Went up to Knoxville for the Mid-South Regional this past weekend. Played Three Ridges Golf Course on Friday evening (front 9) in a stableford format. The front nine has some interesting holes and the highlight was almost jarring one from 159 on the par 3 5th hole. Hit the flag stick on the fly and thanks to the absolute downpour 2 minutes earlier (see the 2nd picture taken right before hitting the shot) the ball ended up only 6 feet from the hole.
Then got up and played 18 at Willow Creek Golf Club on Saturday. Front nine was a fourball match and the back nine was singles. Course was in good condition but not my favorite layout I’ve played.
Left there and drove over to Holston Hills CC. Which immediately jumped in to the top 5 courses I’ve played. What an absolute delight. Course was in great shape, every single hole is fantastic (even the 2nd hole is starting to grow on me); and the bunkers??? My goodness are they good.
And then there’s the par 4 15th. The “chocolate drop” mounding across the fairway, the bunkers and mounding around the green. The 3 trees framing the shot for you from the tee box. It didn’t hurt that I made birdie but this is the standard for all par 4s going forward for me. It’s maybe the best golf hole I’ve played.
Played at my home course, LuLu Country Club, in a member/member event and decided it was a good idea to shoot 73 before our jamboree event this weekend. Course was and is in great shape. Not so much for managing that handicap.
Played Madison Golf Course in Peoria, shot 89 and broke 90 for the first time today. Yes did it on a par 69 so still need to do it on a full course. However no triple bogeys or worse, and only one 3 putt made for a really great round. Easily could have been lower. Left 4 putts that were dead in the middle short, including two that stopped half a roll short.
This was Greg. Rolled up right when I did so we paired up. Jeans with ripped up knees, “worlds best grandpa” t-shirt, and a bucket hat was quite the vibe. Muni golf at its finest.
This is the big one for me right now. If I can eliminate these huge blowup holes, and keep them to just double, it will go a long way toward lowering my scores.
Just finished one of my better 9 hole rounds of the year, and couldn’t be more frustrated with it.
Was absolutely vibing from the start, hit the first 2 greens and 2 putted for pars. 3rd and 4th hole, hit gorgeous drives into the middle of the fairway. 3rd hole I ended up in a divot so just took my medicine and chunked it up greenside, great pitch shot to 8 foot, drained for par. 4th hole I caught it then and went long of the green, chip shot hit the flag and rolled to 6 inches for par.
Even through 4, completely uncharted territory for me. Back to back bogeys and a par, sitting at +2 on the 8th tee, still feeling amazing.
Proceed to hit 3 shots OB on the final two holes, a triple bogey 6 and a quad 9… 45 net 43 on the day.
Had the Delaware Open Quaifier on Monday at Mulligan’s Pointe in Georgetown, Delaware; very similar to numerous other eastern shore older country clubs. Knew I didn’t need to do much to qualify; figured if I broke 80 I would be fine. Got off to a rough start with a 3-Jack from 4 feet on the 120 yard 3rd hole but got it going for a bit before getting on the bogey train on the back. Evened it out towards the end for a 78 and ended quaifying (lost score was 72 (4 people).
Ended up playing a second 18 at the Peninsula Golf & Country Club; a Jack Nicklaus design near Millsboro that is always in phenomenal shape and one of my fair Nicklaus courses I’ve played. All and all a great day.
Got back yesterday from a trip to Nebraska for a roost regional at Indian Creek. Then ventured further west to play Awarii Dunes and Wild Horse (twice).
Awarri was still trying to recover from some serious winter kill, the guy at check in said they only had 2 - 3 inches of snow all winter. Admittedly, the course was in rough shape, especially the greens. Having said that, I had a blast playing it!! I can only imagine how fun it would have been in better condition.
After walking off the 18th at Awarii, we headed another hour west to Wild Horse. We played that afternoon and then again in the morning. We happened to get paired with the 9-time club champ for our second round at Wild Horse. That was fun! Wild Horse is the best course I have ever played. The greens were literally perfect. The fairways were firm and fast. I could play that course 50 times a year and not get tired of it. What a gem!!
Glad you were not only able to get to Indian Creek, but make it out west too! Wild Horse is such a great course, I try to emphasize it to everyone who’s going to be within 2-3 hours.
Got the chance to play Troubadour Golf and Field Club here in Nashville last week. The experience was top notch and it was probably the nicest range I’ve ever seen. I had high expectations going in and was not disappointed when it comes to the vibe of the place (it’s the laid back Discovery Land vibe you would expect) but the course was fairly bland outside of the first two holes.
Nice couple days strolling around my favorite area on earth.
Tuesday - Monterey Peninsula CC, Dunes Course.
The rare Raynor/Fazio/Rees Jones collaboration. Hadn’t played here since the 2007 State Am, and all the bong resin and beer hops that have faded my brain made it feel like a new experience. Greens are wild.
Had a pretty good summer of travel. Started with Also played Blackwolf River Course at Kohler, I thought it was fantastic, more playable that Whistling,
Then a couple weeks ago my daughter and I played Tulleymore (loved it) and St. Ives (just okay) up in Marshall MI. We then headed north and finished our trip at Belvedere. What an incredible place!!! We both loved everything about it. The vibe is just cool and the course was so fun, Just an old school course with unbelievable greens.
Also played Blackwolf River Course at Kohler, I thought it was fantastic, more playable that Whistling,
