Page 9 of 13 FirstFirst ... 7891011 ... LastLast
Results 161 to 180 of 260
  1. #161
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Valley of the Sun Golf: Recommendations?

    I need to be in Metro Phoenix in about a month, and likely will play one round while out there. Any suggestions for something within, say, 30-40 minutes of Sky Harbor Int'l?
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  2. #162
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Troon North -- Monument Course (Scottsdale)

    Quote Originally Posted by Tripping William View Post
    I need to be in Metro Phoenix in about a month, and likely will play one round while out there. Any suggestions for something within, say, 30-40 minutes of Sky Harbor Int'l?
    I elected to play at Troon North while in the Valley of the Sun (which, in reality, was the Valley of the Mostly Cloudy while I was there). The Monument Course -- designed by Tom Weiskopf -- is so named because, on the third hole, there is a gigantic rock-formation "monument" smack-dab in the middle of the fairway. Evidently they tried, unsuccessfully, to blast it out while designing the course, but decided to build around it instead. It's a fairly cool feature that makes for some strategic decisions on that dogleg right par 5: stay safe to the left of the monument, but have a longer distance to the green, or try to cut off some distance to the right of it, but risk going into the desert sand and underbrush.

    The course as a whole is in really good condition, is in a scenic area up against the mountains, and makes for fun desert golf (i.e., keep it in the green stuff, or lord knows what you'll face). The greens have recently been upgraded, so they were really firm and pretty fast. And most of the greens are HUGE, so one's GIR percentage will go up, but so will one's putts-per-round. The tips stretch to just over 7,000 yards, while the very forward tees play at 5,000. Most par 5's are on the shorter side, while par 3's tend toward the longer side. And they have a couple of fun, shorter par 4's that really force some risk/reward calculus.

    All in all, a solid facility, with a second golf course (the Pinnacle Course) on-site as well. I would go back.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  3. #163
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Country Club of North Carolina -- Dogwood Course

    I had caddie-duty for the young 'un on this course recently, and we also got in a practice round together. It's one of the Sandhills' gems that is not affiliated with the Pinehurst Resort. CCNC's Dogwood Course is a 1960s Ellis Maples design that was renovated by Arthur Hills in the late 1990s, and was updated again by Kris Spence in 2016. A par 72 that reaches 7300 yards from the tips, it has all the feel of a Maples design: good routing, sharp drop-offs around most of the greens, and strategic use of hazards (both sand and water). In fact, my son said he thinks this course has more water on it than any course we've played in the Sandhills, and he's probably right.

    In that vein, the signature hole is probably the 18th. It's an uphill, dogleg left par-5, where one needs to decide right off the bat how much of the water down the left side one wants to carry. Carry all of it, and the green is reachable in two. Play safe to the right, and it probably isn't (and there is a bunker on about 100 yards out on the left side, and one probably 45 yards out on the right side to catch wayward approaches).

    The greens are Championship Bermuda and, although they aren't brand new (like, say, Talamore's), they are still pretty firm and can be really, really speedy if you get in the wrong spots (above the hole on the par-5 5th, for instance). And the practice facility is top-notch; I suppose membership really does have its privileges.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  4. #164
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Tiger's Eye and Leopard's Chase (Sunset Beach, NC)

    All this Masters talk reminded me that I have neglected to post about these these two courses we played during our #SB2k18 festivities the weekend before last. They are two of the four "Big Cats" courses at Ocean Ridge Plantation, located about halfway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach.

    Tiger's Eye is the more forgiving of the two layouts, with less water overall. Don't be fooled, though: There's plenty of water here. The signature hole is probably the 11th, a par-3 with what amounts to almost an island green. With four sets of tees, you can play it anywhere between 7,000 and 4,500 yards. In 2017, they installed TifEagle bermuda greens, so that greens complexes remain super-firm. Adding to the challenge, we saw an alligator resting near the marshland next to the 18th tee.

    Leopard's Chase has water, water everywhere. I believe there are only two holes on the entire track that do no have water come into play somewhere, in some fashion. It's a beast from the tips (7,155 yards and we decided to be masochists and play from there, just for kicks), but a beautiful layout that can be played as short as 4,870. The 18th green has a cascading waterfall feature over coquina boulders. Interestingly, their greens are bentgrass, so they are far more receptive to long approach shots, although the speed of the greens was comparable to the bermuda at its sister course.

    We're already lamenting that we did not arrange to play Lion's Paw and Panther's Run. Guess that will have to be saved for our next trip to the southern NC beaches.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  5. #165
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Thanks for continuing to do these reviews.

