Played Jacaranda East and West last week, got caught in a thunderstorm, was woefully unimpressed with the service. Everyone who worked there was miserable. Needless to say the Jac is not on my list to play again.
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Played 36 on Saturday at Cleeve Hil, in the hills above Cheltenham in the Cotswolds in England. @MerchCzar and @Tron did a Crash Course pod on it a few years back:
My friend is a country member as his wife’s family lives nearby and has been playing at Cleeve for a number of years. The course has quite a story which is covered in the pod and elsewhere and the designer is Old Tom Morris so draw your own conclusions on what it is like!
We walked 36 and took a lunch (and pint) break in between. The course has a lot of climbs and drops and a lot of rock to walk over. My feet were killing me about 27 holes in and as I type this on Sunday morning they are still sore. We played the course in March and the experience was completely different in June. Wind direction was very different and the course was getting firm and fast after weeks of sunny dry weather in England. Looking forward to going back again.
Some pics:
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Cleeve Hill is such a treat to play. We added it (along with Painswick and Minch Old) to the end of a Cornwall/Devon/Somerset links adventure. Played 36 at Cleeve and wish we could have gone around again. We’re going to bring some guys that haven’t seen it in August, en route to Southern Wales. Can’t wait. Btw, did not know there was a crash course - definitely going to give that a listen.
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We played Old Minch in March when we played Cleeve. We were meant to play Cleeve on a Saturday / Sunday in March but when we arrived from London it was mostly covered in snow so we went to Old Minch and returned to Cleeve on Sunday by which time the snow had melted.
Enjoy your next trip. It was really in nice shape yesterday. Greens are slow but lots of grass on them and fairways had a great “thump” to them!
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Teamed up with @Generational3Putter to take on @Joezwickl and his better half A.I. at Chambers Bay yesterday. Great to see #15 back up and running!
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Played the beautiful Elk Rapids Golf Club today in northern Michigan. Perfect 9 hole, half-set stroll to start the day. Designed by Donald Ross himself (allegedly) in the early 20s!
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Played Lick Creek for the first time in over 20 years with my dad. Fared just a tad better than I did when I was 12. Matching 87’s with multiple 3 putt bogeys was a tuff scene. Highlight of the day was dad almost jarring it on 15.
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Finished up a super fun getaway weekend in the Quad Cities of Illinois/Iowa today. Was able to share a few of my favorite courses with some buddies for the first time which is always a joy.
Friday:
Prairieview GC - Byron, IL
Had to stop at PV on my drive across the state to visit this 2CGC favorite for my first time. Enjoyed a delightful round that included this sweet centerline tree guarding second shots into the par five 11th green.
Indian Bluff GC - Milan, IL
No pictures but a short (5700 yards), quirky, and cheap ($24) park district course that would be the perfect track for a strapped money round.
Saturday:
Fyre Lake GC - Sherrard, IL
My personal favorite course I’ve played in Illinois. Nicklaus design and a true hidden gem that is starting to get the recognition it deserves. Was on its deathbed for a handful of years '“can you believe that Barbara?” before being bought and given some much needed TLC by current owner Mark three or so years ago. He’s a nut but the place is in the best condition I’ve seen, and it was truly difficult leaving after an awesome 36 holes.
Sunday:
TPC Deere Run - Silvis, IL
Home of the fifth major. Gets a ton of run as the butt of mule/tewer jokes but can be an enjoyable round of golf due to conditioning and playability alone (if you play from your correct tees). Rates won’t kill you, but they’re definitely inflated by the TPC name (shocker). Is a good intro to higher end public golf for the strapped adjacent golfer.
Note: first time I’ve played the course with some of the stands built, which was pretty neat and helps make the price tag feel a little more worth it.
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The ElectricPhactory Roost played an event there last year and we pretty much unanimously agreed to never go back. That course stinks.
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A (possibly hot) take of mine is that TPC Deere Run is a sweet golf course and has some very interesting features architecturally. The tour just plays it in the middle of summer in the midwest when it’s 90, humid, and most of the prominent names are prepping for TUKBOPBHMTQ.
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Had a buddy come down to Myrtle Beach this week.
Three that stuck with me:
Myrtlewood Palmetto. Whole course was kinda meh, a few cool ones. But man did 17 / 18 almost make the whole thing worth it, finished up on 18 right as the sun set and it was awesome. They were getting ready to punch so Soddy greens but good experience.
Pinelakes: Wow. Course was in absolutely pristine condition, unfortunately for me they also had superintendent revenge on the same day buddy and I were out there! Didn’t take it very seriously by Hole 7 because it was borderline impossible but still a really well maintained and fun course.
Prestwick CC: Snuck into my top 5 favorite courses in the area. Fair, but rewarding. Not too long, excellent condition. Got paired with two randos who brought down the vibe overall, but would most certainly go back.
Prior to May I was posting mid to high 80s, haven’t broken 90 in 10 rounds now. Yay golf!
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Spent the last week out in British Columbia and had a couple of great meetups with refuge folks on their home turf.
First I was lucky enough to get out to @MarkInVictoria’s home course Cordova Bay on Vancouver Island last week. Caught a chamber of commerce weather day and had a delightful walk on this beautiful property. Mark certainly did not oversell it, the conditioning was unbelievably good and the routing was fun, fair, and easily walked. Absolutely wonderful place and although I did not get to play with Mark I did share a pint with him later in the week in downtown Victoria.
Then on our last day before heading back to reality we met up with the refuge MVP herself, @Sarah for a quick spin around the Stanley Park pitch & putt in Vancouver. $23 for 18 holes including club rental and 2 golf balls, might be the best deal in golf. Fantastic way to spend our last couple hours even if the ladies both made birdies and this guy got shut out.
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My YH took me out to play the Azalea Course at Pinewild CC, where he works. Par 3 course with holes from 110 to 200, lots of fun!
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Took a trip out to College Station and played Miramont Country Club yesterday. It’s an RTJ that opened up in the early 2000’s and usually ranked as on the best ten courses in Texas. It’s definitely not the most ground breaking from a design standpoint, or even that challenging. But it’s a pretty damn fun layout (good amount of risk/reward), probably some of the best conditioning around, and just some ridiculously good amenities (the clubhouse is basically a damn castle). Fun living the C-Suite life occasionally
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Have you played Traditions before?
Haven’t yet, been told Traditions is way more of an ass kicker and not always the most fun. I think it’s a Nicklaus design so that would fit the stereotype
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14 forced carries off the tee and another 12 to greens. It’s a brutal track
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This was a couple of days ago, but got out to Boston Golf Club. When I win the lottery, this is the place I will join. It’s so good. Gil Hanse is coming back this fall to work on multiple greens.
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Played at my home course in Conroe, TX called River Plantation, it was in terrible shape and I had a minor heat stroke on the 8th hole and ended up in the hospital for the whole weekend, drink water kids!
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