Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Final post for 2011
I hope that everyones 2011 has been happy, healthy, and blessed. I know I feel exteremly lucky in all of those areas with not just this past year but my whole life. This year I was able to play 49 rounds of golf. But more importantly I have a wonderful family, good health, and a great job. Many things to be greatful for. My most sincere wishes to everyone for 2012. May it be a great one!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Christmas golf in Minnesota
Fix your snowblower, do some Christmas shopping, or golf!
http://www.mngolf.org/open_courses.html
Global warming isn't all bad.
http://www.mngolf.org/open_courses.html
Global warming isn't all bad.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Playing Bent Creek
OK, so this round was played November 2nd and I am just getting around to posting it on March 5th. Oops.
Larry Wheeler was gracious enough to ask if I would join him to play his course Bent Creek. This is a private course in Eden Prairie. Event though the official golf season is over, the weather is still nice enough to golf, so I was excited to get to try out another private course in the cities. Earlier this year I played Minnesota Valley. Now with playing Bent Creek, my rounds at private courses include a lifetime total of 4 rounds!
While it was a bit chilly for this round, there was little wind so the conditions were fine. I think we may have seen one or two other people out on the course. The conditions of the course were just great. The greens were really nice and fairly fast, even this late in the year. This course made it through the summer heat wave without any damage so the conditions were better than most. Bent Creek has a fair amount of trees but the grounds crew has worked hard to keep the course free of leaves. They were out there during our round picking up the few stray leaves that had blown around onto the course.
I played from the tips and Larry played from the Whites.From the tips the course is 6369 yards. From the white it drops to 6030 yards.
Hole 1 is a dogleg right par 5 at 510 yards. You can cut off a little bit to the right but not a lot.
Out of bounds runs along the left side of the hole where neighboring houses are.
The green is slightly uphill at the end and surrounded by bunkers.
Hole 9 is a dogleg left par 4 at 360 yards. Trying to cut the corner is not wise since there are loads of trees in your way.
Your second shot, after you clear the dogleg, requires a carry over trees short of the green.
And the green:
The back nine is a change from the front. The front reminds me a lot of old school courses I have played like Waveland in Des Moines or Minnesota Valley in Bloomington. The back nine of Bent Creek feels much more open. Apparently back when this course was public, they had a lot of drainage issues on the back nine. Some major renovations and additions of a lot of small drainage ponds fixed the drainage issue and made the course feel like what I would imagine a lot of Florida courses are like- relatively flat with lots of water. The back 9 is also located across a street from the front and is accessible via a tunnel near the club house.
The tenth hole is a 500 yard par 5 that plays mostly straight with a small overall curve to the left.
Off the tee. Again trouble left with heavy trees. Right is problematic too with scattered trees and a pond further up.
A view from the second shot in the fairway. Notice one of the various small ponds where all the tall grasses are.
And the green on 10.
Hole 11 is a 330 yard par 4. A dogleg right, water protects the dogleg all the way up to the green.
Driver here is not a good idea as you can easily hit through the fairway and a large sunken area is on the left side of the dogleg.
A view of the green on 11 seen from the 12th tee.
The 12th is a 410 yard par 4. Another slight dogleg right, the green is heavily bunkered on all sides.
More drainage ponds left and right off the tee.
The green with bunkers on all sides.
Hole 13 is a 400 yard par 4. This hole doglegs left and then requires an accurate second shot into a green that has water both right and left. Around this green is one of the areas that has had the most drainage implemented with ponds on every side of the green.
Off the tee
A view of the approach- water in play here.
And another view of the green.
Hole 14 is the one hole I remember thinking was a very tough challenge. A par 3 at 185 yards you must hit over water and carry and front bunker to a green that slopes aggressively from back to front.
A tough tee shot. I hit a nice 4 iron that hit betwen the bunker and green but rolled back into the sand and a nasty situation.
A view of the green seen from the 13th. You can see the slope of the green from back to front here. Larry hit his tee shot to the back of the green but managed to get down in two for a nice par. I can't recall, but I think I also saved par out of the bunker.
