OT. Alling Memorial Golf

[cohenzone]

Played 18 there today, New Haven’s muni course. I was glad I did. It’s in great shape, although the greens were a little slow for my taste. I hadn’t played there in a few years. It was fairly busy, but we played a little over 3.5 hours as a 2some. Even the 4some a few holes in front of us didn’t hold anyone up.

The main problem these days is that courses aren’t putting rakes by the traps and very few people seem to be bothering to try and smooth out ball and footprint marks. They look like battle zones.

 

[uconnfan68]

Played 18 there today, New Haven’s muni course. I was glad I did. It’s in great shape, although the greens were a little slow for my taste. I hadn’t played there in a few years. It was fairly busy, but we played a little over 3.5 hours as a 2some. Even the 4some a few holes in front of us didn’t hold anyone up.

The main problem these days is that courses aren’t putting rakes by the traps and very few people seem to be bothering to try and smooth out ball and footprint marks. They look like battle zones.

Our course local rule says give yourself a good lie in the middle of the trap. I’ve done that and played it as is... doesn’t matter for my game. Almost always get out ok, but a long way from knowing where it will go.

 

[mauconnfan]

Haven't played Alling in ages. Was always a decent lay out, a few areas were hard hat required but it was always decent. Back in the day the Keney of New Haven. (or is it in East Haven?)

 

[CbbisGreat]

Right. on the border

 

[cohenzone]

Haven't played Alling in ages. Was always a decent lay out, a few areas were hard hat required but it was always decent. Back in the day the Keney of New Haven. (or is it in East Haven?)

I think it’s a bit harder than Keney, mostly due to some protective bunkers and a few forced carries. The new Keney might be easier than the old Keney even with some added bunkers. Most not in play and a lot of trees cut down not forcing as many potential lay ups or chips from the woods.

They are all getting harder for me in my mid 70s. Using white tees these days and my outer limit for 2 good shots in a row is down to maybe 370 or so, down about 80 yards from 15 years ago. Yardage about 5800 is enough for me now and senior tees are looking inviting. I did have an aunt who golfed at age 90.

 

[CbbisGreat]

66 if i play this year I am going to senior tees

 

[cohenzone]

66 if i play this year I am going to senior tees

Wimp. 75 for the last few weeks. Most holes these days for me a par is almost always a one putt and not very often. Doubles more likely. I think I hit 2 greens in regulation yesterday and they were very short par 4s. Meaning 330 and less. I think I’d score better from the senior tees but I’m afraid to find out I can’t.

 

[mauconnfan]

Wimp. 75 for the last few weeks. Most holes these days for me a par is almost always a one putt and not very often. Doubles more likely. I think I hit 2 greens in regulation yesterday and they were very short par 4s. Meaning 330 and less. I think I’d score better from the senior tees but I’m afraid to find out I can’t.

Get to the senior tees cohen don't be such a hero. Make it fun again geez you deserve it. Heck you said 5800 yards is about it for you, isn't that the senior tees most places? Im only 60 and I don't enjoy much more than 6500-6600 anymore. Even then I have to hit it pure off the tee to enjoy the day or else it's all about the 54 and 58 degree guys to get it close for a chance to save pars on 440 and longer often.

Walk forward and tee it up, c'mon!

 

[uconnfan68]

Get to the senior tees cohen don't be such a hero. Make it fun again geez you deserve it. Heck you said 5800 yards is about it for you, isn't that the senior tees most places? Im only 60 and I don't enjoy much more than 6500-6600 anymore. Even then I have to hit it pure off the tee to enjoy the day or else it's all about the 54 and 58 degree guys to get it close for a chance to save pars on 440 and longer often.

Walk forward and tee it up, c'mon!

Wish I could... old mens club rules were age + handicap = 85, but had to be 65. New rule this year, age+handicap = 88, but had to be 70.
So I played for a couple years from combo tees (9 white, 9 green/forward). Now I’m stuck on white this year. I’m 70, but my handicap hasn’t crested 18 yet. Won’t be long the way I’m playing.

 

[cohenzone]

Get to the senior tees cohen don't be such a hero. Make it fun again geez you deserve it. Heck you said 5800 yards is about it for you, isn't that the senior tees most places? Im only 60 and I don't enjoy much more than 6500-6600 anymore. Even then I have to hit it pure off the tee to enjoy the day or else it's all about the 54 and 58 degree guys to get it close for a chance to save pars on 440 and longer often.

