Triple Challenge - the thread

[Rockford35]

The Triple Challenge

The idea had been tossed around like so many ideas that never come to fruition. Like, beef jerky on a pizza, or MCDavis seeking help for his animal obsession. Some good ideas just never see the light of day. Most are thought up with the help of beer or stupidity, or both. And some are well thought up works of art that must be done.

Well, the symphony of Bames and I taking on North Dakota’s “Triple Challenge” has come to fruition. The Triple consists of three of ND’s premier golf courses coming together to offer a smoking price if you play all three courses within the same calendar year.

Same year? What about in 3 days? That’s a challenge.

And I have pictures and stories to prove it.

The story begins with a Canadian driving 6 hours south to Bismarck, ND, a great little city banking on the Missouri River. The drive is easy and mostly relaxing. The monotony is broken up with beautiful lakes, endless cropland supplying North America with its bread and butter (literally), mining operations on both sides of the border and loads and loads of pheasants running across the road. (Someone should shoot a few of those, by the way.)

Saturday morning sluggishly turns into afternoon when I arrive. Bames greets me with his familiar handshake and helps me unload my gear. We chat inside for a bit, but we’re both chomping at the bit. I surprise him with a gift I had made up for the trip for him and me to commemorate a great and epic gathering. I hope he enjoys it as much as I did creating it.

(Fairways is Bame's indoor golf facility in Bismarck. The bugger so wanted to hit balls in the winter, he went out and built his own joint. How sweet is that?)


But for now, it’s pretty obvious, the pleasantries are over. This is Canada vs. the USA – and we need a warm up match.

The track chosen for warm up is Prairies West in Mandan, ND – just over the river from Bismarck. It’s a muni, but plays fantastic from any tee box. A great place to stretch out the back, swear at a few putts and enjoy yourself.

Saturday: Prairie West Golf Course in Mandan, ND
Par: 72
Slope: 127
Rating: 71.6
Yardage: 6,681 yards
Weather: Hot! I believe the temps were pushing 97* the day we played. Not a ton of wind either.

Bames started the day inconsistently, but startled the gallery by sinking a 35 yard chip shot on the fly at the second hole. Shortly after the can, he proclaimed himself the “greatest chipper ever.” (I just checked Wikipedia, he’s full of crap unless he's talking about being a lumberjack.)

I spent the day working on my ball striking, which was OK, but my putter bailed me out all day. I tallied a 71 (-1) for the day (which included a lost ball that I donated to North Dakota Wildlife and Fisheries and will be deducting from my income tax), with Bames bringing up the rear with some shoddy putting and sand work.

(I have no pics of this round, as it was only a warm up. And, I had forgotten my camera back in my duffle bag. My bad!)

Needless to say, we were both relatively happy with the course, our games going into the week at hand and with each others company. (Well, at least I was. )

 

[Rockford35]

Sunday: Hawktree Golf Course, Bismarck, North Dakota
Par: 72
Slope: 130
Rating: 72.1 (Hawk tees)
Weather: Extremely heat and overcast. Temps over 102* at the top of the valley, warmer down at the bottom. Unreal hot. (Well, it’s all relative, but it was damn hot for us northern guys!) I should also note the wind. The wind was 45mph gusting to 60 at times. Not exactly shot making material. Nevertheless, we set out to defend each country’s honour (or something of that nature).

We woke up to the smell of burning desire to play a real gem of a course in Hawktree. I’ve spun yarns about this course in the past playing with Bames, but it’s always a blast to play. As it turns out, that smell was the asphalt – it was stinking hot as much of the continental US is/was in a huge heat wave that seems to have no end. Needless to say, hydration was going to be an issue today and we knew it.

With the bags stuffed with Gatorade and waters, we headed out for our fist 18 of the day. We had a second tee time in the afternoon at which at 8am, I could not understand how we could play in the heat once the sun came out in full force. I was already having a conversation with my skin, profusely apologizing as to what was ultimately going to come down to severe sunburn. As it turned out, the cloud cover never burned off for more than one hole, so the sun’s effects were only about level 12 instead of level 15. Yay for us.

Hawktree, Hole #4 from the Hawk Tees.

Hawktree Hole #5 green

Hawktree, hole #6 from teebox. This is a tough tee shot, loads of trouble left.

This is a sand trap off the #10 tee that i think is purely for looks. It's about 160 yards off the tee of a par 5. Those are my rake marks in there. Don't ask.

Hawktree, Hole 10 teebox. Tough hole. Second shot requires either a layup or a huge 3 wood to carry a wide river ravine. A score 8 looms large on this hole if you don't hit the fairway with your tee shot.

Hole #11. Plays uphill, about 324. I nearly drove this green with the aid of the cart path.

Clubhouse....

