wolfhaley to the Carolinas. And Georgia (barely)

[wolfhaley]

Love those old school Earlewood baskets too.

 

[DavidSauls]

Funny, I was at Earlewood this afternoon. It's the course we began on, though it's been battered by tree loss, erosion, and park interference over the past 30 years.

It also has its share of dangerous greens and a thrilling finishing hole, where you can blow a small lead if you're not careful. Probably planted those seeds in our heads, years before Stoney Hill.

 

[wolfhaley]

It also has its share of dangerous greens and a thrilling finishing hole, where you can blow a small lead if you're not careful. Probably planted those seeds in our heads, years before Stoney Hill.

Alyssa actually lost a disc on, I want to say, hole 7 today. It's a downhill hole that's not real long. It created the hill and poof, never to be seen again. It could have rolled anywhere really. The erosion is definitely pretty extreme there.

I also assume the amphitheater you throw over wasn't part of the original design

 

[DavidSauls]

Alyssa actually lost a disc on, I want to say, hole 7 today. It's a downhill hole that's not real long. It created the hill and poof, never to be seen again. It could have rolled anywhere really. The erosion is definitely pretty extreme there.

I also assume the amphitheater you throw over wasn't part of the original design

Right on the amphitheater....and the walking trails. (The amphitheater stage was there, but not the roof, and the seating was just a hill that caused 100' rollaways).

In the mid-90s there was hardly anyone playing, and erosion wasn't a consideration. Now the course is very popular, and it's a mess. Plus, I was thinking as I played, almost every hole has suffered from loss of key trees.

But it's still a fun course to play, even with all that.

 

[wolfhaley]

Day 5 complete. I'm tired

Marvin Efird Park- (9)
Elon Park-Eager Beaver- (18)
Elon Park-Angry Beaver- (18)
The Scrapyard- (18)
Mint Hill Park- (9)
Crooked Creek Crossing- (18)
Squirrel Lake Park- (12)

102 total holes, Alyssa sat out Mint Hill, so "only" 93 for her. What a slacker

The Scrapyard was the highlight of the day. Excellent wooded golf in a beautiful park. Squirrel Lake was probably my second favorite. It's a shame there's not room for a full 18. Really fun layout though. Elon Park was fun too. Eager Beaver was much kinder than the Angry Beaver but both are real fun. Crooked Creek Crossing is a super short 18 that fit in nicely today. Nothing special but still fun. Mint Hill was ok. Marvin Efird is a super short par 2 style course. Nice warm up for Elon Park if nothing else. Saw Paul Ulibarri filming at Eager Beaver and said Hello which was pretty cool.

 

[tallpaul]

I've recommended Squirrel Lake more than once. Traveling buddy of mine, shot the at the time, dubs record, with course designer Stan McDaniel. Stan and his wife both played with our crew. That was a grand fun. Those were two seperate trips though... I've been to area of your current road trip, four or five times...and played what I called pretty heavy days of play. You're bangin' 'em out young man! Wonderful area for disc, yeah!

 

[wolfhaley]

I've recommended Squirrel Lake more than once. Traveling buddy of mine, shot the at the time, dubs record, with course designer Stan McDaniel. Stan and his wife both played with our crew. That was a grand fun. Those were two seperate trips though... I've been to area of your current road trip, four or five times...and played what I called pretty heavy days of play. You're bangin' 'em out young man! Wonderful area for disc, yeah!

Yes sir. It's a lovely area down here. Only have 3 days left so I'm trying to make the most of it. I'm fairly certain I'll be back here next spring again. We love it.

 

[tallpaul]

That course record was on Angry Beaver; left that out somehow...

 

[tallpaul]

Did you catch Bob and the Wolfpack, at the Sylvee? 2nd set Dark Star>Milestones>Dark Star and Terrapin Suite. Kabam!

 

[wolfhaley]

Did you catch Bob and the Wolfpack, at the Sylvee? 2nd set Dark Star>Milestones>Dark Star and Terrapin Suite. Kabam!