Walk forward and tee it up, c'mon!

The guy I play with the most is a hard sell. He’s a couple of years younger and plays way more than I do these days. Not an exaggeration, he might be the biggest golf fanatic in history. He’s played every public course in CT at least once and several private, most RI courses and a bunch in MA and Maine. He takes a least one major week long golf trip a year and often two to some of the best locartions and courses in the US, Canada and Europe When I lived in the Hartford area, we and for stretches a few other pals, were the first or second group every Sat at Keney. We were pretty even then, mostly mid 80s, usually not much higher and occasionally lower. I was always much longer than he with every club but he was more consistent. Now I out drive him once in a while and am still longer with other clubs, but I’ve played 45 holes this year and he’s played almost 200. It’s rare for me to outscore him now, even on a 9, and it’s usually because he’s off a little. He and his wife never had kids so he spends his money on golf.

When we only played as a 2some on Keney Sat, , if we were second off we’d go through the group in front of us on #2, (they were regulars we knew,) and literally finish 18 in about 2.5 hours. We played fast even when we weren’t playing well. One day a guy saw us walk off 18 at a little after 8am and he asked how we could be done with 18 so early. I told him we wanted to sneak back home before our wives woke up.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Alling was the hardest course I played last summer. Maybe it was because I played it on the hottest day of the year, but my score there was the worst I've carded in a few years.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Tee boxes are SO antiquated. They should absolutely be handicapped-based.

We need to keep women's tees, but have sets of tees behind those, based on what you're scoring. 36 is the highest handicap, so tees should be set at 36-26, 25-15, 14-4, and then below 4 plays the tips. Something like this. Some course are moving towards this...Pound Ridge CC in NY is one.

 

[mauconnfan]

Tee boxes are SO antiquated. They should absolutely be handicapped-based.

We need to keep women's tees, but have sets of tees behind those, based on what you're scoring. 36 is the highest handicap, so tees should be set at 36-26, 25-15, 14-4, and then below 4 plays the tips. Something like this. Some course are moving towards this...Pound Ridge CC in NY is one.

Pound Ridge? Have you played it? Saw it in a magazine looks excellent but tough.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Pound Ridge? Have you played it? Saw it in a magazine looks excellent but tough.

Never played it but it's on my list. It's on Golfnow for $100 a round. I usually pay $24-$40 where I play, so that's the type of place I will only play once in my life, for the experience. I'm a big fan of the golficity guys on youtube and they love it. That's where I saw that they have tee boxes according to handicaps - the way it should be.

 

[uconnfan68]

Never played it but it's on my list. It's on Golfnow for $100 a round. I usually pay $24-$40 where I play, so that's the type of place I will only play once in my life, for the experience. I'm a big fan of the golficity guys on youtube and they love it. That's where I saw that they have tee boxes according to handicaps - the way it should be.

Wintonbury is a Pete Dye course in CT, but I don’t remember handicap based tee boxes there. Something new for him?

 

[uconnfan68]

Pound Ridge? Have you played it? Saw it in a magazine looks excellent but tough.

Have you played Centennial? Just past Danbury in NY off 84. I think they have at least 27 holes, so you can switch up different routes. Looks spectacular on the website.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Wintonbury is a Pete Dye course in CT, but I don’t remember handicap based tee boxes there. Something new for him?

Good question. I bet the owners of Pound Ridge must have made that decision? I played Wintonbury last month and you’re right - they don’t have this.

 

[Greathusky]

I bought a certificate for $159 at the Big E last year to play four at Fox Hopyard. I played there yesterday with my peeps. The course is my favorite in CT. The course was in excellent condition and provides you with a variety of different challenging holes. My 23 handicap was fodder for this course but I had a blast. I had a par on the downhole 4th hole par 3 and the long par 5 18th hole but blew up on some of the easier holes. I ended with a 98 from the whites which is an average score for this hacker.

 

[XLCenterFan]

I bought a certificate for $159 at the Big E last year to play four at Fox Hopyard. I played there yesterday with my peeps. The course is my favorite in CT. The course was in excellent condition and provides you with a variety of different challenging holes. My 23 handicap was fodder for this course but I had a blast. I had a par on the downhole 3rd hole par 3 and the long par 5 18th hole but blew up on some of the easier holes. I ended with a 98 from the whites which is an average score for this hacker.

