NicholasInSeattle

I got a Tee time at 12:30pm. I tee'd off right on time.

It was good pacing up till the last hole 18. Other than that it was smooth sailing.

The course was in wonderful condition. Greens were challenging but in good shape... no complaints!

I really enjoyed my time there.

Only issue I had was that they Club's address doesn't show on GPS.

Kindly always,

Nicholas

My first time playing this course. With it being on base, I wondered what it would be like... I was very pleasantly surprised.

The Tees were emaculate. It was a pleasure arriving at every Tee.

The fairways, also emaculate and with clear views of hazards in case you didn't drive well. The rough was rough IF you drive a shot into it. The trees that lined the fairways were merciful to a degree. there were some areas that needed work, but for the most part were in great shape.

The greens were clearly under repairs and marked as such, but the good areas of the greens were in great and more importantly in consistent condition.

Shot difficulties were over water hazards, over tall brush, and around strong dog legs for accuracy.

The course would be a favorable walk for those on foot for sure. Mostly flat with slight upgrades and downgrades here and there.

My round resulted in a 4 under par scratch. Unreal considering this was my 21st game of golf. But everything I did, seemed to work in this round. It was an experience that I won't ever forget and I loved the course.

The experience was truly great. The course I am giving a rating of "excellent' to because it's really in greate shape.

I will absolutely play there again first chance I get.

I still can't believe I shot a 68. Even my (usually TOPPING) 3-wood attempts worked. I hit onto the green from way out giving me tow chances at Eagle putts... neither of which I made. Darn it. But it was hugely exciting to have the chance let alone two.

Also I want to commend the golfers ahead of me, I only had to repair like... 12 ball marks on the greens for the hole round and I found only two cigarette butts on the greens. Yay!!!

Good job Gentlemen! Let's keep on keeping it clean and tidy for each other.

Next round (#22) tomorrow at Riverbend. Still trying to figure out this game.

*cheers* Always, N.I.S--> Nicholas in Seattle

13th Game of 2016 at Auburn

This was my first time playing thee Auburn Course and I'm glad that I did!

There was stunning scenery and a few totally signature quality holes to play. The putting greens were wonderfully difficult prepping me for a round of epic green reads-before-putts. I didn't get to test the chipping greens... perhaps next time I will. Now about the course to play....

I would 'highly reccomend' this course. Though it's a big 'pricey', it's a great course to play a round or two for sure.

It was not the best of weather to play a round, winds came with rain here and there, but we pulled it off before the bigger rains came.

The greens were in 'excellent' condition except for previous golfer's ball marks and cigar burns on the greens, and cigarette butts litered around the greens... please don't litter.

Please... fix ball marks and divots and please don't litter.

I repaired on average 3-5 ball marks per green.

So... on the course, there were many picturesque holes from the tees. The fringe around the greens needed to be trimmed with more care but were fairly consistent and the roughs were rough for sure. The fairways were in fantastic condition and if you kept the drive inside of the fairways, you'd have a great shot at reaching the greens in two consistently. Now to 'my round'...

I thought that I had a great shot when I was 159 yards away from the hole on a par 4. I was dead middle of the fairway (licking my chops thinking of the birdie attempt that I'd be having after I hit the ball with my 9 iron to the green.) I sized up the shot, took my swing (a perfect connect for a change) and as I we all watched, my ball sailed high (Jason Day had nothing on me for this shot) and directly at the pin (flag), my heart was pounding. It looked like a perfect shot... maybe in in two for the eagle. (The green was slightly elevated so we could not see on the green's surface but we knew the ball was heading directly for the flag). Apon arriving at the green we could not find mine. *Huh?* We looked in the cup too... nope no ball. But how was this possible? The shot was straight on?

One of the guys found it, it was 30 yards past the green to the back side. I hit my 9 iron 189 yards??? How did that happen?

So either I hit a 9 iorn 189 yards or a squirrel or a crow picked up my ball from the green and dropped it 30 yards behind it. That one will perplex us for years to come. Does anyone hit 9's 189 yards? I didn't hit it fat, I hit a picture of a shot, but 189 yards.... really?

My round resulted in...
An 82 (scratch) with a 40 front 9, and a 42 back 9.
16 par attempts with 7 pars made.
8 birdie attempts with 1 birdie made.
8 plus 1's (bogeys).
2 plus 2's (dreaded double bogeys yuk!)

11 over par total for my round. I had a fun time. This course was both fun and wonderful with the wind and rain... I imagine it great in better weather. I'll be playing this one again for sure!!!

