. There was just a little wind and some fog rolling through. The absolute best piece of property in terms of views out there. Walked over to the "original" tee for 16 and it was just insane. The course was just ok. It's a little cramped with a few routing and crossover issues. We were the 1st three groups out so that wasn't bad for us but I could see the problems as we were finishing. The idea of no bunkers is great but it still feels like it's missing something. There are some really great holes out there but it just didn't pop like the others.

 

I'd rank the courses:

1. Pacific Dunes

2. Old Macdonald

3. Bandon Trails

4. Bandon Dunes

5. Sheep Ranch

 

Kinda hard to rank Bandon Dunes accurately since the conditions were so bad when we played. Old Mac is fantastic but holes 1, 2, 17, 18 take away from the old school links course style it has, at least to me. Maybe even 7 and 8 too with the big elevation changes.

 

The food was real good at all of the restaurants.

Grabbed some tacos at Shorty's on Saturday before we started. 

Ate at McKees Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday nights. Fish and chips were ok, the blackened steelhead was very good.

Had a lunch at the Puffin Bar on Sunday before playing Bandon Dunes.

Lunch at the Pacific Grill Monday after paying Pac Dunes.

Went over to Trails End for sushi before we played Trails on Tuesday. Had to a rush it a bit with our tee time. Shoving sushi in your mouth with you hands as you walk out the door is probably not how they intend for you eat it. It was very good sushi though. Little disappointed they don't offer public dinner service. It's only private dining in the evenings.

Monday night we ate late at The Gallery in the main lodge. Took us 2 hours but they did warn us that they also had a large group of 20 that came in right before us and it might take a while. Pizza was good so was the pasta. 

Had a sandwich at Sheep Ranch after that round for lunch that was very good. 

We had a reservation Wednesday night at The Ghost Tree Grill. It was fantastic. Everything about that place was great, the food was amazing, looking out over the opening and closing holes of Old Mac with the Ghost Tree in full view while the sun sets. 

Ate a good half a dozen oatmeal cookies over the course of the week, and I don't even like oatmeal raisin cookies. I took home some of those protein balls I'll take this weekend when I play.

The Ghost Tree Hazy is a solid hazy IPA. Not great and not bad. The Hefeweizen was really good and so was the Sheep Ranch Lager.

 

Shorty's on Saturday night:

 

Bandon Dunes on Sunday morning:

 

 

Sheep Ranch on Wednesday morning:

 

[jda]

On 6/4/2025 at 4:51 AM, Dancin said:

Every time I come back here and play with my old King Cobra II irons from the 90s it really makes me think I need to go back to cavity backs. So easy to get these up in the air and simple to draw them with the big offset they have. They definitely don't have the feel of my mizuno irons though. No idea where on the face I hit the ball.

 

Why not find some Mizuno cavities from the same time period?  Titleist forged stuff pre 2006/2007 ish used to be made by Miura so they feel really nice too.  Friend had some mp30s that felt great and played awesome too.

[bobbyclampett!!]

Collindale was in fantastic shape today after all that rain and the sun came out and was warm with a little humidity in the air. Felt and played amazing.