Chautauqua, NY/Erie, PA Gathering - August 1-2, 2020

[ChetlovesMer]

8 hours ago, iacas said:

Yes, tee times.

Posted earlier in the topic. I think the first is 9:40.

 

On 7/8/2020 at 4:59 PM, iacas said:

Tee times at Whispering Woods are booked for: 9:40, 9:50, 10:00, 10:10.

We may not need the last one, but just in case…

I'll figure out a game to play or something, depending on everyone's mood once we get closer to the date(s).

P.S. I'm still open to other options, but Rich gave me the reduced rate of $45 (cart included of course) for a weekend morning block of tee times, and we can play the blue or white tees. I'll endeavor to put experienced people with each group, too. 🙂

 

Here you go, @GolfLug

I'm looking forward to this.

[RFKFREAK]

On 7/21/2020 at 8:21 PM, Slice of Life said:

Planning on staying in the Erie area, not sure where anyone else is staying. Few Marriott Brand hotels there...gotta use them free points lol

Ugh, still have to book a hotel.  Any idea how far that is from everything?

What time should we plan on arriving at the learning center on Saturday, @iacas?

Edited July 28, 2020 by RFKFREAK

[RFKFREAK]

Looks like I may show you folks a thing or two on the golf course. 😂

[billchao]

7 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

Ugh, still have to book a hotel.  Any idea how far that is from everything?

CHQ is only about 40 minutes from Erie.

[iacas]

Here's the schedule:

Practice - Saturday August 1
Chautauqua Golf Club Learning Center

• 9am arrival (no need to be early, we'll start at like 9:15 or 9:30)
• 5:30pm soft "finishing" time
• 6pm dinner reservation 1/2 mile down the road at Andriaccio's

Notes:

• $78 - $60 for the instruction (that's my junior rate, and I only get a % of that), $18 for the "day pass" to the learning center.
• I'll have everyone pay at once, or in groups of four or something, as they have to "assign" a payment to a block of time on the computer.
• Masks are required when we're inside on the computer, not when you're outside. One bathroom user at a time.
• I'm probably going to divide you into two groups and give instruction to the one group for about two hours (9:30 to 11:30), then the other group (11:30 to 1:30), then we'll do some group stuff chipping, pitching, and putting, and probably finish up with some driver-specific stuff.
• When you're not working with me, take a break when you want, but try to save more of the longer breaks for the block that I'm working with the other half of the golfers.
• If you want a good sub for lunch, Lighthouse is a few miles north on the main road on the right, a little grocery store with good deli meats and subs. Or bring your own lunch and just eat there.
• We'll get a lot of value on Saturday, but please be flexible with the scheduling. My intent is to give everyone the time they all need, but some things will take longer to explain or feel or do, and some will be faster, and my schedule is going to be fluctuating all day. If you have a concern, or are feeling ignored, just be direct and tell me. I will bust my butt for y'all on Saturday, so help me do that to give y'all my best. I don't want anyone to feel they didn't get what they wanted from Saturday.

Playing - Sunday August 2
Whispering Woods Golf Club in Erie, PA

• Tee times are 9:40, 9:50, 10:00, and 10:10.
• I'll put out the groups and tee times and handicaps and all that Friday or Saturday. Friday I might be playing late in Pittsburgh, so it might be something I do late Saturday night. 😄 But it's not like the tee times span hours, so… you can plan an arrival time and know that you're teeing off within 30 minutes (9:40 to 10:10).

Notes:

• The entrance is off Grubb Road and is not the entrance to the housing department, but the one by the church. Don't go in the wrong entrance. 🙂
• Cost is $45 to the course (in the pro shop), and $20 to me ($5s or a $10 and $5s) for the three games.
• You're welcome to arrive early and warm up. The putting green is almost useless, but the range is good. You have to get tokens in the pro shop, so get them there first before going to the range.
• I think we'll play the composite set of blue/white tees I'd already talked about.
• I have an experienced Whispering Woods guide in each group.
• I'll be driving around visiting with each of you. I contemplated having some sort of live leaderboard at some URL you could all see throughout the day, but that might be a bit too much. I might, however, create a message topic with one person in each group and post photos of the scorecards to it so the group contact can share scores with others as you're playing. Then you'll know if your skin is going to hold up without having to wait until the end of the day.

We still have up to four spots available Saturday, and only one spot available on Sunday.

The current lineup(s) are here:

 

[RFKFREAK]

6 hours ago, billchao said:

CHQ is only about 40 minutes from Erie.

Yeah, doesn't seem too far.  They didn't have any rooms at that hotel anymore but found a good deal for a hotel in Warren. 👍

[iacas]

27 minutes ago, RFKFREAK said:

Yeah, doesn't seem too far.  They didn't have any rooms at that hotel anymore but found a good deal for a hotel in Warren. 👍

What? Warren? That's like 45 minutes to CHQ and 1:20 to Whispering Woods.

Can you cancel it and get a different reservation to somewhere else?

Heck, stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Findley Lake, NY.

[Divot Master]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

What? Warren? That's like 45 minutes to CHQ and 1:20 to Whispering Woods.

Can you cancel it and get a different reservation to somewhere else?

Heck, stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Findley Lake, NY.

I concur that it would not make much sense to stay in Warren, unless you are coming from central PA or something. Could be more like an hour from Chautauqua, with typical weekend vacationer traffic.

