Author: lenz

Encompass tourney gets the spotlight at Chicago Golf Show

The only pro golf tour event in Chicago in 2014 will also headline the 31st Chicago Golf Show.

The Encompass Championship, which made its Chicago debut on the Champions Tour in 2013, will be the presenting sponsor of the winter attraction that begins a three-day run at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont on Friday (FEB 21).

Jeff Sluman, the Champions Tour veteran from Hinsdale, will become the fourth former major champion to appear at the show, following John Daly (2008), Craig Stadler (2012) and Lanny Wadkins (2013). Sluman won the 1988 PGA Championship. Stadler was the champion in last year’s Encompass Championship at North Shore in Glenview. The Encompass Championship returns to North Shore from June 16-22.

Bears’ stars Robbie Gould and Patrick Mannelly and Northwestern men’s basketball coach Chris Collins will also make appearances on the Main Stage at the show, and 10 Illinois PGA representatives will offer instruction tips.

The over 400 exhibitor booths include representatives from 80 domestic and international travel destinations. Visitors can also receive half-price tickets to this year’s Encompass Championship and a pass to play one of the 11 Chicago courses managed by GolfVisions as part of their attendance at the show.

Show hours are noon-7 p.m. on Friday (FEB 21), 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday (FEB 22) and 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday (FEB 23).

Luke update

Former world No. 1 and Northwestern great Luke Donald has changed management companies. He left International Management Group to join Lagardiere Unlimited.

Donald will now be represented by Steve Loy, who is also Phil Mickelson’s agent. Lagardere represents 45 PGA Tour players, easily the most of any agency according to Sports Business Daily.

Here and there

The Western Golf Assn. has decided to take its Western Amateur back to Point O’Woods, the tourney’s long-time Michigan home, in 2019. Point O’Woods hosted the premier amateur event 40 times between 1963 and 2008 and winners there included Tiger Woods, Mickelson, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange and Tom Weiskopf.

Mistwood, in Romeoville, was a big winner after its massive remodeling effort. Golf magazine tabbed the course as its Renovation of the Year for 2013 and Golf Range magazine placed the new Mistwood Performance Center among the top 50 ranges in the U.S.

Jay Casaletto, the former head pro at Royal Melbourne in Long Grove, will serve as Chicago tour director for Golf Channel’s Amateur Tour this season.

Billy Casper Golf has taken over management of Rob Roy, the Prospect Heights nine-holer.

Metamora Fields, site of the fourth and last of the Illinois PGA’s four major tourneys, has a new head professional in Dion Hoegh. Erin Strieck, the head professional for 13 years at Eagle Ridge in Galena, has moved to Iowa’s Spirit Lake course.

Jeff Perdew, general manager of Chicago Highlands in Westchester, has been elected to a three-year term on the Illinois PGA board of directors. Trey Van Dyke, Oak Brook’s head pro, is now the Midwest representative on the PGA of America’s board of control

KemperSports ready to take charge at Cantigny

February is again show-time for Chicago golfers. The third annual Tinley Park Golf Expo begins a three-day run on Friday (FEB 7) at the Tinley Park Convention Center and the 31st Chicago Golf Show takes over the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont on Feb. 21 for a similar three-day run.

In the meantime, though, there has been a lot going on within the Chicago golf scene even during these extraordinary winter months. Most notable is a management change at Cantigny, the well-regarded 27-hole facility in Wheaton

Northbrook-based KemperSports will take on management duties in mid-February, leading in to Cantigny 25th anniversary season. Cantigny becomes the 16th Chicago golf facility under the management of KemperSports.

The takeover triggers the start of a bus year for Cantigny. The facility will host the Illinois State Amateur for the fourth time and also welcome the Chicago Open for the second straight year.

Changes in the pro shop

Dick Wagley, named the Illinois PGA Professional of the Year in 2013, has announced his retirement at Indian Hill in Winnetka and Jay Casaletto, the head professional at Royal Melbourne in Long Grove, decided to leave the golf business.

Their departures at two of the area’s most prominent private clubs led to replacements being named at both places. Wes Warren replaces Wagley and Brad McMillan takes over at Royal Melbourne. Neither are newcomers to Chicago golf.

Warren spent the last nine seasons as head professional at North Shore Country Club in Mequon, Wis., but he was an assistant at Onwentsia in Lake Forest form 1999-2003 and Indian Hill (2004) before moving to Wisconsin.

McMillan was named director of golf at Royal Melbourne. He had been general manager at Turnberry, in Lakewood, from 2010-13.