After surviving the 14th, you come to the 15th a tough 425 yard par 4 that requires a decision to lay up short of a creek running across the fairway or try clear it. I decided to lay up short as a strong head wind made my decision pretty clear.
From the tee.
After laying up short of the water you can see here your long approach in. I will remember this as the creek that killed me. Two topped balls into it. Yuck. You can see the green ahead which is ringed on three sides with water. If I had one hole I wanted to play over from this round this would be it. It still feels bad after 5 months.
16 is a 505 yard par 5. The tee shot is fairly open with a couple of weeping willows right to knock down balls. Right past those trees is water as well, hidden off the tee.
For your second shot you will contend with a creek running across the fairway. (The same evil creek as the last hole).
Above you can see the water on the right hidden from the tee.
Another shot of the creek running across the fairway and the gree beyond. All in all a fairly wide open hole, Left is more problematic with woods down the side but the fairway is fairly large here and the green is mostly unprotected.
Hole 17 is a 160 yard par 3 with water front left. Also left are a couple of grenside bunkers.
A closer view of the green.
The final hole is a 420 yard par 4 finishing hole. The drive is fairly open, maybe the most on the back. The hole does dogleg left and I was just able to cut the dogleg off the tee and avoid the trees.
A view towards the green on the second shot.
The green is protected front by a pair of bunkers and is fairly deep front to back. A retaining wall along the left can come into play. Also from the second shot the road gets into your head but should be far enough away as to not really be in play.
The hole finishes aways from the club house. The quickest return to the clubhouse means you need to walk up the hill and behind the green and cross the road to get back. Alternativley you could use the tunnel from the clubhouse to hole 10 but that is a longer route back.
Larry Wheeler was gracious enough to ask if I would join him to play his course Bent Creek. This is a private course in Eden Prairie. Event though the official golf season is over, the weather is still nice enough to golf, so I was excited to get to try out another private course in the cities. Earlier this year I played Minnesota Valley. Now with playing Bent Creek, my rounds at private courses include a lifetime total of 4 rounds!
While it was a bit chilly for this round, there was little wind so the conditions were fine. I think we may have seen one or two other people out on the course. The conditions of the course were just great. The greens were really nice and fairly fast, even this late in the year. This course made it through the summer heat wave without any damage so the conditions were better than most. Bent Creek has a fair amount of trees but the grounds crew has worked hard to keep the course free of leaves. They were out there during our round picking up the few stray leaves that had blown around onto the course.
I played from the tips and Larry played from the Whites.From the tips the course is 6369 yards. From the white it drops to 6030 yards.
Hole 1 is a dogleg right par 5 at 510 yards. You can cut off a little bit to the right but not a lot.
Hole 2 is a par 3 at 135 yards. Again surrounded on all sides by bunkers.
Hole 3 is a straight ahead par 4 at 340 yards. Staying on the fairway is crucial as many trees line either side and trying to advance your ball is very difficult. If you do miss the fairway it is likely you will need to take a shot to punch out sideways.
A look back up to the tee from the fairway on 3.
Hole 4 is another straight ahead par 4 at 415 yards. The left side falls off so anything left might be trouble. The better play is to hit right and let it funnel left.
Down by the green a pond is off to the left.
Hole 5 is a uphill par 4 at 310 yards. Right is dead with woods but the left is also tree trouble.
Your second shot is uphill to a green protected by bunkers that are partially hidden.
Hole 6 is a 380 yard hole with strategic fairway and greenside bunkers.
Hole 7 is another par 4 at 405 yards. Again straight away with all kinds of small trees off the fairway.
Hole 8 is a longer par 3 at 180 yards.
Your second shot, after you clear the dogleg, requires a carry over trees short of the green.
The back nine is a change from the front. The front reminds me a lot of old school courses I have played like Waveland in Des Moines or Minnesota Valley in Bloomington. The back nine of Bent Creek feels much more open. Apparently back when this course was public, they had a lot of drainage issues on the back nine. Some major renovations and additions of a lot of small drainage ponds fixed the drainage issue and made the course feel like what I would imagine a lot of Florida courses are like- relatively flat with lots of water. The back 9 is also located across a street from the front and is accessible via a tunnel near the club house.