At the end of round one, the wind and heat had kicked our butts. I struggled with an 84 (of which I was pretty damn happy with, given the fact that it was warmer outside my body than in it.) Bames had ballooned somewhere north of that, and with handicap differences, I think I took the first leg. We negotiated the sale of Wisconsin to Canada from his loss, but I reminded him that we had enough fat guys that want to shoot stuff already. I told him we’d see where the next rounds went and figure it out then.

 

[Rockford35]

Round Two: Hawktree GC

Did I mention it was hot that day? The pro shop kid politely referred to us as “stupid” for attempting the round. I had thought about hitting him with a Ping driver, but I was too hot/stupid.

We were on a deserted island. Not a soul around. We did have a kid from the course play through us, but he was hitting balls at the speed of light, by himself and was likely done 18 holes in just over 27 minutes. Bames and I, on the other hand, took more than 27 minutes to finish.
I carded a respectable 77 with Bames just north of that. Score another win for Canada. I’m thinking at this point I can pretty much get every northern bordering state except Michigan, cuz who wants Michigan?

A wonderful supper out on a deck with Bames, his better half and me huddling in the shade followed. A great day, to say the least. Hawktree is a superb track and I suggest anyone in the vicinity of Bismarck go out and play it.

(Actually, screw all of you, I don’t want anyone playing it and mucking it up for Bames and I every June, so eat it. It’s terrible, not worth the drive. Stay away at all costs. )

Monday: Bully Pulpit GC in Medora, ND
Par: 72
Slope: 128 (gold tees)
Rating: 73.1 (gold tees)
Weather: Hot with periodic rainfall, sometimes heavy. Overcast.

Medora is a 2 hour drive east from Bismarck on the 94. This is a very scenic drive through the badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. , an easy drive that we made in the early morning. As the idiots we are, it did not dawn on us that Medora is on Mountain Time, so we showed up 1.5 hours early for our tee time. Since it was not busy, we hit some balls and headed out.

Bully Pulpit is a tale of two golf courses. The first 12 holes are fun, scenic, but benign. Bames spoke of voices in Bismarck calling Bully Pulpit “epic” and “the best course in ND”. We both prefer Hawktree, but to each their own.

The sources of Bully Pulpit’s following are the last 6 holes. Holes 13 through 18 are nothing short of spectacular. It’s almost like they had 12 holes built and ran out of room, so they carved the last 6 holes out of the badlands’ peaks and valleys. And what a job they did.

This was taken from the deck outside the clubhouse overlooking #10 tee and #18 green.

#3 from the teebox. As you can see, the day looked promising, but the rain came (from behind the camera...)

Bames' approach on 9. This was a great shot over the trees.

Hole #11....starting to look good...

Hole 11 green...I missed that putt for a bogey. We waited for these women to clear the green and I pulled my three wood into the long stuff left. Had to take a drop...

Behind the 11th green...

Hole #14. You can see the transition to the badlands. Absolutely night and day from the first 12 holes...

Bames' tee shot on 14. Striped it down the pipe. Great backdrop, and a great swing finish.

Tee box on #15. Short is dead. Right is dead. Left is dead. Long is dead. Basically, hit the green and pray. You can score a big number here. Golf Digest writer claimed this as the "greatest par 3 he has ever played."

Me getting set on 15. I hit the green!

This is on the teebox of #16. Crazy.

Approach shot on 16 after smashing a drive. Hit it about 7 feet right of the pin. Missed my birdie.

My apologies for most of these pics being poor, as it was very overcast and much of the cloud cover was holding moisture. It also rained for about 6 straight holes, limiting efforts for photos. That left little light to highlight some of the spectacular views. I suggest seeing them in person. Anyways, you can see some incredible holes here.

Both Bames and I struggled here, with different parts of our games. I carded a sweet 80 here which included me being +4 on the par 5’s. Lovely. Bames shot himself in the foot with some interesting chipping techniques and came up short again. Add Montana to the list. Canada 3, USA 0.

 

[Rockford35]

Tuesday: The Links of North Dakota (aka “Red Mike”), Ray, North Dakota (just east of Williston)
Par: 72
Slope: 122 (Four Tees)
Rating: 72.7 (Four Tees)
Weather: Foggy, severely overcast and cool. Imminent rain. Wind off the lake, but not as much as expected.

The Links of ND plays close to Bame’s heart. His father built this golf course some years back and he worked there as a snotty nosed teen, wrestling bull snakes, cutting grass and rolling golf carts. It’s a true gem, built into the rolling landscape of the north shore of Lake Sakakawea. When they built this course, there was some true thought put into leaving the natural contours and flow that is an instant hit. And with the foggy morning we had, the wind off the lake almost had me craving haggis. A true links challenge, my grin was ear to ear to play this after hearing so much about it.

This morning, my driver went on vacation. I just couldn’t get comfortable over it and got lucky with many misses. This is a course that you can slash away on, but setting yourself up in specific areas on the fairway will reward you with better approach shots. I worked hard for the money that day with my irons, they saved my proverbial ass. Bames lost his irons, and that left him looking for clues. Or, a way to convince me that Wyoming was better than Maine. Long story short, Canada took another win. It was close, but I eeked it out even with a lost ball double bogey on the final hole. Or, what turned out to be the final hole.

