Door Creek Golf Course

Stephen and play and review Door Creek Golf Course

Episode Transcript

(00:07):
I heard that had about 50,000 trees right there.
We got the ground screw out here.
Yeah, we got triple bogey bills,two of them out here just
cruising through. All right, Mike.
Good evening. Good evening.

(00:30):
How is your your trip going? Yeah, so I'm out in rainy
Columbus, OH. It's been raining off and on for
the past couple days out here for a trade show, and
surprisingly, Columbus, OH is more modern than I assumed.

(00:55):
I I have never been to Columbus,OH.
Yeah, I also had not. And when I told my kids bucket
list. No, no, but it's not.
I don't know that it's a destination place, but I told my
kids I was coming to Ohio and one of them did not believe that

(01:16):
Ohio was a real flank. They thought it was just their
slang. Yeah, they're like Skippity
Ohio. Skippity, Ohio.
Got that Skippy Ohio rizz. So yeah, I wish I could say that
I was out here to golf and have fun, but I am not.

(01:40):
I am out here shaking hands and kissing babies at a trade show.
Do they have decent looking golfcourses there?
When I flew over it, coming downto land, we flew over a few golf
courses that made me want to. I didn't bring my golf clubs,
but it made me consider for a fleeting moment going to a

(02:04):
course and renting clubs. Yeah, and then it was raining
the whole time. But I did not.
Yeah, I was. I was also busy and had to work.
When we or when I looked on my my map, my location map on
Snapchat, it shows like people. Then it showed you there with

(02:26):
drain drops coming down. I was like that looks fun.
Do you ever watch anything from like My Golf Spy?
Yeah, yeah, the reviews and stuff that they do.
Yeah, so I've, I've been gettinga lot of them on like my like
that show up as like suggested videos for me to watch.
So I was watching 1 today actually.

(02:46):
They were talking about how important the golf ball is more
than anything else. So the guy that runs the My Golf
Spy said he believes that your golf ball is the most important
piece of equipment in your bag, including for amateurs, because

(03:09):
a golf ball, like two different golf balls can do 2 completely
different things. You know, like amateurs like to
just go out and grab a mixed bagof different golf balls.
And then they wonder why they hit a shot, you know, with their
7 iron, let's say 170 yards one day and then like 140 yards.
And, and they feel like that their swing was the same so that

(03:31):
they can go 40 yards shorter, further left, right on their
robots just because of differentgolf balls.
And he's like, you'll cut up some golf balls that are like
from some of these brands and they'll have different inserts
in the inside the same packaging.
So like you'll buy a box of golfballs and some of them will have

(03:51):
different, different like inserts and like they, they will
not be the same golf ball. But I thought that was, well,
you. Know it.
It was all a hubbub where Brysonwas taking his golf balls and
floating them in Epsom salts andusing that to test the density

(04:12):
of the golf ball. So he had more consistent, I
think the equilibrium of the golf ball because he was letting
him rest and then marking the top of each golf ball.
So he knew, you know, whatever the least dense part, I'm
assuming that raised to the top of the water surface, which I

(04:36):
don't think my golf game is anywhere in the place where that
is going to make that much of a difference for me when you can't
actually find the center of yourclub face.
It was interesting listening to like the US Open and stuff and
them talking about Bryson as like, like the different tactics
that that players use. And Bryson is known as like this

(04:59):
big meathead, kind of like bullythe ball everywhere.
And that's what they were talking about him the first day
because he was, he wasn't playing well.
And the announcers, obviously they're all from the UK, so
they're all like big Rory fans and stuff.
But they were talking about how Bryson first in OneNote, they're
talking about how he's, he's like a scientist when it comes

(05:20):
to, to golf. Everything is like a problem
that he's trying to figure out. And then they're like, he's just
trying to bully the ball everywhere.
But he it is interesting like how he he goes like his irons
are all 3D printed. His driver is like a like nobody
uses that driver. Just interesting how he's
willing to go out and experimentand do all this other different

(05:40):
things. Well, and, and he'll do it like
I saw somebody published an article that was talking about
him trying different random golfballs during practice rounds.
So, you know, he, I think it wasfor the Open on one of the
practice rounds, he was using some sort of non conforming golf

(06:01):
ball during the practice round. Yeah.
Why is he doing this when you know he should be dialing in his
game? Maybe.
Maybe that's why he didn't play well the first.
Day well, Speaking of the Open, so we had have been playing
league which is all summer, which is basically the same

(06:21):
thing the quality of the golf. The the level at which we play
as elites. And and tonight was the the last
night of regular play. Next week will be the last week
of league and it'll be just a scramble, 2 man scramble.

(06:43):
And so tonight we were paired up.
Well, I was paired up because Mike's, Mike's gone.
I was paired up with the person or the group that is right in
front of us in our rankings, which is for last place.
So tonight was the battle of whowas going to be last place.

(07:09):
So, Michael, are you curious as to how that turned out?
I I am curious, I saw you post on 18 birdies when your round
started and I got an alert on myphone that said Steven Bergam
had made a double bogey. And I was like.
Oh man, so I texted you to I wasdoing a mental health check.

