38-38-76 - Streamsong Blue

3 birdies, 2 doubles, 3 bogeys, 10 pars

Was even par through 15 then had a 3 group backup on a 171y downhill against the wind all carry par 3. Made double from the back bunker. Then on the 8th hole (started on 10) I thought it was a par 5 so I hit 3 wood off the tee into what ended up being casual water, looked like normal water but was not marked. Took a double there as well.

Highlight was going 3 wood, 9 iron to a par 5 after launching the 3 wood about 320 (downhill, downwind). Of course I 3-putted for par.

I'm T-2 heading into round 2, 3 shots back.

39-44-83. 1 birdie, 3 double bogeys, 1 triple bogey

Lost game completely for a bit after missing a 3 footer for birdie on 10. Got it back together on 15 and finished strong. New 3 wood produced two ideal shots (in two attempts) on the front, one wayward effort on 14 when my swing was AWOL.

Go get em Scott.

Glad all that tinkering is starting to pay off Booker.

I played at my home course with my neighbor, a hockey teammate, and one of his buddies. My teammate and his buddy asked us to play a better Ball Match without Strokes.

Note: I don't know why Google is capitalizing some words.

Before we started, I confirmed that they wanted to play with no Strokes, while admitting I was probably going to shoot in the mid-to-high 70s. I know my teammate is about a 15, so is my neighbor. His buddy was the unknown.

After losing the first, my neighbor and I ham and egg them winning 5 & 4.

I shot an 82 (posted an 81 due to a triple).

2 Birdies
1 Double
1 Triple
5 missed 4-8 foot putts

the good news is that the buddy is a member of a private club who is looking to play more at his home course.

36-43-79 (par 71) - Streamsong Red

1 eagle, 2 birdies, 2 doubles, 8 bogeys, 5 pars

Finished T-3, a solid 6 shots off of the lead. Three-putt bogey the 1st hole from about 60 feet. Eagled the 2nd hole (more on that later). Was even par going into a 140y par 3. Playing downwind and over a pot bunker I hit the fringe and it spun back into the bunker. Completely short-sided myself with a green that ran away and blasted it out to 40 feet past. Then 3-putted for double.

9th is a 290y par 4 that I drive and 2-putt for birdie thinking I'm right back in it. Make a great up and down on 10 to stay +1 for the day. Then the 11th hole hit....

400y par 4 and I don't know if my hand slipped or what but I sliced it so bad that it probably ended 70 yards left of the fairway in the junk. Have to re-tee and hit 5 wood into the waste area. Hit a 50* out of it to 20 feet and make it for bogey. Now I think that was the greatest save ever.

We turn into the wind and my swing completely fails me. Putter wasn't far behind either. I three-putt bogey the 12th. On the 13th a par 5 I hit a banana 3-wood but in the fairway. Then I top a 3 wood but since it's a par 5 I'm OK. Hit the worst looking line drive sliced 8 iron to 15 feet somehow and make it for birdie. Then...

14 - Par 3 horrid tee shot and putted from off the green leaving it 20 feet short. Lip out for par and make bogey.

15 - Uphill par 4 about 400. Hit a good drive then a horrid line drive 8 iron over the green. Put up to 10 feet and miss the par putt. Make bogey.

16 - 171 par 4 dead into the wind and all carry. At this time I am 2 shots back and opponent dumps it in the water. I hit a horrible block 7 iron into the greenside bunker that site about 20 feet below the green, and it buried. Leave the next in the bunker and then hit on and 2-putt for double.

17 - Good 3 wood off the tee leaving me a wedge to the green. Stick it into the ground and come up 20 yards short. Hit a good chip that checked and left myself about 12 feet. Lip out for par and make bogey.

18 - Reachable par 5 and I bomb a drive downwind. Had 203 to the pin and hit 7 iron but pull it pin high right of the green. Tough lie in waste area and I hit it 30 feet past the pin leaving a downhill downgrain birdie putt. Blast that 10 feet by and lip put for par, making bogey.

Finished T-3 for $250 in gift cards. My eagle was good for a skin in my flight for $105. The eagle was also the only giant skin (all flights that played on that course on Sunday) and it was good for $740.

That made the round a little easier to take.

37-43-80. 2 birdies, 1 double bogey.

Hot, windy day. Didn't have much focus on the second nine which lead to a lot of bogeys.

42-48-90. On a course I dislike, or at least I used to back in the late 90s when last I played it. It's been a while, so we decided to see if it had changed. It's matured since then, and now seeing it with new eyes I can honestly say that I hate it more than pay toilets, and those haven't been a thing since I was nine.

There is the goofy layout, the bizarre conditioning where the healthiest grass is the four inches of rough just off all the fairways and greens, and all the blind shots and pins set by the CIA, but that will happen. Some course owners hate low scores, and if stopping that means narrowing a fairway to ten yards, to try to force a 170yd tee shot, that's cool too.

Add to that the layout being over-watered plus severe elevation changes, that what cart paths there were hadn't been maintained since I'd been there in the 90s, and just driving the cart around was a surefire remedy for constipation. That will wear you out.

