March 2002
WEEK 4
LONGVIEW 4/02 Weather - Sunny, high of 58 degrees
I played Longview on Easter Monday with some high handicap working guys. Ron was off chasing the Easter Bunny. I was expecting to make some money, since I've played more this year than all of them put together. I was wrong again. I shot 80, but lost money.
The course played short that day. They had the white tees moved up on several holes. We played the ball down for the official opening of the Kentucky golf season. April Fool's Day seems very appropriate to open golf season for most of us!
Longview is a sister course to Ducker's Lake. It is located in Scott County just west of Georgetown. It is the best design I have seen from Buck Blankenship, who also designed Tanglewood and Bob-O-Link. The greens at Longview are still bumpy from the winter and not very fast. The grass in the fairways and rough is thick and the mower men were out trying to catch up after the recent rains. I would put Longview just ahead of Ducker's Lake on my preference list.
Since I was so impressed that Moe managed to get 3 working guys out on Monday, I thought I would try the same on Friday. Much to my amazement we were both successful. So it was off to Polo Fields to help my buddy Jon spend his members monthly minimum. Jon lives in Chicago, so spending money at Polo Fields on a regular basis presents a problem. Whenever he can get in town we attempt to meet the minimum in one day. Mission accomplished on this day!
Polo Fields was in nice shape for my visit. It always is. The greens were fairly smooth with a little speed. Not bad for early April after a cold snap. We chose the blue tees. I think it is fair to say that you need to play the black tees at Polo Fields if you are a decent golfer. The blue tees are not quite 6,000 yards, white tees even less. The black tees make the course much more challenging, adding another 500+ yards. It's a good course design, you just need to be aware of the yardages and choose accordingly.
On our way to meeting Jon's monthly minimum we discovered that the restaurant has good service and good food. This is a nice private club with all the amenities. Great wings, beer, a round of 76 and a golf course in nice condition...this must be my Pick of the Week!
WEEK 3
Ducker's Lake 3-24-02 Weather - Partly Sunny and 52 degrees
I know it was Sunday, but it was the best day we'd had since I returned from sunny Florida, so I was desperate. We thought Ducker's might not attract a crowd so we drove up I-64 to give it a try.
The four ladies about to tee off were nice enough to let us go before them which helped some, but it was still a slow round. That's one of the reasons we try to avoid weekend play. Of course, it also seemed long because we both had some problems that caused us to use more shots than should have been necessary. We played the back tees, which gave me some excuse, but Ron carded five 6's and a 9, which is beyond a bad round for him.
Despite our poor play, we both came away with a slightly better opinion of Ducker's than we previously held. If management will pay attention to course maintenance as the season gets underway, Duckers could move into our regular course rotation.
Weather - Partly Sunny - High 60 degrees
I just got back from a golf trip to Florida with my wife. While playing in the Sunshine State as a twosome, we were trapped several times behind incredibly slow groups. Not once were we invited to play through, and therefore played several 5-hour rounds.
At Sugar Bay on a Thursday, Ron and I caught a threesome on the par 4, 4th hole. They immediately stepped aside to let us pass. Then as we made the turn we caught a 4-some that waved us on. We never caught another group and finished in just under 3 hours. We may not have the best golfers in our backwoods state of Kentucky, but we have some nice ones!
The speedy play helped Ron more than me evidently, as he was one (1) over on the backside to shoot a 76 and kick my 86 in the butt.
Sugar Bay is a short tight course, even from the back tees, but it has some nice holes. It is well worth the $18 we paid with the Lung card. If you want a great course in the area, the Sugar Bay pro recommends you go right across the river to Belterra. Just be prepared to pay 5 or 6 times the Sugar Bay rate for a round of golf.
WEEK 2
With Moe on the lamb, (that's the only reasonable explanation at this point) I am still in search of golfers to assist in my research. Sometimes I don't think people realize how dedicated I am to this job. My work ethic for Golf Kentucky Links has been outstanding. I continue to play golf just to keep you informed. I know it sounds like a tough job, but come on, if you guys get out there and try it, you might see why I'm so devoted.
This week I pried Jason and Paul away from their desks for a couple of rounds. Jason has informed me that I am not to take photographic images of him on the course. Doubting his Native American heritage, I quickly quizzed him to find that he is not really at the golf course. He is working. At least in the minds of those who matter most. Ahh...I see. Now that's a friend helping me out! Paul has some niche market in archaic computer consulting. He has tricked two large companies into thinking they need his antiquated services, resulting in lucrative contracts and lots of free time. God love 'em! I think he uses an abacus, Jedi mind tricks, and an old laptop to keep these people happy.
We used Quail Chase as research headquarters Thursday afternoon. We only had 3 golfers, so Jason came up with an accommodating game. I don't know what it's called, he introduced it as "that points game". Anyway, it goes like this. 6 points per hole. If you win the hole outright, you get 4 points. Second place golfer gets 2. The show position is worthless in this game, but you can split the points by tieing for win or place. Avoiding a completely pointless hole is the key to winning this game. I did that better than Jason and Paul and won the points game on my way to shooting 80. Jason had 85 and Paul shot 100.
