Vandalism last week has caused them
to push back reopen date. Talked to a guy out there the other day and he didn't know when they would be back up and running.

I talked to them the other day and he said he's not allowed to say how long the delay is but then later he said "a few weeks," whatever that means. Even so, looking at the condition of the work they've done, I highly doubt they were going to be ready by late July anyway. I never believed we'd be able to play before fall at the earliest, and I'll still be shocked if it's open before October. Even with all the watering they're doing, the grass they plugged just isn't coming in. The stuff they sodded looks great (no surprise). But the other stuff looks horrible.

I went and drove the entire course on a cart (with the staff's permission) a couple weeks ago, and it was pretty disappointing. 3,5,6, and 7 are still in the same awful condition they were before the renovation. The new par 3 by the tennis court looks nice though.

Well so much for that. Oh well, mill creek will do just fine.

Latest word from the pro-shop is mid-September








[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 6/21/2011 11:22a).]

Sammons opened back up last Saturday and I played the course today. The course is 700 yards longer than it used to be. There are 3 brand new greens and they are in pretty good shape. Some of the old greens are bumpy and need work still.

The course now has Championship tee boxes. #6 hole is now a par 4. They turned #7 and #8 holes into one, LONG, par 5 hole. You hit off the normal tee boxes and the green is the old #8 green. The course seemed to play a little harder on the front 9, and still easier on the back 9. The new #9 hole has a small green and water to the left, and bunker in front. One thing I did not like was #10 (old #18 going the opposite direction). My tee shot was on the right side of the fairway, and to go after the green, I had to hit over the #18 tee boxes (they are brand new). It was a distraction when people are on the #18 tee boxes while I was trying to hit. It ended up good, but I can see people getting hit on those tee boxes. The #10 hole doglegs to the right around the #18 tee boxes. Not sure why they did that. But had a fun time playing. Anyone else been out yet?

[This message has been edited by Smirk Ag (edited 10/13/2011 7:22p).]

quote:

---

Sammons opened back up last Saturday and I played the course today. The course is 700 yards longer than it used to be. There are 3 brand new greens and they are in pretty good shape. Some of the old greens are bumpy and need work still.

The course now has Championship tee boxes. #6 hole is now a par 4. They turned #7 and #8 holes into one, LONG, par 5 hole. You hit off the normal tee boxes and the green is the old #8 green. The course seemed to play a little harder on the front 9, and still easier on the back 9. The new #9 hole has a small green and water to the left, and bunker in front. One thing I did not like was #10 (old #18 going the opposite direction). My tee shot was on the right side of the fairway, and to go after the green, I had to hit over the #18 tee boxes (they are brand new). It was a distraction when people are on the #18 tee boxes while I was trying to hit. It ended up good, but I can see people getting hit on those tee boxes. The #10 hole doglegs to the right around the #18 tee boxes. Not sure why they did that. But had a fun time playing. Anyone else been out yet?

---

I've played it twice so far... To add to what you said, and correct a couple things....

All the greens are brand new. 3, as you said, are new in the sense that they didn't even exist before, but all 18 of them were completely stripped and started over from scratch. As you said, they are a bit bumpy still, but overall, the amount of grass on all of them is as high as it's ever been. Also a few of them were vandalized not long ago and that forced them to do some patchwork as well.

You mentioned #7, the new LONG par 5, and there is a new back tee box for that hole. Don't know if you were aware of that since you said we use the same tee box as before. If you're playing the tips, you're back another 30 yards or so.

Also I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of #10. If you're in the fairway, the 18th tee shouldn't be an issue at all. Are you sure you didn't miss the fairway to the right?

Overall, the course is in the best shape I've ever seen it. They actually have fairways and rough, and they're actually different lengths! And the greens are better looking than before. Over time, I'm sure the bumpiness will decrease.

It plays very long now. They left 3 or 4 short holes, but the rest of them are as long as a 7200 yard course if you really think about it. So aside from those few short holes, every single hole plays medium to long. It's not like before, where it was driver, wedge, repeat.

The par 3's are ridiculous from the back. I played the tips these first couple times for fun but will probably alternate between black and blue tees, because on a couple holes, the blacks are just too long for me. I am not good enough to play a 237 yard par 3 with a 220 yard carry over water.

quote:

---

You mentioned #7, the new LONG par 5, and there is a new back tee box for that hole. Don't know if you were aware of that since you said we use the same tee box as before. If you're playing the tips, you're back another 30 yards or so.

---

Yes, I noticed the black tee boxes. That hole from the black tee boxes is 623 yards. We played from the blues and will try the black tees to see what they are like.

quote:

---

Also I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of #10. If you're in the fairway, the 18th tee shouldn't be an issue at all. Are you sure you didn't miss the fairway to the right?

---

Yes, I was in the fairway and was looking straight through the people standing on the 18th tee box at the 10th green. I ended up hitting a fade to set up in front of the green, but it was just distracting knowing they were in between me and the green. I was also kinda nervous later standing on the 18th tee box because people were going after the 10th green while I was on the tee box. Oh well.



[This message has been edited by Smirk Ag (edited 10/16/2011 4:14a).]