A little early, but might as well get this started out with a bang...

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/22 ... tml?ipad=y


Bandon Dunes coming to Central Wisconsin? FUCK YEA!

Looks like its only an hour and a half from my parent's place in Green Lake. From what I hear they are a lot further along than the article lets on.

Hawg, you hear anything up your way about this?

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http://www.jsonline.com/sports/golf/golf-course-visionary-plans-resort-near-wisconsin-rapids-b99145788z1-232685361.html

Updated article from today.

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I know just about what that article states, if they can make this work there are going to be several world class golf courses that aren't to far from each other. They have the money to make it work and what they are trying to do sounds really cool.

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yea, the Castle course is also up that way which is supposed to be really nice. Same with Lake Arrowhead. And Sentry World will re-open next year after a year of renovations. I played it over 25 years ago and it was nice, can't wait to see how it is with the improvement.

Between those and Lawsonia, Erin Hills, Kohler and the Bog you'd be hard pressed to find a state with better quality golf options than Wisconsin.

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There really is not as the conditions always seem to be top notch as well, and you will find no better greens anywhere.

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Sentry World will reopen later in 2014 so essentially a full year and a half off. I haven't played there in 25 years
either and can't wait to see what they have done. As for the new golf complex, this is the first I have heard of
it but excited to hear it. Getting to the point where they could make a world class golf trail between Madison and
across the central part of the state.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Picked up a Callaway Razr Hawk 11.5* head. Going to swap out the FT-9 10* to see if I get better launch conditions. Both heads use the I-Mix system which was Callaway's first interchangeable shaft system. The Fubuki shaft is pretty awesome and not going anywhere.

Keep trying all the center-shafted putters at PGA Superstore every few weeks but nothing really beats the $50 Cleveland Classic 5.5 I'm rolling. Feels just as good as the Camerons and Bettinardis at 1/6th the price. Will surely be tempted if Odyssey comes out with a White Hot Pro mid-mallet model. Love the insert. Really liked the TM Spider Blade counterweight model in 35". Easy to keep the hands quiet with the heavy grip.

Put fresh grips on all my clubs last week. It's like I'm wearing new underwear. Very excited.

I don't think I played more than 10 rounds of golf this year. Stinks. 2014 will see a lot more golf. shakes, T-Bone and Chus, I'm looking in your general directions.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

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Looking forward to the Eskimo Open in a few weeks! Always a good way to unofficially start the year.

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Move the hell out of Canada and you will be on my radar! To be fair, I'm also concerned all the Seinfeld references will go over your head...

Seriously though, Shepard's Crook and Thunderhawk in 2014.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

I am planning on getting a county golf membership up here but I should still have money to play other places.
I spent over twice what a membership would have cost me last year. This year I'll play 75% on the pass and
travel somewhere else at least once a month to play somewhere fun. I am pretty much set for a majority of
my clubs. I'm interested in replacing the gap, sand, and 60 degree wedges. I can get another season out of
the gap and sand but definitely looking for a 60 degree. I need to go to a Golf Galaxy or Golfsmith and
actually feel them in my hands. I've only played Titleist and Cleveland wedges the last 20 years so I'll
likely keep that going, leaning towards a Vokey but I'll know it when I find it. Sometimes hard to find
the models with very little bounce. Once I get the clubs I plan on regripping them all alike with some
mid sized grips, not sure what kind yet. Really feeling the golf withdrawal lately. I made it to the gym
everyday this week and plan on going both days this weekend as well. Hopefully can start thinking golf
again in 12 weeks.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

T-bone's a Canadian too.


I will never get the Seinfeld references, I surrender.

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You posting more often recently has really helped out around here

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Hawg, I owe you a few trips up your way. If you son wasn't a stud in every single sport your area offers
I'd venture to guess we'd get out a little bit more. I vow to make it happen this year.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

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I'm thinking a Washington County meetup next summer could be in order.

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I'm toying with the idea of joining a golf club. Don't have the money to do it now, but if a few things break my way its possible I could have the funds down the road.

Need to find out how much they cost to join and all the charges and then figure out if its worth it considering how much I play. I'm gonna call Evanston Golf Club and find out how much it costs...I hear its nice and it is centrally located between work and home. Would be great to be able to stop by there every day after work and get in some practice or a quick 9 or 18.

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If it's open, there are some rumblings coming out of that place.

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Seriously? WTF, they're thinking of closing the place? That makes no sense, its such a nice course and a great value.

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They say it never makes any money. The county had a independent auditor come thru last spring/early summer and when they got the report back, they shit canned everybody. They did up their rates a little this year and a lot of the people I know were not happy. I agree, I love the place and would definitely hate to see it go.

