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We'll pick the best golf course we play and share the knowledge!
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2008 April pick of the Month I got back from Texas just in time for the GKL outing at Houston Oaks. The course was in great shape. They had a good Saturday crowd, but the only thing holding us up was us. Gumpster will handle that next time by teeing off in the 1st group. There was a minor Calcutta pool won by the pro with a 79. Most of us could not participate because we didn’t get our strokes. Old men and duffers need their strokes! The old man and the duffers did manage to drink some beer, and the day was mostly great for golf. We did have a cold front come though right before we finished, but it had no effect once we got inside BW3 in Lexington. I think all 16 golfers showed up for dinner, and our waitress handled the crowd well. I hope she was rewarded appropriately. The following Monday I played in the first KSGA Tournament of 2008, at Standard C. C. in Louisville. I had no doubles on the front side and turned at 41. On the backside I took a 6 and a 5 on the par 3s to shot myself in the foot. Standard is the course where I caddied in the 1950s, and it always brings back memories for me. Most of them involve hitch-hiking all over town to get there and back every day. That was back in the day when most people had plenty of kids and nobody considered stealing any. Or so we thought at the time. Standard is a nice country club design with lots of mature trees, great zoysia fairways, and thick rough. The greens are full of poa anna, are not very smooth, and need to be redone. Greens just don’t last forever. Then Ron and I joined The Gumpster and John for an early morning round at Belterra. It was REAL early for a retiree since I got up at 5:30 am. Of course I only do that anymore for golf or fishing, so I’m sure no working guys want to hear me complain. Belterra is and always has been a fantastic course kept in fantastic condition. The rough for our visit was deep and thick. All of us suffered when we went in there. The fairways were perfect and the greens were smooth and medium speed, and offered no excuses at all for our mostly poor putting. Jim made me promise to talk mostly about the two birdies I had on the par 3s. They were both close to gimme putts so perhaps I am closing in on that elusive hole-in-one. I won’t talk about the other golfers, but I will mention that I had 2 triple bogies, 3 double bogies, shot 87, and was the big money winner for the day! I then spent a cold Tuesday struggling around Weisinger Hills with a couple of other old guys. The course is in decent shape and we got in a nice pocket and played at our pace.Jim had a career round of 78 and won the money. Then on the last day of the month I joined the Gumpster and 2 Jasons back at Belterra.It was a beautiful day. The course was still immaculate and the greens were faster. The rough was still deep and thick and very difficult to hit from. Friar Tuck had a great round, but I can’t tell you exactly how great since the pro left the scorecard on his cart! The MoeRon pick of the Month for April 2008 is Belterra. I was here for the entire month of March. While I’m in town I’m writing my ass off. I got started on a windy March 3rd at Nevel Meade with the old Mountain Golf Group. The greens were bumpy and medium speed, but the fairways were great! I hit my fantastic Callaway X HOT 3 wood all day into that wind. My new favorite club. The problem was when I hit it WITH the wind it went out of sight like a Friar Tuck drive! Nevel Meade was $30 with cart for seniors. We didn’t wait all day and played in 3.8 hours. Then, in between the rainy days, I got to join the BIG boys for a round at Weissinger Hills. Friar Tuck and Ron walked. When they asked Gumpster if he was walking he said “Yeah, I’m gonna walk right in and rent a cart.” Moe rode with Gumpster, cart path only. Editors note: Friar Tuck aka Foreleft aka Jason. The course only had a couple of soggy spots, which was amazing based on local rainfall. The greens weren’t great, but smoother than Nevel Meade. I paid $18. They all played even, and I got 3 shots a side, in a game of Captain. I used my stroke on the first two holes to lead my team to victory and a lead I did not relinquish all day. I shot the high score of 87, and was the day’s big winner. Ron shot the low score of 79, and was the day’s big loser. Ron hates it when that happens, but I love it ! That’s easy to understand since he’s usually the low score while I’m usually high. Weissinger was doing a booming business, but we got in an afternoon pocket, and got to play at our pace all day. The next week we were to meet The Gumpster at Griffin Gate after some meeting he was attending up there. When Ron and I arrived for our 11:50 tee time, no Gumpster. We were met by Jim’s friend Jason, with the message that the Gump wasn’t dressed properly for the unexpected 38 degree weather, and had already left. Since I had purchased $29 non-refundable green fees for Ron and I online we went on and played. Jason played with us, and it was a balmy 53 degrees (when we finished). Now here comes the good part of this story. I moved up a tee box and got 2 a side from Ron. I had a 39 on the front side, and was 3 up at the turn. I finished with an 81 to his 88. He did have some bad luck, but that 600 yards I got is worth more than the 2 strokes I gave up. I also remember the greens fondly, since several of my putts rolled in. I give Griffin Gate 2 excellent and 16 good holes for design, and except for the wall of houses on several backside holes, I actually like the course. It’s definitely not “Yuck” as suggested by one of our regular forum users. I finished out March with a Tuesday afternoon visit to Quail Chase. Friar Tuck got 3Jack out in the cold wind, and Gumpster brought long hitting Bryan. I made 5. We had no bet. The greens, especially the practice green were the fastest I’ve played on this year. So naturally I was always long on the downhillers, and short going uphill. It sprinkled on us on hole three, then turned to sleet. When that let up after 5 holes we realized the cold weather with just wind wasn’t so bad. We played in just over 4 hours as a fivesome going West to East. Gumpster had an amazing 77, Bryan moved his ball around to much to deserve a score, and the rest of us were in the nineties! It was a cold, wet March. My pick of the month was the three dry days. My next round will be at www.dancingrabbitgolf.com in Philadelphia, Mississippi, on my way to Texas. I’m hoping we don’t have a flood delay. |
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