(07:32):
So if are you curious to know onhow I finished this round?
Yes, I I would like to hear do you do you know what holds you
won? I feel like, I feel like, do we
need to play? Do we need to play some dramatic
music right now? Yes, we do need to play some
dramatic music. All right, I'm listening the

(07:52):
dramatic reading of the scorecard thanks to Mike and Eli
from Chasing Scratch. That's right.
Checked out that podcast. Great.
OK, so so we started off on hole9.
OK. OK, obviously my favorite hole.
All right, so my par 5, par 5, it's a dog leg, but if basically

(08:17):
you have to try to head as far away from the fairway as you
possibly can to get to the fairway over the hill.
Yeah, it's a blind, blind tee shot, but yes, it's a reachable
par 5 if you can hit your drive.Correct.
So I actually hit. So I did not.
So a side note, I did not take the driver out of the bag a

(08:39):
single time tonight. OK, all right.
Yeah, well, you couldn't use your Heavenwood.
I was using your hybrid. That's the TV.
OK, yes. So my first shot I hit a decent
shot but I didn't quite make it past to where you need to in the
fairway and we could not find the ball.
Oh man, OK. Yeah, so I had to take a drop

(09:03):
and then my second shot I hit another great shot and it just
made it into the bunker. So I but the bunker is a
complete straight up and down. So I just chip out into the
fairway, make it up two putt fora double bogey and that was good
enough to half the hole. Both of the other guys both lost

(09:29):
the ball on that hole. Yes, all right, hole 1.
So we started weaning back to hole one.
I hit my tee shot left into the other fairway.
I chipped out and just passed the bunker, flubbed my chip make
it onto the green with my fourthshot. 2 putt for a six and that

(09:55):
was enough to win the hole. Both of the other guys lost the
ball in that hole. OK.
All right. Was the OK question for you at
this point, Were you feeling good?
Like were you like OK, your confidence is returning?

(10:17):
No, I was just. Like.
Uninspiring. It was uninspiring, but they
were like the guys I was playingwith were great.
It was a fun. It was enjoyable besides the
fact that it was so hot that like and it was like a it was so
humid. It was really the worst part
wasn't the heat, it was the humidity.
Thanks. Thanks.

(10:37):
Wisconsin. It wasn't for the humidity.
Yeah. So then on the whole 3, which is
a par three, you have water on your right, you're going towards
the green, that's all the way back and the tuck, the pen is
tucked all the way back to the left.
OK on that. Ridge, that one you have not

(10:58):
traditionally scored well on. I hit the ball as purely as you
could hit the ball, but I was aimed left.
I hit into a tree and it bouncedstraight back onto the ladies
tee box. I hit a a second shot that kind
of rolled up right onto the green chip.
My chips, my third chip was short so I have to putt all the

(11:22):
way across the green and I4 putted first time I4 putted in a
long time, made a seven out of par three.
I did not win that hole. OK.
I was going to say you. Won that.
All right, so then on. So you're up, you're up to 1 1/2
points. I'm up to 1 1/2 points correct?

(11:44):
So the par par 5, I hit right into the fairway or I hit right,
right on the edge of the fairwayinto the trees.
I take the smart decision chip out to the fairway.
I hit a great second shot. I didn't want to go long.
So I I hit a hit a just a club that I felt like was maybe a

(12:08):
little short, but I actually hitit on the green and spun it back
off the green. So I chipped up.
Did it. It sat in that little collection
area down between the green and bunker.
No, it was so I it it, it stayedprobably like 4 foot off the
green, but the pen was all the way back to the back of that

(12:28):
green as well. So I chipped.
No, actually I tried to putt that one off the green.
My first putt did not go well. My my par putt came and was like
1/4 of an inch from dropping. So I made a bogey on that hole,

(12:49):
won that hole. Really.
OK, Dan, you probably, I don't know what the other players
handicaps were, but you probablygot a stroke on that hole.
I did not get a stroke on that hole.
Really. OK.
All right. OK, pole #4 which is the the par

(13:09):
five that goes back up the hill.Yeah, I made a great tee shot,
great second shot, chipped up close or no actually, Yeah, I
chipped up close and then, but Ididn't make it on.
I, I put my my chip from greenside up to about 7 feet and

(13:33):
barely missed my par PUD for thesecond time and bogeyed that
hole. So I'm won that hole.
I OK, OK, I won hole number 5 with a bogey.

(13:56):
I won to be. Fair bogey golf is not It's good
for our. Level of play hole #7 That was
the par 3. So I as I went to hit the ball,
my hands were so like damp from the humidity that I almost threw
the club and put my ball into the water.

(14:19):
I chipped it from the collect from the from the drop area up
to up to about 7 feet, left my putt at the edge of the cup and
made a double pokey on that hole.
So I lost that hole and then we pushed on on hole 5.

(14:40):
So you scored. Or on on hole 8.
On hole eight, OK, so that's five points.
Plus I got net, so I won. I maxed out on points and we
came in second to last place. Oh man, I so it, it was funny

(15:03):
because I'm I'm whole so whole 8.
I had made a decent shot off thetee and I made a great second
shot, but I was less than a yardoff from it being like too far
from the pen distance wise. But it was, it was just a little
bit right. And I, I plugged into the rim of

(15:24):
the bunker. So it was all I could do just to
get it out of the bunker. But yeah, it, it was.
So I actually won. I I was the low gross and net
for our group. Really.
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, well done.
It it was a it was a mixture between me and not playing the

(15:47):
worst. I mean, I didn't play great.
I didn't make a single par. The bad thing about it was is
that like that first of all, that that par three really
killed me was not not not great it.
Was defeating. Yeah, I mean, that pen was in
such a bad spot. Like literally it was right on
the edge of the Ridge. So, so when you're putting, if

(16:10):
you don't hit it hard enough, nomatter which way you're coming
from. If so, if you don't hit it hard
enough up the hill, the ball goes up and it rolls back down.
If you if you more than blow on it like it.
I I my my actually my second putt literally went over the top
side of the of the cup for like it.