Riverside, Evanston selected

The Western Golf Assn. has picked host clubs for two of its upcoming Junior championships. The Western Junior will be held at Riverside, in North Riverside, in 2015 and Evanston Golf Club, in Skokie, in 2018.

Flossmoor will host this year, from June 16-20, and Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, will be the site in 2017. The WGA hasn’t named a site for the 2016 Western Junior yet.

Riverside and Evanston will host the prestigious tourney for the first time. Both were among the 11 charter members of the WGA when it was established in 1899. Only seven of the charter clubs still exist.

Remember Packard

Larry Packard, a long-time Chicago course designer and former president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, has died in Tarpon Springs, FL. He was 101.

Packard’s Chicago creations include Palatine Hills, Lake Barrington Shores, Elgin Country Club and Silve Lake in Orland Park. His work nation-wide was highlighted by the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort in Florida, where he resided in recent years.

Copperhead has been a PGA Tour site, as home of the the event known in various years as the Tampa Bay Championship, Transitions Championship and – this year – the Valspar Championship. Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman won his first PGA title at the tourney last year.

Packard’s son Roger is also a course architect. His most prominent design is Cantigny, in Wheaton.

New putters highlighted this PGA Merchandise Show

ORLANDO, FL. – The 61st PGA Merchandise Show was just all the previous 60 such stagings. All the latest and greatest products for golfers were on display at the Orange County Convention Center.

This year, though, there seemed to be an abundance of unusual new putters.

The one that got the most attention was Veritas Golf’s Cure RX2, and that was due largely to one member of its design team. Deane Beman, the long-time commissioner of the PGA Tour (the man in charge prior to Tim Finchem) joined forces with designer Steve Davis on this one.

This is what you see when you line up a putt with the new Veritas putters.

Veritas, based in Flagler Beach, FL., isn’t a new putter manufacturer. Beman, in fact, says the company produces “the most technologically advanced putters ever made.’’

This new one, though, is billed by the company as “completely customizable to every golfer.’’ The putter, coupled with Beman’s publicized involvement, led to a big turnout at the Veritas booth. Those showing up even included Donald Trump.

Beman and The Donald were by no means the whole show in the putting department.

A French company, Argolf, made its first appearance at the big show after its clubs were well-received overseas. Argolf is run by brothers Sebastian and Oliver Colas and its models are named after the Celtic legend of Arthur – Merlin, Morgane and Lancelot.

RadiusRoll, from Lockport, IL., put its blades on display. They employ what the manufactures calls “PureStrike Instant Roll Technology – No Hop, No Skid, No Excuses.’’

Tru-Roll, out of the Canadian city of Calgary, showed off a round face putter also designed to “eliminate skidding’’ with the added benefit of “dramatically improved distance control.’’

Another Canadian company, Innovations Golf from Vancouver, introduced its ClearBlade and ClearBall putters. Both included clubhead features to help in alignment and the best-known endorser of the product was one who missed a big putt.

“If I was playing with the ClearBall putter I would have made that putt on the last hole of the British Open in 1970 to win,’’ stated Doug Sanders.

Another foreign-produced putter, Stonesplendor, was created in South Korea. It’s hand-made out of black stone. Whether it makes for a better putter or not, I don’t know, but the company reports that “the iron content therein is much higher than other kinds of gemstone.

What’s in a name? Well, Triple `P’ Putters claim the three Ps are for “Perfect Putter Performance.’’ The New Jersey manufacturer claims its blades offer “the widest range of weighting options on the market today.’’ There are 12 different weight options, five putter head styles, 16 shaft positions and 14 different putter head finishes.

The company says it produces “the right putter for every condition, which will suit every players needs.’’ Getting all those options right in the same putter, though, doesn’t seem easy, does it?

I got the biggest kick out of the L2 Traditional Putter (pictured above). It’s the heaviest putter I’ve ever tested and comes with a disclaimer: “This putter is not for everyone, only those players who wish to improve their overall putting skills.’’

An average putter measures less than five inches from toe to heel and weighs less than 380 grams, according to John Ambrose, the Ohio-based designer of the L2 Traditional. His putter measures 6 ¼ inches and weighs 620 grams. It’ll stand by itself and its heft reduces the wristiness that plagues many golfers. And, the putter comes with the most understandable slogan: “It’s worth the weight.”

“This big putter gives golfers the smooth steady stability of anchor putting without the need to anchor,’’ said Ambrose. “It’s doing for putting what big headed drivers did for driving.’’