    It hasn't been warm enough for golf around here save for a few days in February (unexpectedly). Last Thursday evening after work a buddy and I played in a "Master's Par 3" Tournament at Riverfront Golf Course in Suffolk. The last 2 or 3 holes were seriously COLD.

    I'm pretty sure I've reviewed the course in this thread. It's gorgeous. The greens are ridiculously contoured and are always tough to putt; this past Thursday they were also not recovered from being punched. Even a 3- or 4-footer was an adventure.
    "We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust

  6. #166
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Southern Pines Golf Club

    The website for this course has an entire section devoted to two questions: (a) did Donald Ross design this course and (b) if so, when did he do it? The author concluded that Ross designed the course in approximately 1906, making it, in the author's view, the third new golf course that Ross designed (trailing only the front nine of Pinehurst No. 2 and The Winchester Country Club in Massachusetts).

    The course and clubhouse need some TLC, but the bones of the are classic Ross: Greens complexes with fall-offs, undulating putting surfaces, and optical illusions in how the putts break; a fairly easy par-4 to open the course, with a handful of other shorter par-4s that call for strategic decisions; not much water (but some); and thoughtful placement of bunkers.

    The course is a par 71 for men; par 73 for women. It can be played at 6500 yards, or can go as short as 4000 yards. Some of the fairways have some troublesome transitions to the rough (or waste areas). But the bent-grass greens are in good shape right now, were pretty receptive to approach shots (although not overly squish), and rolled nicely without much poa annua in them.

    This course reminds me a lot of both Pinehurst No. 1 and of the nine-hole Asheboro Municipal, both of which Ross worked on or designed. Playing it was a lot of fun.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  7. #167
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Seattle-area Golf

    Had a trip out to the Emerald City just over a week ago, and got to play two top-notch courses.

    (1) Aldarra Golf Club. Located east of Seattle, at the base of the Cascades in Sammamish, WA. One of my law partners is a member there, and the UW men's and women's teams practice there a lot. I'm told that Freddie Couples and Jack Sikma are somewhat-regular visitors as well.

    Aldarra is a Tom Fazio design that, from the tips, has a slope that is the second-highest (150) that I have ever seen. (Ballyhack, in Roanoke, VA, has a 155 slope that tops the charts.) The course was in fantastic condition when we played, and my partner said that their maintenance crew is maniacal about keeping the poa annua out of their bent-grass greens. The greens were running a little on the slow side, evidently, due to punching about 10-14 days previously, but they were certainly fast enough. Although the day was a little cloudy, we still got some awesome mountain views, particularly on the par-5 7th, the par-5 12th, and the par-3 15th. And it was classic Fazio: Every hole had some kind of "visual intimidation" factor (whether it was tall fir trees or bunkers, or marshland, or water on the 1st tee), with some tough pin placement where you think you are going to end up close, only to have a strategically place ridge get the best of you. If you can find a way to play it, this is very worth it. But, as good as it was, it was second-fiddle to . . . .

    (2) Chambers Bay. The controversial host course of the 2015 U.S. Open, Chambers Bay is a relatively new (2007) design by Robert Trent Jones II located just south and west of Tacoma. With the caveat that I have not been to the Monterrey Peninsula, this is *by far* the most scenic course I have played. (Sorry, Kiawah Ocean Course, you have been dethroned.) It sits right on Puget Sound with views out toward the Olympic range and, if you catch it just right, it has Mount Rainier behind it. We had a picture-perfect weather day when we played, which added to the experience.

    From a design standpoint, I think this course is a ton like Tobacco Road, but without the trees. There are major elevation changes from tee-to-green, including probably a 150-200 foot drop-off from the tee box to the green on the par-3 9th. The course is built on a former sand/rock quarry, so the dunes are used to frame the fairways and, many times, to obscure the sight-lines on an approach shot. But you won't lose a single golf ball, unless you go all Branden Grace and shank one onto the railroad tracks off the 16th tee (my favorite hole). The greens are *huge*, with so much undulation that some of them (like the 18th) have four or five different tiers to them. They have begun replacing the greens with intentional poa annua, but only maybe three of them have been completed thus far, so we got what Henrik Stenson called the "broccoli" treatment, but they weren't terrible (just took some getting used to).

    Like Tobacco Road, it seems there is a love-hate thing going on with Chambers Bay. Count me in the "love" camp: I'd go back again in a heartbeat!
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  8. #168
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem

    Any info about Jacksonville CC?