(16:34):
It just lipped out and it shot almost all the way off the green
again. It it was, it was pretty, it
was, it was a pretty brutal brutality.
But anyway, so we are not going to be in last place.
All right, well, and we're goinginto the final week next week.
Correct. And that'll be a scramble.

(16:55):
So anybody that wasn't in the top four teams play a scramble.
And I'm not sure what the prizesare for that, but.
Some sort of consolation prize? Well, well done.
Way way to represent the Bergum name in my absence.
For whatever reason, this whole year during we we have played

(17:17):
like trash. We've played so poorly.
I have not. It's hard to tell that you once
had your personal best out of that course.
All right, let's talk about let's talk about our our course

(17:38):
this week. So.
Yeah, our our bogey breakdown ofthe week.
So we played Door Creek Golf Course over in Cottage Grove.
Our tee times are at 6:00 in themorning.
It was a beautiful humid day it.Was very humid, yeah.

(17:58):
Like you are very familiar with that course, especially the
executive course. I've never played out there on
the executive course. Tell me a little bit about that.
Oh really? OK, so the way that the course
is laid out, it has a, you know,18 hole course as well as a par
39 hole course called Lost Creek.

(18:22):
And we, I, I've played out therea number of times over the years
and we, the company that I work for has their annual company
golf outing at the executive course.
And it's a ton of fun where we take a golfer and a non golfer,
pair them together and they playa scramble, A2 man scramble to

(18:47):
compete for the, the best team. And it's always, it's, it's a
great environment to have an event like that.
And overall, you know, Door Creek is definitely one of those
comfortable courses, I think that can accommodate someone who
is not, you know, not a highly skilled golfer, particularly at

(19:13):
at Lost Creek. But the other thing we've done
is my wife and I have on a few times have taken our kids out
and kids 13 and under golf for free with an adult.
And so we've taken them out to do the Lost Creek and we'll do a
scramble where she will take theunder the older kids and I'll

(19:36):
take the younger kids and we'll scramble against each other and
see who can, who can win. So it's a lot of fun.
But you're right. Yeah, we we did not get a chance
to play the executive course, but we did play what they
consider their championship course.
And so the the executive course now for the for the executive

(19:56):
course, does the kids play free include the regular?
No, just the executive, OK, doesn't say 'cause you can't
take ride alongs at that course.No.
Only golf or ride alongs. Yeah, they've got a signposted
right, Right in the front. Yeah.
But I, I think the course gets afair amount of play.

(20:19):
And depending on when you go, particularly on the weekends,
they can be slow. I've been out there before where
you know, you're, you're waitingand it, part of it I think is
because they do have some challenging holes.
So we'll get to that in a minute.
But you and I went out on a Friday early morning, tried to
get the early morning tee time to to get around in before work

(20:44):
and we we played pretty quick. Yeah, we did.
We we played it. We we teed off at a little bit
after six when the the pro shop opened up.
We played our our teed off and then we we speed through the 1st

(21:06):
probably the first sixteen holesbefore we because they send off
9 hole players on the back nine in the mornings.
So we started running into them right around hole 16 but.
Right, yeah, right at the end westarted to run into them.
Yeah, it it was. It was nice to get out there and

(21:26):
that they had the the greens were starting to get rolled
early in the morning to get the dew off.
The tee boxes were as well. They had guys out there doing a
lot of stuff to to really make the course look nice and I felt
like he was in good shape for being 6:00 in the morning.
Oh yeah, they, I mean they had the whole ground crew out cruise

(21:47):
and and everything was rolled. And have you ever seen where
they take to get the dew off of the fairways where they take
their big loops and sometimes they'll be pulling them behind
two, you know, golf carts or whatever and it knocks all the
dew off. That always looks like it would

(22:09):
be kind of a it would be just a super satisfying.
It would be, yeah, I I feel likethat as well also as rolling the
greens would be like just being able to see you, like you're
putting the nice lines and you're fixing everything on
there. I feel like that'd be nice.
I feel like there's a lot of things you could do at a golf
course. It'd be like, really satisfying.
Other than the. Other than play.

(22:30):
Risk of Parkinson's? Wait, what?
What were you telling me that there's a a link between?
Yeah, people that people that live on golf courses, they're
more likely to get Parkinson's than people that do not.
And I can't remember if it's like a 30% higher chance because
of all the pesticides that they put on the golf courses and all
of like, the fertilizers and everything.

(22:52):
Yeah, it's actually really bad for you, which is why they say
you should not play barefoot. So John Daly, if you listen to
this podcast. Some somehow I feel like John
Daly doesn't really care that much.
I do not think he does either. 30% is an extremely high.
It could even that is higher increase.

