Off to Northern Bay

[Fitzpatrick]

Well guys, I'm off to Northern Bay Golf Resort & Marina (Northern Bay Golf Resort & Marina Hotel Wisconsin Dells Area). For those that don't know (or those outside Wisconsin), it's a course north of Wisconsin Dells that features some replica holes from some of the most famous courses in the world (among them: 17 at Sawgrass, 13 & 16 at Augusta, 18 at Bay Hill, and one of the holes from Oakmont with the Church Pews).

I'm playing with my cousin, and we're staying in one of their standard condos on site, and playing the course twice (once on Thursday and once on Friday). I can't wait!

I will post pictures when I return!

Sincerely,
Fitz

[Eracer]

Looks very cool. We have a great course here in Florida called Golden Ocala with some awesome replica holes:

Augusta #12, #13 (Amen Corner)
Augusta #16
Royal Troon #8 (Postage Stamp)
Muirfield #9
St. Andrews #17 (Road Hole)
St. Andrews #1
Baltusrol #4

Unfortunately, the course has gone big $$$ private. I used to love that course.

[Wi-Golfer]

Good luck & have a ton of fun.

[ezra76]

Sounds like a blast, have a great time. Don't forget the camera.

[zaphod]

Have GREAT time Fitz

[Fitzpatrick]

Well, day one done, and no golf at Northern Bay. We had 2 1/2" of rain over the night, and I awoke to a phone call from the pro shop informing me that the course was unplayable. But, my cousin and I went to the pro shop anyway to check it out, and get some breakfast from the clubhouse. We were talking to the assistant pro, and he told us that a course nearby (in Necedah) was open for play, and pretty reasonably priced. So, we head out that way, and follow his directions.

We ended up at the Castle Rock Golf Club, which is a little north of Mauston, WI. $30 for 18 holes with a cart, and off we went. The course was quite saturated, and there were several times we had to give our cart a push out of the mud. Nevertheless, the course was quite nice (a lot of color, although that made for difficulty when trying to find a ball lost in fallen leaves). I shot 47 on the front nine (including two balls that I saw land in the fairway, but couldn't find because they plugged). My cousin and I decided to play some match play on the back nine, and thanks to a balky putter, I lost 3&2. Oh well. It was still fun to be out that way, but unfortunately I forgot I camera. Sorry.

But, hopefully, Northern Bay's course will be open tomorrow, so I can get some replica hole goodness.

Later guys!

Fitz

[ol-crank]

northern bay newfoundland

there are not all the same.

[warbirdlover]

Hope the weather treats you well! Lot's of pics please...

[Fitzpatrick]

Just back from my trip, and we did in fact get to play the course today.

We hit a few warm-up balls on the range before teeing off, and we got only a small taste of what was to come throughout the round. That is, wind and rain.

Our condo overlooked the first hole, so that's to what I attribute my opening par. I teed my ball up low and hit a low straight driver shot about 240 in the right side of the fairway.

The third hole is where the replica holes began, with a replica of #16 at Augusta. My cousin and I played from the back tees on most of the replica holes to get the whole experience (on some of them it didn't matter, as the back tees were only about 10 yards different from the regular tees). On the 3rd, I hit my tee shot about 10 yards right of the green. Got up and down for a bogey-4. At this point, also, the temperature was in the mid-40's with a steady mist.

The fourth hole is a replica of Oakland Hills South #5. Made bogey-5. My troubles with the driver began here, and I started blocking my tee shots to the right (usually not too bad, but not where I wanted things). About this time, the wind started to pick up, but it wasn’t too horrible.

The next replica hole was the par-5 6th, which is a replica of Firestone CC South #16. The wind was starting to really pick up here, as well as the rain. But my cousin and I were really thoroughly enjoying the experience. We just kept pretending it was Ireland.

We didn’t have another replica hole until the 10th, but the holes original to Northern Bay were just spectacular. Epic, even. Tall pines, open landing areas but with some hidden bunkers and rolling fairways. Just beautiful.