    Giving this thread a bump. My son will be playing in a 54-hole event at Jacksonville (NC) CC in mid-April. But thanks to yesterday's snow storm (and the school cancellation that resulted therefrom), we won't be able to get a practice round down there in advance. Do any of our DBR golf denizens have any insights into that particular course?

    Thanks in advance!
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  9. #169
    I was supposed to play Torrey Pines today, for the first time in about 20 years. My buddy backed out this morning, so I bailed rather than facing the course without a friend.

    Last night I was worried about how badly the course would beat me up. Now I just wish I could have gone through the punishment!

    Ah well. Some time in the next two weeks (or decades), I hope.

  10. #170
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Wow. There is no way in the world I would pass up Torrey Pines, buddy or no.

  11. #171
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC

    Great discussion.

    I'm sorry to say that I didn't know this thread even existed until a few days ago. Looking at some of the wonderful golf discussion I though I would add some of the courses I play or have played.
    1) Deep Springs CC in Stoneville, NC, a Ellis Maples design. This is a true hidden gem and open to the public on and Thursday. It's a challenging course but it's a fair design. No tricked up holes.
    2) Draper Valley Golf Club in Draper, VA. It's located off I-81 near Wytheville, VA. The designer is Hal Louthen. It's another hidden gem. Fairways are Kentucky Blue Grass. One of the prettiest golf courses I've played.
    3) Greensboro National in Summerfield, NC. This is one of three golf courses designed by Mark Charles who is one of the owners of Olde Home place in Wallburg, NC. Mark also designed Pudding Ridge(later upgrades by Bill Boles) in Mocksville, NC. His dad told me that Mark designed one of the three while he was in the Air Force. He designed it while sitting on the floor of the latrine. Odd place to do that kind of work.
    4) Other courses already mentioned: Bryan Park Players Course in Greensboro, Holly Ridge in Archdale(fastest hardest greens ever), Tanglewood-Champions Course(don't like the Players Course), Kingsmill River Course and Washington Duke Golf Course(played in Bob Harris Charity tournaments only).

    I love Jack Nicklaus courses because they usually are left to right off the tee designs, Yes I fade the ball. I hate tricked up courses that have many blind shots, I hate courses that have slow greens and slow play.

    Thanks to Trippin William for starting this thread.

    Hit it long and one putt every green.

  12. #172
    Quote Originally Posted by jv001 View Post

    Hit it long and one putt every green.
    And never stand too close to the ball after you hit it.

  13. #173
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Indoor66 View Post
    And never stand too close to the ball after you hit it.
    I used to find my self way too close to the ball after I hit it. I've seen some pretty funny shots in my golfing life. One of my friends hit a horse in a pasture across the road from the course we were playing, another friend hit the hole sign at the tee box and the ball almost went back across the road behind us, another hit the ball between his legs and another hit himself in the mouth. I've got to find better golfers to play with.

  14. #174
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem
    Quote Originally Posted by jv001 View Post
    I'm sorry to say that I didn't know this thread even existed until a few days ago. Looking at some of the wonderful golf discussion I though I would add some of the courses I play or have played.
    1) Deep Springs CC in Stoneville, NC, a Ellis Maples design. This is a true hidden gem and open to the public on and Thursday. It's a challenging course but it's a fair design. No tricked up holes.
    2) Draper Valley Golf Club in Draper, VA. It's located off I-81 near Wytheville, VA. The designer is Hal Louthen. It's another hidden gem. Fairways are Kentucky Blue Grass. One of the prettiest golf courses I've played.
    3) Greensboro National in Summerfield, NC. This is one of three golf courses designed by Mark Charles who is one of the owners of Olde Home place in Wallburg, NC. Mark also designed Pudding Ridge(later upgrades by Bill Boles) in Mocksville, NC. His dad told me that Mark designed one of the three while he was in the Air Force. He designed it while sitting on the floor of the latrine. Odd place to do that kind of work.
    4) Other courses already mentioned: Bryan Park Players Course in Greensboro, Holly Ridge in Archdale(fastest hardest greens ever), Tanglewood-Champions Course(don't like the Players Course), Kingsmill River Course and Washington Duke Golf Course(played in Bob Harris Charity tournaments only).

    I love Jack Nicklaus courses because they usually are left to right off the tee designs, Yes I fade the ball. I hate tricked up courses that have many blind shots, I hate courses that have slow greens and slow play.

    Thanks to Trippin William for starting this thread.

    Hit it long and one putt every green.
    Most welcome. Glad it popped back up. Reminded me that I like Greensboro National a fair bit.

