Chicago Area Golf News

May 1, 2024
Aurora City Council approves higher Phillips Park golf fees

• Learn more about Phillips Park Golf Course

Steve Lord, Beacon-News

Jeff Schmidt, Golf Operations manager, has said the fees at the Phillips Park Golf Course were last adjusted in 2022.

He said the increase will absorb some of the increasing golf industry costs, but also keep the course competitive with similar golf courses. It also allows for continued investment in the course and its amenities, officials said.

The basic cost for 18 holes on weekdays will increase from $34 to $38, and for nine holes from $24 to $26. The rate for 18 holes on weekdays goes down to $32 and nine holes to $23 with an annual card.

May 5, 2024
Growing the game: PGA instructor opens indoor Northwest Golf Academy in Barrington

• Learn more about Makray Memorial Golf Club

Eric Peterson, Daily Herald

PGA Class A member Brad Ray, an instructor at Makray Memorial Golf Club in Barrington for two decades, has opened his own indoor Northwest Golf Academy in the same village to help build and maintain the skills of players of all ages.

The 6,000-square-foot space at 756 W. Northwest Highway includes five Trackman golf simulators with room for expansion soon, Callaway Custom club fitting services, personalized instruction from PGA golf professionals, practice memberships, and areas for putting, chipping and full-swing training.

May 8, 2024
Two suburban Chicago professionals earned spots in next week’s PGA Championship
Len Ziehm, Daily Herald

Next week’s PGA Championship is the second of golf’s four major tournaments of 2024, and it’ll be extremely significant from a Chicago perspective.

Two Chicago-area club professionals — Andy Svoboda of Butler National and Jeff Kellen of North Shore — earned spots in the field by finishing in the top 20 at last week’s PGA Professionals Championship in Texas.

And that’s not all. A third player with strong Illinois ties, Brad Marek, also cracked the top 20 and earned his second appearance in the PGA. Marek grew up in Arlington Heights, attended Hersey High School and won the Illinois State Junior in 2002 and the Illinois State Amateur in 2005. He turned pro in 2008 after playing collegiately at Indiana.

May 8, 2024
DuPage Water Commission buys former Green Acres golf course for $80 million
Katlyn Smith, Daily Herald

The DuPage Water Commission has purchased a former golf course in Northbrook (shuttered Green Acres Country Club) for $80.5 million in a move that could potentially pave the way for a “once-in-a-lifetime” regional water pipeline project, officials announced Wednesday.

The agency is still in the early stages of evaluating whether to build its own pipeline from Lake Michigan and circumvent the city of Chicago, its current supplier.

If the commission decides to cut ties with Chicago, it could take 12 to 15 years to build the necessary infrastructure and cost roughly $5.3 billion to $7 billion, depending on the pipeline route they take, officials estimate.

May 10, 2024
Renovations at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton aim to make courses ‘pop’ and play better

• Learn more about Cantigny Golf Club

Dave Oberhelman, Daily Herald

The iconic Dick Tracy sand trap — and almost every trap and bunker at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton — will soon be getting a makeover.

A major renovation scheduled through June 2027 will address each of the three distinct 9-hole courses at Cantigny — Hillside, Lakeside and Woodside. Two of the courses will remain playable at any one time during the construction.

Cantigny Golf was designed by Roger Packard and named by Golf Digest as “the best public golf course in America” when it opened in 1989. Aside from minor cosmetic touches, the 27-hole layout has not been updated since a Jacobson Golf Course Design treatment in 2003.

May 15, 2024
Car crashes onto north suburban Chicago golf course

• Learn more about Lake Bluff Golf Club

Matthew Cramer, CBS News

A car crashed onto the golf course at the Lake Bluff Golf Club Wednesday night.

The Kia sport-utility vehicle ended up in the tee box for the 10th hole at the golf course.

According to reports, the people in the car were being sought in connection with a shooting in nearby Waukegan.

CBS 2 has learned four people ran out of the car after the crash, and police were able to take two of the four into custody.

May 15, 2024
FBI found Arnold Palmer's Masters green jacket on sale in Chicago as it uncovered $5.6M theft
Jon Seidel, Chicago Sun Times

The FBI learned in 2022 that golf great Arnold Palmer’s Masters Tournament jacket was for sale in Lincoln Park, a discovery that eventually helped uncover a multimillion-dollar theft from Augusta National Golf Club, court records revealed Wednesday.

Those details became known after Richard Globensky, 39, of Georgia, admitted in court that he stole Palmer’s jacket and other memorabilia in a scheme that netted him $5.6 million and lasted more than a decade.

May 15, 2024
New Butler pro Svoboda hopes to continue hot streak at PGA Championship
Len Ziehm, Daily Herald

Andy Svoboda, the new head professional at Butler National in Oak Brook, has made a big impression since arriving on the Chicago golf scene in March, and this week he could make an even bigger one.

Svoboda is one of two Illinois PGA members to qualify for the PGA Championship, which tees off Thursday at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky.