I figure it isn't worth worrying about. If my bad days are going to be 90s on 70.4 / 135 type courses set up by sociopaths, that's ahead of schedule.

Shot a 35-36-71 on Friday. Made 5 birdies, without making a putt over 5 feet. Finished bogey bogey when a storm blew in and a 3 club wind came out of nowhere.

Yesterday shot a 37-36-73. Hit it to seemingly 20 feet on every hole, and burned every edge. Lots of good shots, few great ones.

I feel like I'm making a lot of good putts, just not getting them to drop.

I seem to always go through stretches like that too. It's much better when you make 4 and lip out on 4 more compared to making zero of those.

But then you always think of what you COULD have shot.

I like hitting it OB.

89 w/ 10 penalty strokes.

Had a birdie hang on the lip on a par 5. Which is only interesting because I hit the first drive OB.

I've made a ton of pars like that. Probably more than I've made eagles... but that would have been a sweet birdie.

40 (par 37). 1 birdie, no doubles.

Other than the first hole played quite well for LOL Tuesday Night Golf. Might be back to the drawing board on putting though.

38-38-76 - Bluejack National - Montgomery, TX

1 eagle, 1 birdie, 7 bogeys, 9 pars

Well I can say this is hands down the best course I have ever played in my life. I will go beginning to end on the experience.

I was able to get on as my boss' brother-in-law is a member. Guest rate is $150. It is in the middle of nowhere. Closest city would be The Woodlands which is about 20 minutes away.

Once you pass the entry gate you drive by a water park, bowling alley, restaurant, football goalposts and soccer field, all for the exclusive use of the members and residents.

When you get to the drop off area it's valet only. They take your clubs directly to the driving range. There is a separate locker room area with an attendant. They have whatever you want to drink along with some candy and snacks. There is a sitting area where you can watch TV as well.

The clubhouse (a temporary one) is a short walk away. You walk over the 25,000 sq ft practice green to get there. The clubhouse has two hitting bays and a putter fitting bay. The two hitting bays have doors that open out to the driving range. You can play golf on the simulator there.



Our group was the only ones on the range. Your range balls are ProV1's or TP5's, whichever you prefer.



Off to the first tee!



We played the acorn tees at around 6600 yards, maybe a touch less. These were the furthest back tees out there today. On the back of the first tee they have a hole cut and you use your driver to putt to it to determine the order of play. They even ask your name and home clubs and announce it before you tee off. We had a forecaddy for the group as well. He had a caddy bib with the name of the member on the back of it.

2nd hole approach (par 5)


Reached the 2nd hole in 2 and had a massive breaking eagle putt. Ended up 3-putting for bogey, did that a total of 3 times on the front 9. They were just coming off of 2 weeks of being closed for maintenance and the greens were sanded apparently making them significantly slower. Only about 10 times was I told a putt or approach would have ended up 50 yards off the the green.

When you get to the 6th tee there is clubhouse for the old course that was there prior. Inside they have every kind of candy you could imagine. Also whatever you want to drink, they have it. It looks like there was some management offices in there as well.

The 8th hole is a driveable par 4 that was playing 283y. I hit driver to 15 feet and made the putt for eagle.

As we approached the 9th green the alarm was sounded for a weather delay. We hung out in the locker room watching tv, drinking soda and snacking on candy for an hour while the lightning passed, never rained though.

The back nine is something extra special. It plays a little tighter but there is still pelnty of room. There are tall pines with pine straw off of the fairways, very little rough.

When you approach the 12th green they have a bbq stand with beef jerkey available. They also have something different each day to eat. Not sure what I had but it was good. They also have beer and whiskey on tap along with a wide selection of bottled beer.

BBQ Stand


The 12th hole is one of their many signature holes. A 160ish par 3 over water.


So yeah, best experience I have ever had at a course, from beginning to end.

Random other thoughts:
- They greet you with cold towels on the 9th and 18 greens, lime scented.
- Tee boxes and fairways are zoysia grass. You never have a bad lie.
- The bunkering is severe.
- The greens are massive. They have relatively easy and damn near impossible pin positions.
- Customer service is impeccable.
- They have a par 3 course which is lighted.

I hope to get back here again at some point.

That club looks nice.

I shot a 72 yesterday in a practice round for a US mid am qualifier on a par 72, 7000 (altitude, so like 6400) yard, 73.1/139 course.

Certainly didn't love the layout for my game. Course weaves between a lot of houses, so there is definitely some tight OB, and water. I hit a lot of 2/4 irons off of tees, and a handful of drivers/3 woods. It's an Arnold Palmer course, which means dumb greens with lots of levels/undulation. They were pretty fast.

I need to just find fairways with 2 irons, not 3 putt, and hit my wedges decently, and could easily shoot a 68/9. Hit short irons into 3 of the par 5s and didn't make a birdie on 1..

I'm guessing 69 gets in clean, and 70/71 ends up in a playoff. Should be manageable.

Scott, that place seems like heaven.