    In Pinehurst news, the resort had an auction a few weeks ago to benefit its employees affected by the pandemic. During that auction, they semi-announced that they have a Pinehurst No. 10 in the works, with Bill Coore designing it. They auctioned off a visit to the property, accompanied by Coore, to discuss his vision of the routing. The rumor is that it will be the property that was formerly the golf course known as The Pit, near Aberdeen. Will be curious to see how that ends up playing out.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  15. #175
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Wilmington, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by jv001 View Post
    I used to find my self way too close to the ball after I hit it. I've seen some pretty funny shots in my golfing life. One of my friends hit a horse in a pasture across the road from the course we were playing, another friend hit the hole sign at the tee box and the ball almost went back across the road behind us, another hit the ball between his legs and another hit himself in the mouth. I've got to find better golfers to play with.
    I had a friend hit me in the back of my leg at the driving range. He was standing behind me. He was new, I should've known to keep him in front of me where I could see him. 😀

  16. #176
    The worst I ever got was a toed tee shot to the neck. That hurt like hell. 2nd worst was a shot to the solar plexus from a fairway wood, through a fir tree from the next hole over. Never saw the player or the ball - just the pain.

  17. #177
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA.
    Quote Originally Posted by Indoor66 View Post
    The worst I ever got was a toed tee shot to the neck. That hurt like hell. 2nd worst was a shot to the solar plexus from a fairway wood, through a fir tree from the next hole over. Never saw the player or the ball - just the pain.
    Ouch.

    One time I was in a group with two carts. Somebody from the neighboring hole hit his tee shot way off line. It barreled smack dab into the thin metal part that holds the roof atop the cart. Left a dent about a half-inch thick. Said metal was about a couple of feet in front of my friend's face. Scared the crap out of him but he didn't get injured at all. Darndest thing I've seen.
    "We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust

  18. #178
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by left_hook_lacey View Post
    I had a friend hit me in the back of my leg at the driving range. He was standing behind me. He was new, I should've known to keep him in front of me where I could see him. 😀
    Years ago I shanked an iron on the range so badly that it went left fairly parallel to the range, into a cart and knocked around in there like without hitting the driver. He was good natured about it (range is not far from the first tee) and said he was leaving immediately to tee off. I was mortified.

    For more than a decade I played only a few times a year. Which means that I never got any better. I'd go out and shoot 95-105, without consistency etc. About a year and a half ago a couple of guys at work started playing and dragging me out. I've enjoyed playing again. The last couple of months (working from home not much to do), I've been playing weekly. Finally feel like I'm at the point where I can make the leap to what I'd consider a decent golfer (high 80's).

    The other interesting thing that's happened with my golf game is that I hurt my left thumb. As a result, I had to change my grip. I rotated my top (left) hand clockwise a bit to move the thumb over and dropped my bottom hand a bit (overlap went from being by and to ends of fingers). Took me a while to get used to it. I'm fighting a hook. But I've gained a club distance with all my irons and quite a few yards with my driver. It's going to be an interesting year for me and golf.

    Most of the course I've been playing in the triangle area are fairly inexpensive and sometimes a bit rough around the edges (Falls Village, Crossings, Wildwood Green, Lochmere, Hillendale, etc).

    I wouldn't mind driving to Pinehurst to play on some weekends but I could really use a web site with a good course guide.

  19. #179
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem
    Quote Originally Posted by elvis14 View Post
    I wouldn't mind driving to Pinehurst to play on some weekends but I could really use a web site with a good course guide.
    The main Pinehurst website (www.pinehurst.com) has really good hole-by-hole reviews of the Resort courses. I have found this additional website quite helpful for other Sandhills area courses: https://www.homeofgolf.com/golf/
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

  20. #180
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Tripping William View Post
    The main Pinehurst website (www.pinehurst.com) has really good hole-by-hole reviews of the Resort courses. I have found this additional website quite helpful for other Sandhills area courses: https://www.homeofgolf.com/golf/
    I'll check them both out. Thank you very much. I haven't been there to play in years. I think I'm due.

Similar Threads

  1. Golf / Golf Clubs
    By fuse in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 48
    Last Post: 06-28-2019, 12:08 AM
  2. Duke Womens' Golf Gracing the Golf Channel
    By sagegrouse in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 11-03-2015, 03:38 PM
  3. U.S. Open (Golf)
    By nmduke2001 in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 61
    Last Post: 06-23-2015, 12:39 AM
  4. Fore!
    By Verga3 in forum Off Topic
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-13-2011, 01:12 AM
  5. I think I could take this guy in golf
    By rthomas in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-03-2011, 11:40 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •