With Cheryl Justak, publisher of Golf Now! Chicago.
Hitting from the right field bleachers at Wrigley Field to a target green in a hole-in-one contest that promoted the 2011 BMW Championship at Cog Hill.
With radio veteran Rory Spears, fellow columnist with Chicago Area Golf.
With Mike Hill, leading money-winner and co-player-of-the-year on the Champions Tour in 1991.
With Kemper Sports president Josh Lesnik on the opening of Hawthorn Woods Country Club.
With Bruce Crampton, a former Ameritech Senior Open champion.
With tennis great Jimmy Connors in the 1990s.
With the legendary Chick Evans in the early 1970s.
With Cog Hill leaders Frank and Katherine Jemsek
Flanked by Val Russell, Chicagoland Golf publisher, and Mike Munro, long-timeowner of the White Pines Golf Dome and now associate publisher of Chicagoland Golf.
With the Cronins: Tim (left), long-time golf writer for the Daily Southtown, has authored several books on Chicago golf history while Barry, a former Sun-Times teammate, is media relations director of the John Deere Classic.
With Tim Clarke, general manager of Wilson’s golf division.
With Frank Klopas, head coach of the Chicago Fire.
With Duncan Millar, executive director of Alabama’s Golf GulfShores.
With Jimmy Pursell (center) and Chuck Ocheltree (right), the owner and general manager of FarmLinks at Alabama’s Purcell Farms.
With Black Sheep owner Vince Solano (left) and media relations guru Barry Cronin.
With Joy and Bob Griffioen, owner of Island Hills — one of my favorite Michigan courses.
With Kevin Frisch of Fusion Media and long-time Detroit golf writing buddy Vartan Kupelian.
With Joe Steranka, soon to retire as executive director of PGA of America.
With Michael Miller executive director of the Illinois PGA.
With Gary Holaway, vice president of communications for the Western Golf Assn.
With Joe Aguilar, sportswriting teammate at the Daily Herald.
With LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley
With Old Kinderhook’s Paul Hannigan.
With Herb Gould, former Sun-Times teammate and long-time golf partner.
With Mike Spellman, my golf partner at the Daily Herald
Guess who won the closest-to-the-pin contest (nearly with a hole-in-one) at the 16th hole at TPC Deere Run during the 2013 John Deere Classic media outing?
How close was it? This scene, with the Rock River in the background, shows it was just four inches BEHIND the cup.
Interviewing architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. at Erin Hills.
With Judith Coleman, long-time PGA Tour staffer.
Blackhawks or Fire? Which bobble-head looks most like Len Ziehm? (I think the Fire one).
With Gary D’Amato, long-time golf writer for the Milwuakee Journal Sentinel and captain of Team Wisconsin the annual Writers Cup.
With former U.S. Solheim Cup captain Beth Daniel at LPGA Legends’ Handa Cup in Nashville.
With Kinderlou Forest’s Bob Spence (left) and John Langdale.
With veteran Michigan and Florida club professional Doug Main at St. Lucia River Club.
With Dave Lockhart, the veteran Chicago golf TV producer.
With LPGA vice president Kelly Hyne (left) and long-time staffer Carol Kilian at LPGA headquarters.
Interviewing famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr.
With Jason Mengel, tournament director of the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
With Tim Moskalic, vice president of Michigan’s Yarrow Golf & Conference Resort.
With retiring general manager Janet Dobson and former Kemper Lakes director of golf Emil Esposito at Payne Stewart tribute.
The walls of Kemper Lakes can stir great memories of the exciting tournaments played there.
Only two people who attended the first media event at Cantigny were on hand for the 25th anniversary version. The one on the right is general manager Mike Nass.
It’s nice to be featured on a promotional billboard at Cantigny.
With Erin Strieck, former head pro at Eagle Ridge and Fyre Lake and now at Iowa’s Spirit Hollow.
With Jane Blalock, CEO and Hall of Famer on LPGA Legends Tour.
With French Lick’s Brendan Sweeney.
With Terry Carlson, head professional at Michigan’s True North.
With Mary Doyle, marketing director at Sea Pines.
With my “buddies” — Pinehurst creators Donald Ross (left) and Richard Tufts.
With Tour Edge’s long drive specialist Maurice Allen.
With Dave Weretka, publisher of Golf Chicago magazine.
With Chris King of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.
Even Tom Lehman couldn’t help me replicate his winning putt from the 2014 Encompass Championship.
With Mark Slaby, founder of Medinah Patriot Day.
Flanked by Tom Johnston and Craig DeVrieze, veteran scribes in the Golf Capitol of Illinois.
Tackling The Brute with Grand Geneva head professional Kyle Kunash
Celebrating with Greg Babinec, the pro at Michigan’s Crystal Mountain, after watching Greg shoot 66 on the Montain Ridge course there.
Checking out the under-construction Tom Doak course at Michigan’s Forest Dunes with general manager Todd Campbell.
Joining general manager Bob Summers and one of his Manitou Passage staff members — a former Miss North Dakota.
With Lynn Berry, director of communications for ExploreBranson.
Celebrating at the Illinois Women’s Open Pro-Am with Mistwood director of marketing Dan Phillips.
With Daily Herald publisher Doug Ray after a tournament we — wrongly — thought we had won.
With (I predict) future LPGA star Ember Schuldt after IWO Pro-Am.
With Greg Kosin and Diane Daugherty, first champion of the Illinois Women’s Open.
Interviewing youngest-ever Illinois Women’s Open champion, 15-year old Madasyn Pettersen.
With course architect Dave Esler as he unveiled his re-design of Mount Prospect’s course.