Hole #1, Links of ND. Very overcast and cool. Fog like crazy over the lake (behind the green).

This is the 5th green, also playing towards the lake.

I think this is the third green. LOTS of bunkers on this course.

This is the 7th hole.

We set off to the clubhouse for a bite to eat before setting out to try and get the better of Red Mike. Well, Mama Nature and her warped sense of humour had other ideas. In a state suffering from drought conditions, she opened up a deluge on the Links of North Dakota that would have made the military proud. It absolutely poured on us. We did the math after waiting over an hour for it to stop and decided that getting back to Bismarck was a good idea given what the Doppler was showing us. We spent the next 2 hours in pouring rain, so our decision was with full merit. (I did some shopping at Victoria’s Secret and Target for underwear and tank tops, so I was happy. No, they weren’t for me.)

At the end of the Challenge, Canada came out on top, but it was safe to say that both nations had a blast being represented.

Bames, a gentlemen and a scholar, could not have been a better host, navigator, historian and friend. I can’t thank him enough (and his better half!) for putting up with me and my misaligned sense of humour.

In closing, ND has some real gems for golf courses. I suggest if you’re passing through and want to check one out, that you do so. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Well, unless you get paired with a Canadian.

R35

 

[limpalong]

What a great narrative of what must have been an unforgettable weekend. Wish I could have joined you!!!
"The world's greatest chipper"...!!!! Nah! The world's greatest chipper was in North Dakota... in the movie Fargo!!!!
You guys both need to spend time in a tanning bed. Those lily white legs are sumthin'. Of course, you probably only get to wear shorts 6 weeks out of a year that far north!

 

[TheTrueReview]

Great story & photos.

 

[J.P.C.]

AWESOME, looks like fantastic courses and a lot of fun was had!! this is what golf is all about.

great story and good pics!!

 

[BigJim13]

That sounds like an AWESOME trip!

 

[MCDavis]

Bames' version:

That sheep loving Canadian came down and drank my beer, ogled my wife, beat me in golf, and all I got was a cheesy head cover. I hope a ram catches him with his pants down one night soon.





Great thread, Rock!

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

Great narrative and pics. Those courses look sweet!

 

[Rockford35]

Lily white legs?

Who posts on a golf forum about another dude's legs? Actually, this is pretty much expected at Shottalk.

We had a great time. I almost wish the weather would have cooperated more, but ultimately that has no bearing on good conversation, good times and a bunch of laughs.

We played the second hole at Hawktree in -3 between the two of us over the two rounds we played it. It's a downhill par 3 that played something like 142 to the pin, and I had the longest putt of the 4 shots we had at it with an 11 footer. We raped that hole. Bames had two birds, both inside 8 feet. I had the KP at a couple of feet. The elation was short lived, however, as Mr. Hawktree threw some screwballs at us on a few holes there.

One great memory was at Bully Pulpit, on the 14th hole (pictured above where Bames nutted his drive). We headed out onto the fairway to play our approaches. As we waited for the single to finish up on the green in front of us, a family of about 5 people in 3 carts drove right past us. Between the two of us, we couldn't figure out A) what they were doing, B) where they were going or C) why they had 5 in the carts.

Then, after hitting our approaches, the old cranky Marshall gave us shit for driving on the fairway. Apparently, it's cart path only on the hole. I apologized (as I was driving up to the green) and said we both didn't notice the signs. He got all gruff and said "there are 3 signs down there". Again, I apologized and said it wasn't done purposely.

He (the marshall) tried to lighten the mood (I think) by asking us how our day was going. Bames cheerfully replied "Well, we're golfing." To which the Marshall (he was a crusty a-hole, in my opinion) replied "Well, I know that....well forget it...." and drove off in a big huff. He was still pissed we had driven on the fairway. Bames stated, to which I laughed, "What does he expect us to do, go back and tee off and play the hole over from the cart path?"

R35

 

[azgreg]

Nice job rock.

 

[IrishGolfer]

Sounds like fun - courses looked nice!

 

[VtDivot]

almost makes me want to play

 

[bames]

Nicely done my friend. I love how you (R35) use phrases like "slightly north of that" and make it sound like you were this big bother for us...haha.

The truth is I got my butt handed to me. I had been having one of those weeks (months) where I lost my swing and by the time Rock came I was just about ready to quit the game altogether. However playing that much golf with someone of his caliber makes it impossible not to have a great time. It is pretty hard not to have a perma-grin with decent golf on impressive golf courses, good brats, and cranky old course rangers. It has become a tradition that I truly look forward to for at least 50 weeks out of the year. And not all was lost because as is the norm in my game whenever I completely lose my game I come out stronger after.

The more the merrier so come join us next year! And TL, I'm sure its my turn to travel north. Maybe the temperature will at least make an effort to dip below 38* C...