How long does it take to play Idlewild?

[ginshun]

i am going to be in the area Monday night on business, but I don't have to leave the hotel to be on site until 11:00AM on Tuesday. I was thinking of going out early on Tuesday morning. The course is pretty long. Anybody know the average time to play a round? Am I looking at two or three hours or so?

I don't get to this area often (or ever really), but I really want to play this course. I will be at the course at first light if need be. Like I said, I will need to be back to the hotel in Florence around 11:00 AM. Is this going to work out for me?

 

[RUSSELL]

~3 hours

 

[RUSSELL]

skip the letter holes to save time- you won't be missing much...

 

[notroman]

Yeah, you'll be pushing 3 hours if you're playing solo. A lot of the pins are blind so you will probably be walking a lot to figure out where you want to throw if you've never played there.

As Russell said, unless you have enough free time, don't bother playing the letter holes.

 

[ginshun]

cool, thanks guys. I may skip the letter holes depending on how the timing works out.

Problem #2, I won't have a rental car as I am being picked up for the business that I have in town. Being right next to the airport, I assume there is a cab company in the area that I can call? The course looks to be 6 or 7 miles from my hotel.

 

[jsc430]

T he timing of a cab could be a problem. Pay the 50 bucks a get yourself a car. Playing Idlewild and knowing you will be on time for work is worth it.

 

[sisyphus]

play 1-4, F, 5-18, then hit the letter holes if you have the time - you might really enjoy A, C (long) & D...

FTFY

 

[InnocentCrook]

I agree with Sisyphus. Play F between 4 and 5. If you have time you can park at the shelter right near A and play A-E.

A, C long (especially), and E are pretty cool holes. Even B and D aren't bad. The letter holes are very different from the rest of the course.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Shuie, tallpaul, and I hit Lincoln Ridge, Idlewild, and Boone Woods all in one day, taking our time. We almost had enough time after Idlewild to drive to Mt. Airy, but daylight was against us.

I'd say it took us about 3.5 hours playing long tees to long baskets, playing all 24.

 

[agentdozzer]

I would get a rental, Cabs around here are very expensive compared to other parts of the country and they will cost you time. You really wont spend that much more on a rental. I also agree with skipping the letter holes, if you finish 18 you can do a quick loop of letters like others have suggested.

 

[Dave242]

Shuie, tallpaul, and I hit Lincoln Ridge, Idlewild, and Boone Woods all in one day, taking our time. We almost had enough time after Idlewild to drive to Mt. Airy, but daylight was against us.

I'd say it took us about 3.5 hours playing long tees to long baskets, playing all 24.

Yeah....I was very surprised people were saying 3 hours playing solo. If you walked very slowly, lost your disc several times and scouted every hole that had a blind basket (slowly), it might take 3 hours.

If you keep moving, it is no problem to get through 18 in 1.5 hours (it takes me 45 minutes to get through most ~5000' courses - if I am not waiting on other groups)

 

[Fred Salaz]

What time you getting in on monday? If its not raining I may be able to meet you.

 

[Jukeshoe]

^^

 

[notroman]

Yeah....I was very surprised people were saying 3 hours playing solo. If you walked very slowly, lost your disc several times and scouted every hole that had a blind basket (slowly), it might take 3 hours.

If you keep moving, it is no problem to get through 18 in 1.5 hours (it takes me 45 minutes to get through most ~5000' courses - if I am not waiting on other groups)

Well, I don't like throwing blind so on courses like Idlewild I tend to walk ahead a lot until I see where I need to throw, then walk back. A lot of walking back and forth. It's kinda frustrating. Not everyone is the same That's only for the first time around. Once I know the layout of the holes everything moves a lot quicker.

 

[ginshun]

What time you getting in on monday? If its not raining I may be able to meet you.

I'll be there Monday night, but not until like 9:00. I don't know if this is going to work for me or not. Once daylight savings kicks in, sunrise isn't till almost 8:00, so I have 3 hours basically to play and get to where I need to go.

I am going to check into renting a car, can't trust any other way with the small window I have.

Not to mention that I haven't really played all winter, so I will probably be spraying discs all over the place, which doesn't make for fast play.

I'd still meet in the morning to play a round if everything works out though. I have to check things out though.

 

[Shuie]

I will be getting Revenge on Idlewild Tomorrow afternoon i believe!!! Super stoked to be playing that course again in 2 weeks. I am thinking you will have a blast would prolly just play the 18 hole lay-out first and then try for the letter holes. I'd tell ya i'd time the round for ya but we are going to be playing with a group of four i believe maybe even more.

 

[ginshun]

pretty sure the company is picking up the tab on the rental car- nice.
I should be there at dawn on Tuesday, unless something changes.

~g

 

[ginshun]

For future reference, it takes under 2 hours to play all 24 holes. Playing single, and being the only person on the course that is.

 

[Dave242]

I feel like I just won a chicken dinner! If the 6 new holes taken on average the same amount of time per hole as the original 18.....that is "under 2 hours to play all 24 holes"

Hope you enjoyed your round even more than I'll enjoy my dinner! How did you like the course?

If you keep moving, it is no problem to get through 18 in 1.5 hours (it takes me 45 minutes to get through most ~5000' courses - if I am not waiting on other groups)

 

[ginshun]

The course was awesome!

Its comparable to the Highbridge courses, but its better groomed. At Idlewild, at least this time of year, even the off course areas (the rough?) are relatively open so its pretty easy to find stray shots. At Highbridge, the woods are very thick, and if you end up off the course, good luck.

Just as far as the beauty of the course and the landscape itself, this course is a true thing to behold. The stream running throughout the course along with the ponds make it very scenic.

As a destination Highbridge is king, but as far as the individual courses, I'd be hard pressed to choose between this one Blueberry or Granite Ridge as my favorite.

The course is difficult, and just as a note, it's definitely not the best way to start out after about a 3-4 month break without even picking up a disc. What are you gonna do though? I also played with a single disc, as I forgot mine, and ended up going to Dicks Sporting goods and buying a champ Teebird so that I could play a round. I had a few close calls, but no problems until the very end. I threw my disc in the pond on D, and had to go in up to about my thighs to get it. Being that it was the only one I had, I had to do it so that I could finish the course. Needless to say, barefoot and soaking wet is not the best way to play out the round when the temp is 35F, but again, what are you gonna do? It was worth it.