(23:15):
Really. Yeah, but also as far as the
that they have their executive course, they also have a very
affordable practice facility. A large bucket of balls is only
$6, which is awesome. It's it's 11:50 everywhere else.
And when you first, you know, the, the overall feeling when

(23:37):
you first pull in, it definitelyhas, I would say kind of a, a
dated look to the clubhouse. The, the parking lot is very
unassuming. And the, the one thing I will
say is when you're standing at the clubhouse, they put like a
tiki bar and some stuff in the back.

(23:57):
So there's a seating area and there's, there's a water feature
that's right there. You've got some what I would
consider marshy area or like cattails that come up and
surrounding like a small pond and early in the morning when
there's when there's just a little bit of a, a, you know,
fog down in the valley areas, it's actually pretty
picturesque. Yeah, it is.

(24:19):
And but overall pretty unassuming place.
It does have a what I would consider a decent practice
facility. The, the, the range balls
typically are, are available, they're clean.
And the, the, I would say the driving range can get a little
tore up. Sometimes it's hard to find an

(24:41):
even spot to be able to hit from.
But it they, I mean full driver,you can send it on the driving
range. And then on the other side,
close to the first tee, they have a, a practice area that
includes a bunker. They have a, a putting area and
they also have what I would consider a pretty decent

(25:03):
chipping area where you can chipto work on your short game.
We brought the high school girlsover for a, a summer practice
session and we were able to set up they, the course was great.
They were accommodating to us and we set up a set a section at
the driving range for long clubs, your driver irons, that

(25:25):
kind of stuff. We had a practice at the
chipping range area and then oneon the putting.
So we had different stations that the girls could go and work
through it. And I, I actually think if you
live in the area and you are, you know, wanting to work on
your game, it's a great spot to go just for the practice area.
And then you've got the executive course, which is great

(25:48):
for just working on your short games, your wedges, you know,
they've they've got three par fours on the executive course,
but they're also short. So overall, I would say pretty
it it's worth the money from a practice perspective.
Yeah, yeah. And just another note on the

(26:09):
Parkinson's thing. They say it's actually 126% more
likely if you live within a one mile of the golf course compared
to if you're living within 6 miles.
But the height and risk risk does persist within 3 miles of
the golf course. And they say that the risk is

(26:30):
nearly double for people that have shared water service with
the golf course compared to thatthat have their own.
So that's super high, yeah. I mean, if you if you are a golf
course employee. You would think that the risk.
And you are actively working with those things.
I mean, that's interesting, yeah.

(26:50):
Yeah, but no, I, I definitely. That's the reason why I don't
own a house on the golf course. Yeah, my wife and I talked about
this and we were. Thinking about it, you know,
would you rather own a house on the golf course or on a lake?

(27:13):
On a lake. Yeah, me too.
Yeah, 100%. I mean, even even if you lived
on the golf course, what's the odds that you can just walk out
of your back door? Just go immediately?
I mean golf course and. Nobody.
You do have good odds if you like live someplace where you
can just it'd be sweet to to owna house on like a par three,

(27:34):
like to have a par 3 in your backyard.
You can just go out, you know, just because people do that all
the time. Or else if you lived at like
let's say hole 15 at the Oaks and you can go out there though
those houses that are right overthere, just chip onto that
green. That'd be awesome.
But anyways. Well, except you would get

(27:55):
Parkinson's. Except for you would get
Parkinson's. Yeah, which is definitely not
great. What is wanted?
No, no, but let's talk just a little bit about Lost Creek,
which is the executive course. So when you are, when you're on
that course in particular, there's actually some water
features that you have to get over on a couple of the holes.

(28:18):
There's a, a severe dog leg, right, that you could actually
hit your driver over the trees. And you know, there's some eagle
opportunities that are out therefor a par 3 course.
I don't remember what it cost. I think last time I was there it
was about 13 bucks for a round just walking.

(28:38):
And it's very, very walkable. And then if you've got your
kids, your kids golf free with you.
There have been times where my wife and I have taken all of our
kids for an afternoon of golf and we just walk it and we're,
we're, you know, we get a soda or something for each of the
kids and it's less than 50 bucksfor the entire afternoon's worth
of activities. You can't even go bowling.

(29:01):
For that price, I mean. It's it's great.
And the, the Greens actually are, I would consider them
fairly well kept also. And they are the greens that are
on the executive course. I, I in my opinion are trickier
than the greens that are on the championship course.

(29:22):
There's a particular hole, hole seven that is an upside down
bowl that it is so hard to get your ball to stay on that green.
So you have two choices. You've either got to launch it
to the moon with your 60° wedge and hope it doesn't spend back
or you have to, you know, use like an approach or pitching

(29:45):
wedge with a half swing and try to hit the front of the green
and let it run up. So it, it's, it's a great course
for beginners. I, I mean, so many times I'm out
there, kids are, are golfing, brand new golfers, you know,
husband and wife or boyfriend orgirlfriend, They're out on a

(30:05):
date. They're just walking it.
A lot of, a lot of dads and kids, moms and kids.
And I don't think that there's anything anywhere in the Madison
market that's similar to that executive course.
So if you're in the the Cottage Grove area or anywhere in the
Madison area and you've got kids, it's, it's a good spot to

(30:26):
go check out. Yeah, yeah, the the, the whole
course I feel like is is pretty well maintained.
They run it pretty well. They have the the the starter
announcing everybody's names as they come out to the to the tee
box to get, you know, to get make sure people on the tee box

(30:50):
before their before the tee timeto make sure that that the pace
of play stays up and people are teeing off on time, which I
like. Every time I've played out
there, it's always been either early morning.
I've never actually played therelike during when they could be
busy. But yeah, it's always played
fairly quickly for me. Yeah, so that the course can

(31:14):
play longer. I'm looking at their scorecard
now. So if you play from the Blues,
you're just under 6500 yards. And I actually think they can
extend that out. I I feel like I remember it at
some point seeing that they could, if they use the
Championship tease, they could tip out at over 7000 yards.

