If you’re a golfer you’ve got to envy Tom Coyne. Lots of author types – me included to some extent – have been more than willing to write about their golf travels in some form or another. Coyne has done it much better than most. He’s a globe-trotting golfer with lots of stories to tell.

Coyne wrote two books based on his visits to hundreds of courses overseas.  There were called “A Course Called Ireland’’ and “A Course Called Scotland.’’ An Philadelphia-based writer, I found it odd  that he attacked courses overseas before exploring the great American golf scene closer to home, but he made up for that with his just-released “A Course Called America’’ (Avid Reader Press).

This is the most readable in-depth book on golf travel that I’ve ever encountered.   Coyne’s passion for golf is obvious, and he’s gone the extra mile – or many miles – to do the job right.

His plan was to play courses in all 50 states, and he did that over a series of trips that took him to 295 courses.  He played 5,182 holes over 301 rounds and covered (mostly walking) 1,748,777 yards.  In every stop he provides historical tidbits while mixing in his own encounters with a wide range of people along the way. It’s by no means limited to an analysis of the courses he visited. That approach has been tried by many golf fanatics before him and doesn’t make for very interesting reading.

Coyne tells his stories in 383 pages and then wraps it up by listing all the courses he played and naming his top 10 in several categories. Naturally I want to take issue with him on some of that, though I’ve played only 19 of the 80 he cited for special mention. Coyne’s a better golfer than I ever was, but resort golf is my thing, too, so I’m happy to note that I played seven of his top 10 in that category. His favorite resort destination was Gamble Sands, in Washington.  I’ll have to find a way to get to that one.

We did agree on Nos. 2-4 – Oregon’s Bandon Dunes and Bandon Trails and Wisconsin’s Mammoth Dunes. We also both liked Florida’s Streamsong Red, Michigan’s Black course on The Loop layout and Arcadia Bluffs and Mississippi’s Old Waverly.

We’re both fans of short courses, and he had a surprise third pick in that category – Evanston’s Canal Shores. We shared enthusiasm for The Cradle, in North Carolina; Palm Beach Par Three, in Florida; and Top of the Rock, in Missouri.

As far as Best Golf States are concerned, we have big differences.  Coyne doesn’t include Florida or Illinois in his top 10.  New York is Coyne’s No. 1 – really??? – and Minnesota is No. 10 – he’s got to be kidding!

Anyway, a fun read that is full of interesting background information. It’ll challenge the knowledge of even the most avid golf historians.

 

 

 

THE VILLAGES, Florida – Golf is huge in The Villages, a fast-growing vibrant over-55 adult community in Central Florida.  That’s obvious.  Golf carts are everywhere, and not just at the courses.

Golf carts of all sizes and colors fill the area’s parking lots as well as those at the 12 championship and 40 executive courses and the three golf academies. Not all the golf carts are driven by golfers, either, but they are entrenched in The Villages’ lifestyle.

This year, though, the most significant offering for golfers might not involve the courses or the golf carts.  The Aviv Golf Performance Program was introduced four months ago, and it involves much more than hitting quality golf shots. It’s for people who are very serious about their long-range health as well as their golf improvement.

The program’s time requirements are demanding, and its $56,500 price for a 12-week program includes a personalized medical team and sophisticated equipment but doesn’t include lodging or meals.  You need to be on site because the program is built around Aviv’s proprietary hyperbaric oxygen therapy protocol, and its treatments run two hours a day, five days a week. More than anything the therapy treatments set the Aviv program apart from other golf performance offerings, but there’s more to it than that.

Aviv Clinics also include a personal protocol of neuro-cognitive therapy, physiological training and nutritional coaching in addition to golf coaching.  As far as the U.S. goes, the Aviv program is offered only in The Villages. The program, based off 12 years of research done by Dr. Shai Efrati in Israel, was taken to Dubai just after its arrival in Florida. That’s where golf specific instruction was incorporated.

More facilities are scheduled to be added in 2023, but the golf component at those has not been determined.

