It has to be increased interest leading to wait-lists leading them to narrow the eligible entrants, right?
I think we’re still pretty lucky in Nebraska that we can directly enter because in many states I believe they have qualifiers for their state am and mid-am.
The lowering of cap for the Am/Matchplay I 100% get and agree with, fourball I think I agree with, but MidAm, especially after increasing field size last year, confuses me. It seems to me like MidAm should be the one they want people in that range to play.
Totally agree. That’s the one that makes me a little mad. I wonder if they’re going to change it to a non-flighted tournament.
Maybe they should have a 5-10 index tournament for people like me. Call it the “Meh”-Am.
Yeah, with both the fourball and midam being flighted, it makes sense (at least in my very dumb head) to extend the cap limit higher, but I also agree with @QMany that at least in the fourball’s case, it should help with the overwhelming of the event
I would play in the Meh’d-Am so hard.
The Meh’d-Am sounds like it should be a name of an NLU event.
Or better yet, the video series of @Tron practicing in preparation of not participating in his US Mid-Am Quaifier
I think the Mid Am is a great entry-level event. That is really how I got started in the Kansas amateur golf scene. It is low-key and fun but also gets that needle in your arm.
Anyone snag a pre-sale spot for Quarry Oaks? Got a tee time in June and another in July. Very excited to see how the renovations look.
Same! July with some work buddies and June with the GPGC herd.
Yes I got one in May then another in August. I consider it a solid replacement for missing out on the debacle that was the Landmand release this year.
Hey folks, looking for TWO more people to join our Great Plains GC outing at River Wilds in Blair on May 30th. We have times right around 2-2:30 scheduled. I’d love to see Omaha and Lincoln take this opportunity to get involved with something happening less than an hour away, as a lot of the GPGC outings require us Nebraskans to travel at least a couple hours.
First two to reply or DM get the spots!
Unfortunately will be playing a practice round for the Fremont Invite that weekend or I’d love to come join!
New Quarry Oaks thoughts after a round last week:
The 9th hold is the biggest change to the golf, and it’s a good one. The landing area up the hill is flatter and wider. The green site was pushed back to make it a par 5 with a funky, fun little green complex. Otherwise 14, which used to have the goofy two-tiered fairway and is now just one normal fairway, is the only major change to actual golf play save for some new back tee boxes. The leaf-shape inspired bunkers are cool.
The greens used to be like plush carpet, but they also took golf-ball sized divots. They’re playing firmer now, but it’s perhaps too early in the grow in to judge. The certainly aren’t top third in the region at the moment.
There’s the well documented tree clearing just about everywhere. Still a ton of trees but now you can see across to other holes and way more views of the Platte. I appreciate it, but it’s very unlikely you’ll be finding or playing any balls in the trees.
The clubhouse had a major renovation and looks great. It will probably help the perceived value if your foursome sticks around for drinks or a meal and treats this like a destination round. There were also two really well built halfway house cabins, well stocked, that you hit a couple times on the front and once on the back.
On the negative side, I think they need another set of tees. The gap between the tips and one-ups can be massive, but the one-ups will take driver out of the low single digit cap’s hand quite often. I would have a good time playing the tips everywhere but the par 3’s, where a few of the boxes are deeeep. But it’s not a great course for people in your group to play different tees as they are sometimes far from the path and on different tiers.
The other glaring negative is the $160 price point. As far as the actual golf experience, it doesn’t really feel that different from the old Quarry. I personally don’t see it as more than a once-per-summer at most type of deal for most golfers and wonder what the tee sheet will look like in a few years after everyone has seen it. Bent Tree this weekend was in great shape and is less than half that, as is Indian Creek. But I’ve been very wrong about different places’ ability to fill before.
I’ve had some reservations about the work, and if they would do enough to justify the price range. To me at least, it was always a course that was just a ball-buster, and would only play at most once a year just to try and see how well you could play, not a place I want to go back to again and again. So it doesn’t sound like that has necessarily changed.
I’m curious to see how some of the “sleepier” holes are now. The stretch of 14-18 was always fun, but man getting through some of the first few holes on the front always felt like a slog, and even starting the back as well.
My thoughts on Quarry have always been that you go out there and play because of the setting and the golf course is pretty forgettable. $160 is an absolute deal breaker for me…but I’m just not a fan of high end golf experiences. I love Arborlinks and got to play it a few years back because a buddy won a two-day, one night on property in an auction. The golf course is why I love it down there…the cabins, comfort station, and luxury touches just make me feel out of place, honestly. I feel like going to Quarry and having it try to be like a Dormie Network property but still have the same “meh” course would just not be for me.
I didn’t book Quarry, but they’re also doing the Landmand model of having to book and pay the foursome up front. Not huge deal in the Venmo era, but it definitely ups the level of planning required.
I can see why courses want to cut down on the “book 4 but show up with 2 or 3” shenanigans, but you have to be pretty in demand for the consumer to want to shoulder that risk.
This was my first thought when the prices came out. I understand that you want to stand out with Landmand making waves, but that’s a big price hike. I’ll get a couple of chances at it this summer and reassess after this year.
Thanks for sharing this write up! I was planning to try it once just to try it of course, but this tracks with what I expected.
Definitely would rather play Bent Tree, Indian Creek, or even Johnny Goodman and Benson.
Speaking of courses to play, anyone have thoughts on Shoreline in Carter Lake? Things to avoid or things you enjoyed? I’m playing there on Friday… looks sweet from the flyovers!
Play my weekly work league here. Not super long, very very flat easy walk, can be tight on certain holes with trees