Obviously, the best putter is the one that makes the most putts for you. I hope you find it.

PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW: Tour Edge is quick to unveil its latest Exotics

ORLANDO, FL. – It’s become a tradition now. For the ninth straight year David Glod, president of Batavia-based Tour Edge, has gotten a jump on his club manufacturing rivals at the massive 61st annual PGA Merchandise Show.

The biggest show in golf begins a three-day run at the Orange County Convention Center on Wednesday with over 1,000 golf companies and brands and over 40,000 industry professionals from around the world displaying their wares. Over 20 Chicago area companies will have a big presence.

Tour Edge president David Glod unveils his new Exotics prior to the PGA Merchandise Show.

Glod introduced Tour Edge’s latest Exotics line of clubs to a select media contingent a day ahead of the show. Glod, who came out of the club pro ranks to found Tour Edge in 1987, considers his well-respected company as “the little clubmaker that could’’ and it’s become especially well-known for its fairway woods.

“We start with a manufacturing base, which is different than the bigger companies. We’re using better, more expensive materials that are harder to get,’’ said Glod. “That clearly puts us in a different category. We’re ahead of the game.’’

Fairway woods are again a highlight of the Exotics line, headed by the $500 CD Pro model.

“It’s a crazy, crazy fairway wood,’’ said Glod. “It’s so exciting. The first time we brought it on tour we won. Chris Kirk (at last fall’s McGladrey Championship on the PGA Tour) won with it.’’

Tour Edge doesn’t use tour players to endorse its equipment, but Wilson Sporting Goods, based in River Grove and celebrating its centennial in 2014, does. Wilson is using the show to make endorsement news in addition to launching modern renditions of three of its lines.

Wilson added German Marcel Siem, who has three victories on the European PGA Tour, to its staff and re-signed American PGA tourist Ricky Barnes. Wilson already had major tour winners Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie and up-and-coming Kevin Streelman of Wheaton as endorsees of its clubs.

Angelo Papadourakis, president and chief executive officer of North Barrington-based NewSpin Golf, is also expected to make an impact with his SwingSmart – an innovative golf swing analyzer. It recently won Golf magazine/s Techy Award in the training aid category.

KemperSports, the Northbrook-based golf management company, opened a new 216-room centerpiece lodge at the nearby Streamsong Resort as a prelude to the big show. Streamsong’s Red and Blue courses opened last year to rave reviews. The lodge includes three restaurants.

Streamsong, built on a natural 16,000 acres, has world-class bass fishing, a sporting clays facility and spa in addition to the courses, one of which was designed by Tom Doak and the other by the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

Colorful tee boxes are a feature at the renovated Winter Haven course.
Country Club of Winter Haven, on the outskirts of Orlando, also unveiled its renovated course prior to showtime. The renovation was a combined effort by architects Rees Jones and Bill Bergin. Jones completed two major Chicago renovations in the last few years – at Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course in Lemont and Medinah’s No. 3 layout.

Winter Haven’s is an even more massive renovation. The private course, formerly known as the Lake Region Yacht & Country Club, was taken over by a group of members. It was lengthened by 500 yards in the renovation and the clubhouse, driving range and cart barn will also be replaced soon.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: LPGA Legends deserve a U.S. Women’s Senior Open

Jan Stephenson (left) set off a big celebration for the World Team when her birdie putt on the last hole clinched their first win in nine tries against Team USA last year at Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn. The dramatic competition was a highlight of the Legends’ 13th season.
The LPGA Legends Tour announced its schedule for 2014 last week, and it’s good one. This circuit for players 45 and over continued its slow but steady growth and created more attractive dates for its biggest championship.

Still, the circuit has a glaring absence on the slate for its 14th season. The Legends – with players like Nancy Lopez, Joanne Carner, Jan Stephenson, Rosie Jones, Pat Bradley and Beth Daniel who have done so much for the growth of women’s golf throughout their careers — still don’t have a U.S. Open.

The U.S. Golf Assn. has a women’s equivalent for all its other individual national championships – Open, Amateur, Junior, Mid-Amateur, Senior Amateur – but there’s no U.S. Senior Women’s Open. The men’s U.S. Senior Open made its debut in 1980.

Hopefully the women’s version is just a year away, because the USGA has the money now, thanks to a new 12-year TV contract that will increase annual revenues from $37 million to $93 million. Money may have been a problem in the past, and so may have been a shortage of qualified women players in the 45-plus age group.