“Our target population is healthy individuals in the 40-45 range who started seeing a slip in their golf games,’’ said Aaron Tribby, Aviv’s head of physical performance in Florida.  “But we see a lot of other clients who have other problems.  The youngest we’ve had here is 20, the oldest 95.’’

Victims of strokes and brain injuries have benefitted from the hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments, and they’re also designed to reverse biological aging. Dave Globig, the chief executive officer of the Aviv Clinics in The Villages, and physician Mohammed Elamir both thought the program sounded too good to be true when they were invited to see it in operation in Israel but they became believers.

“At first I was very skeptical,’’ said Globig, who had worked in the health care industry for 25 years. “But I was intrigued.  Our program is still very cutting edge, and taking it is almost a full-time job. Most of our clients are battling the aging process.  They’re afraid of dementia, of losing their physical capacity.  That’s why they come to us. For aging people, what’s their No. 1 sport? Golf.’’

Elamir, the son of a neurologist, was a general practitioner looking for new opportunities.  He found the Aviv program a help in his father’s recovery from a small stroke and now oversees the oxygen therapy aspect.

Smokers are not allowed in that program, and the inclusion of golf was not taken lightly.

Aviv made a major commitment to the sport as sponsor of November’s Aviv Dubai Championships, which concluded the season for what is now called the DP World Tour. (That’s the rebranded name for what had been the European PGA Tour). DP World had been Aviv’s business partner in Dubai and got Aviv its first title sponsorship in golf.

Aviv’s golf program begins with a week of testing that includes blood work, nutrition, a cognitive and genetic evaluation, brain scan and physiology and strength exams. Then the hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions begin for each client, and they’re supplemented by appointments with 50-60 staffers specializing in other areas of need.

Each client has a personalized treatment program. Golf sessions are included in that, and the golf professionals meet with Aviv staffers on a regular basis to analyze the needs and progress of each client.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and many of the other treatment programs, are conducted at the Central Florida Aviv clinic – a floor in the Center for Advanced Healthcare, It’s a complex that includes the Brownwood Hotel & Spa, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant and offices for other  providers in the healthcare field.

The oxygen therapy is administered in “dives’’ – rooms that have chambers (also called suites) for about 12 clients.  In the two-hour sessions the clients receive oxygen for 20 minutes, then are off for five minutes, and that routine is repeated until the two hours are up.  Clients wear oxygen masks (not the masks worn by so many to combat Covid in these pandemic times)  and they engage in cognitive exercises on a tablet during the process. Elamir says they only experience a popping of the ears for the first 10 minutes. Then he likens the experience to taking a ride in a small airplane.

The reward is stem cell, blood vessel and neurological growth that optimizes brain performance and improves overall health. Aviv’s leadership claims that – in conjunction with the other treatments and coaching – will translate into better golf scores as well as better overall health.

Cognitive benefits are said to be improved hand/eye coordination, increased focus and attention and better mental clarity and patience. Physical benefits are enhanced swing quality, faster recovery after a round and improved strength, mobility and stability.

“One of the biggest challenges we have in health care is that it’s so fragmented,’’ said Globig.  “Can you find a similar program (for golf development)? I’m sure you could, but they won’t have the clinical elements involved, and the foundation to go with it.’’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was part of my tournament coverage routine at a PGA Tour events to walk at least nine holes in the first two rounds with a player just to get a handle on the course.  At that stage of a tournament it wasn’t necessary to be caught up in what players were in contention.  That could wait for the weekend.

During those early tournaments rounds there was no player I’d rather walk with than Bubba Watson. Sure, over most of those years he was one of the PGA Tour’s top players but that wasn’t why I’d spend time with him. I did it because he was fascinating to watch.  His creative shot-making skills were obvious, whether he was playing good or bad. He would try to bend shots right or left, over or around trees or hazards.  That was his style.

There’s a lot more to Bubba Watson than his shot-making skills, though.  I learned that in detail in reading a book, “Up &^ Down: Victories and Struggles with the Course of Life,’’  that he wrote largely during the pandemic stoppage of the PGA Tour season with the help of Don Jaeger (W Publishing Group).

In our frequent travels we passed through the small town of Bagdad, FL., many times and found it unusual that a town of less than 4,000 near the Alabama line could spawn three PGA Tour players – Watson (the best of them), Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley.  Watson still lives there and is active in the Pensacola area community in a variety of ways,  not the least of which is his part-ownership of a minor league baseball team known as the Blue Wahoos..

A few things that make Bubba interesting: his wife Angie was a star basketball player, they have two adopted children and — oh, yes –Watson – as you might remember – won the Masters twice.

And, there’s a lot more to Bubba Watson than that.  In “Up & Down’’ he candidly reveals his struggles on and off the course, his growing religious faith, his battles with anxiety and his ongoing efforts to make himself a better person. In short the book reveals what makes Bubba tick. It’s a most interesting, thoughtfully-written book, and I heartily recommend reading it.

The 2021 Chicago golf season should be remembered for much more than pandemic-related issues.  Some extraordinary building was going on at clubs across the Chicago area, and it wasn’t all done on golf courses.

Golf course renovations are commonplace annually, but this year the most noteworthy upgrading related to clubhouses. Two facilities – The Preserve at Oak Meadows, in Addison, and Heritage Oaks, in Northbrook — opened brand new clubhouses and a third — Fox Run, in Elk Grove, will unveil its new one any day now.

And, two other facilities – Settler’s Hill, in Geneva, and Heritage Oaks, in Channahon – are well underway with clubhouse developments.  Theirs will open in 2022.

Here’s how these massive clubhouse projects look as this season winds down:

THE PRESERVE AT OAK MEADOWS: The Preserve’s clubhouse was the first to open, in early August, and it also took the longest to complete. The course, which began in 1923 as Elmhurst Country Club, was without a clubhouse since lightning destroyed the previous one in 2009.

Building a new clubhouse wasn’t as high on the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s priority list as getting the golf course up to par. It had long been beset by flooding issues.  They were solved as part of a $16 million renovation but it took three more years for the new $12.6 million clubhouse to be up and running.

The new one, measuring slightly under 14,000 square feet, was designed by Dan Wohfeil, who had previously created the much bigger clubhouse for Mistwood, in Romeoville. Nineteen architects submitted proposals before Wohfeil was selected.

Ed Stevenson was a focal point throughout the lengthy course and clubhouse projects.  Long the director of golf at the Preserve, Stevenson also served as executive director of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County during critical times when the work was going on.

The new clubhouse looks much different than the old, more stately one.  Construction began on Sept. 17 of 2019. Wohfeil’s version offers the Greenway Restaurant,  a most pleasant sports bar, great views of the golf course and also includes a pro shop.  The old one was closed in the final days before completion of the clubhouse.  It’ll be converted into to a base for indoor golf activities.

 

HERITAGE OAKS: The Northbrook Park District completely revamped what had been Sportsman’s Country Club. The facility started as Sky Harbor Golf Club when the course opened in 1931 and was a 54-hole facility at one time.

It was long known as Sportsman’s Country Club, with 27 holes, prior to its re-opening in late August. The change in name to Heritage Oaks Golf Club was in keeping with the complete upheaval involved in the construction process.

“It was almost like opening a brand-new facility,’’ said general manager Greg Baron.  “The Sportsman’s name  didn’t suggest we were a very inclusive facility, but 30 to 40 percent of our play is women, and we’ve never been a country club.  We’re a golf club.’’

Unlike the Preserve at Oak Meadows, the course and clubhouse creations were handled simultaneously and the facility was closed for the  entire 2021 season.  The clubhouse, the 18-hole and 9-hole courses and the practice range all opened together.

Libertyville architect Rick Jacobson supervised work on the courses and range and  RATIO Architects of Indianapolis handled the clubhouse.  The renovations of the property was a $12.75 millions property with the clubhouse costing $6 million.