(31:35):
I've never seen the championshipTees opened.
I've seen where that the tee boxes are placed and some of
them look pretty challenging. But at blue it it plays right at
about this is the course of par 71 and it plays right at about
par with 119 slope rating. We played from the whites, which

(31:57):
is a little bit a little bit easier.
That plays slightly under par atabout 69, but there are some
holes that I think are they're challenging enough that can
really make or break your day. So the 1st hole we get to, I hit

(32:18):
my tee shot, feel like it's a reasonable shot and we just
could not find my golf ball anywhere.
So that that was tough. Well, it was also hard.
It was, it was like, it was weird when we were playing
because it was, it was like hazy, but it wasn't like it was

(32:42):
a weird like haze. Fogginess in the air too.
So like you would lose the ball as soon as it got to the
horizon? Oh yeah, it just blended right
into the the environment, which I feel like is still, I don't
know if it's if Canada is still blowing smoke down our way.
I don't know what they're doing.But it it this whole summer has
felt super hazy. Yeah.

(33:05):
But yeah, that's tough. The, the other thing they were
struggling with is water and thebunkers.
So, you know, I, I feel like every, every time recently that
I've been out there, there are afew of the, the bunkers,
particularly the greenside bunkers where they have
struggled with drainage and you know, you, you wind up in the

(33:28):
bunker and your, your balls submerged underwater.
Yeah, which then you just take free relief.
So it's sometimes it's not the worst thing, but.
Right, especially if you can pull it back out the bunker
cause the whole bunker's a a little lake.
But I have seen that now a few times recently that I've been
out where I, I don't know if there's a drainage issue going

(33:50):
on or, or what what the story isbehind it.
But when we were out there, there was a crew that was raking
the bunkers. They were adding sand and kind
of getting them prepped, but they were doing it around the
water. And I was like, well guys, maybe
you should work on the drainage there.

(34:11):
Well, it's like no one's going to be playing if there's water
in there. So that I'm not sure, but that
the greens I feel like are, are fairly well kept.
I think that they're, they're, they're tricky and like hole #2
right out of the bat is a sharp dog leg, right?
And you have to have a good tee shot and you pretty much are

(34:36):
you, you can't go for the green.You can't, you know, unless
you're, you can launch or driverin the air, you can't cut the
corner. So it really restricts you on
your club selection. But it it it's pretty
challenging. Yeah, the, the greens are very,
most of the greens I would say are very compact.

(34:56):
So they're, they're smaller greens.
So like you have to be you basically.
It's hard to go for pens there. I mean, like you, you know, even
if you're getting on the middle of the green, if you get a bad
kick, you're going to be especially on hole 1.
So hole 1 is a very small green.You hit the side.
If you hit anywhere that's not right in the middle with any

(35:17):
side of kind of spin, you're going out the sides of the
green. Oh, sure.
Yeah, yeah. But it it's the greens, I felt
like we're we're in good shape. I felt like the fairways were
nice. The rough was able.
You're able to find your ball ifyou just went off into the first
cut, which I is a plus. I mean you should.
Well, it speeds up piece of playso much for yourself because you

(35:40):
know you yeah, you may pull it alittle left or right, but if you
can at least find it quickly, I'm I'm fine if I hit a bad shot
and I'm penalized. But if you hit a decent shot and
then it takes you 3 minutes trying to find your ball.
Not because the rough is intentionally grown out, but

(36:00):
just because you. Know it's just putting it that
height. Right.
That's, that's when it starts tobecome frustrating.
But yeah, overall, I think well maintained course.
Do you have a favorite? Least favorite hole?

(36:23):
So I I would say that like my myleast favorite hole, sometimes I
feel like it's hard to not be biased.
To by how you how you played. Yeah, like like, well, there's,
there's, there's holes that I just historically never play

(36:47):
well, so I haven't played that one enough.
I don't like hole 9. I feel like I, I feel like it's
very straight. It's, I think they're apple
trees, but I don't think they actually are apple trees off to
the left hand side. Like I'm, I'm, I'm actually not

(37:09):
a huge fan of hole 9 or hole 10.I for I've never played hole 9
very well and hole 10 I just feel like it's I don't know why
I don't like it. I'm just not a huge fan.
I, I, I I I've played it OK, butfor hold 9 it's like, so

(37:34):
starting at the back nine and ending the front 9 I don't
really like. So hold, hold 10, I've made a
decision. Next time I go out there, I'm
going to take a different strategy off the tee box.
But when you go out to hole, hole 10, there it is AI would
say pretty steep dog leg left. And if you pull your driver out,

(37:57):
there is water that is directly down from the tee box, probably
about 220, two, 130 yards out, very reachable with your driver.
So what I tend to do is pull outa wood and just try to get it
down to the corner. So I have an approach into the
green and so many times I feel like I I slightly pull it left

(38:20):
or it goes left, right into the trees.
And then sometimes can you, you can be blocked out from your
approach shack. So I, I actually think that that
tee box is elevated enough that you could take your driver out
and go pretty much right at the green and launch it over those

(38:41):
trees. And they're probably not
actually that much of an impedance.
And if you can get out beyond them, even if you don't hit a
great drive, you're still, you know, 23240 down there.
You're going to you're going to be in a position to attack the
green. I have not tried that yet.
But next time you go out there, that's my, that's my, my goal.

