Golf Thread 2015

[JohnBriggs12]

Just returned from Whistling Straits.

 

Left before storm. What follows won't be written in paper or featured on Golf Channel. Course has never been real fan friendly with the difficulty to traverse, but today showed it's not equipped to handle hot weather either. Plenty of places to buy ice cream and iced lemonade, but not nearly enough concession stands and/or places to purchase water and the ones they had sold so many drinks, they were often short of drinks cold enough. All over the course, fans were being carted off suffering from the heat.

 

The stands next to 18 green are normally great place to rest and watch the golf without the physical exertion. Today, it was like sitting in an oven there and again no close water concession. Making matters worse, the pin was in a position where fans in the "free" bleachers couldn't see the hole.

[nodakfan17]

I also went to the PGA Championship yesterday (Friday). I consider myself a casual golf fan. I don't golf myself, but I'll usually turn on CBS on Sunday afternoons prior to football season. That being said, I'd probably rate my fan experience as a B-minus.

 

There was nowhere to hide from the heat unless you had club or suite access. My $100 grounds pass afforded no such luxuries. I thought that the food and beverage selection was ample and priced no worse than Lambeau Field, but there was no place to eat lunch except for a small section of picnic tables that were directly in the sun. I ate lunch at 11 am to ensure a seat. From 7 am - 9 am, I sat in the grand stands on the 11th green. This was probably my best viewing experience. Once I surrendered that seat, it would have been nearly impossible to reclaim another seat in the grand stands on a different hole. The first golfers teed off at 6:45 am, but by 8 am, the course was packed.

 

It wasn't all bad - I parked for free in the North lot and took a shuttle to the course. There was no wait on my way to or from the course. I was able to board a shuttle immediately, which left within 5 minutes each time. As expected, the course was beautiful. I enjoyed the time that I spent exploring Whistling Straights. I was also able to see nearly every golfer that I had hoped to see (including several up close at the 11th green). The highlight of my day was watching John Daly tee off on 2 and then proceed to light up a cigarette as he walked down the fairway.

 

I would definitely like to go to the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straights, but would hesitate to pay full price for passes to the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills. Instead, I might opt for attending a practice round at 1/2 the cost (and presumably 1/2 the crowd).

[NeedMoreFans]

(and presumably 1/2 the crowd)

 

Not at all. I went to the Wednesday practice round and it was packed, nearly to the levels it was on the Saturdays in both 2004 and 2010. I really liked the practice round because they let you take pictures, but you have no idea who's on the course if you are sitting at a hole. They have a couple of boards that tell you, but those are near the clubhouse.

[nodakfan17]

Thanks for the tip on the practice rounds. I have a pair of colleagues who have told me that the practice rounds are the way to go, based on their own experiences in 2004 and 2010. I would have suspected that there would be fewer people too, but I think they most enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. I wish photos would have been permitted on Friday. I completely understand why they should not be allowed at the tee or on the green. Like anything else, I'm sure the privilege has been abused and that's why it's outlawed.

[Patrick425]

Just returned from Whistling Straits.

 

Left before storm. What follows won't be written in paper or featured on Golf Channel. Course has never been real fan friendly with the difficulty to traverse, but today showed it's not equipped to handle hot weather either. Plenty of places to buy ice cream and iced lemonade, but not nearly enough concession stands and/or places to purchase water and the ones they had sold so many drinks, they were often short of drinks cold enough. All over the course, fans were being carted off suffering from the heat.

 

The stands next to 18 green are normally great place to rest and watch the golf without the physical exertion. Today, it was like sitting in an oven there and again no close water concession. Making matters worse, the pin was in a position where fans in the "free" bleachers couldn't see the hole.

 

Went yesterday, I'll second the water/drinks issue. It was pretty hot and one of the biggest problems (especially on Sunday) is that if you stake out a decent spot you can't leave to go get water without risking losing your spot. We had 7 people, so we kind of took shifts, but that still is not easy. One person can not carry 7 waters and usually when one or two people left to get water they were gone for an hour (missing a lot of the action). I went to get water right around when the last group was on hole 11 or 12. There was a cart selling beverages and I got in line. Then someone yelled, no water left here, only beer. I thought they were joking, so I stayed in line for another minute or two and then realized that they were not joking!

 

I didn't witness anyone being carried off with dehydration issues like JohnBriggs did, but I am really surprised I didn't. It was pretty brutal out there. One of the guys in our group had a pedometer or fitbit or something. He said that we walked close to 9 miles (on not very friendly walking terrain). I'm feeling it today!!

[homer]

That golf course looks so amazing on TV. Hard to believe it's in Wisconsin.

[Patrick425]

Never looked at the Journal/Sentinel today, but hope they got Day's name right this time. In the Sunday copy of the paper that I got, it had a big picture of Day hitting a shot on the main front page with his name as "Justin Day....." under the picture. That should never happen...small town type quality there.

