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Please tell me a refugee was the one that won the Powerball? From the Allegany area.
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I had about a 30 second window this morning where I thought it was me. I saw the report there was a solo winner from Maryland and at that point no specific area was mentioned. I glanced at the winning numbers but didn’t pay much attention other than to notice that the powerball was 22 which stood out and seemed familiar. I went to grab my ticket and saw that my powerball number was 22. Still had no idea at the rest of the numbers or area but the dream was fully alive at this point. I pulled up the app, scanned the qr code and saw that I was a winner…of $4. It’s a long way from $500 million but got some money back and had quite the rush for 30 seconds at 6:30 this morning!
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Perhaps the best question for the group is, if you had won, which golf course would you have purchased and renovated? The easy answer is you’d build your own, but for the purposes of this game, which current course would you buy and completely remake to your standards?
For me it would be Pine Ridge, which could have absolutely amazing views if you could cut down a bunch of trees to you could see the reservoir.
EDIT: Obviously the conditions would also get a big upgrade.
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Pine Ridge is a great choice, plus you could eliminate the 5 hour round.
For me I’d say it’s Renditions, it’s a cool concept but the course holds water like the Hoover Dam, and the conditions suffer. Or UMD’s course to ensure once and for all the University can’t develop it into parking lots or off campus housing.
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Queenstown. Could get more holes onto the water with the space they have. Build a resort on site. Already has some decent holes.
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That’s easy for me. Caledonia Golf Course in Fayetteville PA. It’s a couple of hundred yards from the Appalachian Trail and has bounced between owners the last few years so it could be had cheap. It has good bones and a long history. It’s very rough around the edges, but with some work, I think it could be a course that is fun for good golfers and beginners.
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I think they are starting to do this with the new cottages they built last year. And I believe they are going to be building more in the near future
There’s definitely a few options to choose. But, I’ll go with Bay Hills in Arnold. I live 3 minutes from the place and refuse to play it. Conditions are always awful and it’s terribly run IMO. Would love to renovate and actually get some people in there to run it the right way to add another viable public course in the area.
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Longtime lurker, first time poster. Live in DC and am all-in on the NLT renos.
+1 to Renditions
Add Lake Presidential to the list, since it’s currently for sale and you’d already have a lot to work with.
Other one that comes to mind in VA is Greendale in Alexandria - an upgrade in quality and pace of place would be welcome for just about any course near the beltway.
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Great question, and something I’ve pondered once or twice myself. If it was about 8 years ago I’d say Wakefield Valley in Westminster (RIP). 27 holes to work with, great terrain… surrounded by an 80s subdivision…? Ok, so I’m biased because I grew up nearby, but would have been cool to save it before it closed.
Pine Ridge is a great choice. I realized recently that winter is the best time to play there… no leaves on the trees = WAY more views of the reservoir, faster rounds with not as many people playing, and if the greens are frozen it plays the fastest and firmest you’ll ever see it.
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Just stinks, because it seems like the only way you can improve it is to make it private.
It’s so convenient, people will fork up the $70 to play a $20 course. Buddy of mine worked there for years, he was always adamant that the greenskeeper should be knighted for being able to keep it playable with zero budget.
Got out there in fresh off the Covid openings, and it was unbelievably good. But supply and demand. People will flock and still pay $70, conditions turn shit, people still show up, and they can have minimal expenses, so they’re not motivated to change it.
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It blows my mind people will pay $70 to play there. Drives me insane that they spread tee times like 5 mins apart and then by the 2nd tee there’s 4 groups already waiting to hit. We used to play in the Chesapeake Open scrambles that they ran but even those started to turn in to cluster fucks.
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I despise it, but they found to way to profit like nobody’s business by having the most convenient 18 holes in an affluent area, so they have zero intention of messing with the winning formula.
Convenience + Jacked Rates + Consistent Play - Time Between Groups - Expensive Conditioning = Straight Cash Homie
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Great question! I’d go with Fantasy Valley in Deep Creek. I love mountain golf courses and there’s a lot of fun holes with potential, but the current routing, conditions, and course name for that matter are all questionable.
Yeah. I’m hoping Eisenhower is really successful and they start getting a lot of the Bay Hills players and force Bay Hills to do something but that’s me being very optimistic.
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I hear ya there, the anticipation of checking out the new Eisenhower has reached critical mass for me.
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Would buy Hog Neck so it wouldn’t be run by the county. Completely redo the drainage out there and bring bent grass back. Put a lot of money into the executive course (like winter park 9)
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This reminded me about the “dream” I have of buying and revamping Mitchell’s Golf Complex in Reisterstown. It’s an outdated driving range, three mini golf courses, and an executive 9 that has, hands down, the worst greens you’ll ever see in your life. I’m guessing it’s family-owned/operated because I’ve seen the same lady working in the golf shop since I started going there in the mid 90s.
I envision a huge putting green (think Punchbowl at Bandon), re-doing the 9 hole course to have easy options for composite holes and 3 hole or 6 hole loops, and adding another mini golf course.
Side note- if you want a fun/difficult mini golf experience, two of the three courses at Mitchell’s are like nothing I’ve seen elsewhere. “The Monster in the Pines” has legit 50 yard holes, crazy zigzags, and borderline impossible hole locations. The other, “The Championship Course” is a bit easier, but some holes have a wedge sitting next to the teeing area with forced carries and plywood ricochet targets. They’re also pretty loose with the alcohol policy (just please observe the TC way so it’s not ruined for the rest of us). Highly, highly recommend though, if you’re in the area.
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Those things measure at about a 0.5 on the Stimpmeter. That would be a great idea for that executive course though!
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