Jeff Kellen, Svoboda’s predecessor at Butler National and the newly-named head man at North Shore in Glenview, also will be in the field, as will Brad Marek, who was a stalwart growing up in Arlington Heights and won the 2005 Illinois State Amateur.

May 16, 2024
A new era for Canal Shores

• Learn more about Canal Shores Golf Course

Richard Humphreys, Golf Course Architecture

When the Canal Shores Golf Course in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, reopens this summer, it will mark the end of a long journey and the beginning of a new era for the public facility.

Originally opened in 1919, Canal Shores has for some time been in dire need of repair. A USGA Green Section evaluation several years ago noted that the course’s turf and infrastructure were in an “end of life” state.

“The course had aged to a point where turfgrasses were compromised, greens were failing, the irrigation system was no longer providing the necessary coverage and the lack of drainage was becoming a major issue,” says Doug Myslinski, from Wadsworth. The golf construction firm had, over the years, provided “band-aid” repairs while Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation had
made annual contributions to assist Canal Shores in youth golf development programs.

May 19, 2024
Golf is for all at Marquette Park

• Learn more about Marquette Park Golf Course

Kathy Headley, News-Herald

Last week we began by talking about how golf season is in full swing at Marquette Park. What if you have thought about playing, but have never played before? There are three programs at Marquette, one of which might suit your needs.

The first is called Get Golf Ready, which is designed to teach you in five 90-minute lessons everything you’ll need to know to step onto a golf course and play with confidence. In this series of lessons, you cover all areas of golf, including on-course activities taught by golf pros who will make sure you have fun with each lesson.

May 19, 2024
What would Chick Evans say? A question the golf world should ask more often
Rick Morrissey, Sun Times

"What would Chick Evans say?"

An excellent question, one I wish golf leaders and the people who play the sport at the highest level would ask more often. I wish Scheffler had asked it before getting into a dispute that landed him in jail. I wish the players who bolted the PGA Tour for LIV Golf had asked it before they took blood money from the Saudis. I wish Tiger Woods had asked it before his career went off the rails because of messy, non-golf issues.

May 28, 2024
Winnetka Golf Club unveiling should happen within months

• Learn more about Winnetka Golf Club

Peter Kaspari, The Record North Shore

With extensive renovations nearing completion and its reopening expected within the next few months, the Winnetka Golf Club is getting a new logo to go with its new look.

The Winnetka Park Board reviewed and approved that new logo at its regular meeting on Thursday, May 23.

May 30, 2024
Chicago Park District golf amateur championships schedule set for summer 2024

• Learn more about Jackson Park Golf Course

Wire report, Golf Wire

The Chicago Park District Golf amateur tournament schedule is set for summer 2024, with events taking place June through September at six Chicago Park District Golf courses. Amateur golfers interested in playing in the Championships, including the inaugural Chicago Women’s Amateur Championship, can visit www.cpdgolf.com/2024-cpd-tournament-schedule to learn more and to register.

Entry fees for the Championships range from $35 to $195 and include green fees, a prize fund, tee gifts, and daily lunch for participants.

May 30, 2024
Missed problems add $10,330 to Deerpath Golf Course restoration project

• Learn more about Deerpath Golf Course

Staff Report, Lake County Gazette

Contractors found additional work was needed to make repairs in the Deerpath Golf Course restoration project, adding more than $10,000 to the original contract. The Lake Forest City Council approved the change order during its May 20 meeting.

Significant water damage occurred at Deerpath Golf Course on January 18 when a pipe burst due to extremely cold temperatures, according to the Lake Forest City Council agenda for its May 20 meeting. The initial damage included harm to the ceiling in multiple areas, walls, kitchen, flooring, and locker rooms.

May 30, 2024
Bolingbrook Residents Speak Out Against 'Detransitioning' Event At Golf Club

• Learn more about Bolingbrook Golf Club

Andrea Earnest, Patch

Several Bolingbrook residents spoke at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday, stating their opposition to a planned event at the Bolingbrook Golf Club which includes a panel discussion about "detransitioning."

"Detransitioning" is a term that can be used to describe the pause or reversal of a gender transition. The panel discussion is sponsored by groups like Awake Illinois, Parents Patrol, and Moms For Liberty.

May 31, 2024
Chicagoland’s Cantigny Golf breaks ground on 3-year renovation

• Learn more about Cantigny Golf Club

Staff Report, Golf Course Industry

Representatives from The McCormick Foundation, KemperSports, Cantigny Golf and Quitno Golf Design gathered this week to celebrate the start of a three-year renovation project that will reinvigorate all three of Cantigny Golf’s 9-hole courses in Wheaton, Illinois, starting with Hillside this year.

The renovation project is the evolution and modernization of Cantigny’s 35-year commitment to delivering one of the top golf experiences in Chicagoland public golf.

“This is an incredibly proud day for all of us at Cantigny Golf,” McCormick Foundation CEO Tim Knight said. “This renovation will ensure the long-term playability of our classic public golf course while highlighting the beautiful natural setting of Cantigny Park.”