Wisconsin, nearby, and visitors thread for 2017

[treebound]

I didn't see an active thread for Wisconsin people on TST so I figured I'd start one up.

I hope this thread is used for people to arrange golf outings and other get-togethers for the general Wisconsin region.

I saw the thread for Erin Hills, but looks like it went dormant over a year ago (and I'm not sure if anyone got to play the course and reported on the outing, if I saw it then I've forgot about it).

This is not a thread to redirect people to other sites.

If someone wants to arrange or announce a golf gathering in a specific spot or course then feel free to post a link to that thread in this thread.

Enough rules, I didn't play golf last year due to family medical issues, but I really really REALLY hope to play several rounds of golf this year.

That's all I've got for now. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the locals this year and maybe getting out for a round of golf. Budget is tight but the drive is strong ( 'drive' to play golf, my actual golf "drive" still needs work).

[cipher]

On 2/27/2017 at 1:05 PM, treebound said:

I saw the thread for Erin Hills, but looks like it went dormant over a year ago (and I'm not sure if anyone got to play the course and reported on the outing, if I saw it then I've forgot about it).

I was the one trying to put that together, about two years ago at this point.  I was injured that spring and have not been able to play since.  

On 2/27/2017 at 1:05 PM, treebound said:

Enough rules, I didn't play golf last year due to family medical issues, but I really really REALLY hope to play several rounds of golf this year.

That's all I've got for now. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the locals this year and maybe getting out for a round of golf. Budget is tight but the drive is strong ( 'drive' to play golf, my actual golf "drive" still needs work).

If I am able to play again this year, I can try and get something together for all of us to play.  I believe there are a few TST guys in this area.  @Jakester23 is a friend of mine and we plan on playing some rounds this year if all goes well.

[treebound]

I wish you success with your recovery.  I saw a little about what happened in your blog postings.

An email I got said that Erin Hills was not going to open to the public until after the big tournament. Way out of my budget, but interesting to read reports from people who have played the course.

[cipher]

19 hours ago, treebound said:

I wish you success with your recovery.  I saw a little about what happened in your blog postings.

An email I got said that Erin Hills was not going to open to the public until after the big tournament. Way out of my budget, but interesting to read reports from people who have played the course.

Thank you.  @Jakester23 and I would like to play Erin maybe next year.  This year we have Wild Rock in the Dells on the list.  A coworker also wants to play the new Coore Crenshaw Sand Valley course with me as well.  If I can get healthy and play those two courses this year it would be a great year.  

[treebound]

My wife talks about taking her grandkids out to the Dells at times and I keep wondering how the courses are around there.  I'm thinking maybe I could slip off to a course while they play in the waterparks. Sometimes the course rates are a little hard to figure out, and I don't know how they are regarding solo-walkons. Also looks like Wild Rock has a dress code in place, so it looks like I'll have to figure out that as well. I assume it just means no denim jeans, no scissor cut cutoffs, and probably a collared shirt.

 

I tried to find that new Sand Valley course on googlemaps and the satellite image still shows the area as trees, so that is really a new course. Should be a nice day on a nice new course.

 

This year my plan is to just get back to playing golf so I'll probably play at Hawthorne Hills and maybe one or two of the Milwaukee county courses near my work (and pay the non-resident fees).

[treebound]

I think more courses are opening this weekend, provided that the courses are not swamps after the rains. I also think the WI handicap hibernation is waking up as well. I need to renew my county golf ID card so I can start working on re-establishing an official handicap. 

 

[dkolo]

My girlfriend and I just joined a country club for the first time this week, so I've managed to get out and play a bunch already, but I'd never seen wet conditions like this before back when I lived on the east coast, when I golfed in soggy conditions in January and March a few times. The course itself is immaculate but on every shot you have your ball caked in mud. Same thing happened on a few public courses I played on last month. Wisconsin muddiness is quite the thing to behold.

[David in FL]

7 minutes ago, dkolo said:

My girlfriend and I just joined a country club for the first time this week, so I've managed to get out and play a bunch already, but I'd never seen wet conditions like this before back when I lived on the east coast, when I golfed in soggy conditions in January and March a few times. The course itself is immaculate but on every shot you have your ball caked in mud. Same thing happened on a few public courses I played on last month. Wisconsin muddiness is quite the thing to behold.

What club?  Where?  Which public courses?

[dkolo]

5 minutes ago, David in FL said:

What club?  Where?  Which public courses?

Respectively: Blackhawk CC. Madison. Odana and Door Creek. 

[cipher]

41 minutes ago, dkolo said:

My girlfriend and I just joined a country club for the first time this week, so I've managed to get out and play a bunch already, but I'd never seen wet conditions like this before back when I lived on the east coast, when I golfed in soggy conditions in January and March a few times. The course itself is immaculate but on every shot you have your ball caked in mud. Same thing happened on a few public courses I played on last month. Wisconsin muddiness is quite the thing to behold.

Yeah I used to mainly play morning rounds through the summer as well and it stays pretty soft for a while.  Even during some summers.  I got used to it and don't mind it so much.  Have you played the Oaks in Madison yet? That course looks okay.  Have not tried it yet myself.

Edited April 6, 2017 by cipher

[dkolo]

Just now, cipher said:

Yeah I used to mainly play morning rounds through the summer as well and it stays pretty soft for a while.  Even during some summers.  I got used to it and don't mind it so much.  Have you've played the Oaks in Madison yet? That course looks okay.  Have not tried it yet myself.

I've heard great things about it. Saw I think Costco selling vouchers for rounds there but I wound up passing on it once we decided we'd get a membership elsewhere

[cipher]

4 minutes ago, dkolo said:

I've heard great things about it. Saw I think Costco selling vouchers for rounds there but I wound up passing on it once we decided we'd get a membership elsewhere

Memberships here are priced very well.  It can really make a lot of sense to get one if you want to play a lot for sure.  My early bird membership at a nice public course used to be just $550 for the year and the private course I most recently belonged to was about 2k.  So very reasonable I would say.  Enjoy the year.  

[Jakester23]

12 hours ago, dkolo said:

I've heard great things about it. Saw I think Costco selling vouchers for rounds there but I wound up passing on it once we decided we'd get a membership elsewhere

If you don't mind me asking where did you get your membership?

[dkolo]

@Jakester23: Blackhawk CC

Edited April 6, 2017 by dkolo

[Jakester23]

On Thursday, April 06, 2017 at 0:55 PM, dkolo said:

@Jakester23: Blackhawk CC

Awesome. Hopefully @cipher  can get healthy and we can get out this summer. 

[treebound]

A public course membership sounds interesting, I might have to check into that and see if any local courses offer it. 

[treebound]

I got 18 holes of golf in today at Hawthorne Hills. My first time back on the course in a couple years. My score was bad, but I had fun, and I hit my driver much much better on the driving range than on the course. 

 

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[treebound]

I made a quick stop at the GolfGalaxy now located in the former Golfsmith location in Brookfield and they have removed half the racks where the used clubs were at. Looks like they are greatly reducing the used inventory, which is a bummer for my budget. Oh well, things change, life goes on.