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PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« on: September 21, 2017, 03:31:45 PM »
I spent most of the day yesterday at Medinah Country Club and managed to play the "new" #1.


All I can say is holy smokes! I am surprised more folks aren't talking about the course.


There is a wonderful collection of golf holes with a ton of variety as well as significant quirk that I loved.


Overall, the greens are terrific. There is an awesome reverse saucer green on the mid-length par-5 1st, a super neat fall away green at #2 right out of the bat. The greens on #13 and #14 are straight out of White Bear Yacht Club, with the 13th green featuring two distinct tiers bisected by a ridge running through the middle of the green and the 14th is a fall away in the same vein of the 12th at WBYC.


I loved all of the variety...short par-3's like the 15th but also long one shot holes like the 7th to balance the equation. There are a number of difficult par-4's, but there are two fantastic drivable par-4's that appear easy on paper but have their own defenses! In fact, I witnessed a playing partner driver the green on the 13th, only to 4-putt for bogey as he was certainly on the wrong side of the green!


Also, loved the par-3 finisher over water with the benches in the background. What a great atmosphere for a final hole and a last little bit of quirk.


The greens were running very fast, especially for greens that feature as much slope as these and made putting a little too difficult for the mid-to-high handicappers. I wonder if they are always running that fast or if its because we caught them on the perfect time of the year.


Regardless, an awesome experience and a super neat golf course. I would recommend anyone who can to go check it out when in Chicago.
H.P.S.

Jon Cavalier

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2017, 04:03:57 PM »
My favorite course on the property. Easily.
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Anton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2017, 04:15:40 PM »
Looked great from the sky 3 weeks ago.  Hope to play it next Spring! 
“I've spent most of my life golfing - the rest I've just wasted”

Phil McDade

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #3 on: September 21, 2017, 04:17:14 PM »
I spent most of the day yesterday at Medinah Country Club and managed to play the "new" #1.


All I can say is holy smokes! I am surprised more folks aren't talking about the course.


There is a wonderful collection of golf holes with a ton of variety as well as significant quirk that I loved.




Regardless, an awesome experience and a super neat golf course. I would recommend anyone who can to go check it out when in Chicago.


But....what about the camel?

PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #4 on: September 21, 2017, 05:28:00 PM »
I spent most of the day yesterday at Medinah Country Club and managed to play the "new" #1.


All I can say is holy smokes! I am surprised more folks aren't talking about the course.


There is a wonderful collection of golf holes with a ton of variety as well as significant quirk that I loved.




Regardless, an awesome experience and a super neat golf course. I would recommend anyone who can to go check it out when in Chicago.


But....what about the camel?


I loved it. Quirky and fun...certainly sets the stage quickly for the round.


Some other wonderful features out there such as the principal's nose bunker on #12, and the huge mound/berm on the left side of #6 creating the potential for a blind approach.
H.P.S.

Terry Lavin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2017, 10:04:49 PM »
It's stellar. A great break from the grind of #3 and much more challenging than the new #2.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2017, 09:10:18 PM »
It's stellar. A great break from the grind of #3 and much more challenging than the new #2.


I agree, it's is a wonderfully "complete" golf course thanks to a ton of variety. #3 feels very one dimensional to me after a round on #1. Obviously #3 serves a purpose which is to test the best golfers. But I get the sense that #1 is lost a bit in the shadow of #3 by both members and guests. Perhaps if #1 was located elsewhere it would receive the attention it deserves.
H.P.S.

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +1/-1
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2017, 10:33:12 PM »
I get the sense that #1 is lost a bit in the shadow of #3 by both members and guests.


As the committee explained the club to me at the start of the project, #3 is where members take guests to play, and #1 has always been more of a members' course.  So we were not really trying to compete with #3.  We were just trying to build something the members would enjoy playing on a regular basis, with enough local knowledge in it that it wouldn't get old after a little while.

Terry Lavin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2017, 02:55:56 PM »
Before the renovations on 1 and 2, as a guest we would almost always play #3 which has all of the rich history and all of the murderously hard golf holes. You'd leave battered and impressed at the same time.


Nowadays, as a guest, we almost always play 1 or 2 and we leave happier after really enjoying either course. Medinah has achieved a terrific balance after decades of paying too much attention to the championship course and very little to the others.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

Jeff Shelman

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2017, 11:21:35 AM »
For those who have seen both (I have not seen No. 1 yet), how does the new No. 1 compare with Olympia Fields South?


From the sound of it, they are both courses that would get more attention if they were standalone courses somewhere else.

Terry Lavin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #10 on: September 25, 2017, 11:36:44 AM »
For those who have seen both (I have not seen No. 1 yet), how does the new No. 1 compare with Olympia Fields South?


From the sound of it, they are both courses that would get more attention if they were standalone courses somewhere else.

I think OFCC is a better course, but I've played it 50 times as much as I've played #1, so I've got some bias there.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

PCCraig

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Medinah #1 - Holy smokes!
« Reply #11 on: September 25, 2017, 01:00:02 PM »
For those who have seen both (I have not seen No. 1 yet), how does the new No. 1 compare with Olympia Fields South?


From the sound of it, they are both courses that would get more attention if they were standalone courses somewhere else.


It's been a while since I've played OFCC South, but my first inclination is to say #1 is better in my book. But I enjoy the North Course more than #3, so it's a wash overall! :)
H.P.S.

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