Play 18 Review

Play 18 Chicago is a golfer's dream in the middle of downtown Chicago!  As you can see from the pictures, the place is really beautifully set up.  I went there for a lesson, and met both Scot and Dave.  Dave was helping me out with the lesson, and showed me some really great drills which had me making much better contact with the ball (and hitting it 15 yards further!) than I did when I came in.

The great thing is that the tips they give you are really more than just tips, they are memory building drills that really get you used to how you should feel when you hit the golf ball.  And we all know that golf is about feel and muscle memory!  Not to mention the cool robot they have there that will teach you exactly what a golf swing should feel like.  Oh, and the video taping and slow motion play back is extremely helpful as well!

They have a really great set up.  Hitting bays with special sensors that tell you everything from ball flight, carry yardage, total yardage, and even spin rate!  Then there are other hitting bays which have actually golf courses that you can play!  There is a bar, pool table, lounge chairs, and even lockers for members to store their clubs in.  Really, really nice.

I can tell this place is going to come in handy, especially on those cold winter nights and hot summer days.  Looking forward to improving my game!

17 N Wabash Ave
3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Neighborhood: The Loop

(312) 251-0540

Annandale Golf Review

Golfers... if you want old fashioned customer service, check out Annandale Golf. The store is tucked into a strip mall just inside the beltway off Braddock Road. At first glance it looks tiny, but once inside you realize they have a surprisingly good selection of golf clubs and accessories. They are also one of the few places to carry the Waggle Golf Pass offline. The owner, Jeff Lhee, is knowledgeable, helpful and easy to talk to. They have a hitting area where you can try out new clubs. They also repair clubs there too.

5248 Port Royal Rd
Springfield, VA 22151

(703) 321-7575

Drilling Tennis & Golf Review

I can't really speak to the tennis side of things, but the golf shop is awesome, especially for being in downtown Washington, DC.  Let's just be honest, we aren't really in golf mecca here, so us golfers must take what we can get and wait our time until we can hopefully leave DC for a better life. With that said, this place is awesome. The folks who run it are very knowledgeable and will match internet prices but let you try out the clubs. They are very generous about letting you try out a club before purchasing it, which is a big advantage from buying online. I sometimes even go here for lessons, although I prefer an outdoor lesson for obvious reasons. Still, the technology is pretty decent down below and also works for club fitting.

1040 17th St NW
(between N K St & N L St)
Washington, DC 20036

(202) 737-1100

East Potomac Park Golf Course Review

Another perk of living in DC is that there is a golf course literally minutes from downtown. It might not be a country club, but that's all right, because the course offers a total of 36 holes of golf. From what I've heard, the 18-hole Blue course is a thorough challenge in terms of length and shot-making requirements--I really should get around to playing it one of these days. As for the remaining 18 holes, nine are part of a par-three course, and the other nine (which I frequent weekly) are a 2800-yard executive course. I dig the executive course because it is long enough to use a driver on some holes (and get the satisfaction of driving 300-yard holes), but still hazarded enough to send a good round to hell in a hurry. To top it all off, the rates are extremely reasonable ($14.00 for nine holes on the executive course), and if any further incentive were needed, they sell icy cold beer (pitchers start at $8.00) at the clubhouse. 

972 Ohio Dr SW
(between Francis Case Memorial Brg & I-395)
Washington, DC 20024

(202) 554-7660

Fleming Golf Course Review

This is a fine little golf course in a beautiful section of SF. Hidden inside of the Harding 18, you'll see fairways stretching in every direction, giving you the feeling of playing a large, luxurious course. Yet you paid $22 and you can finish your round in less than 2 hours.

Fleming is a great place to learn golf, which is why I've been coming here regularly for the past 5 months or so. A step up from GG Park in terms of difficulty, since there are 3 par 4's - two of them with vicious doglegs that make it very hard to garner a clean second shot. You can bust out your woods and large irons and really go for it; but be careful because those Montery cypress trees really overhang a lot of the holes and can knock your ball sideways in a jiff. The rough is also, well...rough. A fine place to come during the week - I've hit it up early-style before work a few times and been the only guy out there - or on the weekend, when you might wait 20 minutes if it's crowded.

99 Harding Rd
San Francisco, CA 94132

(415) 664-4690

Lake Merced Golf Club Review

I've been fortunate enough to have been invited to play Lake Merced twice. It is located in San Francisco's golf mecca. Surrounding Lake Merced, are three other fantastic golf adventures...the Olympic Club, SFGC and Harding Park. Lake Merced has a recently renovated club house that is fabulous. Connected to the pro shop is a neat little grill where I grabbed a cup of chili to go and started my round. The course is in tip-top shape, hilly and carved through the trees. It is very similar to the surrounding courses. All of which are top notch. I'd play here again in a heartbeat. I'd suggest you to do the same should you ever get the chance!

2300 Junipero Serra Blvd
Daly City, CA 94015

(650) 755-2233