[LouisEly]

The written media - print or internet - gave up proofreading a long time ago. I'm now surprised when I read an article on-line that doesn't have a typo or other type of error in it.

[FVBrewerFan]

The course did look beautiful, just far too easy for a major. Sure, some holes look like Lake Mich is in play, but its not. 867,000 bunkers but almost none of them in play. Greens very manageable. Don't get me wrong, I rather have that than tricking up a course just to make it tougher.

 

WS looks like a links cpurse, but its not. I think they need to put more bunkers in play, easy enough to do with still being true to the design. Yes, I know winds weren't gusting much, but still needs to be a bigger challenge.

[RobDeer 45]

I had such a blast at WS this weekend. I was there Fri, Sat, Sun. Friday was brutally hot and if we didn't have an umbrella, we may have melted. Lines were a big issue. I think they got better as the week went on, but still, they needed more water stations. We figured out to stock pile water and get food before the rush at 11. Then just last out the madness until 3, and then get whatever you need again. We ended up upgrading our tickets on Sunday to a club seat so we could get out of the heat. Well worth it! I really loved being there and despite some long lines, it was a lot of fun.

[homer]

The course did look beautiful, just far too easy for a major. Sure, some holes look like Lake Mich is in play, but its not. 867,000 bunkers but almost none of them in play. Greens very manageable. Don't get me wrong, I rather have that than tricking up a course just to make it tougher.

 

WS looks like a links cpurse, but its not. I think they need to put more bunkers in play, easy enough to do with still being true to the design. Yes, I know winds weren't gusting much, but still needs to be a bigger challenge.

 

The winds were very favorable.

[FVBrewerFan]

I understand that, but a course used for major should not be a pitch and putt with no wind. They need to make it tougher, and if the winds are really gusty, they can always make the course a llittle easier that given day with pin placements, moving up the tee box, etc.

[jerichoholicninja]

The course did look beautiful, just far too easy for a major. Sure, some holes look like Lake Mich is in play, but its not. 867,000 bunkers but almost none of them in play. Greens very manageable. Don't get me wrong, I rather have that than tricking up a course just to make it tougher.

 

WS looks like a links cpurse, but its not. I think they need to put more bunkers in play, easy enough to do with still being true to the design. Yes, I know winds weren't gusting much, but still needs to be a bigger challenge.

 

I have a friend who works at the course so I got to golf it for free once. I'm not much of a golfer anymore. I can hit the ball pretty far off the tee but it rarely goes very straight and the rest of my game is so-so. I figured the only thing worth mentioning from the round would just be that I actually golfed there. However, the huge fairways and lack of trees or any "real" rough suits my game pretty well. If you take my best 9 holes I was only 2 over. Even birdied back to back holes. I couldn't believe how "easy" the course was considering I don't think anyone was even under par the first PGA event there. The wind really is the toughest part of the course. Even on the calm day it was when I was there, the wind on the holes along the lake was still pretty strong and made those holes tougher.

[Funketown]

Of course, had it been a US Open they would have likely just played #11 the same way but labeled it par 4, and played another par 5 (maybe #2) a few yards shorter and labeled it Par 4, giving us a -12 champion.

 

Conditions were good for scoring, not sure how much rain they got on Friday but it seemed to be a good amount, with very little wind. I do wish the course had played a bit firmer, but so it goes.

[LouisEly]

Has anyone ever played refurbished/refinished golf balls? I've heard different things, with some saying they are good and some not. I'm not good enough where new balls are going to make a difference in my score, but there are used (4A NM/5A Mint) and there are refurbished/refinished. Trying to figure out which is my better bet.

[jjgott]

Has anyone ever played refurbished/refinished golf balls? I've heard different things, with some saying they are good and some not. I'm not good enough where new balls are going to make a difference in my score, but there are used (4A NM/5A Mint) and there are refurbished/refinished. Trying to figure out which is my better bet.

 

I do quite frequently. From what I've heard, stick with "recycled" over "refinished." Recycled I think is more of just a wash as opposed to actually trying to refinish the cover of the ball which could lead to inconsistencies. I have purchased from both Lost Golf Balls and Golf Balls Direct. I have done both 4A and 5A balls from both places and have generally been ok with what I've received. Every once and a while the 4A ball will have some scrape on it, but if it does, it's not very deep and can still be used for a practice round. Golf Balls Direct is usually a little bit cheaper, especially on the shipping, and provides % off codes all the time.

[RobDeer 45]

ON golf balls, I think the main issues are water logged and scrapes. I've played the refurbished and I find "recycled" balls on the course all the time I don't know if I'm a good enough golfer to know if the ball is messing up or if it's me! I think they are a good deal so I'm all for used golf balls. That said, my new favorite golf ball, that is upper middle for price, is the TaylorMade Project A. They feel really soft, almost like a ProV1, but are around $30. Big fan so far.