(June 25th) Day 20 – The Links at Greystone, Walworth NY     drove 101 miles

This turned out to be a great day, for more reasons than the golf course, but I'll start there. The Links at Greystone has 4 sets of tees ranging from 7215 to 5277 yards. I played the whites at 6110 with a course rating of 70.2 and a slope of 129. It IS a links style golf course with plenty of hazards and I shot a 96, but I also had 42 putts. The guy I played with with some experience at the course said the pins were in some of their toughest spots and I believe it. The ball wouldn't break until it had lost almost all of it's speed and then would/could break severely. It's a fun course with plenty of variety and it cost a reasonable $ 55 for green fee & cart. It is also the first golf course I have played with an ATM, but I will find them at LOTS of places I wouldn't expect as I tour New England and the eastern states.

I played golf with Micah Griffo and his father in-law, Doug, and here is where serendipity steps in. I was scheduled to play with a twosome behind these two, but they were late arrivals so the starter sent me out with them. We were behind foursomes all day so it all worked out for us, but not so well for the twosome behind us who had to wait longer because I WASN'T with them!

Micah and Doug were wearing golf shoes that were quite different than I had ever seen before. Micah has a marketing company and when he found out I was from Washington state, he said he has done a lot of work with Ryan Moore (PGA TOUR professional golfer for those of you who are not golf fans) and the shoes were something Moore's company were manufacturing and selling. It turned out he has also done some work with our Clarkston, WA (also PGA TOUR) professional golfer, Joel Dahmen. HOW WEIRD IS THAT that I could travel across the country and get paired up with someone who knows our local golf hero! For much of the front nine were were talking about Joel, Ryan Moore and little about golf and I had a great time. Micah & Doug were fun to play with. It's the sort of thing that makes your day better, and this golf course is a great course to play no matter who you are with.

Micah and Doug asked me where I was going next and when I said I was staying the night near Syracuse they immediately told me to try Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, downtown Syracuse. When I got there, a long line of folks were waiting outside the bar/BBQ to get seated. By the time I found a place to park (and figured out how to pay for parking, not a city guy so it was a new system to me!) and walked the three blocks to the restaurant, the line had diminished. It was shortly after 1 p.m. and there was an open seat at the bar so I didn't have to wait in line at all. This was the best meal I've had on the trip (so far) and enjoyed a couple of craft beer barley pops with my (early) dinner!

Thank you Micah & Doug! Your company and dining tip made for what will likely be the one of the most memorable/enjoyable days on my trip, NOT counting the days when my Margaret joins me, of course!

           Randy’s golf course             ratings           play again               could recommend           Price

Prairieview GC (Byron, IL)                5                   YES                             YES                          $

Wine Valley (Walla Walla, WA)         5                    YES                             YES                          $$$

Dakota Winds (Hankinson, ND)        5                    YES                             YES                          $$

The Links at Greystone (Walworth, NY)   4.5     YES                             YES                         $$

Raccoon Creek (Littleton, CO)         4.5                   YES                             YES                         $$

Brooks Golf (Okoboji, IA)                 4                    YES                             YES                          $$

The Legacy (Springfield, TN)            4                    YES                             YES                          $

Awarii Dunes (Kearney, NE)              4                    YES                            YES                          $$ 

Lake Panorama Nat. (Panora, IA)      4                      no*1                          YES                          $$

Houston Oaks (Paris, KY)                  4                    YES                             YES                         $  

Brandon GC (Brandon, SD)               4                    YES                             YES                          $

Viroqua Hills GC (Viroqua, WI)        4                    YES                             YES                         $

Snow Hill CC (New Vienna, OH)      4                    YES                             YES                         $  

Bear Slide GC (Cicero, IN)                4                      no                              YES                          $$

Rivers Edge (Burley, ID)                  3.5                    ??                               YES                          $

Eastern Hills (Kalamazoo, MI)         3.5                  YES                             YES                          $

Birch Creek (Smithfield,UT)             3.5                    no                       good golfers only            $

Kimball Golf Club (Kimball, MN)     3                      no                                no                           $

Buffalo Golf Club (Buffalo, WY)       3                      no                                no                           $$

Pryor Creek (Huntley, MT)                 3                      no                                no                           $        Johnny Walker Course (there’s also a Country Club course, but you need to play with a member!)

Jones Course (Wheeling, WV)            1                      no                                no                           $$$

*1 = would play again if a different yardage was offered, with slope and course ratings

        This is a picture of the 18th hole with the clubhouse in the background. Loved this place!