Quail Chase is in typical March condition. The Bermuda fairways are still dormant. Greens a bit bumpy and slow. We were a little annoyed at management for charging us regular rates, when they had not bothered to get the tee markers out of winter storage yet. We suffered through these difficult working conditions and managed to have an enjoyable day of golf.
On Friday I headed across the big river to play Hidden Creek. I was to be joined by Paul and Jason again, but apparently the aforementioned minds that matter most got to Jason. He really wasn't at the golf course. This means he lost, of course. We will inform him of his debt to us at our next meeting.
Hidden Creek is in typical March condition. Greens were slow. Paul and I masochistically picked the back tees for our round. WOW! This place has some really long par fours. Eight of them over 400 yards. Four of those over 430 yards. Ouch! This length, combined with some rather poor play on my part, (I took an eight on a par four) inflated me to a round of 85. Paul shot 93. In our defense, we were forced to a snails pace on the last 4 holes, which sent our minds wandering to the beers and NCAA tournament game we were trying to get to. Not conducive to good play. But as I mentioned, I am willing to take on these tasks that are put before me for the good of the Kentucky (and sometimes Indiana) golfer. Next week looks great for golf, I hope I can get some research assistance from you guys.
It's kind of a toss up for pick of the week between Hidden Creek and Quail Chase, but on the strength of having tee markers I'll call Hidden Creek the Pick of the Week.
WEEK 1
Upon my return from the pleasant Florida climate, Mother Nature decided to remind Kentuckians that it could still get really cold in March. Too bad, because I really felt like the MOERON golf machine was ready to get on a roll. Moe was completely freaked by the late cold snap! Packed up the clubs and the wife, and drove south. Who knows when he'll be back!
The first week of March still proved to have several viable golf days. I emailed a few hundred people inviting them to play golf anytime, any place. I was astonishingly underwhelmed by the response. So I wandered around the uninspiring Weissinger Hills Thursday as a single. Sleep walking a round of 80. I was fortunate enough to be grouped with a pleasant threesome that was missing one of their regulars. Nothing has changed much at Weissinger except the price. It was 15$ to walk instead of the winter special of 8$.
On Friday, Jason came to rescue my abandoned golf soul. He brought along a couple of golf ghost from the past, Bill and Andrew. In what seems like a another life, Bill, Jason and I have played some very competitive rounds together. We don't discuss handicaps, we just try to beat each others brains out straight up even. Of course this put our South African friend into a tizzy, causing him to spew deformed English expletives. We had decided on a skins game, but Andrew refused to participate until we yielded him 9 strokes. Actually, I agreed with him, but giving in too quickly in this group is like dripping blood in shark infested waters. With the pre round negotiations solidified, we headed over to the first tee at Nevel Meade.
At the risk of repeating what seems to be a given, it was really windy at Nevel Meade. In fact if you recall, it was really windy everywhere in the area on Friday. So you can imagine what the highest, most wide open golf course in the region was like. Pars looked really good. So good in fact, that I started the day with a par and a skin. I went on to chip in for eagle on 2. That's a skin! But the charge was over there. Andrew stroked us for a skin on 7 as our foursome played pretty decent golf on the front side, lending to ties on all but the aforementioned holes.
On the backside, Jason made a strong bid for his first skin with a par on the difficult 11th, but was tied by Andrew's stroke enhanced bogey. The 11th hole at Nevel Meade is a 452 yard par 4, with an uphill approach shot to a bunkered green, that is also difficult to putt. Somebody explain to us why this hole is handicapped as the 7th hardest hole on the course? Only 17 is more difficult in my mind....and I proved it by double bogeying the monster.
Bill, after some abject putting, finally got on the board on 12 with a par/skin. Thus ending my dream of shutting both the big boys out. But we still had Jason on the snide. On the par 5 18th, the skinless Jason bombed a drive up the left side of the fairway leaving himself a tidy 180 yards. I had about 202 from center fairway. The wind was screaming into our chafed faces. I sent my aerodynamically superior ProV1 straight at the flag. It came to rest about 10 feet short of the pin. Jason, now with fully puckered sphincter, drove a low iron shot just off the back of the green. Hit a "son in law chip" (that's the one where you were hoping for better) but made a nice putt to make birdie. Bill and Andrew finished off with a couple of routine pars. This left the table set for a couple of interesting scenarios for me. First of all, I could charge a 10 footer for my second eagle of the day. A feat I have never accomplished. Secondly, I can cozy this bad boy up there and tap in my birdie to safely shut out Jason on the skins game. Another unaccomplished feat! Well, I wish I could write of multiple success, but alas I wussied my eagle putt up next to the hole and tapped in for a round of 77 and a skins game victory. "One Skin Bill" finished with 81 and "Skinless Jason" shot 84. Andrew's 88 and 9 strokes gets him a place call in the skins game.
Nevel Meade is good shape for this time of year. Greens were a bit bumpy, but that is to be expected. It's my Pick of the Week. But it wasn't so much the golf course, as it was the great, competitive golf camaraderie that old friends should share more often. Hope to see you guys on the course again, soon.
