• CDGA's date changes will streamline Chicago golf calendar There are two major changes coming to amateur golf in the Chicago area for 2013. Both involve scheduling, and both represent improvements from the way things were. For starters, the Chicago District Golf Assn. made one major schedule change, as well...
• Points should be tired, Streelman well-rest for the Masters Luke Donald is just one of three Illinois players in their year’s Masters field. The other two – Kevin Streelman and D.A. Points – are in the field for the first time since making their tournament debuts in 2011. Streelman (75-74) and Points (72-76) b...
• NOTES: Mom's putter revived Points' career Winfield’s Kevin Streelman wasn’t the only Illinois golfer earning a trip to the Masters in March. D.A. Points, the former University of Illinois golfer, also did it by winning the Shell Houston Open last Sunday. Like Streelman, Points will be makin...
• KICKOFF AT CANTIGNY: Daily Herald columns will start April 3 The Daily Herald joined forces with the staff of the Cantigny Golf Academy in Wheaton to celebrate the start of another Chicago golf season. Following introductions by Eileen Brown, the Herald's director of Innovation and Audience Development, over 80 ...
• Chicago golf publication takes on a new/old name You might notice there’s a new, old golf publication making its debut at the 30th Chicago Golf Show. Sound confusing? Let me explain. Chicago Area Golf was the publication that provided coverage of the Chicago golf scene the last three years. Startin...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Chicago Golf Show is ready to turn 30 The Chicago Golf Show celebrates its 30th anniversary beginning on Friday, and some significance announcements will be made as part of the festivities. For one thing, the Chicago Open will be revived again, this time as a fundraiser for the Illinois Ju...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: A fitting honor for Bill Ogden A golf professional’s job was much different when Bill Ogden ran the shop at North Shore Country Club. Ogden not only could compete at the highest level, but he also was a master at handling the detail work that was required on the job. The Chicago a...
• PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: LPGA introduces International Crown event ORLANDO, FL. – The Ladies PGA Tour is returning to Chicago – but it won’t be until 2016. And then it will be for the staging of an extraordinary new team event. Mike Whan, the LPGA commissioner, highlighted the first day of the 60th PGA Merchandise S...
• PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Tour Edge introduces variable fit driver ORLANDO, FL. – The 60th annual PGA Merchandise Show teed off with a massive Demo Day on Wednesday but Chicago club manufacturer Tour Edge got a jump on the opposition a day early. The Batavia-based company, in its eighth annual Multi-Manufacturers Medi...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: It's Show-time for WGA; IPGA moves Players Championship The Chicago Golf Show will get a big boost for its 30th anniversary staging next month. Rarely has the show, to be held Feb. 22-24 at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, had a presenting sponsor. The last time the Show was so blessed was in 200...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New pros for Medinah, Exmoor; 50th anniversary for Eskimo Open IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New pros for Medinah, Exmoor; Eskimo celebrates 50th anniversary Mike Scully ended a 10-year stint as Medinah Country Club’s director of golf as soon as the Ryder Cup ended. Now the club has selected his replacement. Marty DeAnge...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: `King of Clubs' uncovers piece of Chicago golf history After reading ``King of Clubs: The Great Golf Marathon of 1938’’ I felt there was a message to be delivered about how bad slow play has gotten. Virginia-based sports writing veteran Jim Ducibella recounts the story of J. Smith Ferebee, a Chicago stockb...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Meierdierks, Jeray Q-School successes are in sharp contrast Rarely does a Chicago golfer get through a qualifying school for any of the professional tours. This year, though, two did – and their roads to success couldn’t be much more different. Wilmette’s Eric Meierdierks, a 27-year old with only one PGA s...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Meierdierks, Langley are survivors at PGA's Q-School PGA Tour qualifying school hasn’t been kind to the few Illinois golfers who have tried it over the years, but that wasn’t the case this week. Eric Meierdierks, the 2010 Illinois Open champion from Wilmette, and Scott Langley, the 2010 NCAA champion f...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Mierdierks is on the brink of something big Anybody who follows the golf scene in Illinois should tune in to what happens the next few days in the final stage of the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School at PGA West in California. Wilmette’s Eric Mierdierks, winner of the 2010 Illinois Open at Hawtho...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Changes are coming among Illinois club pros There wasn’t much movement in Chicago’s club professional ranks the past few years, but that’s not the case now. Already five well-established head pros have announced plans to move on. The move creating the most ripple effect was Mike Scully’s departu...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New bunkers have changed Kemper Illinois PGA will have a different challenge if the section decides to keep its first major tourney of 2013 at Kemper Lakes. The club, which hosted the 1989 PGA Championship, the 1992 U.S. Women’s Amateur and several Champions Tour stops before it bec...