The 10th is a replica of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, and it is every bit as hard as it looks. First of all, by the time my cousin and I got to the tee, the wind was gusting to about 30mph, and the rain was falling sideways. But we didn’t feel like waiting until it died down, so we teed off anyway. He hit first, and his first shot hung up in the wind and fell into the water. His next shot was a punchy 8-iron that landed in the bunker. He went on to make 5. My first tee shot was with an 8-iron that I thought should have been plenty. Of course, as soon as I hit, the wind changed direction and started blowing right at my back. So the ball went sailing well beyond where I wanted the ball to land, and splashed down into the water. So I grabbed my 9-iron and tried the same shot. Instead, I hooked the damn thing and sent another Maxfli Noodle into the drink. So I take a drop and stick the ball to about 6 feet. Then I 2-putt and walk away with a 7. Grr. But, then I remember that Tour pros have come away with worse in similar conditions (well, maybe not the cold), and that made me feel better.

The 11th hole is a replica of #13 at Augusta. Man. Oh, man. I have to play Augusta National after this hole. At teed off from the back tees and hit a low, stinging draw into the middle of the fairway about 230 yards out into the wind. I had about 250 yards left, with the ball way above my feet. The slope is really indredible. But not as incredible as the view. You see this green on TV, and it looks fantastic. But I had to back away from my second shot because I looked up from my ball, and saw the green, and it was like “My god. That’s the 13th at Augusta. It’s right there. Wow!” Well, the view and the slope screwed me up and I chunked my second shot about 100 yards. I ended up leaving the green with a bogey-6, but it was just a breathtaking experience (even without azaleas).

The 12th hole is a replica of Oakmont’s #3, with the Church Pews along the left and a very elevated green. Thankfully I didn’t put my tee shot into the Church Pews, but I still left the green with a double-bogey because of some balky irons.

The final replica hole is the 18th, which is a replica of the 18th at Bay Hill. Of course, my final drive of the day was by far the best one. I hit my tee shot about 260 yards down the right hand side of the fairway, which left me about 165 yards left to the green (the pin was right in the middle of the green). So, I lined up my 6 iron (the wind was blowing into us and a little from left to right), and aimed at the far left side of the fairway, hoping the wind would help it back towards the green. Well, I needn’t have worried, because I topped my second shot and my TaylorMade TP Red skipped all the way across the lake and almost leapt out of the water and onto grass, but it didn’t, so I dropped at hit a new ball all the way to the right of the green. I left with a double, but still finished up with an 89.

Afterwards, we went inside the clubhouse to warm up and eat lunch.

It was an absolutely great experience, even in harsh weather conditions. The course, despite the weather, was in immaculate condition, and I have to give the grounds crew a ton of credit for getting the course in this condition despite all the rain in the last few days.

I tried to take as many pictures as I could, but a lot of them didn’t turn out because of the rain and my hands moving as I pressed the button on my camera.

[Fitzpatrick]

Here are some pictures of the condo we stayed in. Our room was named "Tiger's Den," which was funny to me because my cousin is not a fan of Tiger.

The condo was very nice, and overlooked the first hole.

[Fitzpatrick]

Here is the view from our patio.

[Eracer]

Great review Fitz. A shame you didn't have better weather, but my money says you make it a point to get back there next summer.

Horicon is a beautiful area. I've hunted up there, and if you can get past the mosquitos (probably the worst I have ever seen, and that includes the swamps of Florida) it really is an awesome place.

[Fitzpatrick]

Here is the 3rd, the replica of August #16.

Also the 4th, Oakland Hills South #5.

Firestone CC South #16

[Fitzpatrick]

Here is Sawgrass #17.

Augusta #13 tee

Augusta #13 green

Oakmont #3. Note the Church Pews on the left.

[Fitzpatrick]

Last couple of pictures.

Here is Bay Hill #18 from the tee

And then Bay Hill #18 from about 200 yards from the green. The ball you see short of the water is where my tee shot ended up.

And last, I got a video of my cousin's swing. We tried getting a video of mine, but water got on the lens and it didn't turn out. (
)