Big-time women’s golf has come to Chicago only sporadically over the years. Now that’s about to change. Next year the UL International Crown comes to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove. In 2017 the new KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be played at Olympia Fields, and then in 2018 that same big championship will come…
Author: lenz
Olympics’ influence will make for a different season in 2016
OK, so the 2014-15 PGA Tour season is over. You want more? No problem. You don’t have to wait long, thanks to the circuit’s decision to go with a split season just like the National Hockey League and National Basketball Assn. have done for years and years. Last season ended with the FedEx Cup Playoffs,…
U.S. Open is over, but golfers are still flocking to Chambers Bay
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – At the start of 2015 Chambers Bay was viewed as an exciting new venue for June’s U.S. Open. Four months after Jordan Spieth’s victory in one of the most dramatic finishes to that championship the course is viewed differently. Now, four months later, it still has the historical benefits from being…
Montana’s Big Sky gets an early winterizing.
BOZEMAN, Montana — Based on our driving the last two days Montana is the most beautiful state in the U.S. and its town of Bozeman merits a more long-term stay ASAP. We took a side trip there to check out Big Sky Resort, even though we were aware its golf course had closed for the…
Floating Green will get re-grassing before 25th anniversary
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — The Floating Green is a gimmicky thing, but it brought the desired attention to Lake Coeur d’Alene Resort. It was envisioned by Duane Hagadone in 1991, when the first ball was struck toward this movable putting surface. The 6,803-yard course was designed by Scott Miller but No. 14 is the hole…
Nebraska’s Prairie Club offers a unique brand of golfing fun
VALENTINE, Neb. – The first thing you notice as you approach the Prairie Club in the sandhills of Nebraska is what’s not there. You cruise through the “big’’ town of Valentine (population 2,830) and 17 miles later you see the first indication that a big-time golf resort is nearby. It’s just a small sign saying…
Nebraska’s new Tatanka course has buffalo among its many special features
NIOBRARA, Neb. – Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen much anymore. New courses are rare, and most of those are created as renovations. They’re not really built from scratch; they’re built over existing golf courses. It’s great that there are more renovations now than there were the last few, economically difficult, years. Some are good-looking courses, like…
HERE AND THERE: Harbour Town’s course has re-opened
With the golf season in the Midwest winding down, it’s a good time to check out what’s been happening at golf’s best travel destinations – and there’s been plenty. Our first golf/travel notebook of the fall begins at one of America’s most famous courses. The famed Harbour Town course at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton…
Web.com Tour is coming back — at Ivanhoe in 2016
Ivanhoe Club will host the Rust-Oleum Championship — a full field event on the PGA Tour’s satellite circuit – from June 6-12 in 2016. The event was played at Lakewood Country Club’s West course in suburban Cleveland the last two years. Shane Bertsch was the champion of last year’s Rust-Oleum Championship, which offered a $600,000…
Speedgolf, FootGolf find their way to Chicago area courses
With the exception of the Presidents Cup team event, coming up in Korea in two weeks, the PGA Tour’s 2014-15 season is over. Jordan Spieth’s win in the FedEx Cup playoffs on Sunday brought it to a dramatic conclusion. In the Chicago area, though, there’s still a few events on the October calendar including two…