Hello All From Chicagoland Area

[conrad1cal]

Hello Everyone!

Name is Conrad, looking to really devote a lot of time to my game this year after not being able to play much the last 2 years due to work & related traveling. I've been playing golf since I could barely walk and look forward to trying to get as close to scratch as possible this summer now that I've freed up some time.

Should be fun to discuss golf with everyone on this forum. I've been reading it for years, figure I'd finally get an account and join this awesome community! Can't wait for the weather to clear up around here so I can get to the range and get this 2012 season underway.

[mvmac]

Glad to have you.  If you have any other questions about using the site, check out our "Using the Site" section ,

Here are some great threads to get started and familiar with The Sand Trap

"What do you Do for a Living?" thread .

"What'd You Shoot Today?"

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"New Posts" page , too.

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Want to follow some bright people and some awesome members? Check out this article . Want to talk about more than golf or quickly find like-minded folks? Check out our Groups .

[1puttit]

Welcome to the site. Good to have another Chicagoan on board. Looking forward to to the start of the season and hopefully it wont be as rainy and cold as last year. Already getting email notices that courses are planning on opening the weekend of March 10th.

Where are you located? I'm out in Plainfield.

[Dan Garcia]

Welcome Conrad,

This is my first post as well. I hope you have a great season! I'm out by the O'Hare area.

Regards,

Dan

[walk18]

Welcome! Let's get that early spring going!

[rustyredcab]

Welcome to lovely Chicagoland in March. Snowing hard right now. It was 50* a few hours ago. Will it ever be Spring in Chicago? Looks like I'll buy another card for a bunch of golf dome hours at the Addison Dome.

I'm a Glen Ellyn/Lombard guy who plays at Prairie Landings in West Chicago. We need TheSandtrap.com hats or something so we can spot each other.

[GaijinGolfer]

Welcome to the site!  Its good to see another midwesterner on the board!

[conrad1cal]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I"m in the Schaumburg/Streamwood area. I tend to play Bowes Creek, Bridges of Poplar Creek, and The Highlands of Elgin for the most part, but definitely looking to explore some new courses this season. Was able to golf a few times the past week at TopGolf in Wooddale, love that place. Also got a bucket of balls in at Green Valley off Lake St WHILE it was snowing...gotta love the weather!

[conrad1cal]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Welcome to lovely Chicagoland in March. Snowing hard right now. It was 50* a few hours ago. Will it ever be Spring in Chicago? Looks like I'll buy another card for a bunch of golf dome hours at the Addison Dome.

I'm a Glen Ellyn/Lombard guy who plays at Prairie Landings in West Chicago. We need TheSandtrap.com hats or something so we can spot each other.

How is Prairie Landings? I've never played there, played a LOT of golf at St Andrews, though. Great place to practice as well.

[rustyredcab]

Prairie Landings is a great layout. Sporty holes, classic holes, very good conditions, practice facilities that include practice holes.

Well worth a visit.

[showtime583]

Figured I'd chime in on the Chicago thread....I live in the city, but play all over. My favorites in no particular order:

1. Bowes Creek in Elgin - Great spot, unlimited golf/range with their "member for the day" policy. Around $80 and I always get in 36 when I head out there.
2. Thunderhawk - Bit of a hike from downtown, but worth the trip. Big big course...
3. Ravisloe - Nice track, former private club. Not too long, but a good test. Lots of trees and some holes are tight of the tee
4. George Dunne - Best Forest Preserve course in my opinion. Bunkers have gotten better recently...long track and tough finish on 17 and 18. Great test for the game.
5. Odyssey GC - Great shape, but a few holes are a little "tricked out". Check the calendar at the amphitheater next door for weekend rounds...played there once with a heavy metal concert going on and could hear EVERYTHING on a number of holes
6. Ruffled Feathers - Love this track. Kind of pricy, but "unlimited" food and beverage (booze not included) is a plus...have a nice lunch or dinner after the round for "free"

Any suggestions I should check out? Haven't played St. Andrews or Cantigny...heard great things about both.

Oh - have mixed emotions about Harborside....2 nice 18s close to the city, but way overpriced in my opinion. Tends to always be windy as well.....

[rustyredcab]

St Andrews (the one in West Chicago not the one in Scotland) has a very good practice facility. One of the best in the area including good balls and lights on the range. The course is far from special. Practice there if you are in the area but play somewhere else. Arrowhead in Wheaton was a St Andrews like course that transformed itself into a very nice course (three nines) a few years back. Opposite of St. Andrews in that the practice facility is awful and the course is very nice.

[kathybhylton]

Welcome conrad! Feel free to ask queries about golf. Yeah, we're both excited to play golf :)

[Acooper1983]

Im up in rockford., Mainly play country courses (which are spectacular this year) and rockford courses including the venerable Aldeen golf club,  one of the top 50 courses for under 50$ in the country.  Extremly nice course.

[Dan Garcia]

Originally Posted by Acooper1983

Im up in rockford., Mainly play country courses (which are spectacular this year) and rockford courses including the venerable Aldeen golf club,  one of the top 50 courses for under 50$ in the country.  Extremly nice course.

I played Aldeen this past weekend 2 times through. Got a great deal for $35 off golfnow which included the cart and a bucket of range balls. Like Acooper said, it's an extremely nice course. Loved having water on 12 of the holes. I played from the back tees and scored a 123. I was sort of proud of that given that I'm barely about 7 months into the game.

I usually play Eaglewood out in Itasca. Its one of the few courses in my area that has some nice elevations.

[redi630]

Originally Posted by showtime583

Ravisloe - Nice track, former private club. Not too long, but a good test. Lots of trees and some holes are tight of the tee

I played Ravsloe last summer for the first time and I would say it was the worst conditioned course I have ever played.  I know the summer was tough on courses last year but it was really bad.  Half of the greens were mud.  It was to bad because the layout was nice.

Has anyone played it this year?  Have they improved the conditions from last year?