A shot of some of the drainage ponds on the back nine.
The tenth hole is a 500 yard par 5 that plays mostly straight with a small overall curve to the left.
Hole 11 is a 330 yard par 4. A dogleg right, water protects the dogleg all the way up to the green.
The 12th is a 410 yard par 4. Another slight dogleg right, the green is heavily bunkered on all sides.
The green with bunkers on all sides.
Hole 13 is a 400 yard par 4. This hole doglegs left and then requires an accurate second shot into a green that has water both right and left. Around this green is one of the areas that has had the most drainage implemented with ponds on every side of the green.
Hole 14 is the one hole I remember thinking was a very tough challenge. A par 3 at 185 yards you must hit over water and carry and front bunker to a green that slopes aggressively from back to front.
After surviving the 14th, you come to the 15th a tough 425 yard par 4 that requires a decision to lay up short of a creek running across the fairway or try clear it. I decided to lay up short as a strong head wind made my decision pretty clear.
16 is a 505 yard par 5. The tee shot is fairly open with a couple of weeping willows right to knock down balls. Right past those trees is water as well, hidden off the tee.
Hole 17 is a 160 yard par 3 with water front left. Also left are a couple of grenside bunkers.
The final hole is a 420 yard par 4 finishing hole. The drive is fairly open, maybe the most on the back. The hole does dogleg left and I was just able to cut the dogleg off the tee and avoid the trees.
A view towards the green on the second shot.
The hole finishes aways from the club house. The quickest return to the clubhouse means you need to walk up the hill and behind the green and cross the road to get back. Alternativley you could use the tunnel from the clubhouse to hole 10 but that is a longer route back.
Overall I liked the course. The greens were really nice, as was the shape of the rest of the course. You could definately tell a difference in conditions between this and most public courses in the cities. Larry tells me the membership fees are fairly reasonable. The course is strictly a golf style membership. There is no pool or tennis facilities. With its convenient location it would be someplace to consider joining if I didn't enjoy the variety of playing lots of courses.
A big thanks to Larry for inviting me to play here with him.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Final handicap of 2011
Since the Minnesota golf season closed October 31st, the final handicap revision of the year has come out. Spurred on by my recent good play during the last few rounds I have had my handicapped dropped again down to a 5.3. That was another full point drop. It is great being able to say now that I am a 5 handicap all winter long. I fully expect next spring to post scores to get my handicap back up to reasonable levels.
Golfing Sawmill for the last time in 2011 YTD
The Minnesota golf season is drawing to a close. On Friday the 28th I played Sawmill for the third consecutive week. The golf season in Minnesota normally ends mid October but due to unseasonable temperatures it was extended this year to the 31st so I guess this trip to Sawmill was my last official round of the year!
The last couple of weeks have been great playing out at Sawmill. I think fewer people are coming out. I don't know why since the weather has been great. Fewer people has helped the greens get to be in great shape. There are hardly any marks and they are rolling really well.
Sawmill has a lot of trees on the course but the grounds crew does a great job keeping course free of leaves. So the great playing conditions and thin tee sheets have allowed for several sub 3 hour rounds.
The last couple of weeks have been great playing out at Sawmill. I think fewer people are coming out. I don't know why since the weather has been great. Fewer people has helped the greens get to be in great shape. There are hardly any marks and they are rolling really well.
Sawmill has a lot of trees on the course but the grounds crew does a great job keeping course free of leaves. So the great playing conditions and thin tee sheets have allowed for several sub 3 hour rounds.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
New Handicap
Last weekend the last official handicap report for the Minnesota golf season came out. I dropped again to a 6.3.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Golfing Mississippi Dunes
Today's forecast is for wind and lots of it so my Friday afternoon round of golf at Mississippi Dunes might be a real challenge.
So as expected, the wind was a challenge during this round. I played with three genetleman, Steve, Matt, and Dave. The round started off brilliantly with me popping up my drive off the tee. The winds did not seem too bad initially but they got worse as the round went on. On the back 9 it seemed like every hole was either straight into the wind or with the wind directly behind.
