Week 2 of the Columbia golf league play-offs

Week 2 has come and gone but wanted to write a quick post about it.

We played the back nine this week.  The course is playing to a par 34 since the par 5 11th has been ruined by flooding and now plays as a par 3. 

The 11th is ridiculous with a "green" cut in the middle of the fairway.  There really is no point in putting the ball as it is a crap shoot how your ball will go.  The tee shot is pretty much blind as the green area is usually slightly downhill from the tee and not visible at all.

Overall we played pretty good again.  I shot a plus 5 39.  Mike was two under his handicap with I think a 40.  For the round we were a net -3.  That gives us a 2 round total of -6. 

Apparently entering week 2 there were 2 teams at -4 and then us in third place.  I heard rumors that week 2 some team shot a really low net so we may be out of the running but one more week to go before the trophies!  Next week is also a low net individual contest too so hopefully my golfing up at Giants Ridge will get me in condition for going low.

Giants Ridge this weekend

It is time again for my family to head on up to Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minnesota to play the courses there (The Legends and The Quarry) as well as playing the Wilderness at the Fortune Bay resort and casino.  If you have not had a chnace to play these courses and you get the chance, you have to make the trip.  it is truely awesome.  This will be my fifth year in a row going up with my family and my sixth time overall going up there.

I am stoked!

Golfing Mississippi Dunes

On Monday as a part of my gear up to my family's annual golf trip to Giants Ridge I had a chance to leave work at noon and go play Mississippi Dunes again.

Golfing during the week is always great with few people on the course.  I was able to go out by myself and played from the "member" tees, which are a combination of the blues and whites.

The course itself has suffered some damage from the last time I played but the greens were in good shape.

On the front nine I shot great. The front side has 3 par 5s and 4 par 3s.  On the par 5s I went long over the green in two on the first and third ones.  I managed to get up and down in both for birdie.  I also parred 5 holes and bogeyed 2 holes.  That gave me an even par for the front.  That was my first time ever shooting par for 9 holes!

On the back a few more bogeys cropped up.  I did have 4 pars.  I had 4 bogeys and a double bogey on the last when a bad drive left me behind a tree and unable to reach the green in two.  A bad chip to the green and I ended the back nine 7 over.

All in all a great round and by far the best round I have had here by far. A 79.  Hopefully this bears good futures for my trip to Giants Ridge.

 Off the tee on number 1.

Here you can see the damage on the fairway on one.  Not all of the holes were like this but a few did have this kind of issue.

Hole 2, the downhill par 3 with the river in the background.

The tee shot on 3.  Always a hard one uphill.  I managed to stripe one perfectly to the left of the big tree. 

The fairway on 3 once over the hill.  My drive caught the downhill and carried to about 210 yards from the hole. 

I went long on the second shot on three but got up and down for brid.

The 4th hole, the long par 4 at 196 yards.  The tees had been moved up to the front tee box on this day and palyed only about 150 yards.

Here you can see the size of the green on #4.

Hole 5s tee shot. A tough par 4 at only 396 yards.  This hole is known as humpback for the mounds in the fairway at the turn.  It always seems to be a challenge to have a good tee shot here.

A good view of the tough mounded greens.  This is the green on the par 5 7th.  I missed reaching this green in two when my ball hit the side hill and kicked off.

This is the 8th green, this one can be a blind downhill shot if you are too far back on the drive on this hole.

The green on number 9, the shortest par 3 on the course at 118 yards. The Mississippi flows back to the left of the green.

The tee shot for hole 10, you must hit right of the first bunker but short of the further bunkers to have a chance at this green.

The first bunker seen from the tee on 10.  Hitting the railway ties can produce some nice extra yards.  Trouble is you don't always know which direction those yards are going to travel.

The down hill par 5 11th.  I hit another great drive here.

The second shot for the 11th.

The tee shot of the par 5 13th.  At 543 yards it is plenty long but today was into the wind.  I needed 4 shots to get on the green but saved par.

One of the pot bunkers on the 14th, the second of 2 back to back par 5s.

16 is always a frustrating hole.  Try to carry the large waste bunker and go at the green or play safe short or left of it.  I usually get confused on my downswing and hit right into the bunker.  Not today.  A good drive and wind behind let me carry it.  A skulled approach shot sent me behind the green and I failed to save par.

Still one of the more daunting tee shots on the course is this one on 17.  Not a long hole but the chute to the uphill fairway always gets me nervous.

A view back towards the tee from the green on 16.

Golfing the Dunes was another great experience.  For the first time I felt like I conquered the course rather than the other way around.  I think my previous best score here was mid 80s so I felt really great about my round.  The sun was shining and I got around in under 3 hours.  How great does it get?

Some of the flowers around the course.

Golfing Pebble Creek

Last Sunday my Dad and I drove out to Pebble Creek in wonderful Becker, Minnesota.  I have never been to Becker and the only things I know about it are: 1) There is a furniture store there. 2) It is a long ways away.

