To wrap up the hot weekend, I played a round at another Joliet Park District course: Inwood Golf Course in Joliet, Illinois. I ended up playing this course because I found a great price on a tee time, and I actually didn’t realize it was a ‘field trip’ course until I started heading toward the course. In either case, I thought it was fitting to play this course, because the previous day I played Woodruff Golf Course, another JPD course. As I mentioned in the post about Woodruff, Inwood Golf Course is one of three Joliet Park District courses (the third being Wedgewood Golf Course). Inwood is the ‘middle child’ of the three courses, both in age and course length, and is located about 10 miles west of Woodruff.

The course features five par-3 and four par-5 holes for a total par of 71 at a length of 6,196 yards from the back tees. If you play from the front tees, the length drops to 4,678 yards, and the par drops to 70 (the 11th hole is a 500 yard par-5 from the back tees and a 335 yard par-4 from the front tees). The fairways are mostly straight and wide. Medium-sized trees surround the fairways on nearly all the holes, while a couple holes on the back nine have large trees along the left side of the fairways. Some of the holes have a slight dogleg left or right, while the 16th hole, a 366 yard par-4, has a near 90 degree dogleg left. Water hazards touch ten of the holes, many of which you’ll carry over on your tee shot. Probably the most notable water hazard comes on the 2nd hole, a 327 yard par-4, where the fairway doglegs slightly left before an island green (similar to the 17th hole of Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, but smaller and far less maintained). Sand traps can be found on every hole, mostly near the greens. The greens are mostly flat, and didn’t seem too challenging.

I ended up playing this round by myself. I wasn’t really expecting to be paired up with anyone either, since the temperatures were in 90′s, resulting in a course that was almost empty. I somehow got stuck behind an impassable twosome for most of the round, but I ended up finishing the round in about 4 hours.

I felt like I played another good round. I kept with my new practice swing routine, and it seemed to still be working. With it, I’m still not slicing as much as I have in the past, and for this round, I was actually pulling more shots left than pushing them right. I was still trying to use my fairway wood and hybrid more, and I’m starting to see those slowly improve. Actually, if it wasn’t for my fairway wood, I wouldn’t have shot par on the 8th hole, a 502 yard par-5 (I missed birdie by about an inch too). Anytime I can make par or bogey on a par-5, I’m happy (I actually shot triple-bogey on the other three par-5 holes). I felt that my approach and chip shots were pretty good, and I was making solid shots with my irons. My putting was about average. I probably should have slowed down a little more on my putting to try to make more 1-putts, but I was mostly just trying to get out of the sun. I ended up 1-putting once and 3-putting twice. Not too bad.

I ended up shooting a 99 (28 over par), which breaks 100 again. The triple-bogeys on the three par-5 holes didn’t help at all, and I think more practice with my fairway wood and hybrid will help make those holes easier. I actually ended up making four pars on this round, which is another goal for the season! Aside from that, I made four bogeys, six double-bogeys, and four triple-bogeys (way too many double- and triple-bogeys). I probably could have made more bogeys if I focused more on my putting, but I’m still happy I walked away with a 99.

Inwood Golf Course - Scores & Stats
Course length: 5,890 yards (white tee boxes)
Course par: 71
Course rating/slope: 68.7/122 (white tee boxes)
My score: 99 (28 over par)

Inwood Golf Course
3200 West Jefferson St
Joliet, IL 60435

I’m a bit late on this post, but a couple weekends ago, I traveled down to southern Indiana, and while there, I got a chance to play Champions Pointe Golf Club in Henryville, Indiana. Champions Pointe, located approximately 20 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky, is one of two courses designed by Fuzzy Zoeller, the other course being Covered Bridge Golf Course, which I played back in May of 2009. The course is very new, opening in 2007, and the neighborhood around the course is slowly being built up. As a result, many areas of the course look like a “prairie style” design. I think over time, the area around the course will build up, and some areas feel much more like a standard course that wraps around a neighborhood. Much like Covered Bridge, Champions Pointe is a beautiful course that has a lot of potential.

The course features four par-3 and four par-5 holes for a total par of 72 at a length of 7,174 yards from the back tees. The fairways are mostly open, straight, and wide, which give you a lot of options on where to place your tee shot. Water hazards and rolling hills shape many of the fairways, which gives the course it’s challenge. Water hazards touch ten of the holes, including the 16th hole (a 597 yard par-5) and the 18th hole (a 451 yard par-4) where you must carry water hazards twice on your way to the green. Bunkers are found on all holes, usually both near the fairways and the greens. The greens are a decent size with consistent slopes and challenging breaks. Overall, the course is pretty challenging, yet still very fun. You have many options to get creative with your shots.

