Mid-Atlantic Outing (April 9, 10 2016)

[billchao]

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

I'd think April or May would be the best choice for both weather and course conditions. 

Sounds good to me. As long as I get enough notice, I can make plans for the family.

[Grumpter]

I would be interested with a plus 1. I'm in South East PA BUT the guy I regularly play with is in Maryland only about 45 minutes to an hour away from each course. We regularly drive that distance to play courses so it's within range. I would need to know dates before committing due to work/personal schedules for both of us.

[DaveP043]

So right now it sounds like we have 10 people interested, and we still might get more, but from personal experience I think we'll be really lucky to have 8 who can actually play.  I think its time for @jsgolfer and I to compare our respective club's tournament schedules and see if we can come up with a weekend or two that might work. 

[jsgolfer]

On December 14, 2015 at 5:08 PM, billchao said:

I'd be interested in joining if it's not too far south. My sister in law lives in Bowie and I could probably plan a family visit and sneak out for half a day or something.

Bowie is real close to Springfield, a little farther to Stoneleigh.  Worth the drive to play both courses.

 

On December 15, 2015 at 10:20 AM, GolfLug said:

+1 to in either Springfield or Round Hill. I am assuming this would most probably be late April at the earliest?

 

 

April is probably the earliest where the weather would be ok and the courses will be in decent shape.  This past year my first round at SGCC was 3/21.

On December 15, 2015 at 0:41 PM, DaveP043 said:

So right now it sounds like we have 10 people interested, and we still might get more, but from personal experience I think we'll be really lucky to have 8 who can actually play.  I think its time for @jsgolfer and I to compare our respective club's tournament schedules and see if we can come up with a weekend or two that might work. 

Yes sounds good

[k-troop]

Any of the Montgomery County folks buy the MCG golf pass to the nine county-run courses?  I'm wondering if it's worth it:  are the courses decent, are tee times relatively accessible in the spring-fall season, etc.  Thanks for any input!

[dsc123]

 

5 minutes ago, k-troop said:

Any of the Montgomery County folks buy the MCG golf pass to the nine county-run courses?  I'm wondering if it's worth it:  are the courses decent, are tee times relatively accessible in the spring-fall season, etc.  Thanks for any input!

Its the best deal you're going to find.  Unfortunately, I think they only sell a limited quantity and they sell out fast.  I tried to buy one a few years ago but they were out.  I ended up at Redgate in Rockville for 2 years, which was okay.  It comes with deals at other billy casper managed courses, too.  But the MCG courses are now in significantly better shape than Redgate, which wasn't necessarily true when I first signed up. 

 

None of the MCG courses are super pretty--for example, the lines between the fairway, first cut, second cut, etc. aren't pristine--but the fairways, tee boxes, and greens are in good shape.  The greens are not fast--I'd say they stimp at 8 or 9 (per my aimpoint estimates)--but they roll true.  The courses are friendly to singles, and the only time I've had trouble finding tee times are when I'm trying to book a round the night before.  If you make your tee times 48 hours in advance I don't think you'll ever have a problem. 

 

Here's what I'd say about each course:

Northwest - I've been most impressed with Northwest, which has become my home course.  There's nothing special about the layout but its longer than the other courses and its kept in good shape.  The greens here are better than the others.  I believe they hold a qualifier for a Nationwide (or whatever its called now, nike?) event every year. 

Hampshire Greens - The best of the bunch is probably Hampshire Greens.  Its more of a links style course and winds through a residential development.  I don't play it often because its a bit more expensive than the others and I prefer to walk.  This is a cart only course. 

Laytonsville.  Its short and kinda of easy, but its always in good shape and its fun to play.  Other than Northwest, I probably play this course the most.  I like that they have a practice bunker and bit of a short game practice area. 

Needwood - I used to live very close to Needwood and played there often.  I think the other county courses are more challenging and kept in better shape, but I wouldn't go so far as to say its in poor shape or anything like that.  They have a fun little executive 9 here, too.

Little Bennett - Its been a while since I've been out to Little Bennett but that's the most beautiful of the courses.  The course gets less play than the others and is usually in very good shape.  The consensus is that this is one of the best MCG courses.