I didn't. Sounds awesome. Seeing Dead & Co. in St. Louis and both nights at Wrigley though. That's my next course bagging trip

 

[Mando]

Langley Pond was the opposite for me. I was a bit underwhelmed by it. I mean it's fun and has some neat holes. But it also has some pretty brutal and underwhelming holes. And the walks between holes are pretty ridiculous.

Agree completely. Is there water in the pond ?

 

[wolfhaley]

Agree completely. Is there water in the pond ?

There was. An abundance of it after the storms last weekend actually.

 

[wolfhaley]

Day 6 over. 5 new courses.

Veterans Park- (9)
Kilborne TPC- (18)
Reedy Creek- (18)
Harrisburg Park- (9)
Hornet's Nest- (20)

Veterans park was a pretty decent little 9 with some elevation. Good warm up course for Kilborne at least. Kilborne was a real fun wooded track. Real pretty woods throughout. Reedy Creek was also very enjoyable. These are two courses I'd frequent if I lived near here. Harrisburg park is another super short 9. I love the different types of courses they have in Charlotte. There's courses for every kind of skill level.

Hornet's Nest was a bit of a letdown. I knew what I was getting into with it, but just not really my kind of course. It's fine, but I enjoyed almost all the other Charlotte 18's I've played so far more. I'm just not skilled enough to do well there. Let's just say it looks cooler when the pros play it.

Plus there wasn't a single lizard

 

[wolfhaley]

Day 7 in the books. Sketchy weather in the morning so we got a late start. Weather was beautiful later, extremely windy though.

Beastway- (18)
Sugaw Creek Park- (18)
Nevin Park- (18)
MCSA DGC- (9)

Eastway is your typical wooded Charlotte style course. Really fun, which is a theme around here. Cleared up about a third of the way through which was nice. Sugaw Creek is a more mixed open/wooded style. Fun course, and kind of nice to have a few more open shots for a change. You'll never hear me say that again.

Met Olorin at Nevin and played a long, grueling round there. That course is no joke. Beautiful course, but very challenging. A little above all of our skill levels, but it was a blast. I enjoyed Nevin quite a bit more than Hornet's nest tbh. It was cool meeting another course bagger at such an epic course.

Followed that up with a quick 9 at MCSA. Ho hum school style course. Nothing to write home about. Last day tomorrow. We're pretty spent, but we're gonna go hard. Then go home

 

[wolfhaley]

Day 8, final day complete.

Renaissance Park- Renske (18)
Renaissance Park- Pro Players (18)
Plantation Ruins (18)
Robert L Smith (18)

Started out at Pro players but they had a tourney going on. Drove to Renske instead. Fun course, even I shot under par . Pretty basic though. Headed back over to Pro Players course and hit that. I enjoyed it. Good mix of open and wooded with lots of elevation in play. Got a good sense of the park it seems, without getting brutalized by Gold.

Headed to Plantation Ruins next. Really fun course. Nothing mind blowing but solid. Had a little bit of energy and plenty of time left so we headed to Robert L Smith. Oof...that course is a workout. Definitely a little rough around the edges in places, mostly early on, since getting reinstalled. Fun course though. Fits right in with the other Charlotte courses though. Not the ideal course to play last on day 8 that's for sure

We're beat. That was a lot of golf. This was a fantastic trip though. There wasn't a single day that we didn't play at least 1 excellent course. Most days multiple even. I plan on coming back and cleaning up what we missed and exploring further. Loved it down here. Y'all are spoiled

 

[DavidSauls]

You definitely got the best out of the Charlotte/Augusta axis. If you get another chance, loop through the NW corner of SC (Greenville-Spartanburg area). There are some very good courses up there. Also, Columbia has a new private course that's still rough, but a coming star.

 

[wolfhaley]

You definitely got the best out of the Charlotte/Augusta axis. If you get another chance, loop through the NW corner of SC (Greenville-Spartanburg area). There are some very good courses up there. Also, Columbia has a new private course that's still rough, but a coming star.

Agreed. It was one hell of a trip. I already wanna go back looking at the snow out the window. Lots of time to plan but I'd definitely look into that area. Fire mountain and east NC piqued my interest as well. We'll be back though.