That’s no longer the case, and among the early proponents for U.S. Senior Women’s Open is David Fay, the for USGA executive director. He suggested a 2015 U.S. Senior Women’s Open to debut in May, 2015. It’d have the best of the Legends Tour competing against the best amateurs.

As for the Legends of 2014, their tournament schedule calls for a return to six venues from 2013 and visits to two new ones. Plus, the biggest event, the Legends Championship presented by Humana, is moving into prime August dates after making its debut in late September last year.

The Legends Championship, again the only 54-hole stop on the schedule, got off to a rousing start at French Lick in Indiana, with the Alice Dye Invitational for amateur starting off a big week to celebrate women’s golf. Last year a Legends Hall of Fame was created at French Lick, and it’ll be formally unveiled during this year’s Aug. 13-17 event. The Legends Championship will again have the biggest purse ($500,000) and most players (60), with Canadian Lorie Kane going in as the defending champion.

The return of the Legends comes after a monumental 2013 season for French Lick. U.S. News and World Report ranked its West Baden Springs Hotel as the best hotel in Indiana, among the top 10 in the Midwest and in the Top 50 Hotel Spas in the U.S. Conde Nast Travelers tabbed West Baden No. 31 among its Top 50 Hotel Spas and GolfWeek ranked French Lick’s Pete Dye Course No. 27 and its Donald Ross layout No. 48 among its Top 100 Best Resort Courses.

French Lick’s second Legends Championship competition will conclude a two-week stay for the circuit in the Midwest. The Wendy’s Charity Challenge will be played at Michigan’s Country Club of Jackson the previous week.

The season, which begins with the May 1-4 Walgreen’s Charity Classic in Arizona, will include two major site changes. The Handa Cup team event will move from Hermitage, in Nashville, Tenn., to Old Waverly, in Mississippi. Old Waverly was the site of the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open, won by Juli Inkster.

In another site change, the Walgreen’s Charity Championship will switch Florida venues on Nov. 6-9, being played this time at Seagate at The Hamlet in Delray Beach. It was held WHERE in 2013.

The Legends Tour played for over $11 million in prize money in its first 13 seasons and raised over $14 million for charity.

Fitzpatrick’s stay at NU didn’t last long

Northwestern men’s golf coach Pat Goss labeled Matt Fitzpatrick as “our most high-profile recruit since Luke Donald.’’ Unfortunately for NU, Fitzpatrick’s stay in Evanston didn’t last long.

Fitzpatrick, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, withdrew from the school on Thursday to pursue more playing opportunities as an amateur in his native England.

As U.S. Amateur titlist Fitzpatrick has invitations to this year’s Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in addition to the top amateur event world-wide. Playing a full schedule of these competitions while remaining a full-time student would have been difficult.

“Based on the opportunities I have right now from a golf perspective I feel it’s important to dedicate 100 percent of my time to the game,’’ Fitzgerald said in a statement released by NU.

Fitzgerald played in five fall tournaments for the Wildcats. He was second on the team with a 71.63 scoring average and was co-medalist at Duke’s Rod Myers Intercollegiate. He also finished third in NU’s Windon Memorial.

Goss understood Fitzgerald’s decision. “He has an incredible future ahead of him,’’ said Goss. “We wish him nothing but the best in his career.’’

Like father, like son

Winnetka resident Dennis O’Keefe, a Western Golf Assn. board member since 1992, has been elected the WGA’s chairman. His father Jim was the WGA chairman in 1955-56.

O’Keefe, president of a Lake Forest law firm, succeeds Jim Bunch of Denver as WGA chairman. O’Keefe is a member of the Glen View Club in the Chicago area as well as three other clubs in Florida.

Based in north suburban Golf, the WGA conducts the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, the Western Amateur and the Western Junior while raising funds for its Evans Scholarship program for college-bound caddies.

Here and there

Two new indoor teaching facilities – The Golf Academy at Terra Cotta in Crystal Lake and Catalyst Golf Performance in Lincoln Park — have opened recently.

The Illinois PGA announced its 2014 tournament schedule this week with a notable change in the site of August’s IPGA Championship. The section’s third major tourney of the season will be back at Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake instead of going to Medinah No. 1. The tourney has a three-course rotation, but Medinah No. 1 was renovated last year and it won’t return to the tourney rotation until 2015.

Chicago’s Mike Keiser has decided on the architects for his first course at Sand Valley in Wisconsin. The team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore will design the first 18 of Keiser’s latest project. His multi-course Bandon Dunes in Oregon has received rave reviews.