Next course... we shall see...

Good luck and great golfing everyone!
Nick here and I'm out...

The Course is very challenging due to the narrowness of the fairways, the trees as obstacles, the houses lining the edges with blocked off fences, and the greens that are like mogles.

If you don't hit the fairways on your drive, you're going to be punished greatly. 1st hole I had a 'slight draw', but it was enough to lose not one of my 4$ balls, but two. I repeated this loss several holes later where a fence lined the left side and I hit another slight draw and poof... balls gone... twice again. Only this time I could see the balls, but they were behind a fence that I could not get around to retrieve them.

Not the course's fault that I hooked or sliced my drives, but it would have been nice to be able to retrieve the balls gone wrong.

The greens were in good condition but so 'sloped' on some that missing the cup on the softest of putts sent the ball traveling far past the cup.

The cart I used had bad brakes... locked down, the cart still rolled down hill which caused me to be less focused on my game. Hopefully they'll fix that issue as I alerted them to it when I finished my round.

I was paired up with a guy who RUSHED through like nobody I've ever seen. That part made the round less than favorable for me personally. I felt like I was under-the-gun the entire time.

The next time I am paired with someone like that I'll send them on their way so that I can play 'my game, my pace' not theirs.

Great course for Seniors.

As for my game-score:
I shot over par, and then some. Definitely not one of 'my' better games. :--))

Next round at the Auburn Course Thursday (Tomorrow).

Good Golfing!!! and remember to:
*Fix your ball marks and divots please!

Ahh my tenth game out this year. A little challenging to find the course but well worth it.

The fairways were in great condition. Hazards would be the homes lining the fairways, some trees, a signature hole water and a drainage ditch along side of the course next to the road running adjacent.

The greens I felt could have been trimmed slightly more for a better consistency in putting. They were very fast one direction and slow thee other.

I didn't do as well as I did last week at Gold Mountain, but I certainly had the set-up-shots that could have resulted in a great game score. I had 5 birdie attempts, hit the fairway on drive 15/18, 1 eagle attempt. I birdied 10 and parred 1 & 6.

There were 3 par 5's and that was nice to have over the usual 2 per course.

Monday it's off to play a round at Riverbend in Kent. Now it's time to watch the LPGA and my girl Ariya with her sister.

God bless and best of golf everyone!
Remember to fix divets and ball marks on greens.

*cheers*

Well talk about a STUNNING day to play golf!!! And then there's Gold Mountain Golf Courses (Cascade & Olympic) Both are nothing short of playing in Heaven. Truly I tell you, it is THAT beautiful there.

Now as for the round of golf:

The fringe on the greens needed to be trimmed a bit, they were sligtly long.

The greens were slightly bumpy, but with little to no ball marks... GOOD JOB FELLOW GOLFERS!!! They needed a slight manicure, but otherwise fairly consistent.

If you slice or hook too much, you'll pay the piper on some of the holes, but for the most part, you can always get to your ball to make a shot. Even with all the stunning trees.

The water hazards were less than intimidating. I wish they were more so.

This was my 44th round of golf in total and it was my 9th game after a leave of 32 years. I shot an 89 for this round with 3 birdies made, 3 more missed, and no pars made. Lot;s of +1's darn it anyhow. :---))

We'll see what happens next game!

Remember dear fellow golfers, fix your divets and ball marks always. Thanks :--))

Cheers! See you's after next round!

Allenmore, what's to say?

The course is a lot of fun, semi challenging, in wonderful condition.

This time out, after the first hole the rain began and boy howdy did it ever come down. I was drenched and with a strong wind the conditions became worthy of a US Open task master. Between the rain, the wind, wet ground, now-slippery-clubs... it was a blast. LOL I actually had a blast and still managed to play 18 holes of epic-challenge-golf. Wooo hooo! Hooyah!!!

I gotta give it up for Allenmore on this one, because even with the terrential rains and high winds... the course remained playable.

This one will go into the books for me to remember. I shot an 88 all said and done. Not bad for my 7th game of golf after 27 years I'm told. (?) I have no clue as I've never had a lesson to know one way or the other.

*cheers* and good golf to everyone. Where to play next round? We shall see...

