We could probably start a training aid lending program here, honestly. I have a smart ball, a blast motion putting sensor (which I use a lot actually), an orange whip and probably a few others I have forgotten about. The blast motion putting thing is the only one that has really stuck in my routine of using it because it actually makes putting fun.
Anyone hitting up Sweetens March 18th by chance?
I was supposed to be there on the 19th but forgot it was spring break. Will have to give back the tee time.
Very cool interview with the owner of Franklin Bridge. Never been a fan of the course but I might have to play it more now. Good news - number 9 is getting redesigned!
That was a great listen. I love how genuine he is…didn’t hold back in saying that #9 is awful. Will be really cool to see the area they are going to put in over there as the current practice area is severely lacking.
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Just want to say I finally birdied number 14 at twelve stones…
It’s simple really…hit a 280 yard drive into the hill, watch it roll back 60ish yards till it’s about 135 out lol…then hit a super pure 7 iron to 6ft and made the putt. My 7 iron is my 175-180 club fwiw. Dumbest hole I’ve legitimately ever played. I also hate number 10 with a passion…
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Heads up - just had to cancel 4 spots at Sweetens for Friday, March 19th. They should become available on their site today if anyone is interested.
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Played Gaylord this weekend with @adodgerfan and found out yet another interesting quirk of this golf course that consistently treats its guests like crap. Push carts are not allowed. You can walk or ride and in either event you pay for the golf cart (this is not unique and I have no quarrels with this practice as courses make money off of cart revenue blah blah blah). What I do take issue with is that I cannot even get an answer on the topic. I just want to know why. I am not going to argue or get upset, just actually curious. I came up with a few possible reasons:
Pace of Play - I would love for this to be the reasoning because we were on Cart Path Only and in some cases the group in front of us was having to walk 70 yards to their ball with multiple clubs, etc. If you think push carts are slower than carts on CPO I really question if you actually play golf.
Revenue - we already paid for the cart so we are actually doing you a solid by not depreciating your fleet. You’re welcome.
Optics - Apparently some courses see it as low class to have push carts on their course. Some rundown courses like Pacific Dunes, Pinehurst No. 2, St. Andrews and the Ocean Course at Kiawah all allow push carts so you definitely don’t want to be associated with them.
Damage to the course - This is my favorite. I have literally seen people drive their golf cart into the fairway bunker on hole number 2 (November 2020) at Gaylord and a push cart weighs like 6 lbs.
Ultimately, this just goes to the bigger picture that Gaylord kind of represents the 1990s version of golf. Move a ton of dirt, make it super expensive, drop a few fountains in, gouge people for range balls and drinks and anything else. Make sure no one walks or gets any real exercise. Make it a horrible amalgam of all the worst parts of private golf and public golf. THIS IS RESORT GOLF PEOPLE. Hermitage just beats Gaylord in every aspect and I apologize to @adodgerfan for dragging him out to Gaylord. I just like to have a bad experience every now and then so that I can really enjoy good golf experiences in comparison. #boycottGaylord
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@VandyLand played great despite us lugging our bags around. Highlight was a chip in eagle on par 5 6th for me. @VandyLand was
Surprised I would chip from just off the green with about 60-70ft to the pin but my putting is terrible I feel more comfy with a chip 7iron than my putter. The course has so much potential if the pro shop werent so much of the things I hate about golf.
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I’m a big fan of chipping from the fringe if its a longer shot. Way better chance of getting the distance right by bumping my PW than putting. Never was good at bumping with the 7iron.
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We literally were talking about chipping vs putting and I just barely finished my sentence on why I think putting is usually less risky and my guy drains it from 70 ft! A nice reminder to leave the advice to teaching professionals. And I agree the course itself is pretty good and I really want to like it. I truly do. But their management seems to actively reject the kind of people that make up this board and that’s a real shame.
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LOL’d at this
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Gaylord Springs and Harpeth Hills management teams are kindred spirits. It’s as if they get the most joy out of telling people “no” to innocuous asks.
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I played King’s Creek this weekend to get some insight on how their refurb looked and to see if it was going to be worth throwing it back in the rotation this summer. I was pleasantly surprised.
Considering they completely lost their greens at one point, i was surprised how good they were considering they havent even had a full growing season. They were very firm, but a little slow. As we get to summer, they’ll be solid.
They removed or shrunk a TON of stupid bunkers. Arnold Palmer design does this absurd maximalist bunkers that must cost 10s of thousands to maintain. It was smart that they shrunk many of them by 75%, but what they left was highly impactful and made you think. Shoutout to the supers as every bunker was immaculate.
I immediately laughed out loud at the renderings of their new “Grove XXIII” clubhouse as @Boomersooner523 called them (pic below). If they can draw in some of the neighborhood non-golf traffic to their restaurant, it will really help.
They’ve done a TON of housing development. That big dead space we were chatting about a month ago has been completely graded and site prep is complete on what I’d have to guess is 20+ home sites. They entered the dead space by building a road between 6 green and 7 tee.
Pace of play sucked, but I’ll judge that again on another visit which we will definitely make. I’m eager to see how they maintain the greens and rough in the heat of the summer as both were major problems for last group.
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Who has a decent public practice facility in town? Looking to hit some balls, chip/putt a little on Saturday morning.
Gaylord Springs or Harpeth Valley Golf Center
Metro Course Practice Facility Summary
- McCabe - Driving Range (probably off mats still), chipping green (can hit up to 40 yard pitches probably into it) and putting green [best option in my opinion]
- Harpeth Hills - Driving Range, chipping green (exclusively chipping and it basically tilted on a ridiculous grade so not much help) and putting green (very basic, not useful)
- Two Rivers - huge putting green with some good undulation, practice area that I think you have to rent which is weird and no range balls provided
- Ted Rhodes - Field to hit into that is mowed but they do not provide/sell range balls (BYOB), practice green
- Shelby - putting green, no range, pitching green to the right of club house.
- VinnyLinks - They do have a range but it is largely useless since it goes straight uphill, large putting green that you are allowed to hit like 20 yd pitch shots onto
- Percy Warner - field that you can hit into with your own balls, practice green that you can hit pitch shots onto.
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Agree with the above summaries. The metro practice facilities are pretty average overall – as you can see in @VandyLand’s description, some metro courses have a good range/putting green/chipping area but none has all three. Harpeth Valley has large lit range and pitching area, but the putting green is very slow. I just moved to the east side of town and enjoyed Hermitage, although it was still mats only as of a couple weeks ago. Have only been once so I’m not sure about pitching/chipping areas. I haven’t been to Gaylord but would assume it would have nicer facilities on par with Hermitage. If you are centrally located and don’t want to drive very far, McCabe is the best option. But beware of going to the range on a nice evening or the weekend – the range is small, so there is a good chance you will have to wait for a spot and end up hitting off mostly bare dirt.
Thanks for the thorough description/power ranking!
Will be in Nashville early next week and just got the call that my day at Sweetens won’t be possible due to the flood. Already got the thumbs up for a day of golf—any recommendations on a replacement day? Near the city or a bit of a drive, doesn’t really matter to me.