I played this round with David, Heather, and Stephen. I actually played this course in the middle of June with David also, but I didn’t want a write a post on it because I wasn’t putting all my effort into playing a good round, and I knew I would be coming back to play this second round.

I felt like I played a decent round. My drives were a bit random on the front nine, and a little more straighter on the back nine. My iron shots were good, although some of them were inaccurate, but at least I was making solid contact. My approach and chip shots where still pretty good, usually setting me up for a 1-putt or a 2-putt. I almost played the round without 3-putting, but on the 2nd hole (a 181 yard par-3), I ended up 3-putting after hitting a solid tee shot with my 7 iron (it was 152 yards from the white tees). I 1-putted four times and 3-putted just once.

I ended up shooting a 107 (35 over par), which was a 52 on the front nine and a 55 on the back nine. This consisted of 2 pars and a bunch of double and triple bogeys. Stephen shot a 118, which he said was one of his worst rounds of the season, and David and Heather didn’t keep score. To compare with my first round, I shot a 108 (54 on both front and back nine), and David shot a 112. I was hoping to play a better round the second time around, but I’m still happy I didn’t shoot more than 110. It really is a challenging course, and I should be happy walking away with a 107.

Champions Pointe Golf Club - Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,484 yards (white tee boxes)
Course par: 72
Course rating/slope: 71.3/130 (white tee boxes)
My score: 107 (35 over par)

Champions Pointe Golf Club
1820 Champions Club Lane
Henryville, IN 47126

Over the long holiday weekend, I got a chance to break away and play a quick round at Plymouth Rock Golf Course in Plymouth, Indiana. I’ve played this course a couple times now, twice with Adam for the Blueberry 2-Person Scramble (both in 2009 and 2010), and one regular round with Dirk. Since everyone had their own holiday plans this year, I played this round alone. In fact, hardly anyone was playing at the course. On the front nine, I caught up and passed a foursome and a twosome, and on the back nine, I saw maybe three people at the most. Much of the back nine, I didn’t see anyone.

The low amount of people playing the course isn’t much of a surprise, since Plymouth is a fairly small town in northern Indiana, about an hour and a half drive from Chicago. Also, Plymouth Rock is not the only (or necessarily the best) golf course in the area. A couple miles down the road from it, you’ll find Tri-Way Golf Course, which seems to have more of a following (and also had a 2-person scramble the same day I played). Also close by to Plymouth, you’ll find Swan Lake Resort & Golf Club, which home to the United States Golf Academy, as well as two championship courses. About 30 minutes from Plymouth, you’ll also find Mystic Hills Golf Club in Culver, Indiana, which is a Pete Dye designed course. Anyway, for $30 with cart, Plymouth Rock is worth a quick round.

I wasn’t expecting much out of the round. I really just wanted to get out and play. The last time I even swung a club was over two weeks ago (I understand that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but oh well).

Surprisingly, I played really well. My drives were mostly straight or pushed right. Anytime I hit right, I usually had a good recovery shot to get me back into play. I got lucky a couple times too, somehow finding my ball in the high grass. Also, the high grass on the back nine that usually gave me trouble was cut a lot lower than normal. I was playing really well with my long irons, and I had some great (and not so great) shots with my short irons. My approach and chip shots were pretty good, usually setting me up for decent putt. My putting was really good, mostly my lag putting, which set me up for short, easy 2nd putts.

As I said, I played pretty well. I ended up shooting a 96! This broke down to a 46 on the front nine and a 50 on the back nine. Throughout the round, I made two pars, nine bogeys, six double bogeys, and one triple bogey. I also had no 3-putts! I had three 1-putts and the rest were 2-putts. So I met two goals in one round, and most importantly, I finally broke 100! I’d say it was a pretty good day.

During a quick weekend trip back to Louisville, I got a chance to play a round with a couple of friends at Valley View Golf Club. Valley View is located in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, which is about 10 miles northwest of downtown Louisville, and was opened in 1963.

The course measures in at 6,514 yards from the back tees, and consists of four par-3 and three par-5 holes for a total par of 71. The fairways are surrounded by large trees, and vary from wide and flat to narrow and hilly. Seven of the holes are doglegs, with three of the holes being nearly 90 degree doglegs. Water touches eight of the holes, including the 10th hole (a 306 yard par-4) where you have to hit your second shot over a pond, and the 11th hole (a 396 yard par-4) where you have to hit your tee shot over a pond. Sand traps are incorporated on every hole either near the fairway or the green.

