Today I played a nice round of golf at Old Orchard Counrty Club. It is a short, tree lined course surrounded by a whole mess of houses that are just a bit too close to the fairways for my taste.
Did I mention the course was short? There are many par fours that are around 350 yards, and even one hole fronted by water that is 282 yds( I drove it over the green! AFTER shooing away a wedding photographer from the tee box) The course boasts that it has some of the best greens on the north shore, and I don't disagree. They are true and fairly quick, with few undulations.
I thought this course was pretty easy; I was chugging along at one under par through 14 holes. 15-18 are challenging, largely due to three very narrow fairways and one par three that has a long carry over water.
I only used driver four times, so I thought this was a great place to practice tee shots with a three wood or even a long iron. For 49 bucks, it is not too bad a deal for a weekend twilight rate on the north shore.
Did I mention the coure was nice? That's what it is. The fairways are in spotty shape, as are chipping areas around the green, but the greens are all in good condition. Don't expect a breathtaking round, but rather a fair test of basic golf.
(and check out the blue food coloring in all the ponds-yikes!)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Golf Club at Harbor Shores
I was very excited to get a tee time to play at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores this past Sunday. It is a new, Jack Nicklaus designed course, located in Benton Harbor, MI. I teed off at 3:48 PM for the twilight rate of $85(!). Rack rate is $150.
http://harborshoreslife.com/golf/course
This course opened in 2009, and unfortunately it is still growing into itself. The practice tee quickly dissolved into sand after just a few swings. On the course, the fairway grass just isn't rooted very solidly on many holes, which made playing any iron shot, especially the short irons, an adventure regardless of how good your swing was. Chunk, chunk, chunk. Oh, and if you had a lie on wet ground? Forget it.
Putting was very challenging - all the greens had undulations that made your approach shot key. The problem is that many times you can't tell where to play the ball from the fairway - even on a 100 yd shot.
While a few holes were pretty fun - all the par 3's and the par 5 9th, three holes were contrived and frustrating. #6 featured a blind, forced carry over marshland that you can't help but underestimate, #7 features a drive over water to a fairway that narrows and rises to a green the size of a postage stamp. It looks cool, but given the lack of places to miss, it isn't fun. #10 had the worst green I have ever seen, a two tiered monster that rose 10 feet from bottom to top - with many undulations that made any putt a double breaker.
If you found a sand trap, and your ball wasn't in a footprint, the quality of the sand (cane sugar!) made playing from the traps a joy. I was able to save par three times from a greenside bunker.
Sadly, the pace of play was very slow, and our group finished in the dark. I shot an 81 and left the course fairly disappointed with the experience.
The sand traps weren't raked, the greens were littered with unrepaired ballmarks, and the option to play from the back tees was not given. I saw a few rangers on the course, but they didn't seem concerned with maintaining an appropriate pace of play. To charge so much money to play a course so poorly maintained and supervised is a crime.
Bluntly, this is a $50 golf course - maybe. If you're looking for a fun round of golf on a well-conditioned course, try Hawkshead Links up in South Haven.
http://harborshoreslife.com/golf/course
This course opened in 2009, and unfortunately it is still growing into itself. The practice tee quickly dissolved into sand after just a few swings. On the course, the fairway grass just isn't rooted very solidly on many holes, which made playing any iron shot, especially the short irons, an adventure regardless of how good your swing was. Chunk, chunk, chunk. Oh, and if you had a lie on wet ground? Forget it.
Putting was very challenging - all the greens had undulations that made your approach shot key. The problem is that many times you can't tell where to play the ball from the fairway - even on a 100 yd shot.
While a few holes were pretty fun - all the par 3's and the par 5 9th, three holes were contrived and frustrating. #6 featured a blind, forced carry over marshland that you can't help but underestimate, #7 features a drive over water to a fairway that narrows and rises to a green the size of a postage stamp. It looks cool, but given the lack of places to miss, it isn't fun. #10 had the worst green I have ever seen, a two tiered monster that rose 10 feet from bottom to top - with many undulations that made any putt a double breaker.
If you found a sand trap, and your ball wasn't in a footprint, the quality of the sand (cane sugar!) made playing from the traps a joy. I was able to save par three times from a greenside bunker.
Sadly, the pace of play was very slow, and our group finished in the dark. I shot an 81 and left the course fairly disappointed with the experience.
The sand traps weren't raked, the greens were littered with unrepaired ballmarks, and the option to play from the back tees was not given. I saw a few rangers on the course, but they didn't seem concerned with maintaining an appropriate pace of play. To charge so much money to play a course so poorly maintained and supervised is a crime.
Bluntly, this is a $50 golf course - maybe. If you're looking for a fun round of golf on a well-conditioned course, try Hawkshead Links up in South Haven.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Golf Season in Chicago...
Is over, I think. Raw and rainy today, and can't imagine teeing it up on this side of the pond in this weather. Honestly, the last time I played was 9 holes at Willow Hill on 10/22 - shot two over par on that underrated gem on top of the landfill - I highly recommend playing there if you don't have time for a full 18.
So, I'm starting this blog because I love golf, I've played a lot, and I want to share my experiences of golf with other golfers who might be as like-minded as I am.
I currently play to a 3.8 index, so my observations may be skewed towards a more technical aspect of the game - I have little patience for 18+ handicappers who only ride in golf cars and think it is fine to take 5 hours to play a round, so if you are one of those folks, you may want to stop reading (and invest in some lessons and pace of play help). Sorry - golf is more fun when played briskly and politely.
I'm probably going to recount some experiences that I had with the courses that I played in 2010 in Chicago - hopefully my observations will entertain and help you decide which courses might be fun to play.
So, I'm starting this blog because I love golf, I've played a lot, and I want to share my experiences of golf with other golfers who might be as like-minded as I am.
I currently play to a 3.8 index, so my observations may be skewed towards a more technical aspect of the game - I have little patience for 18+ handicappers who only ride in golf cars and think it is fine to take 5 hours to play a round, so if you are one of those folks, you may want to stop reading (and invest in some lessons and pace of play help). Sorry - golf is more fun when played briskly and politely.
I'm probably going to recount some experiences that I had with the courses that I played in 2010 in Chicago - hopefully my observations will entertain and help you decide which courses might be fun to play.
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