The 10,000-square foot clubhouse includes the full-service Acorn Grill, a bar that seats 20 and an area set aside for two golf simulators. The restaurant can seat 80 inside and 48 more on the terrace.  There’s a window wall that opens to the outside. In the Sportsman’s days there was no bar.  “It was just a glorified walkup window,’’ said Baron.

 

FOX RUN: The 18-hole course in Elk Grove wasn’t touched while an $8.5 million clubhouse was under construction.  The construction work was expected to be completed in mid-October and general manager Tom Klaas anticipated  completion of the project would come in late November or early December.

Klaas and his staff have operated out of a trailer this season, and it was taken down on Oct. 15. Williams Architects of Itasca designed the new building.

“We designed away from the traditional pro shop,’’ said Klaas.  “Our planning started with the maintenance building, which was built in 1984 and was the oldest on (Elk Grove) Park District property.’’

Eventually the decision was made to combine the maintenance facility with a new clubhouse.  The old one was demolished after Labor Day in 2020.

“We’ll be a 12-month facility now,’’ said Klaas.  “We wanted to keep our players engaged in the winter.  We’ll have a sports bar opened all winter with a kitchen and lots of TVs.  We’ll also have three Full Swing screen simulators and we do have our slots room, too.’’

 

AND STILL COMING:  New clubhouse construction was barely underway at Settler’s Hill and Heritage Bluffs as the 2021 season was fading away.

Settler’s Hill was closed all season for work on the course, but that all was dictated by plans for a new clubhouse. The old course had no practice range with neither of the nines returning to the existing clubhouse. That’ll be corrected with the building of a new, more centrally located clubhouse.  The old one will remain as a banquet facility. Target date for completion is mid-July of 2022.

Heritage Bluffs, owned by the Channahon Park District, is a well-established, well-received course that opened in 1993.  The Park District board approved a design for a new clubhouse in January, the  most notable feature being an indoor-outdoor bar area. Construction began in June and the old clubhouse was demolished in July. The new clubhouse is also slated for an opening some time in 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

SARASOTA, FL. — It’s getting exciting now.  We’ll soon have a new golf course – or at least a “re-imagined’’ one – to look at while we’re enjoying either our early morning coffee or late afternoon beverage of choice from the lanai of our new home.

The Champions Course, at Palm Aire Country Club, was in the early stages of a renovation when we moved in. We’ve closely  followed its transformation.  Illinois-based course architect Mike Benkusky, who has been coming to town on a weekly basis, is planning his next return for the Grand Opening.

While the official date for that hasn’t been set, it won’t be far off.  The club’s greens committee will address the matter at its November board meeting.

“They’re not rushing it – and that’s good,’’ said Benkusky, who did most all of his work in the Midwest after opening his office in Lake in the Hills 15 years ago.  The choice $2 million project was his first work in Florida. The course  opening was originally targeted for Nov. 1, then was pushed back to mid-November.

“Everything’s looking good.  The greens look very good. We’re right on schedule,’’ said Benkusky.

It’s been fascinating to see this project unfold, as we reside off the green at the 11^th hole.  Watching the work begin in near darkness each morning has become part of our daily routine. No. 11 was a 538-yard hole from the back tees prior to Benkusky’s arrival and the scorecard from the tips was 7,005 yards.  Now the proposed yardage for No. 11 is 581 yards and the championship yardage is 7,207.

This Florida course had an Illinois flavor even before Benkusky’s hiring and our moving in. The original designer was Dick Wilson when the course opened in 1957 and Palm Aire’s other 18-holer, The Lakes, was designed by Joe Lee.

Wilson may be best known for his work at the more famous Florida courses Bay Hill and Doral’s Blue Monster and Lee was a prolific designer whose creations extended far beyond the  Sunshine State.  From a Chicago perspective, however, their most noteworthy project is one they did together in the 1960s – the Dubsdread Course at Cog Hill, a long-time PGA Tour site in Chicago’s south suburbs.

