Twin Lakes - I Don't Close Down Many Bars, but I Can Close Down a Golf Course
"Closing time, you don't have to go home, but you can't.... stay.... here!"
The day started well, my team won our first flag football game of the season, too bad it was the last game of the season :). But something to build on in the summer. I then went to a friend's barbecue that started at 2:00 PM, I only intended to stay at most an hour and then walk onto the golf course at 3:30 PM. However the food and the company was way too good for me to just walk away. Suffice to say I started the round at 5:30 PM. Plenty of time to finish as long as you have good eyesight and high visibility golf balls :).
Date: Sunday 6/22/2014
Location: Twin Lakes (The Lakes Course) Clifton, VA
Score: 83
Excuses: Walking the course after playing a flag football game and gorging myself at a barbecue (no regrets, just excuses, food was awesome!)
Course Conditions: Good. Greens were in amazingly good shape for a municipal course, they rolled well but as usual the usual muni hacks don't always repair ball marks or divots. Fairways were in good shape. Bunkers were playable. The rough was not penal at all.
The Good: 10 out of 14 fairways, no triple bogeys
The Bad: Not much, a few missed putts for birdie or bogey, a couple of bad hybrid shots
The Ugly: Knowing that I could have paid 10 dollars more to play at Westfields a mile away...
I don't complain about price too often in golf because I know it's an expensive game. But it can be made much less expensive if you know what you're doing. But I don't exactly understand how the Fairfax County Parks Authority can keep charging the rates they are charging and still attract golfers. In almost every other municipality I've played in, there's always a price break if you live in the municipality. Two cases in point: Herndon. At Herndon Centennial golf course there is a price break if you live in the Town of Herndon. And the most famous case of all, Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines has hosted two US Opens and hosts at least one PGA Tour Event every year (the Farmers Insurance Open) every year. If you are a resident of San Diego or the surrounding county, you pay only $40... If you're a tourist, you're paying north of $150. Which brings me back to Fairfax County... I am a resident of Lorton, VA and I live near Laurel Hill. Arguably one of the top 5 courses in the entire area. The regular rack rate teeters close to $100 on the weekends... Selfishly I would love to have a municipal cost break to paying there. It might get me to play the course more often (before 5:07 PM).
I digress, back to the round at hand. I showed up to the clubhouse with just enough time to watch Michelle Wie sink the putt on 18 to clinch the Women's US Open (great job!). I then pay my green fees and decide to walk mainly because I needed the exercise, but secondly, if I did decide to get a cart, I might have turned around and gone to Westfields. At least for $10 more dollars at that hour, I would have gotten a few practice balls and a much better golf course. But then again, not every round has to be a test of golf.
I decide to play the Lakes Course because it's a little more wide open and easier on the legs. Plus I had not warmed up so I didn't want to get beaten up by the Oaks Course which has more trees and is more demanding of accuracy.
Overall I enjoyed the weather and the peace that you don't always get with golf in Northern Virginia. The feeling of having a course all to yourself. It reminded me of a Johnny Cash Song:
I leaned against a Bark of Birch, And I breathed the Honey Dew
I saw a North-bound Flock of Geese Against a Sky of Baby Blue
Beside the Lily Pads, I carved a Whistle from a Reed
Mother Nature's quite a Lady, But you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood And you're the one I need
A Cardinal sang just for me And I thanked him for the Song
Then the Sun went slowly down the West And I had to move along
These were some of the things On which my Mind and Spirit feed;
But Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood And you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood And you're the one I need
So to "sample" The Man in Black:
So when this Day was ended I was still not satisfied
For I knew everything I touched Would wither and would die
And Golf is all that will remain And grow from all these seeds
Mother Nature's quite a Lady But you're the one I need
Golfers need Golf Courses, and golf is what we need.
Until the next round: Back to the RANGE, PRACTICE GREEN, and the GYM
Next Stop: Laurel Hill
The day started well, my team won our first flag football game of the season, too bad it was the last game of the season :). But something to build on in the summer. I then went to a friend's barbecue that started at 2:00 PM, I only intended to stay at most an hour and then walk onto the golf course at 3:30 PM. However the food and the company was way too good for me to just walk away. Suffice to say I started the round at 5:30 PM. Plenty of time to finish as long as you have good eyesight and high visibility golf balls :).
Date: Sunday 6/22/2014
Location: Twin Lakes (The Lakes Course) Clifton, VA
Score: 83
Excuses: Walking the course after playing a flag football game and gorging myself at a barbecue (no regrets, just excuses, food was awesome!)
Course Conditions: Good. Greens were in amazingly good shape for a municipal course, they rolled well but as usual the usual muni hacks don't always repair ball marks or divots. Fairways were in good shape. Bunkers were playable. The rough was not penal at all.
The Good: 10 out of 14 fairways, no triple bogeys
The Bad: Not much, a few missed putts for birdie or bogey, a couple of bad hybrid shots
The Ugly: Knowing that I could have paid 10 dollars more to play at Westfields a mile away...
I don't complain about price too often in golf because I know it's an expensive game. But it can be made much less expensive if you know what you're doing. But I don't exactly understand how the Fairfax County Parks Authority can keep charging the rates they are charging and still attract golfers. In almost every other municipality I've played in, there's always a price break if you live in the municipality. Two cases in point: Herndon. At Herndon Centennial golf course there is a price break if you live in the Town of Herndon. And the most famous case of all, Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines has hosted two US Opens and hosts at least one PGA Tour Event every year (the Farmers Insurance Open) every year. If you are a resident of San Diego or the surrounding county, you pay only $40... If you're a tourist, you're paying north of $150. Which brings me back to Fairfax County... I am a resident of Lorton, VA and I live near Laurel Hill. Arguably one of the top 5 courses in the entire area. The regular rack rate teeters close to $100 on the weekends... Selfishly I would love to have a municipal cost break to paying there. It might get me to play the course more often (before 5:07 PM).
I digress, back to the round at hand. I showed up to the clubhouse with just enough time to watch Michelle Wie sink the putt on 18 to clinch the Women's US Open (great job!). I then pay my green fees and decide to walk mainly because I needed the exercise, but secondly, if I did decide to get a cart, I might have turned around and gone to Westfields. At least for $10 more dollars at that hour, I would have gotten a few practice balls and a much better golf course. But then again, not every round has to be a test of golf.
I decide to play the Lakes Course because it's a little more wide open and easier on the legs. Plus I had not warmed up so I didn't want to get beaten up by the Oaks Course which has more trees and is more demanding of accuracy.
Overall I enjoyed the weather and the peace that you don't always get with golf in Northern Virginia. The feeling of having a course all to yourself. It reminded me of a Johnny Cash Song:
I leaned against a Bark of Birch, And I breathed the Honey Dew
I saw a North-bound Flock of Geese Against a Sky of Baby Blue
Beside the Lily Pads, I carved a Whistle from a Reed
Mother Nature's quite a Lady, But you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood And you're the one I need
A Cardinal sang just for me And I thanked him for the Song
Then the Sun went slowly down the West And I had to move along
These were some of the things On which my Mind and Spirit feed;
But Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood And you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood And you're the one I need
So to "sample" The Man in Black:
So when this Day was ended I was still not satisfied
For I knew everything I touched Would wither and would die
And Golf is all that will remain And grow from all these seeds
Mother Nature's quite a Lady But you're the one I need
Golfers need Golf Courses, and golf is what we need.
Until the next round: Back to the RANGE, PRACTICE GREEN, and the GYM
Next Stop: Laurel Hill
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