The hotel in Findlay Lake has changed affiliations. It is now a Comfort Inn and Suites. Located at the interchange of I-86 and NY Route 426. Rates around $94 depending on your affiliations.

Another option would be to stay at Peek'n Peak Resort (about 4 miles south of Findlay Lake). Their summer rates have been pretty good this year as they are desperate for business. You could also play there on Monday, it's a great course. Same architect as Whispering Woods and used to host a Nationwide/Buy.com/Korn Ferry event. I would join you, if anyone is interested.

[BrettZenewicz]

Just Informed wife needs go out of town for work - no sitter - I’ll have to cancel... was looking forward - have a great weekend - course is in great shape !  ;( 

[GolfLug]

Saturday arrival closer to 1 pm. Hope ok. 

[iacas]

20 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Saturday arrival closer to 1 pm. Hope ok. 

Sure but try to get there earlier if you can. I wanted to get some time with you specifically and then give you time to work on the stuff I want to give you?

[GolfLug]

21 minutes ago, iacas said:

Sure but try to get there earlier if you can. I wanted to get some time with you specifically and then give you time to work on the stuff I want to give you?

Yes, am leaving super early, so just an estimate.

[RFKFREAK]

13 hours ago, iacas said:

What? Warren? That's like 45 minutes to CHQ and 1:20 to Whispering Woods.

Can you cancel it and get a different reservation to somewhere else?

Heck, stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Findley Lake, NY.

 

3 hours ago, Divot Master said:

I concur that it would not make much sense to stay in Warren, unless you are coming from central PA or something. Could be more like an hour from Chautauqua, with typical weekend vacationer traffic.

The hotel in Findlay Lake has changed affiliations. It is now a Comfort Inn and Suites. Located at the interchange of I-86 and NY Route 426. Rates around $94 depending on your affiliations.

Another option would be to stay at Peek'n Peak Resort (about 4 miles south of Findlay Lake). Their summer rates have been pretty good this year as they are desperate for business. You could also play there on Monday, it's a great course. Same architect as Whispering Woods and used to host a Nationwide/Buy.com/Korn Ferry event. I would join you, if anyone is interested.

So, I decided to stay in PA because gyms are closed in NY and they're open in PA and since I haven't been able to go to a gym since March I wanted to be able to get a workout in before Saturday and Sunday.

I considered getting a hotel in Erie but since I'm already driving 5-6 hours Friday night I didn't want to add to it so this seemed like the best compromise.  

[Divot Master]

24 minutes ago, RFKFREAK said:

 

So, I decided to stay in PA because gyms are closed in NY and they're open in PA and since I haven't been able to go to a gym since March I wanted to be able to get a workout in before Saturday and Sunday.

I considered getting a hotel in Erie but since I'm already driving 5-6 hours Friday night I didn't want to add to it so this seemed like the best compromise.  

Makes sense, use your GPS to find the shortcuts and try to avoid Lakewood and Jamestown unless you enjoy lots of traffic lights.

[RFKFREAK]

2 hours ago, Divot Master said:

Makes sense, use your GPS to find the shortcuts and try to avoid Lakewood and Jamestown unless you enjoy lots of traffic lights.

Thanks for the tip!

(Although, is there much traffic at 10PM at night?)

[iacas]

One small change to the lineup:

Saturday (Practice) at CHQ:

1. @georgep
2. @Hardspoon
3. @Bonvivant
4. @Carl3
5. @vasaribm
6. @ChetlovesMer
7. @Grizvok
8. @Divot Master
9. @GolfLug
10. @Slice of Life
11. @RFKFREAK
12. @saevel25
13.  
14.  
15.  
16.  

Sunday (Playing) Whispering Woods:

1. @saevel25
2. @georgep
3. @Hardspoon
4. @BradSomrak
5. @Bonvivant
6. @vasaribm
7. @ChetlovesMer
8. @Divot Master
9. @GolfLug
10. @Slice of Life
11. @RFKFREAK
12. @Carl3
13. @Slim_Pivot
14. @DrizZzY
15. @DinnerTime
16.  

$20 on Sunday ($45 for greens fee/cart if you're not a member of WW):

• $5 toward Net Skins pot
• $5 toward Gross Skins pot
• $10 toward Quota Game pot

The quota game will be a pretty standard quota game. I'm not sure if I'll do a percentage of handicaps or what…

• Bogey = 1 point
• Par = 2 points
• Birdie = 4 points
• Eagle = 8 points
• Albatross = 12 points

To make payouts easier, please bring four $5 bills or at least a $10 and two $5s.

[RFKFREAK]

Would it be easier to pay for Saturday in cash or is a card fine?

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, RFKFREAK said:

Would it be easier to pay for Saturday in cash or is a card fine?

Cards are fine. They take payment in the shop. A gal named Emily will do it. Like I said, I'll have you all do it together so that she can ring it up the right way.

The only "cash" I need are… any tips 😄 and the $20 in $5s (ideally) on Sunday for the games.

---

BTW for the quota game, let's assume we have $160 in it, I might pay out… $80 to first, $60 to second… and $20 to someone who finishes 7th or 9th or 15th or something, just so even if you're not having the best day, you can still be in the running for something.

I've seen scrambles do this to discourage cheating, but I think it can work for this too. I'm not sure what place I'll pay back the $20 to, but… maybe. Strongly considering it.