(39:05):
So actually I also don't like hole 18 as a finishing hole.
I feel like it's just meh to me for a finishing hole.
Like I like the the finishing holes that have like great
picturesque views and you know, I just feel like that's it's
kind of blah to me. Did it have anything to do with

(39:29):
how you scored on your finishinghole this last round?
No, I just didn't like. It OK you're you're completely
unbiased. Yeah.
Yeah, I, I feel like I was goingback through thinking about just
in general, I think a hole number six is fairly, it is

(39:53):
probably the hole that I always it, it's a straightforward hole.
It's slightly uphill and I've never scored well on that hole.
I, I feel like I've always struggled for whatever reason.
It, it just doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
It feels like they were trying to figure out what they're going
to do and, and put that one in there.

(40:15):
I, I I don't know that. You know, that's certainly not
one of my favorite holes. And then also hole #13 so 13 you
every single time you've got a choice to carry the water,
you've got to carry it about 230yards.
Yeah, which is very, very easy. Which is, which is fine until

(40:38):
you have to carry 230 yards and for whatever reason, it's always
a struggle. So then you have a choice.
You either have to hit, you know, go the safe route, hit,
you know, 7-8 iron off the tee, lay it up short of the water and
then you've got a long shot. I don't even think you can hit a

(41:00):
7 iron. Probably not I I think it's
like. It's I think. 180 yards to the
end of the fairway, which which can be challenging and every
every time I feel like it's not it.
It's just in such an uncomfortable spot.
Now, granted, it was intentional, I'm sure, but that

(41:25):
I would say those are are kind of two of my least favorite
holes. For my favorite holes.
They do have an island green or almost island green at hole 5,
which I, I feel like it's kind of a fun hole where you you've

(41:48):
got to carry it. You can't carry it too long, but
it's at a comfortable distance Ithink for me.
Yeah, and the, and the, the green is long enough and it the
green is big enough. I feel like that also makes it
like a better hole. Well.

(42:09):
I also think that par 3 does notneed to be 230 yards long to be
challenging and exciting. Yeah, I mean, when I when I
think of the most exciting par threes in Professional Golf, you
think the 17th at TPC Sawgrass where you've got an island green

(42:32):
and it's a short par three, whatis it like 127 yards something
along those? Lines, but it's also got
gigantic undulation that will spit your ball right out.
And it's super unforgiving. Yeah.
I mean, there's no there's no room for error.
Yeah, it's not like coal-fired if you're at Door Creek.

(42:52):
No, no. And so I and then you've also
got, you know, the stadium hole at the Waste Management Open,
Yeah. That gusta.
Scottsdale. The 12 at the Gusto.
Yes. And I feel like those are not
long par threes, but there there's kind of an excitement

(43:14):
there because you got a wedge inyour hand and you could get
close and feel comfortable. But there's also danger that's
in play and it gets in your head.
And I feel that way about a whole number 5 a bit where it's
not as crazy long par 3. It's pretty short, but you've
got a lot of danger all the way around, yeah.

(43:37):
So it. Just makes you think now
suddenly you're thinking about wind and what what club you're
going to pull out. Are you going to, you know, pull
it, spin it back and it's going to, you know, roll off into the
water or what what's going to happen?
So it's kind of fun. Yeah, I, I also have that as
that, that is my most favorite hole that's out there.

(43:59):
Is is hole #5 it's, it's just fun.
I like those, those island greens and like those those kind
of unique things like like anybody can make a par 3 where
you know that you're just, it's a shorter, longer, whatever.
It's just I, I think that it's fun that they that when you have

(44:20):
a water surrounded or you have like, I feel like they're par
threes here are all fairly interesting at Door Creek.
So you have 8 where you're hitting over that marsh?
Yep, on there you have 11 which also I think has water in play.
11 has water in play. Yep, right off it.

(44:42):
Kind of off to the left of the tee boxes.
Yeah, and so does 14. Such a severe green that slopes
from back to front and there's some significant undulation, so
11 is that's got to be one of the most difficult greens on the
course if it. Looks like 11 is actually one of

(45:06):
the easier holes. Well, it's the 16th #16 handicap
they have #5 or #4 is as their number one handicap hole.
Which you know, I could see onlybecause you, you do have that

(45:28):
kind of Creek marshy area that runs short of there and the
green is pretty well protected. So you either have to, you could
potentially get there and too, if you have a good driver, but
there's so much danger that's around that green it it makes it
tough. So every time I feel like I go
to lay up and the and it's uncomfortable to lay up in front

(45:54):
of the Creek because then you got such a long approach to
that. Yeah, 4 is, 4 is definitely, it
just, it feels so much longer aswell than it even is, which is
decently long. But it just feels like 'cause
even after you hit your, your drive down there, you just,

(46:17):
you're looking and you're like, and then of course it gets in
your head. So I actually have a clip of
here. I'll play this clip here of of
you, Mike, with your second shot.
Mike's guide is 3 wood. I'll go on for the green 2.
You're on this par 5PAR54 and splash, splash or you're going

(46:49):
to be short, just a nice little.You should have pulled out three
wood, but I I think that that one is is definitely I think
1111 is annoying because it has all that marsh in the back too.
You can't be long there. Well, hole 11 at that par 3.