This was probably the hottest round I’ve played so far, with the temperatures nearing 100 degrees. I played the round with two Fraternity brothers, Tim and Stephen, and Tim’s coworker, Frank. Tim and Stephen are pretty new to golf, but are learning quickly, and Frank seemed like he’s been playing for a while. Frank had some really nice drives, but struggled with his irons. Stephen’s shots just amazed me. His setup and practice swing was ugly, but he always seemed to hit a long, straight shot. And Tim’s shots were just… like mine when I first started.

I really can’t say much though. I didn’t have the best round. My drives were decent, but mostly right, like always. My iron shots were inaccurate, like always. And my putting was horrible. I 3-putted ten times, and didn’t 1-putt at all. But I still had a fun round, mainly because we played a side game of Wolf. Since everyone in our foursome had equal golfing skill, I figured playing the side game would keep things fun throughout the whole round. During the front nine, Frank and Tim teamed up a couple of times and took a nice lead, but Stephen eventually caught up with them near the end of the front nine. During the back nine, I caught up with Frank, and we eventually tied for the lead after the 18th. Frank and I had a quick putting contest to break the tie, and I ended up winning with a 2-putt.

I ended up shooting a 114 (43 over par). Tim shot a 125, Frank shot a 113, and Stephen shot a 105. I think if my putting was better, I could have easily shot in the low 100′s (if i didn’t 3-putt at all, I would have shot at 104).

Valley View Golf Club – Scores & Stats
Course length: 6,185 (white tee boxes)
Course par: 71
Course rating/slope: 69.8/123 (white tee boxes)
My score: 114 (43 over par)
Tim’s score: 125 (54 over par)
Stephen’s score: 105 (34 over par)
Frank’s score: 113 (42 over par)

Valley View Golf Club
3748 Lawrence Banet Road
Floyds Knobs, IN 47119

Before taking my annual mini-vacation to Alabama, I met up with David to play a quick round at Cherry Valley Golf Course in New Albany, Indiana. Cherry Valley Golf Course is approximately 7 miles northwest of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, across the river on the Indiana side. The course was originally built in 1932 as Cherry Valley Golf Course, renamed in 1966 to “Fuzzy Zoeller Par 3″, then switched back to its original name in 1985.

From the back tees (blue), Cherry Valley is slightly longer than a 9-hole short course, but when David and I played, they only had the white tees out, which measured in at 1,417 yards. The course consists of only two par-4 holes, with the rest being par-3′s. The name of the course pretty much describes the layout. The course sits in a valley in the west side of New Albany (it’s almost hard to believe there’s a golf course there), with a creek running along it’s east side. Water hazards affect only the 1st and 8th hole, and trees affect holes 6-9.

This course can actually be fairly challenging for a short course. On some of the holes, you tee off higher than the green, forcing you to be accurate on your shots. On other holes, some trees block your way, so you either have to hit around them or go over top of them. The creek on left of holes 6-8 hugs the fairway pretty closely.

When we started the round, there was a single teeing off before us. David and I decided to join him. His name was James; an older gentleman who seemed like he was a regular at Cherry Valley. Throughout the round, he was giving pointers to David on his stroke (his shots were going all over the place) and his tips ended up being pretty helpful. (David did eventually confess he needs to hit the driving range more often.)

As for me, I feel like I played a decent round. I started off OK, then consistently shot mediocre throughout the rest of the round. My drives on the two par-4 holes were really bad, but my iron shots were OK. My putting, on the other hand, was on target. I 1-putted 4 times and 2-putted 3 times.

But what made my round was the 7th hole. A 110 yard par-3 with tree branches between the tee box and the green. On the first shot, I ended up placing the ball about 6 feet behind the pin, then 1-putted it in for my first par-3 birdie! (I didn’t do a birdie dance, but James did give me a fist-bump.) Although this does not cross a 2009 goal off of the list, it does make me pretty happy. Looking back at previous rounds, I’ve had many opportunities to get a par-4 birdie, yet my poor putting prevented me from getting it. With my putting improving, it’s only a matter of time.

I ended up shooting a 43 (14 over par), and David shot a 47 (18 over par). I don’t know how James did, but I imagine he did better than David and I. I should note, because it was an awesome shot, that James sank a 30 foot putt on the 9th hole. Pretty impressive.

Cherry Valley Golf Course – Scores & Stats
Course length: 1,417 yards
Course par: 29
Course rating/slope: 35.5/113 (white tee boxes)
My score: 43 (14 over par)
David’s score: 47 (18 over par)

Cherry Valley Golf Course
600 Cherry Street
New Albany, IN 47150