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Top 50 Muni courses in the U.S. http://golfweek.com/news/2013/may/08/go ... rses-2013/

7. Highlands of Elgin
Elgin, Ill.

13. Bowes Creek
Elgin, Ill

24. Washington County GC
Hartford, Wis

25. Harborside International (Starboard)
Chicago

32. ThunderHawk
Beach Park, Ill.

47. Shepherd’s Crook
Zion, Ill

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I've played all those courses, great list. The only one I don't agree with is the highly overrated Harborside. And from what I hear the conditions at Thunderhawk have gone down a bit in the last year. Played Bowes last year and loved it, plus they have a great member for the day deal there with unlimited play. Had a great time there. Played Highlands of Elgin this summer and loved that as well. Really nice course.

I would put Crook higher up on the list just for the greens alone, best greens I played all year.

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http://topgolf.com/chicago/

Check out the link, any of you guys been there or heard of it? I think I'm going Saturday. Supposed to be really fun. Supposed to be a combo of Dave and Busters and bowling only instead of bowling its golf! You hit from heated bays to an outdoor range, all the balls have micro chips to track and score. And you play a series of 20 ball games against your friends (closest to the pins, accurate drive, chipping targets, etc.)

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A few years ago, some of us met there and hit balls prior to playing the course next door. I know I didn't have it set up right to keep my score correctly, but at least you are going to get some swings in. I am heading down south tomorrow and really hoping to get in a couple of rounds while I am down there.

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TopGolf is awesome. They have a full bar, and decent food.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Got my 2014 county golf membership over the holidays. Can't wait to get out and play.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Low of 36 tonite with a high near 50 tomorrow. It will be sloppy, but I'm considering going out to hit a few balls tomorrow. Maybe do 9 holes if its really nice out.

Will be playing the Eskimo Open at Cog Hill on the 5th, my fourth year doing so.

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Picked up a Japanese domestic market TM putter on eBay. Got it for $65 shipped. The quality is first-rate compared to the US retail offerings. Forged head and a weight kit too. It came with a Super Stroke 1.0 Ultra grip. I never really paid much attention to the Super Stroke grips because they looked hideous and felt way too big. The Ultra is the thinnest SS grip and has a reverse-taper thing going on, so the top is a normal size grip and gets wider toward the bottom. HATED it at first until I noticed my putts were consistently straighter and it really does take the hands out of the stroke. Now I really like it. Plus, the 1.0 is only $12, vs. $25 for the other models.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Went to Top Golf yesterday. Lots of fun. Was going to go Saturday, but called ahead and it was a 3 hour wait all day and night. So we went yesterday morning instead to beat the crowds. Since it was so cold there weren't that many people there even when we left around 1.

The place is really cool. You buy a card, go to the machine and purchase games, each game is 20 balls and $7. Each ball has a microchip and is set to match you so when you put it on the mat the computer knows its your ball. They have targets all over the range, some as short as 20 yards and then the big one is 250 yards out. They have 5 or 6 different games you can play. First one is where you just try and hit any target and you get points. Next game we played was one where you pick your skill level and based on that the computer tells you which target to aim for. It was a lot of fun and a great way to work on your game with the excitement of some competition.

The bays are heated, but it was still quite cold. Each bay has couches or bar stools and tables so you can hang out and eat and drink when its not your turn. Waitresses were very attentive. The food was really good although all we had was some chicken quesadillas.

I'll definitely go back. They gave us a tip..if you call up at least a day in advance and set up an event you can do that for as little as 3 people and the deal is $40 per person and that gets you 2 appetizers, free non alcoholic drinks and two hours of free golf. That's a pretty sweet deal considering you can use that option to avoid the 3 hour wait on weekends.

The people working there were great, very helpful. i accidentally scammed them out of like $100 without realizing it. When I got there I bought a $40 card and it was 9:55 am. They told me that till 10am all games were half price ($3.50) and they ushered me over quickly to the machine so I could take advantage of that. I had my wife and a friend as well so I bought 12 games so we could play 4 games each. After the machine gave me 240 balls they told me that we could all use those balls, but since they were registered to me only my name and score would show up on the screen. We didn't want that so I just took 4 games and they put the rest of the balls back and credited 8 games back to my card. Problem is though I bought those games at half price, but they gave them back to me at the full rate so I now have $56 worth of games on my card that I paid $40 for and I also had the 4 games that I played while we were there. SO in the end I paid $40 and got $84 worth of games.

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7am tee time on Course #3 this Sunday. Good thing I've got a bag of orange, pink, and yellow balls in the garage as it's supposed to snow a bit over the next few days. Borrowing a sled to drag my clubs around for the day as well.

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