Chicago Area Golf News

April 3, 2023
KemperSports and Illinois PGA Foundation team up to host PGA HOPE clinics

• Learn more about Harborside International Golf Center

Wire Report, First Call

KemperSports and the Illinois PGA Foundation have again partnered to host PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) clinics for veterans and active-duty military for the 2023 season. The six-week, complimentary clinics will visit five KemperSports facilities across Chicagoland from May through October.

Taught by PGA Professional instructors trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency, PGA HOPE introduces the game to veterans to enhance their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being.

April 5, 2023
Heritage Oaks golf instructor, practice range honored

• Learn more about Heritage Oaks Golf Club

Dave Oberhelman, Daily Herald

Earlier this year at the Golf Business Conference in Orlando, Michael Wenzel, the golf instruction supervisor at Heritage Oaks Golf Club, was recognized as a "Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional" by the Golf Range Association of America.

"It's a big honor to be recognized by the Golf Range Association of America for an award like this," Wenzel said. "I've just been passionate about growing the game of golf. I do it because I love the game of golf, and I just enjoy sharing my knowledge and helping players play the game. That's why I do what I do."

April 5, 2023
Glenbrook North freshman wins national Drive, Chip & Putt contest
Dave Oberhelman, Daily Herald

Glenbrook North freshman Martha Kuwahara wanted redemption, and she earned it. A year ago she tied for ninth out of 10 contestants in her age group at the 2022 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals.

On April 2 at the 2023 Drive, Chip & Putt finals the Northbrook girl won the event, held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, home of The Masters. Kuwahara's 24 points spanning the three disciplines was a point better than Utah's Saydie Wagner to win the competition for girls 14 and 15 years old.

April 5, 2023
Glencoe voters approve $15 million bond sale golf club referendum

• Learn more about Glencoe Golf Club

Daniel I. Dorfman, Glencoe News

A new era appears set for the Glencoe Golf Club with the approval of a $15 million bond sale referendum that will fund a massive makeover of the facility.

The apparent voter approval allows the village to proceed with construction of a new approximate 10,000 square foot clubhouse/pro shop replacing the existing clubhouse that was built nearly a century ago, and has been long been viewed as dilapidated by village officials.

April 6, 2023
PGA Tour Superstore Set To Open In Orland Park
Lauren Traut, Patch

PGA Tour Superstore, a popular golf retailer and retail partner of the PGA Tour, is set to open its Orland Park location on April 8.

The store opens in the former Dania space, at 14812 S. LaGrange Rd. The retailer's fifth location in Illinois, it will also offer almost 1,400 square feet of putting green, five simulators and five practice bays.

April 8, 2023
Upgrades underway at Orchard Valley Golf Course in Aurora

• Learn more about Orchard Valley Golf Course

David Sharos, Aurora Beacon News

The Fox Valley Park District is in the process of upgrading Orchard Valley Golf Course in Aurora, including implementing a new golf academy, updating the menu at Orchards Restaurant and looking at some capital repair projects.

The district in January entered into a five-year golf facility management agreement for the site with Troon LLC, the world’s largest golf course management and hospitality company, officials said.

April 9, 2023
Join the Lumberjacks of Canal Shores to restore nature along North Shore Channel

• Learn more about Canal Shores Golf Course

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Evanston Roundtable

The Lumberjacks are a group of volunteers who maintain and manage natural areas within the Canal Shores Golf Course in Evanston and Wilmette.

In managing the wild spaces within a beloved community area, the Lumberjacks find solace against the disconnection from nature that many feel in dense urban environments, and the group acts as a center of change in response to the climate emergency. Operating as a collective, people supply tools that they can, knowledge about wildlife – and an occasional breakfast sandwich made over a campfire.

April 12, 2023
Early spring weather a boon for local golfers
Jon Cohn, Daily Herald

It has been a pleasantly warm spring thus far, and I use the term "thus far" because who knows what the coming days will bring. By the writing and printing of this particular column it wouldn't be a total surprise if folks could be seen scrambling to find the snow shovels they just put away for the winter season.

The earlier-than-usual warm weather has been a real boon to our many local golf enthusiasts. Linksters of all ages and abilities have descended upon our local golf courses, and tee times are flying off the shelf.

April 13, 2023
Katherine Jemsek combines business with growth of golf

• Learn more about Cog Hill Golf & Country Club

Tim Cronin, Global Golf Post

Katherine Jemsek grew up in a golf family, and liked the game, but stopped playing after high school and planned to be an elementary school teacher.

So who’s the president of Jemsek Golf, overseeing Cog Hill as well as Pine Meadow in north suburban Mundelein and Summer Grove in suburban Atlanta? Yep. Katherine Jemsek.

An education major who switched to business while at the University of Central Florida, she decided the retail side of the business would be her forte.

April 14, 2023
New-age golf practice facility proposed for Waukegan
Steve Sadin, Lake County News-Sun

The Waukegan Park District is planning a golf practice facility that might be called a new-age driving range.

Though the ball will travel the same distance it would on an actual golf course, a chip inside will make it appear on a screen a few feet away from the golfer as if it landed on a green at Augusta National Golf Club or a seaside fairway at Pebble Beach.

Jay Lerner, the Park District’s executive director, said the use of Toptracer technology will make it all possible. By inserting a chip in the ball, the golfer can either watch its flight live or on the screen. Meanwhile, a group of friends can play a variety of games virtually.

April 15, 2023
Aaron Browning, author of Chicago Golf on the Soul Circuit
WGN News, WGN

Aaron Browning, golf player and instructor from Altgeld Gardens talks about his book "Chicago Golf on the Soul Circuit." A look back at Chicago's African American golf scene and caddies.

April 21, 2023
Win Prizes When You "Tee It Up" In The Chicago Southland!
Kim Kislowski, Patch

The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau (CSCVB) has launched “Tee It Up”, a new program that aims to reward users for visiting local golf courses.

The passport is a free program that any user can sign up for. With 32 courses included within the passport, it showcases the best of the Chicago Southland in an easy, mobile-friendly way.

April 23, 2023
Chicago area teed up to host some big pro tournaments this year
Staff Report, Daily Herald

Big tournaments are inevitably the highlight of any golf season in any location, but the PGA Tour hasn't visited the Chicago area since 2020 -- and no fans could watch that year because of pandemic concerns. Last year it was only the fledgling LIV Tour that came to the area. This year both the PGA and LIV circuits are coming.

The only drawback to this long-awaited positive news is that you'll have to wait until the very late stages of the Chicago season to see both circuits. The PGA Tour's BMW Championship is at Olympia Fields from Aug. 14-20 and the LIV Tour returns to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove from Sept. 22-24.

April 24, 2023
Hardy's win capped off a great weekend for golf in Illinois
Len Ziehm, Daily Herald

Last weekend was like no other as far as Illinois golf is concerned, and Nick Hardy's first PGA Tour win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was just one of the extraordinary developments.

Mark Hensby, whose best golf came on Illinois courses years ago, notched his first win on the 50-and-over circuit in the Invited Celebrity Classic at Las Colinas in Texas.