• IT ZIEHMS TO ME: A new column to help golfers cope with winter weather I may have felt that a 125-pound 14-year old would have to be teeing it up in the Masters before there was a need for me to write a golf column for primarily Midwest readers in the cold weather months. Oops, now there is such a rare golfer– or at l...
• Western golf groups honor two legends The Western Golf Assn. and the Women’s Western Golf Assn., now in partnership, are honoring two of the greats of the game. The WWGA named Mickey Wright this year’s Woman of Distinction honoree at a luncheon on Thursday at Lake Shore Country Club in Gle...
• Seve and Jose Maria was the best Ryder Cup pairing ever The first big thing that Jose Maria Olazabal, the European Ryder Cup captain, did for team was get his players some special golf bags. All 12 of them arrived at the first tee this week at Medinah with bags emblazoned with the iconic silhouette depicting...
• JUST MY OPINION: Chicago's rich golf history is second to none Go ahead, I dare you! Show me one American city that has a richer golf history than Chicago. I don’t think you can do it. Of course, as a golf writer here for over 40 years, I may be prejudiced. Still, I can’t think of another city with such a broad ...
• Donald's dilemma: local golf hero playing for the wrong team It’s hard to imagine Luke Donald drawing hecklers when the 39th Ryder Cup matches tee off on Friday at Medinah Country Club. But it could happen. A former NCAA champion for Northwestern, Donald has been a class act since establishing residence in Chi...
• Roger Warren is back home -- as U.S. Junior Ryder Cup captain Roger Warren got his start in golf while living in the Chicago area. He went on to big things in the game, and now he’s back. Warren will captain the U.S. in the Junior Ryder Cup competition, which begins at 5 p.m. on Sunday with opening cerem...
• Expanding LPGA Legends Tour will soon have biggest-ever event, Hall of Fame FRENCH LICK, Ind. – For 11 years Jane Blalock has tried to get a senior tour going for the veterans or retirees on the Ladies PGA Tour. Now she’s apparently done it. Blalock, the LPGA’s rookie-of-the-year in 1970 and a 27-time winner on the circuit...
• RYDER CUP: Junior players will play a big part in the festivities The upcoming Ryder Cup is much more than a three-day golf competition between the top touring professionals from the United States and Europe. It also encompasses a load of junior events that the PGA of America hopes will help grow the sport. Medinah Co...
• The wait for the Ryder Cup is almost over It’s getting close now. The biggest event in Chicago’s rich golf history tees off at Medinah Country Club on Sept. 28, but plenty will be going on before then. September will be a month like no other for golf excitement in Chicago. Medinah knows wha...
• Champions Tour stars applaud Augusta National's change Four prominent members of golf’s Champions Tour learned of Augusta National’s decision to admit two women as members just as they were about to announce a new tournament coming to Chicago. All were delighted that the annual site of the Masters tourn...
• Champions Tour is finally returning to Chicago Jeff Sluman showed up at Chicago’s East Bank Club on Monday for the announcement of the return of golf’s Champions Tour to Chicago. The 50-and-over circuit will compete in the $1.8 million Encompass Championship at North Shore Country Club in Glenview nex...
• Roger Warren will be back for Junior Ryder Cup at Olympia Fields The first in a long line of upcoming Ryder Cup announcements is coming up on Aug. 7. That’s when Roger Warren will announce the six boys and six girls on the U.S. team for the Junior Ryder Cup. This is just one of many events surrounding the big show...
• Our `Big Three' is primed for two weeks of big-time golf The ``Big Three’’ was born on Jan. 2, 2012, when three Chicago-based golf websites joined forces to provide different perspectives on the game we love. While we have worked together on an informal basis the past six months, the impact of that ...
• Odyssey's a place for more than just fun golf TINLEY PARK, IL. – At first it seemed a walk down memory lane. I hadn’t been back to the Odyssey Country Club in Chicago’s south suburbs since 1997 – the third and final year the course was used as the site of the Illinois Women’s Open championship. Od...
• Another partner joins LZOG: Hacker's Central Len Ziehm on Golf is today announcing a fourth partnership agreement, this one with the website Hacker’s Central. Based in Minneapolis, this site provides information and rates courses in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsi...
• PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Nicklaus says golf is ``at a crossroads'' ORLANDO, FL. -- The biggest show in golf started on a sobering note Thursday, and it was offered by the game’s greatest player. Jack Nicklaus gave the keynote address as the 59th PGA Merchandise Show opened its three-day run at the Orange Count...
• PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Demo Day delights ORLANDO, FL. -- Getting to the Demo Day kickoff of the 59th PGA Merchandise Show wasn’t easy. There were traffic jams and long lines at the check-in points -- even when the gates opened at the Orange County National Golf Center. The Demo Day was ...
• PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW PREVIEW: Wilson is going belly-up ORLANDO, FL. -- Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods may have the richest heritage in golf. More major championships have been won by players using the company’s irons than any other, the majors number won now at 62 and counting. Still, Wilson won...
• THIS `Big Three' is ready for action This ``Big Three'' may not be anything like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, but we feel we can make a positive impact on golf -- especially in the Chicago area. We are three golf reporters with a combined 102 years of experience cove...
• JUST MY OPINION: Luke Donald has topped them all On Sunday Luke Donald finished third in the Dubai World Championship and became the first golfer to win money titles on both the U.S. and European PIA Tours while holding membership in both. This is something for the history books, and the feat hasn’t ...
• Tourney sites are intriguing for CDGA, WGA The Chicago District Golf Assn. and Western Golf Assn. have made major announcements in their tournament sites just a few days apart. In announcing its tournament slate for 2012 the CDGA revealed that Cantigny, the 27-hole public layout in Wheat...
• Ryder Cup enthusiasm builds Sure, Medinah’s week to host the 39th Ryder Cup is still a year away. Still, the task of getting ready for the biggest team event in golf is a major undertaking. Michael Belot, the tournament director, and five staffers have been working feverishly from ...
• WGA: Why BMW Is Moving The Western Golf Association's decision to move the BMW Championship out of Chicago again wasn't a surprise. After all, the event did very well at Bellerive in St. Louis in 2008 and the PGA Tour players' response to Cog Hill's Dubsdread course during the ...
• Blakeman is back in U.S. Open Just qualifying for the U.S. Open is a big deal. This year 8,300 tried, and only 156 will tee off in the first round on Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. One of them will be Bennett Blakeman, who isn’t exactly a household name in go...
• Injury mars Affrunti's rookie PGA season Surviving a rookie season on the PGA Tour is hard enough, but for Crystal Lake’s Joe Affrunti went through a nightmare in his first four months on golf’s premier circuit. Affrunti qualified for his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 on th...
• Beyond the Fairways: Rich Flores' road to recovery Rich Flores wanted to be a touring golf pro, and was --for awhile. He even played in a couple PGA Tour events in the early 1980s. Flores’ calling, though, proved to be in teaching the game. He did that very well as director of instruction at both Pheas...
• Ryder Cup: Love Visits Medinah Davis Love III's selection as the 27th U.S. Ryder Cup captain on Thursday was no surprise, but he wasn't ready for all the questions he faced during his introduction at Medinah Country Club. Medinah, which has already hosted three U.S. Opens as well as...
• Mistwood: McWethy's Renovation Is Underway Jim McWethy's decision to completely revamp his Mistwood golf course in Romeoville, IL. wasn't an easy one. Despite these trying economic times, McWethy opted to renovate what was already a respected course, add a spiffy new learning center and build a ne...
• PGA: Donald Joins Chicago Win Circle First it was Elmhurst's Mark Wilson winning two of the first three full-field events of the PGA Tour season. Then it was University of Illinois alum D.A. Points capturing the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Now still another local golfer has come t...
• JDC Preview: Stage Is Set For Stricker Three-Peat Rarely does a golfer have a chance to make history -- really significant history -- in a specific tournament. Steve Stricker has that opportunity when the John Deere Classic comes to TPC at John Deere Run in Silvis. Stricker won the JDC in 2009 and 201...
• Good Things Started With Wilson Could Illinois suddenly be emerging as a hotbed for PGA Tour players? That seems unlikely, but look what happened in the first few weeks of the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour seasons. Mark Wilson, an Elmhurst resident, won the Sony Open in Hawaii in the ...
• Western Amateur: A Peek At The Future? Now it's North Shore's turn. The Western Golf Assn. is now in the third year of its new policy of playing its Western Amateur championship at Chicago courses. After a 28-year run at Michigan's Point O' Woods the WGA took the Western Am to Conway Farms,...