Nch, gogogogogogo.

LOL Booker, because Why Not

41-43-84. No birdies, 2 doubles.

LOL booker indeed what a hack

44-42-86

2 doubles, no birdies

First throw away round in quite a while. Had 8 straight in the 70's before today. Course was in miserable shape with all the rain. Driving was actually good, the rest not so good. Was pin high or over the green in 2 on the first 3 par 5's and it took me until the 3rd one to hit a GIR.

Bluejack looks sick, Scott. Thanks for the write-up.

I was in Chicago this last week and was fortunate enough to play Butler National and Flossmoor Country Club.

Flossmoor was really great - it’s an 1899 design - super fun and cool old school parkland layout. Greens were super pure and being above the hole was dead on a lot of holes. Caddies were good and pace of play was great (3:55 walking threesome behind another group and we stopped for food at the on course food shack after the 12th - they made brats and sandwiches to order- probably a 15 minute break). I played okay - was bad with my irons all day but scraped around a 43-42 85 for a 9.0 differential equal to my index so it was good.

Butler was something else - another old parkland style layout and it’s a brute. The member tees are 6,700 heads and 74.2/146 which is probably one of the more difficult courses I’ve ever played. Was a challenge off the tee, the greens were mostly elevated and lots of fairway and green side bunkers to gobble up loose shots. Greens were great and again pace of play was wonderful (walking private courses is so nice compared to a cart-required semi-private club like mine). Our host was solid - knew a ton about golf history, the clubs history and had some fun stories.

The club is men only - like women don’t work or play at Butler. It’s kinda odd but it’s what the members want. Has cost them hosting tournaments (they used to host the Western Open) but they’d rather have their policy than tournaments.

Shot 43-44 87 for a 9.9 differential so again decent to my index and I think I played pretty well both rounds on new-to-me courses.

Fun week in Chicago as well. Saw the cubs and lots of cool tourist stuff and ate like a food magazine rater.

37-40-77. No birdies or double bogeys. 9/13 fairways, 10/18 greens, 33 putts

Better ball striking day. Didn't putt badly, just didn't get anything to drop. Lots of tap in pars.

Played a tough local course today and the greens were absolutely ******ed. Firm, not receptive and running crazy quick. Fastest greens I’ve played was an 11.7 and this was way quicker.

Was +4 to hc at the turn then found myself -1 with 4 to play, only to make 3 triples and a 3-putt bogey to finish. Fks sake


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45 (par 35). No birdies, 1 double, 1 quad

Other than the last hole (the quad) ball striking was pretty good. Putting, not so much. Greens had been verticut and I could not get dialed in.

38 - 1 eagle, 5 pars, 2 bogeys, 1 double

Morning 9 before work today. I hit driver off of every par 4 and 5 just to try and tame it on the course a bit, which lead to the double off of the 10th tee and I would never hit that club in a million years there. But I also did the same on 11 and accidentally cut the corner and had 30 yards left to the green, so meh.

Was wild enough off 18 tee to push it left of the tree line giving me an open look from 232y. Hit a good 5 wood that was going a touch left of the green when it hit the power lines over the fairway. Auto redo on our course and I hit ball #2 to 20 feet and made the putt. Might be the first time in history hitting those lines helped me. Ball #2 is usually worse.

Also took 30 minutes to properly warm up today as I was not in a rush to beat everyone else off the tee since I played the back 9.



Almost a straight line. Had to aim at a target to the right on the first few swings.

+5 through 13 when the rain started coming down hard, had to quit.

3rd hole was playing a little short in the 525 range and got home in 2 with a 5 wood. Of course I 3-putted for par.

Drilled the bottom of the pin on 11 from 139y out and had it come back 40 feet off of the green.

Why does it always do that? So unfair.

backspin

Won my club championship this weekend.

Shot 72 in the stroke play qualifier (par 72, 74.1/141). Was 3 under through 16 then finished bogey/double, but hit it great.

Won 3 matches this weekend. Was ~E through 16 in the first, won 4 and 2. Roughly ~2 over and won 4 and 2 in the afternoon, and was 3 under this afternoon through 12 and won 8 and 6. It was crazy windy this afternoon, so -3 through 12 was exceptional. Hit it awesome.

US mid am qualifier on Tuesday, and then no tourneys on the schedule. Feeling good about my chances.

I won my club championship this weekend as well, had 75-76 (par 72, 73.2/132).

The first day I felt like I was playing super solid. Had a double on #2 because of blading a 110 yard fairway bunker shot over the green and into a hazard. Was putting ok but didn't really make anything, lots of GIRs and 2 putt pars.

The second day my whole game felt really sketchy thru the first 11 holes. I had 3 3-putts on the front 9. After 11 I was +5 on the day but had a 1 shot lead. The other guy bogeyed 12 and I was up by 2, then I made a 40 footer on 13 for birdie, and a 15 footer for birdie on 14 for a 4 shot lead. The other guy gave me a nice "**** you" after the second birdie went in (he's a good friend of mine). He kind of blew up after that and it was over.