On the par 5 14th I hit my drive (with the wind behind me) nearly to the 151 yard plate. That equates to nearly a 330 yard drive! On the par 3 17th which was playing at about 154 for the day, I hit 3 extra clubs to make the green. It was definately an interesting day trying to guess club selections with the wind. It was fun trying to control the trajectory on shots to keep them low into the wind or high with the wind.
The course was in pretty good shape. T he greens have recovered well from the aeration and were smooth. There are a lot of trees on the course but downed leaves were not much of a problem since the wind was keeping the greens mostly clear of the big stuff.
Overall, I played well. I ended up with an 83 for the day, which taking the wind into account, was not bad at all.
The par 3 hole 2. With the massive doming, missing the green is not a good thing. Too bad the wind was directly into your face on this hole. Getting a short iron to not baloon and come up short proved to hard for me. I did manage to chip a good one and got up and down for par.
Hole 3, the uphill par 5 tee shot, offered some nice fall colors today. Playing golf in Minnesota in the fall has to be some of the greatest golf you can get, especially once there has been a frost and there are no more bugs.
The approach to the green on 3. My second shot hit a tree and ended up next to the cart path on the far left. I don't know I have ever played this hole from over there.
The par 3 4th. The tees were up so the hole was only playing about 150 with wind from right to left.
The green on 4 is the largest on the course. Somehow I managed to miss it when my ball caught the wind and sailed left of the green.
The pretty par 3 6th. I actually hit the green here, something that does not happen too often.
More color off the tee on number 7.
The green on number 7 showing the rolling topography and the mounded green.
The green on the par 5 11th. I hit my drive to the end of the first fairway wityh the aid of the wind and had 190 yards to the green. I hit a great shot that was right at the pin...and sailed over the green. Wind helps and wind hurts. I managed to save par but had a chance at eagle or bird that was squandered.
The tee shot on 13, a tough shot normally but today it was straight into the wind making it even tougher.
The approach from 100 yards to the green on 13. I hit a 6 iron from 120 yards dead into the wind and still came up short!
The moguls on 14. The second back to back par 5, this one was with the wind and I hit a booming drive that caught the breeze.
My ball came up just short of this marker- a distance off the tee of around 330 yards!
The massive cross bunker about 90 yards out on 14. You can just see the pin over the top of the bunker. This bunker is not only intimidating it makes for a blind shot to another severly mounded green.
The back tees on 17 with some great color on the hole. This one was into the wind.
I hit three extra clubs here and had my shot play perfectly into the wind and drop just behind the pin about 3 feet.
The green on 18 with the clubhouse in the back.
Kermit came out to enjoy the sun on this warm fall day. Highs were in the 80s today and besides the wind it was a great day to be out golfing.
This was my last round at Mississippi Dunes with my Common Man card, and with time running out on the season, my last round of the year here.
So as expected, the wind was a challenge during this round. I played with three genetleman, Steve, Matt, and Dave. The round started off brilliantly with me popping up my drive off the tee. The winds did not seem too bad initially but they got worse as the round went on. On the back 9 it seemed like every hole was either straight into the wind or with the wind directly behind.
On the par 5 14th I hit my drive (with the wind behind me) nearly to the 151 yard plate. That equates to nearly a 330 yard drive! On the par 3 17th which was playing at about 154 for the day, I hit 3 extra clubs to make the green. It was definately an interesting day trying to guess club selections with the wind. It was fun trying to control the trajectory on shots to keep them low into the wind or high with the wind.
The course was in pretty good shape. T he greens have recovered well from the aeration and were smooth. There are a lot of trees on the course but downed leaves were not much of a problem since the wind was keeping the greens mostly clear of the big stuff.
Overall, I played well. I ended up with an 83 for the day, which taking the wind into account, was not bad at all.
The par 4 5th is a tough hole. Aiming at the hill in the fairway my ball kicked left into the bunker. The second shot is often blind at the green and will play long unless you carry the hill off the tee.
This was my last round at Mississippi Dunes with my Common Man card, and with time running out on the season, my last round of the year here.
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