(47:12):
The par three, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
If I were to look at my second IA hole that I just think is fun
in general is hole 12. So you come off that par three
tee box just right there to elevated tee box.
And as you're looking down, there's a pond that is kind of

(47:34):
to the left and you almost you, you almost have to take your
drive over that pond. Otherwise you're going to be in
the tree line to the right. So it's kind of a challenging
shop and in some ways I feel like you only have one option
when you're at the tee box. So it kind of makes that
decision for you. And if you can, if you can carry

(47:56):
the water on the left, you can get a decent approach into the
green and, and it it's kind of afun, in my opinion.
It's a fun hole. Yeah, I I think that for for
another favorite of mine. Like I said, 5 is my favorite.

(48:19):
I also really like hole #17 as well.
That one was that one is a decently A decently long par 5
there and it's got a lot of bunkers down.
But if you hit a good drive, it does have kind of a speed slot

(48:41):
that if you can get into, you can roll down that hill.
And that makes your obviously the if you can get closer and a
par 5, it makes your second shoteasier.
But I feel like that one's a pretty fun, pretty fun hole
there. I actually did not make a good
drive in that hole, but I did make a decent recovery shot
after I hit it onto the Door Creek executive course.

(49:04):
But I I I I like, I think 17 would probably be none of my
favorites. Well, I, I think it overall that
the course is a, it's a friendlycourse.
The, the, the staff there's typically always pretty
friendly. And I also know that they have,
I've, I've seen him post for like best of Madison, best of

(49:26):
Cottage Grove and they've won it.
I don't know how many years in arow, but I think a number of
times they have won best of Madison, best of of Cottage
Grove as a public golf destination in the region.
Which is saying something because you've also got, you
know, you have a, a fair amount of, I would say similar quality

(49:48):
courses or even slightly nicer quality courses at a different
price point. I would say, I would say for the
price, it's probably your best bang for the buck in the Madison
area. It it I would agree it's got to
be close. I mean, I'm trying to think of
any of the for a public course for that price there, there's no

(50:12):
other courses in Madison that I that I think can beat it.
I mean, it's, it's fun to play, it's challenging.
They do a great job of keeping the, the, the course in good
condition. And during the week, you can
play it for 48 bucks in the morning with a cart.

(50:34):
I mean, and on the weekends, I think it's 65 or you can get, if
you get out there early, you canget some of their dynamic
pricing and you can play it for $37.00 with or no, no, no, I'm
sorry. That's their, that's their back
9. But for $65, if you play in the
afternoon on the weekends, you're playing it for 50 bucks,

(50:58):
eighteen holes with a car. I I don't think that that
there's a better course for thatprice point in Madison.
Yeah, I'm, I'm going to have to agree with you.
You know, the other thing I don't, I don't know is we talked
a little bit about the the waterand the bunkers.
I don't remember that being in years past.

(51:20):
You know, hopefully it's not a sign of things to come.
You know, as far as maybe getting neglected a little bit,
you know, you're not it. It's not the course that you're
going to go out and have the nice cushy golf cart with GPS in
the card and you know, premium range balls and all.

(51:43):
It's not that type of course. This to me is a it's a very
comfortable, family friendly, beginner friendly, but still
challenging. And of course you can go out and
have a good time and, and and enjoy it you.
Know it's nice to, of course, a course that promotes families

(52:06):
and getting kids in the golf with their with their taking
your kids out there for free on the executive course.
And and it's also looks like it's also a good course to that
that they're promoting trying toget people to, you know, become
a better golfers by by making their range affordable and easy
to access the vending machine right out there at the range.

(52:28):
You can go buy buckets of balls basically anytime that that's a
nice thing that I think that nota lot of courses offer so.
Yeah, yeah, I completely agree with that.
So. So let's talk a little bit about
our match. So you you shot what?

(52:59):
I shot a a net 71 so even part. I was actually just looking on
18 birdies and I do not show my I don't show my score on there

(53:19):
anymore. You did not put your score in on
18 birdies. You kept it on your watch.
Well, I thought I had added it in there.
Unfortunately, Garmin does not show what it was with my
handicap. However, I shot an 83.
So at this course, let's look and see what let's let's see

(53:42):
what the official My Jen Handicap is at this course.
Did you put it into Jen? I did.
I also put mine into Jen. Yeah, I I usually try to put in
a Yeah, so. Put in nine whole rounds in
there though because it screws up your handicap.

(54:03):
We were just talking about this.Who?
Who was it that was complaining about it?
I was just complaining about it.Well, you complain about a lot
of things though. OK, so from the white Tees,
let's see 83 was my gross score and if I go to my look up you,

(54:34):
you keep talking while I'm looking this up.
Because it's it's a process. So for also for there, we've
stopped in several times and hadfood at the at the course.
They have a decent, decent menu there.
Their fish fry is very good and you know, their, their bar and,

(55:00):
and, and restaurant area are, are fairly nice and, and updated
and they do have like a nice tiki bar out behind the golf
course as well. So I, I think that that they
have all the amenities that you're kind of looking for, for
that course. Yeah, they, they serve a fish
fry there. You can get, you know, standard
bar fare as far as pizza, burgers, that kind of stuff.