The Illinois PGA will offer free lesson programs from 5-9 p.m. this Friday and again on Jan. 17 at the White Pines Golf Dome, in Bensenville. Links & Tees, in Addison, will hold an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Sainz, Pope, India earn Web.com Tour spots

By Len Ziehm

The Chicago area will have three new players competing on a major pro golf tour in 2014. Carlos Sainz Jr., Andy Pope and Vince India all advanced through the rigorous Web.com Tour qualifying school this week.

With the PGA Tour revamping its qualifying procedure, its satellite Web.com circuit claimed the survivors of the three-tiered Q-School for its 2014 season. Sainz, from Elgin; Pope (Glen Ellyn) and India (Deerfield) advanced through two 72-hole fall preliminary competitions and then got through the toughest of test them all – a 90-hole marathon at PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif.

Sainz did the best of the trio, finishing in 10th place among the 152 starters after a sizzling 63 in the final round that included five straight birdies on the back nine. The former Mississippi State player was 20 under par for the 90 holes, 11 strokes behind winner Zack Fischer.

The strong Q-School showing culminated an encouraging second half of 2013 for Sainz. He won The Players Cup on the PGA’s Canadian Tour a week before tying for second in the Illinois Open at The Glen Club in Glenview.

Sainz lost the Illinois Open title in a playoff to Joe Kinney but rebounded with a victory in the revived Chicago Open at Cantigny, in Wheaton, in October.

Pope, who played collegiately at Xavier, finished a stroke behind Sainz at Q-School and that will make his Web.com Tour start more difficult. The top 10 carry exempt status through the 12th tournament, those finishing 11-45 are exempt only through eight. Their playing status is adjusted based on their results.

India, who played collegiately at Iowa, tied for 42nd at Q-School with – among others – Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson. The Web.com Tour, formerly known as the Ben Hogan, Nike and Nationwide circuits, had an annual stop at The Glen Club for seven years but it was discontinued after the 2007 event. The 2014-15 Web.com seasons begins Feb. 6 in Panama.

Affrunti, Meierdierks in limbo

Crystal Lake’s Joe Affrunti and Wilmette’s Eric Meierdierks began 2013 with playing status on the PGA Tour. After failing to meeting money-winner requirements both may have trouble getting into the big money tournaments in 2014.

Affrunti, recovering from major shoulder surgery, made the cut in three of five PGA Tour events and six of 12 Web.com events, losing a playoff for the title in the United Leasing Championship – an Indiana stop on the satellite tour. He’ll begin 2014 with limited Web.com status thanks to the terms of a medical exemption.

Meierdierks made the cut in four of 19 PGA Tour appearances and didn’t survive the second stage of the Q-School. Both Affrunti and Meierdierks were champions of both the Chicago District Amateur and Illinois Open before testing themselves as tour players.

Did you know?

The BMW Championship, staged for the first time at Conway Farms in Lake Forest in September, was named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year for the second straight season.

Mistwood, a Ray Hearn-designed public course in Romeoville, was selected as Renovation of the Year by Golf Magazine. Hearn also won that award for his work at Flossmoor Country Club in 2009.

Brad Hisel has been named general manager at Bull Valley in Woodstock, and Scott Rowe has been named to the Northwestern Sports Hall of Fame. He starred for the Wildcats’ golf team from 1993-97.

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL.: Kemper alum Hahn is part of World Golf Village’s rebranding

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL. – Jim Hahn spent nearly 30 years with Northbrook-based KemperSports, leading the management efforts of all the Chicago Park District golf courses as well as suburban layouts Waters Edge, in Worth, and Rob Roy, in Prospect Heights. He worked with Kemper facilities in other parts of the country as well.

Now the former Libertyville resident remains in golf, but with a far different facility than those he guided for Kemper.

Hahn (pictured below) took over general manager duties at the two courses at World Golf Village, an iconic links destination that also includes the World Golf Hall of Fame. He’s been at World Golf Village for a year, since leaving his last Kemper post at Cape Fear National in Wilmington, N.C.

World Golf Village, which opened in 1998, has undergone some changes and is gradually rebranding itself as a place offering more than golf. Now it’s going by the name Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Convention Center. The resort and accompanying residential community is spread over 6,300 acres.

“It’s a true resort, though it hadn’t been talked about that way,’’ said Hahn. “It’s not just two golf courses you can play. We’re trying to create the atmosphere of a resort. That means you can stay and do a variety of things as opposed to just golf.’’

