--My club is just your typical small town country club so it won't compete with the big boys.[/IMG]
I went to the East Potomac course at Hains point in downtown DC on Wednesday. It is an inexpensive "municipal" course owned by the National Park Service. Not a great course but wow, I had forgotten how beautiful the views are. Since we had a mild summer with a fair amount of rain the entire course was green. On the back nine, every other T shot is lined up with the Washington Monument - you almost think you could hit it (or maybe Jarhead would think he could hit it). I couldn't find anything online to do it justice but here is something that gives an idea of the setting:
I never heard anything about that. Are you sure it isn't outdated info? I have been living on Capitol Hill for 26 years and never heard any scary stories about Hains Point. Besides - how could it be a high crime area at night, there is no one there at night.Just make sure you get out before dark. Hains Point is one of the highest crime rate areas in DC. I cringe every time I see tourists wandering around down there at night.
Agreed, but Awakening is gone. It got bought by the developers of Harbor Place - they are installing it in the sand along the river there. Einstein remainsBut it truly is beautiful. I love the Awakening statue there. My second favorite in all of DC after Einstein at the National Academy of Science.
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Is that where you hit a hole-in-one?
I have been taking lessons at this course a couple summers now. Hope to break 90 soon!
Visual memories of golf scenes past: AZ: ball of rattlesnakes rolling onto tee in front of us from hillside; dad saying he only wanted to walk with me, and when I finally convinced him to take a swing, he promptly hit it onto adjoining house on fairway; buddy playing par 3 9th twice, in three strokes total.
Rustic, you didn't include any shots of course gators, rattlesnakes, water moccasins or fire ants in those photos. False advertising.
-Just make sure you get out before dark. Hains Point is one of the highest crime rate areas in DC. I cringe every time I see tourists wandering around down there at night. But it truly is beautiful. I love the Awakening statue there....
There is something inherently wrong in mixing golf and snow skiing...We have several public courses in town, they groom ski tracks around them in the winter, which is nice when you want a more relaxing crosscountry ski than the dedicated ski trails in town.
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I was terrified waiting for a bus or cab in the block near the National Portrait Gallery; how does that compare?
-That's right down by Chinatown. One of the nicer areas of DC. But after dark there are many semi-scary parts of DC, even staying out of SW. Donheff might disagree. I think what you have here is one of those situations where the people that live there feel perfectly safe, while visitors tend to be more nervous. Probably the same in NY, LA, Chicago, etc.
Even Capital Hill, where donheff lives, can be nervous-making. We used to go to the Mall (Smithsonians), Union Station, the Post Office, and Chinatown a lot, but I got tired of being hounded for handouts, and weirded out by the crazy street people (as opposed to the normal ones).
I only lived 3 miles from DC, but usually found it easier and more fun to do things outside the district than to go in.
-There is something inherently wrong in mixing golf and snow skiing...
Cuppa - this is a result of not knowing a place well enough to be sure what to expect. I sometimes feel the same when I am in a new city and don't know about the area I am in. I'm down in the area you mentioned frequently and walk home from there with DW at night. The city has gotten very vibrant in the past decade or so and is safe in areas that used to be worrisome. The Portrait Gallery is in what is now called "The Penn Quarter" (north of Pennsylvania Ave). It is anchored by the Verizon Center and the Convention Center and is full of restaurants and people. Forty years ago people were fearful in the Capitol Hill area I live in. I have been here since 1982 and never had a problem. It is booming now - DW and I hope to stay till we drop.-
I was terrified waiting for a bus or cab in the block near the National Portrait Gallery; how does that compare?