Oso planning to go pro
I don't have a go to course up north. I have played all over. I love Tullymore, ambivalent about St. Ives. Arcadia Bluffs is magnificent but pricey. Petoskey area, I have played the Boyne Mountain courses, but have not played the Boyne Highlands courses. Treetops is beautiful. Threetops is a must play. Garland has 4 great courses, all with their first tee within 100 yards of the main lodge. Remote, though. The Bear has been softened, but is still beautiful in Traverse City. Forest Dunes in Roscommon is great. I have not played the new course there yet. Lakewood Shores in Oscoda has one great course and two average ones. The Otsego Club (which is for sale) has one great course and one mediocre course. I am about to go spend a week in Leland on the Leelanau peninsula, just up the road from Sleeping Bear Dunes. Only one high end public access course on Michigan's pinkie. A couple of decent courses, but you don't go there for the destination golf.
We used to have a lake house in Leelanau County, miss it.The first big course I played was the current day Mantiou Passage, right when it opened. I was in 7th grade. Played it again 4-5 years ago on a vacation, still was a blast. Not quite as daunting going up the side of Sugar Loaf as I once thought, but a fun track.
I've played it. Formerly King's Crossing, a Palmer design. The Homestead bought it a few years ago and almost took it private, but they didn't pull the trigger. It has some beautiful views. I may play it again this week. It is the closest thing to destination public golf there is on the Leelanau peninsula. I am not sure my 11 year old is ready for that much course, though. Sugarloaf, on the other side of the hill from Manitou Passage. Bahle Farms. Mistwood. The Dunes. Of course, the unreachable, untouchable, ungettable, insanely private jewel is Crystal Downs, 40 minutes south.
"... we might do Sand Valley..." chili, or anyone else for that matter-have you played sentry world? about 45 min northeast of wisco rapids. i think it had a face lift about 5 years ago? back in it's day, before the blackwolfs, erin hills, whistlings, etc. it was probably one of the top few premier courses in the state. they are not doing badly trying to keep up with the jones's
Callaway SupersoftI used to always use Nike PD Soft but when they got out of the golf market I had to switch.
I've only been there for the old WISAA State Tennis Championships back in my glory days of the mid to late 90s. As for golf, we thought about it for a pre or post round after Lawsonia but didn't do it this year. Maybe next. I have to say though that Lawsonia is now one of my favorite courses to play - especially for what you pay. It's so much fun but we'll have to see if we can swing a round elsewhere next time we're in that neck of the woods.
Driving north today, stopped at Arcadia Bluffs. My wife roused a little as we pulled in about stopping to sightsee at a golf course. Until we got to the club house and the veranda overlooking the course and down to Lake Michigan. She declared the view as good as anything on Northern Michigan, wants to ride along with me when I play it, and declared it worth the $200 per round they charge. If she can't ride along, she is more than willing to sit on the veranda sipping drinks until I return. However, we all agree it is a waste of money to pay that much for the 11 year old to shoot 250 and lose two dozen balls.The course is that beautiful.
My most-holes golf trip was to Tullymore and St. Ives back in 2008, my last full summer as a Midwesterner. We played 18 on Thursday afternoon at some course on the way, 36 on Friday and 36 on Saturday at T/SI and then 18 on Sunday morning before driving back to Chicago. That's 108 holes in about 72 hours, for those scoring at home.Ibuprofen very necessary. My best round was the very last one, when I think my body was so sore I couldn't over-swing!
My most holes ever? 100 - in one day! Last October, Bear's Paw Country Club, Naples, Fl. Played alone, but had drivers and a "gallery" that came and went as the day went on. Hit the first ball at 7:10, sank the final putt at 5:15. Regular men's tees, 6115 yards (I'm old - 69 at the time), shot 82, 79, 84, 86 (swooning a bit), 81, 41 for nine and a par 4 on #10. Reason? I was resigning my position on the board of a Chicago mental health charity due to relocating to Florida - so one final personal fundraiser. Netted just over $10,000, so a happy ending to the day - but I had no interest in playing for more than a week.
My all-time low round was 81, and that was back in 2005! When I break 90, I do a happy dance. I once shot a 102 at Medinah that included an amazing birdie on the signature par-3 ... and I felt I actually had played pretty well, which should tell anybody all they need to know about my game. On most typical public courses, I shoot in the low- to mid-90s from 6000-6200 yards. So guys like Goose and tower probably would never want to play with me ... even though I'm a really fun golfer.My scoring is hurt mostly by my horrific game around the greens - I'm a good putter but I chip like shyte and I am a travesty in bunkers. Also, I almost always have a couple of blow-up holes in a round ... tough to score when you card a 7 and a 9. I could be 5-over after 10 holes and feeling like, "hey I'm gonna really have a good one today," and then I get a snowman -- d'oh!I'm actually fairly valuable in a team tournament setting because I have a high handicap (obviously) and get lots of dots on the scorecard, but I hit it pretty long and I am more than capable of parring even difficult holes. So if there is a low-handicapper in my group, as well as a 9 or 10, they can carry my arse most of the time but I can pull out a coupla pars on tough "2-dot" holes.And, again, I have a lot of fun when I golf. Love to bust everybody's chops, especially my own!
Nice Lenny, but back to the golf balls. What ball do we recommend for a 90's shooter, an old guy that needs more distance? I have heard to use only the extra soft or womens golf balls. Any thoughts on this guys?