Falls Road - Its been a while since I've played here, too.  Its the closest to DC and thus gets the most traffic.  Rounds can take a very long time.  I remember liking it, but that's when I lived in DC and my point of reference was Haines Point. 

 

I've never played Rattlewood, Poolsville, or Sligo Creek.  Sligo is near me, but its a 9 hole course.  The other two are too far out of my way.  I've heard good things about Poolsville, though.

 

Hope this helps!

 

[davechen]

I mostly play the Montgomery County courses but I don't have a pass.  I play in the NIH golf league, and so half the time the league is paying for my golf.  The pass wouldn't do me much good then.

Also MCG have a really great family golf deal.  At twilight hours, if you have a kid, 9 holes costs 10 bucks each, including cart.  My son and I do that a lot.

[DaveP043]

I just wanted to update folks, so you don't think we've forgotten.  @jsgolfer and I have taken a tentative look at dates, based on last year's tournament schedule.  We anticipate that we'll have at least a couple of weekends in April or May where we could play at his club and at mine back to back, Saturday and Sunday.  Once we get schedules for this year, we'll compare and try to figure out a good weekend to have a nice two-day outing.  Until then, y'all stay warm!

[DaveP043]

Just like magic, we have a couple of potential weekends to play Springfield CC and Stoneleigh GC on a Saturday and Sunday.  This is still preliminary, but if we can get some expression of interest, we'll try to keep this moving forward.  The potential dates are:April 9 and 10, or May 22-23.  We can almost certainly arrange two foursomes, so we're looking at @jsgolfer and myself and 6 more.  We'll confirm the dates when we can, but for now we'd like to hear from anyone who is interested, and maybe get an idea of the preferred weekend for each of you.

[jsgolfer]

Two uniquely different courses, Stoneleigh you need to be a Mountain Goat to play it as it is very hilly and lots of uphill, downhill and sidehill lies and very undulating greens.  The second hole is definitely interesting.  Springfield is more rolling terrain with very fast greens.  

http://www.stoneleighgolf.com/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp

http://www.sgccva.org/

[dsc123]

I'd be interested.  Both dates seem okay at the moment.  Thanks for putting this together!

[GolfLug]

53 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Just like magic, we have a couple of potential weekends to play Springfield CC and Stoneleigh GC on a Saturday and Sunday.  This is still preliminary, but if we can get some expression of interest, we'll try to keep this moving forward.  The potential dates are:April 9 and 10, or May 22-23.  We can almost certainly arrange two foursomes, so we're looking at @jsgolfer and myself and 6 more.  We'll confirm the dates when we can, but for now we'd like to hear from anyone who is interested, and maybe get an idea of the preferred weekend for each of you.

April 9/10 preferred.

[SavvySwede]

Put me down as a possible. Always a pleasure to meet fellow trappers.

[RFKFREAK]

20 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Put me down as a possible. Always a pleasure to meet fellow trappers.

+1.

Both courses are in Northern Virginia, right?

[jsgolfer]

10 hours ago, RFKFREAK said:

+1.

Both courses are in Northern Virginia, right?

Yes

Springfield which is not far off of the 495/95 interchange and Stoneleigh which is west of Leesburg on Route 7.

[davechen]

I'm very interested.  Do you mean May 22-23, i.e., Sunday & Monday?

Anyways, either dates should be all right.  I could probably only play one day on the weekends.  If it was Sunday-Monday, I might be able to do both.

[jsgolfer]

8 minutes ago, davechen said:

I'm very interested.  Do you mean May 22-23, i.e., Sunday & Monday?

Anyways, either dates should be all right.  I could probably only play one day on the weekends.  If it was Sunday-Monday, I might be able to do both.

Should be May 21/22 - Saturday and Sunday.  More than likely it will be an afternoon tee time at both places. Springfield has a lottery on the weekends before noon, so I can't get two tee times unless there is a second member before noon, not sure about @DaveP043 course.  

As an FYI - cost to play Springfield on the weekend with a cart is $90. 

[Grumpter]

I'm still interested with a plus 1 to bring along. I don't have a preference on which weekend it is.