VROOM VROOM....... Off again!

July 19th and 20th was no joke,  we got down to business.   Just check out how many pair of shoes we brought for just three of us.  You never know in Iowa what the weather is to know to bring shoes or sandals, so you bring both.     

We headed out on Saturday to Calhoun, Ida and Buena Vista Counties.   This was a long route as we got rained out the last couple times we headed this way and it was a hit and miss, so lots of driving between courses to get the last of this area done.

Calhoun, Manson Golf and Country Club is definitely a community course.   Lots of donated benches, ball washers and drinking stations and very well kept.   This isn't your typical up and down course, lots of mature trees and yes, Jim and Shirley found a few.   Very good and fast greens with lots of challenges and a good variety of pars and doglegs.

Guess where we had lunch?   Shirley's favorite place... PIZZA RANCH!

Golfing at Ida Grove made you think there should be some kind of renaissance festival going on around the corner.   Very mid-evil and had a mysterious feel to it too.  Very nice course and so unusual that it was just a different experience golfing here.

Nice T for the ladies!

Kind of hard to see the weather vane, we thought it was neat

Buena Vista, Newell Golf Course.   Very odd layout of the course, nice but a bit confusing.   Very wide fareways lined with trees which we really liked.   If your ball went into the rough, it was very tough to get out, well if you could find your ball anyhow.

It was a long day with lots of driving, we headed to the Wild Rose in Emmetsburg for a good nights sleep, Sunday was going to be a VERY long day!

Sunday we had fun and checked FOUR off our list:  Kossuth, Hancock, Humboldt and Wright.

Kossuth County, Algona, River Road Golf Club

I started off with a par and ended with a birdie on 9, by far my best course this trip.  Trees continued to be a problem for Shirley here.   This was the courses 40th year and I thought it could have been in better shape for that.  Jim offered some driving tips for Shirley which seemed to help so we have higher expectations next course.

Hancock County, Wesley, Hillside Golf and Dining, but no dining??   Apparently they don't have their kitchen open on Sundays.   The people here could not have been friendlier.   Very welcoming!

Too bad the flags were deteriorated, they really should have put up new ones.

Couldn't finish this hole as the sprinklers were on.    Shirley may have gotten a few on her as she retrieved our balls.  Since we couldn't finish for a score.........WE ALL GOT PAR!!!    Whoo hoo!

 

Lots of little artsy things made out of old clubs at the T Boxes.

Humboldt County

Humboldt Country Club, pickles eggs or turkey gizzards anyone?   YUCK

sitting on the bar in the clubhouse

Don't know if it was because of the heat or that we had just eaten a big lunch but none of us golfed well at all.    It was getting pretty hot and the frog togs came out.   What we liked most about this course is that it was a family course.   People from 8-80 were here today and lots of women.    We planned to get energized by the next course. 

Wright County

Goldfield Iowa, Oak Ridge Golf and Rec.
Really nice course and very plush T boxes and greens.   Lots of mature trees and extremely well maintained.    Was surprised to see their maintenance crews were even out on a Sunday afternoon keeping it nice for us.

So, here is where we are at so far.    69 counties done and 30 to go.

We are having such a good time doing this.    We just want to know if there are any courses out there that have CLEAN CARTS!!!   
My hats off to Legacy for this.   We have seen so much junk left in carts and those that get left out all the time are covered with cobwebs and not hosed off.    

Shirley and I have come up with some GREAT ideas for a beautiful course, now we just need to win the lottery to get it going.       Happy Golfing!

"The only sure rule in golf is he who has the fastest cart never has to play the bad lie" - Mickey Mantle