The course is a member of the Common Man Golf Card so I was able to play here for free.

The course itself has a regulation 18 hole course and another 9 hole executive course.  The course layout is flat (this was a corn field not long ago) but numerous trees offer hazards on every hole.  The course reminded me a lot of Minnehaha Golf course in that regards but the conditions reminded me of Dwan in Bloomington.

We started the day on the "White" 9.  We played from the Blues which runs to 6419 yards.

The first hole is a straigh ahead par 4.  Again, the hole is very flat and the only real danger are trees on either side of the fairway.  Two greenside bunkers are not really in play unless you are crooked on your approach shot. At 420 yards a good tee shot leaves a short approach.

The second hole is a really tough, tight par 5, at 500 yards, that plays as a 3 shot hole due to how the design makes you think twice about driver off the tee.  The second and third shots are not any easier as going either left or right will cause a lost ball.

Hole 3 is a 352 yard par 4 that you need to keep the woods in the bag off the tee.  There is just no room to hit anything longer than the cross bunkers.  Greenside bunkers on either side can collect stray shots.

The fourth hole is a 165 yard par 3 that has water just off the right side of the green.  Any pins to the right should be avoided and you should just aim for the center of the green here to avoid trouble.  A left side bunker protects the opposite side from the water.

Hole 5 is a short 490 yard par 5 that has tree trouble off the tee.  The left side is gone if hit there.  The right side will likely require a punch out unless you get past the trees on your drive.  On your second shot a wide open green invites you with only mild danger posed by 2 greenside bunkers on either side.  They are far enough apart to not appear too trecherous.

The sixth is another par 3.  At 150 yards with an elevated tee, you must hit the green or miss right.  Anything short or left will be wet.  Also a large weeping willow on the left can knock down balls hit over there. A picturesque hole.

Hole 7 returns to a straigh ahead par 4 at 355 yards.  Avoid the left side trees and the bunkers down the right off the tee and you will have a short iron to the green.

Hole 8 is a dog leg left par 4.  From the tee it appears you need to play out to around 220 yards off the tee on this 370 yard hole.  You can cut the corner however and take some distance off, you just need to hit over the trees and bunkers on the corner.

Hole 9 is a par 4 at 320 yards.  The right side is gaurded by trees and is adjacent to the driving range and is considered OB.  Two cross bunkers sit about 100 yards out from the hole.  Long on this hole is the parking lot so don't go long without good insurance!

Hole 10 is a straight ahead par 4 at 385 yards.  A pond gaurds the front of the green. 

Hole 11 is a dogleg par 4 at 345 yards.  You can either play safe and hit to the 150 marker, about 200 yards off the tee or cut the corner if you can clear the trees on that side.  Doing so can save 50 yards or so but brings a lot more danger into play on this short hole.

Hole 12 is a 145 yard par 3. Sand surrounds this green but visually there is a lot of room unless you are not straight at the green.

Hole 13 appears pretty tame from the tee, provided you clear the lake right off the tees but you will notice two red stakes out in the fairway.  These mark water on either side of the fairway.  This is a 420 yard par 4 so you want to get off the tee a fair ways just keep it between the red stakes!

 Hole 14 is a looping dog leg right 500 yard par 5 that has a lake the entire length of the right side.  Avoid the water and the weeping willow off the tee and hit your second shot well to have a good shot into a green protected on the right with water and the left with sand.

15 is another straight ahead par 4 at 372 yards.  Bunkers on either side of the fairway can be in play off the tee.  Miss these and you should have a short shot into the green.  Two additional bunkers protect the green short and you will need to fly these on your second shot.

Hole 16 is a par 5 at 535 yards.  This is the longest hole on the course but really does not have a lot of danger other than trees.  Notice the second picture below.  My dad did not heed the advice to stay away from the trees.

Hole 17 is a long par 3 at 190 yards.  An elevated tee allows for a carry over water.  The water really should not come into play and the green is open except for a bunker to the right.

The finsihing hole is a par 4, 405 yard hole that is dead straight.  You must tee off over a pond and then navigate 2 fariway bunkers.  The green also has left and right bunkers protecting it.

For the day I shot a 85- 42 front and 43 back.  Knowing the course could have saved a few strokes but in general the course is easy to navigate and there are really no blind shots.

My overall impression of the course is that it is nice, but not great.  It is too far away to make it a course I am liekly to play again.  The layout is fairly non-descript and the lack of elevation chnages is pretty boring.  It does offer challenges but they are primarily found in the trees lining most holes.  The conditions were nice.  The greens were smooth and fairly fast.  Somewhere beteen muni courses and the higher end public courses in the city. 

At $41 for weekend green fees the course is not too expensive but given the long drive out there not competitive with the myriad of other choices to play.