This is a wonderful course. I really enjoy it. It's mostly flat land, but with curves in all the right places and because of that, read my TIPS section. This day it was super windy. I watched the wind dominate several of my shots and two of my putts. This made the course severely challenging and fun. I LOVE a challenge. Shot an 83. My 7th game in 27 years. Looking forward to Allenmore tomorrow Friday. Remember to be WISE on your drives. Look to PLACE them for an advantage to your second shot. Greens were very hard but consistent. Good luck and great golfing! See you after next round. :--)) *cheers*... ciao!

I enjoyed North Shore for the most part. The bunkers were in great shape and challenging. The greens were sizable and cropped well; however, there were so many Cigar burns and ball marks from Golfers lacking in ettiquette that putting was not enjoyable for our group. I counted an average of 12 ball mark repairs that I personally made on nearly every green. PLEASE REPAIR DIVETS and BALL MARKS, and don't put Cigars ON THE GREENS.

One problem: We lost several balls in the "overly long cuts along side of the fairways. So hopefully they'll trim down a little more for the future.

Good Golf etiquette goes a LONG WAY. And it keeps the maintenance down which means prices can remain affordable for all of us.

I'll play this course again for sure. Best wishes and good golf all!

Till next time... Nicholas

I played the Classic last Monday May 30th 2016:

The course I played with a new friend and his son whom had known this course for many years. They were surprised and pleased to see the now 'lack-of-trees' living the fairways of days old. It was now a park-like setting. The winds were challenging for us this day, but the day was absolutely beautiful.

There were water hazards that if I hadn't had Dan with me, I would not have known they were there. Thank goodness he WAS with me so that I would be able to avoid them as much as my 'less-than-perfect-drives' would allow me.

The greens were in great shape, very consistent in play. However, those who golfed before us had left their plugs or 'ball-marks' and we spent quite a bit of time fixing them on each green. So with that said, a plea to our fellow Golfers, "PLEASE always fix your divets and plugs or ball-marks on the greens. It makes ALL OF US look better and it keeps the putting and playing surfaces much better for playing.

The cart paths need work. And inbetween fairways there were patches of DEEP GRASS that caused losses of balls that should not have occurred. An example: I hit fat in a par three, the ball landed just over the green, which we could not see past because it sloped down away from the back of the green. When we got up to the green and looked past the green only feet away, the grass was 2 feet tall and think. I could not find my ball. All of us looked. Not cool guys. Please cut this grass down to managable if it's THAT CLOSE to the green or fairway.

It was a fun course. I'll have another go at it some day. I'm off to play North Shore next. Till then...

Have a great day and good Golfing everyone! Remember always: To bring your best gentleman's Golf etiquette WITH YOU to the courses.

Always, L. Nicholas J.

I decided to go have a round at Gold Mountain. I used GolfNow to book with GM. The Transaction worked perfectly. I copied my Course Confirmation # and presented it to the Staff at the Pro Shop and poof I was set for a tee time.

I purchased a large bucket of balls to loosen up at the driving range while I awaited my tee time. I figured that I'd get a little putting in as well.

The driving range was on the course grounds so it was real time, which I believe helps immensely with driving and chipping since it matches the terrain that we were about to play a round on.

They also had at least 3 different areas for putting and one that was right close to the beginning hole on each course. Perfect for warming up before Go Time! :--))

The kart was in great condition... no troubles... no worries.

Whil at the driving range; however, keep a watch out for the THIEVING BIRDS. They swoop into kart and steal food while the Golfer is warming up driving or putting. They also sneak attack during round play. (Darn varmits) I lost life savers and a yummy chocolate muffin to them. I won't next time. LOL

The course itself is just stunning to see and play. Beautiful sights surround us during play.

The fairways were in great condition and play well also. The roughs were mostly well tamed too. The greens were VERY FAST, but at this time bumpy from being recently treated. Nonetheless I sank at least 5 putts from more than 20 feet so they were pretty true to form. Sand traps were also in great condition and placed wonderfully as challenges go. Water hazards only come into play on terrible hits but they ARE THERE to keep us focused. If not... we'll get to hear that good ole PLUNK sound LOL ahahha... let's hope not!

I ended up playing with a Fatherr and Son twosome... I was alone. They happend to have witnessed one of my 30 foot putts, which was a successful birdie. And they opted to join me for the rest of the round, and we ended up playing the second course at GM as well.

It was a wonderful experience and I'll be playing there again for sure. It's like playing in Heaven it's so beautiful.

My only complaint is the asphalt cart paths... severally BUMPY and caused me to lose my coffee twice. Iron those out and the course has NO flaws. :--))

I tip my hat to the staff as well. They were very kind always.

Always, N.I.S --> (Nicholas In Seattle)