(55:22):
I don't know that they are particularly well known for
their food. I I've eaten there a few times.
Decent but yeah you're they havea nice bar facility but you're
looking at my course handicap atthis course is an 8 shot in 83
which means my neck was a 75 so that's another one that you can

(55:46):
that's a a pin you can put on the board there but.
Yeah, that's that's a lot of pens.
We didn't at the beginning of the season, we did not establish
what a decent prize was going tobe.
What's what's on the line? I don't, I don't think they, I

(56:10):
don't think you want to have anything guys alive.
That's how bad you're getting your butt kicked.
We'll have to. We'll have to think about this,
I think and, and, and come back next week.
Well, my, my opinion is that thesummer season ends at the end of

(56:35):
July and we, well, how about we do this so we have a trip coming
up to Alaska. Yeah.
OK. So prior to that trip it it we
need we we've got to get out. We'll get out a couple more
times and we'll tally our total wins and losses for the summer

(56:58):
season and then after we get back from Alaska, we will start
the fall season and we'll we'll start fresh.
We'll start fresh and then yeah,I, I think that we should throw
a bet on for the the summer season as well.
I guaranteed win on that one. Yeah, I, I think what was the

(57:22):
score? How many of you won?
Two, and that was one of them. You had to have your daughter
along to help. We, we've got to go back.
Last episode we talked about this.
We were 100% sure and and I thought we were going to go back
and look and unfortunately I have not done that.
On at Jefferson was the only onethat we were not 100% sure

(57:45):
about. OK.
Yes, yeah. So there was there was some
questions on that. Yeah, which I also have now one
back and looked at it's takes solong it's.
It's a It's a process when you are when you are trying to get
work schedules. Your your.

(58:06):
Daughters and softballs she's got.
She's coming to a season close. She's coming to a season close
here. Yep, next week will be her, her
last one. So at Jefferson, I shot a So I
shot a 40 out there at Jefferson.
OK, Yeah. Net net 40 and it looks like on

(58:31):
18 birdies could Jefferson's a weird one with the only being 13
holes too. Yeah, it it's odd.
You shot a 43, so that's not their weight For the for the
good games, No, that was your net.

(58:57):
Interesting. It it only gave you 5 strokes
though actually. Actually, you know what's funny
is that my 40 at Jefferson was for 13 holes and your 43 was for
9:00. So that's pretty embarrassing

(59:21):
for you. Yeah, that sounds like a bunch
of malarkey's going on. Someone's rigging the the old
scorecard. Maybe a foot wedge or two was
involved. No, there's no foot wedges, but
all right, well. We'll, we'll, we'll keep on
doing our best to try to get those scores up there all.

(59:45):
Right. Well, I think this was a good
bogey breakdown. Mike, what do you give this
course for a a little review fora little score?
What do you give this for their score?
How does this stack up on your courses that we've played unlike
your handy or unlike your match play?

(01:00:08):
To me this course is a solid par.
I feel like that the, the price point is where it needs to be.
I, I think it's always comfortable when you go there.
It always feels well kept, you know, other than, other than
some pace of play items here andthere that are a little bit of a

(01:00:29):
struggle. I I I would give this a par.
Yeah, yeah, I would. I would say that for me, if
you're playing it during the week, you know, if you're paying
that, that $48 or whatever, that's a pretty good price to
pay for a golf course like this.I'd say that that, that, that,
that could be a birdie for me. I would say it's probably the

(01:00:52):
best value for your money in theMadison area.
It's a fun track to play. I'm going to give this 1A
birdie. Actually, I, I, I enjoy it Every
time I play out there, I always forget about it.
I feel like that's the big thingthat you don't get that the same
name out there as you do at someof the other courses.
So I kind of forget that it's even there, but I enjoy playing

(01:01:13):
it. So I think that this is a good
birdie for me. I would say that for me that
this is probably the best value for your money in Madison area.
That's a that's a bold claim. It's a bold claim, brother.
I, I'm gonna stick with my par. I think if they, you know,
there's a couple odds and ends that they can do here to clean

(01:01:34):
it up with the driving range being a little chewed up and
some of the water's in the bunker.
And hopefully that continues to improve.
Well, thank you for your opinions on that.
And thank you all for listening and listening to us chronicle
our adventures of trying to playevery golf course in the state
of Wisconsin. If you like what you hear, make

(01:01:55):
sure that you click that subscribe button and also if you
can do us a favor and rate US onwherever you get your podcasts.
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Drop us a follow. Like the pictures that we we
post? Yeah, agreed.

(01:02:16):
And a big thank you to the crew at Door Creek for allowing us to
get out there early in the morning.
I think the doors were still locked when I first got there
and they weren't quite ready forus, but we were ready for them.
Yeah, where do you want to see us go next?
Let us know at the Bogey [e-mail] or by
slipping to our DMS on our socials.

(01:02:37):
Music credits will be in the show notes.
Thanks for listening to the Bogey Breakdown where the bogeys
never end.