That's an awesome price. I go to the Big E every year, religiously - where did you find that?

 

[Greathusky]

That's an awesome price. I go to the Big E every year, religiously - where did you find that?

They have a table set up in one of the big tents but I can’t remember which tent it was.

 

[uconnfan68]

I bought a certificate for $159 at the Big E last year to play four at Fox Hopyard. I played there yesterday with my peeps. The course is my favorite in CT. The course was in excellent condition and provides you with a variety of different challenging holes. My 23 handicap was fodder for this course but I had a blast. I had a par on the downhole 4th hole par 3 and the long par 5 18th hole but blew up on some of the easier holes. I ended with a 98 from the whites which is an average score for this hacker.

Try Lake of Isles (North is open to public) at Foxwoods.

 

[Greathusky]

Try Lake of Isles (North is open to public) at Foxwoods.

I have played at the Lake of Isles and the TPC Cromwell. For me personally, Fox Hopyard hits the sweet spot in complexity, scenery and layout. The aforementioned are a bit out of my league because of my stubbornness to move down from the white tees. I accept that my high handicap and advancing age (62) may force me someday but I am not ready to concede.

 

[uconnfan68]

I have played at the Lake of Isles and the TPC Cromwell. For me personally, Fox Hopyard hits the sweet spot in complexity, scenery and layout. The aforementioned are a bit out of my league because of my stubbornness to move down from the white tees. I accept that my high handicap and advancing age (62) may force me someday but I am not ready to concede.

I’ve played almost every rendition of TPC/Edgewood. First place I ever played... about 60 years ago. Haven’t played the newest version yet, but it doesn’t compare to Lake of Isles. My biggest regret was missing out on the South course there when it was the public course for 1 year.

 

[cohenzone]

Try Lake of Isles (North is open to public) at Foxwoods.

Expensive though. Played once when I could make all the forced carries from the whites. I don’t think I can handle most of those anymore from those tees. Not sure I want to pay that much anymore.

 

[alphasigko]

Have you played Centennial? Just past Danbury in NY off 84. I think they have at least 27 holes, so you can switch up different routes. Looks spectacular on the website.

I played Centennial (in Carmel, NY) in like 2001 when is was relatively new in a scramble event. Johnny Unitas was the guest host. It was a nice track then and looks even better now on their website via a drone fly-over. It is now a Troon Golf Course, so you can be confident that it is very well maintained. It still does have 27 holes.

I live in Denver and we have a couple of excellent Dye designed courses in the area: Riverdale Dunes which held the US Public Links Tourney and Glenmoor CC (a really difficult short track). The "Dunes" is my favorite course in the local area,

 

[mauconnfan]

Have you played Centennial? Just past Danbury in NY off 84. I think they have at least 27 holes, so you can switch up different routes. Looks spectacular on the website.

My buddies have tripped to Centennial a few times and I have missed those. I need to do that 68, for sure hear good things about it.

 

[Greathusky]

Oxford Greens on Tuesday and Gillette Ridge on Thursday. Now that the third hole at Oxford has been designated as the toughest in CT, it will be a badge of courage to keep the strokes for that hole under 8.

 

[uconnfan68]

Expensive though. Played once when I could make all the forced carries from the whites. I don’t think I can handle most of those anymore from those tees. Not sure I want to pay that much anymore.

Yeah, it’s tough. I dislike forced carries more every day.

 

[cohenzone]

Oxford Greens on Tuesday and Gillette Ridge on Thursday. Now that the third hole at Oxford has been designated as the toughest in CT, it will be a badge of courage to keep the strokes for that hole under 8.

Funny you mentioned Oxford. I haven’t played there for at least 5 years and just suggested it today as one of the possibilities for our next round. I’ve only been there about 3 times so I don’t specifically recall holes. I think one of the early holes has a green that is death if you are above the hole. Ball doesn’t stop and rolls off the green

 

[Greathusky]

Funny you mentioned Oxford. I haven’t played there for at least 5 years and just suggested it today as one of the possibilities for our next round. I’ve only been there about 3 times so I don’t specifically recall holes. I think one of the early holes has a green that is death if you are above the hole. Ball doesn’t stop and rolls off the green

The par 3 at the second hole has a tough green. No room for error if you roll off.