Big Three partner Tim Cronin caught me in a weak moment during the sneak preview of Mount Prospect’s renovated course.
Checking out Sand Valley with project manager Michael Keiser Jr.
With David Ogrin, pride of Bonnie Brook, champion of the 2011 Texas Open and now director of instruction for Top Golf San Antonio.
Celebrating another McWethy Cup with Mistwood owner Jim McWethy.
With Matt Allen, general manager of Chambers Bay.
With Amy Johnson, who showed us the spots to see in Carmel.
With Barry “the Hawk” — our most knowledgeable guide at La Costa.
Ian Lawrence, founder of The 19th Hole Magazine, was a playing partner in the re-launching of the Links Course at Wild Dunes.
Frank Fredricks, the managing director at Wild Dunes, turned out to be a Park Ridge native.
Jeff Minton, director of golf at Wild Dunes, and I had a lot to talk about.
George Bryan, the man behind Mossy Oaks, is making me a Mississippi State fan.
Bud Beucher was a terrific host during our stay at Mission Inn.
Ramona Hurley has been my link to Bay Hill, Innisbrook and some other great golf destinations.
USGA board member Sheila Johnson has turned Innisbrook into one of world’s finest golf destinations.
Golf course architect Roger Packard designed Cantigny in the late 1980s, and I played with his father Larry at that course’s grand opening. Roger and I hooked up again in 2015 at Innisbrook.
With PGA Magazine buddies Tony Starks and Abe Summers at the PGA Merchandise Show’s Demo Day.
Learning about the World Amateur at Myrtle Beach from tournament coordinator Scott Tomasello.
Noted North Carolina author Lee Pace, who has written about all things Pinehurst, joined me in getting an introduction to GolfBoards at Pine Needles.
Mike Phillips provided me an introduction to both Pinehurst National and the GolfBoard at Pine Needles.
With Wawashkamo head pro Chuck Olson after learning what it’s like to play a course that’s virtually unchanged since 1898.
With WGN’s Dan Roan, one of Chicago golf’s biggest supporters on the broadcast side.
Daniel and I were partners in the CDGA’s Play with a Pro Day –a very special event at Hawthorn Woods Country Club.
With Reagan Davis, Eagle Ridge’s director of golf.
Patrick Bloom, first assistant professional at Forest Dunes, gave us our first tour of The Loop course.
Frank Bassett is my buddy from Golf Talk America.
With USGA media staff leaders Janeen Driscoll and Pete Kowalski at Erin Hills.
Ed Stevenson, director of golf for DuPage Forest Preserve District, was in the midst of the renovation at Oak Meadows.
Don Holton is the historian extraordinaire at Exmoor Country Club.
Joy and I were dynamite in Nine N Dines in 2016, winning low net at Cantigny and low gross in our first event at The Legacy.
Most appreciated recognition in the 24th International Network of Golf’s Media Awards at the 2017 PGA Merchandise Show.
With Furman golfer Alice Chen after her win in the Central District Invitational.
With Jim Sobb, fellow Palatine High alum, director of golf at Ivanhoe and now my golf-writing partner at the Daily Herald.
Celebrating another Pine Hollow Open with event founder Bruce Swanson, who has organized the fun nine-hole tourney in Downers Grove for over four decades.
Getting ready for the first Senior LPGA Championship with Winnetka’s Allison Finney.
With Legends Tour photographer Rick Sharp, one of the more colorful guys I’ve worked with over the years.
With Daily Herald publisher Doug Ray, a great friend to golf in the Chicago area.
Dave Daubert, editor of eSouthernGOLF.com, and I made the rounds at the Daytona International Speedway.
International Network of Golf executive director Mike Jamison helped me celebrate at the Media Awards presentation in 2018.
Tony Leodora won for Best TV Show for the third straight year at the 2018 ING Media Awards.
Adam Hadwin, winner of the 2017 Valspar Championship, also is one of the few player to shoot 59 on the PGA Tour.
I’ve covered Lance Ten Broeck in tournament play over a 44-year span.
Peter and Theresa Enzinger were fun playing partners at Hammock Creek in Florida. Peter is president of the Austria Golf Association.
Andy Mears of First Tee of Chicago was a happy guy at the 28th ING Spring Conference.
Steve Friedlander filled us in on all the exciting new developments at Big Cedar Lodge.
Up close and personal with former Masters champion Mike Weir at the Rust-Oleum Championship.
At least one of my tweets got some TV exposure.
Michigan architect Paul Albanese designed three beauties — Sweetgrass, Tatanka and Sage Run.
Twenty-eight years earlier Martha Nause scored a dramatic win in the Chicago Sun-Times Shootout.
Helping Nicole Jeray get ready for another Senior LPGA Championship.
Participating in Wilson’s Driver vs. Driver 2 TV series was a highlight of the 2018 season.
On a Pam Fam in Louisiana with Pam Shaheen and Will Precht.
You have to look closely to appreciate this one. We’re interviewing Anthony Holder, the director of golf at Horseshoe Bay. Thanks to a reflection we photo bomb Anthony.
Reminiscing with Karrie Webb 19 years after she won the U.S. Women’s Open at Merit Club.
With Mike Scully, our man at Medinah, Desert Mountain and now Reynolds Lake Oconee.
Wyndham Championship director Mark Brazil has the only annual PGA Tour event played on a Donald Ross-designed course.
Former PGA Club Pro champion Chip Sullivan is the new GM at Royal New Kent.
with budding star Nick Hardy after another strong showing in the Illinois Open.
With French Lick’s Brendan Sweeney.
Fred Altvater is publisher of the Ohio Golf Journal and is host of Back 9 Report.