Palm Aire was called DeSoto Lakes when Wilson did his work, and the PGA Tour conducted the DeSoto Open there in 1960, Sam Snead winning the title. A year later another Hall of Famer, Louise Suggs, won Golden Circle of Golf Festival, an LPGA event, on the course. That was one of Suggs’ five wins that season.

The Champion was also a site for the televised All-Star Golf (later Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf) , two National Left-Handed Golfers Championships and  the LPGA Legends Tour’s Handa Cup team event.

A name change, from DeSoto Lakes to Palm Aire, was made in 1981 and Lee not only designed The Lakes course, which opened the following year, but he also made his first hole-in-one during that course’s opening day.

Sandra Fullmer lives in California, now but the Women’s Western Golf Association gave its top honor – its Woman of Distinction award – to her at the WWGA’s annual meeting on Thursday at Lake Shore Country Club in Glencoe.

Fullmer was selected for the coveted award in 2020 but the annual meeting was canceled because of pandemic concerns.  The WWGA, formed in 1899, made the presentation a year late to  honor a great player who competed against the top LPGA players in some tournaments but remained a life-long amateur. LPGA legend Patty Berg was the first recipient of the Woman of Distinction Award in 1994.

Many of Fullmer’s competitors were on hand for the awards presentation.  She enjoyed a great amateur career, winning the Mexico Amateur four times and also capturing the German and Spanish titles in 1959.  Then she moved to Chicago where she won the Chicago Women’s District title four times in the 1960s.  She also took five Illinois State Senior crowns between 1988 and 1993 and won the WWGA Senior Championship in 1988 and 1989.

Following her best competitive days Fullmer spent over 20 years on the WWGA board of directors, was its president in 2003-04 and chaired both its Women’s Western Amateur and Western Junior.

Fullmer’s father, Percy Clifford, was her instructor as well as being a top player and course designer in Mexico.  Her late husband Paul was the executive director of the American Society of Golf Course Architects for over 35 years. They were long-time Itasca Country Club members.

 

Book reviews were once a regular thing for me, until I realized I hadn’t done one in quite awhile.

It’s not because I haven’t kept up a steady diet of reading on a fairly wide variety of topics. I continued to have a book going at all times,  virtually all of the non-fiction variety, but I didn’t deem any – for whatever reason – worthy of a review.

“Best Seat in the House’’ is different. It was written by Jack Nicklaus II in partnership with Don Yaeger,  a fellow Floridian with a resume that includes significant ties to the New York Times and Sports Illustrated.

In capsule, this is a son’s loving tribute to a father who is both famous and exemplary. “Best Seat in the House’’ is much more than that, however.  It’s a guide to good parenting. It’s a portrait of how an ideally functional family operates. And, it provides good insight into what made a great athlete great.

Jack Nicklaus II was the first-born of the legendary golfer’s five offspring. He was also frequently his father’s caddie, most notably  in the 1986 Masters where the elder Nicklaus, affectionately called the Golden Bear, won the title at age 46. In my nearly 60 years reporting on a wide variety of sports for a variety of publications and websites, this was the most most dramatic of individual victories. No question Jack II had the “Best Seat in the House’’ for that one.

Like his father, Jack II is the father of five. He’s also president of the golf course design company that his father created; a member of the board of directors of Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which has down tremendous things on the charity front; and the chairman of both the Muirfield Village Golf Club and the Memorial Tournament, the PGA Tour event held there annually.

Yes, Jack and Jack II Nicklaus are close – and that’s putting it mildly. What’s it like being the son, and namesake, of Jack Nicklaus?  Jack II knows, and tells it in a most touching way.

I had a hard time putting this 189-page book down. Apparently his father did, too. In the forward to the book, Nicklaus – after reading the manuscript — admitted  “I did not realize what the impact some of our experiences together had meant to him.  I will treasure these words forever.’’

Reflections on big tournament victories were almost incidental in comparison to the father-son interaction when Jack II was growing up and the period of growth for both after the days of PGA Tour glory were winding down.  You’ll find this book – for a lot reasons —  is well worth reading.