In addition to the King & Bear and Slammer & Squire golf courses and the elaborate Hall of Fame, World Golf Village includes a recently renovated Renaissance Hotel, one of the largest (300 seats) IMAX theaters in Florida, PGA Tour Golf Academy and a state-of-the-art spa all just a few miles from the heart of historic St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S.

The resort concept was initiated by Jeffrey Oliasami after he took over as general manager of the Renaissance shortly before Hahn ‘s arrival.

All the components of a resort are there, but they have private owners. Honours Golf, based in Birmingham, Ala., owns the two courses. Marriott owns the hotel. The Hall of Fame is owned by its own association. BlueGreen has time shares available. The Murray brothers’ Caddie Shack bar-restaurant and the convention center are also part of the package.

“Having separate owners has been a little challenging in the past, but the last couple years we’ve tried to promote ourselves as one resort,’’ said Hahn. “The Rennaisance has been great about this. Jeffrey Oliasami lives and breathes the belief that we’ve got to be part of the same resort to be successful, He believed strongly in the resort visions, and everybody has embraced it. If the resort can be successful, we’ll all be successful.’’

There is one reminder of the tough times World Golf Village went through prior to the rebranding. A series of retail shops are vacant, probably because they’re too far off I-95 to attract shoppers who aren’t staying on the property.

Otherwise, though, things are on the upswing – especially at the two very unique courses. Both opened about 10 years ago and had interesting creative concepts.

The Slammer & Squire honors legendary players Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen. Bobby Weed designed the sporty course, which is on the short side compared to The King & The Bear. The only course co-designed by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, it’s the more challenging layout.

The finishing hole at the Slammer and Squire course sets the tone for World Golf Village.

Honours Golf took over both layouts long before the economic downturn of the last few years. Honours owns about half of the 15 courses it operates in the southeastern United. States. Primary owners are Bob Barrett and Rob Schultz. Barrett had been an assistant professional at Augusta National and head pro at Quail Hollow – both sites of PGA Tour events. He was also involved in the start of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama.

Both the World Golf Village courses are well-conditioned, and improvements were recently made at the Slammer & Squire clubhouse. They’ve been vying for golfers with a variety of nearby courses while resort business picks up.

“They’re not where they used to be five years ago, but nobody is,’’ said Hahn. “But these courses are doing fine. They took a dip, but they’re still very profitable properties, both of them.’’

A goal for the golf operation is to bring back more resort play – a challenge with the famed Pete Dye-designed TPC Sawgrass just a few miles away. Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship, has one of golf’s most famous holes. Its par-3 17th has an island green that alone is an enticement for visitors. Sawgrass recently boosted its fees over $400 per round.

“ From a resort perspective, that’s our competition,’’ said Hahn, “but we’re not in that price range. We’re a $150 golf course.’’

During the economic downturn both resorts saw play from business golfers decline. World Golf Village (viewed by night below) sought to make up for that by supplementing resort play with local players, but the locals couldn’t afford such a high greens fee. Now, with the economy looking up again, Hahn admits “We want to build up resort play; that’s how we’ll really be successful.’’

No other resort can offer the spectacular World Golf Hall of Fame, a facility rich in historical memorabilia that also includes a unique putting course and hole-in-one challenge for its visitors. You don’t have to be deep into golf to appreciate what the World Golf Hall of Fame has to offer. Just the long-running Bob Hope exhibit is worth the price of admission.

This year the Hall will carry on without its main annual event. There won’t be an induction ceremony during the PGA Tour’s Players Championship in May. Officials wanted to skip a year to allow for the revamping of the selection process.

While looking forward to the return of the Hall inductions, Hahn doesn’t feel its absence with have much of an effect this year.

“They’ve made a lot of improvements here,’’ he said. “Our owners feel confident in these properties, and they’re investing back in them.’’

VALDOSTA, Ga.: Bob Spence wants to take Kinderlou Forest to a new level

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Bob Spence is about to hit the 60-year mark as a golf professional. Now his focus is on Kinderlou Forest, a stunning 18-holer just 16 miles from the Florida state line, but Chicago golfers should remember him well.

Spence, who turned pro in 1954 – a few months after graduating from high school, was the first director of golf at Kemper Lakes. The late Jim Kemper hired him in 1978 to direct the opening of the Long Grove course designed by Dick Nugent and Ken Killian. Kemper Lakes was an instant hit. It was the first public course to host a PGA Championship in 1989, a year in which Payne Stewart was crowned the champion.

Kemper also hosted a tournament on the Champions Tour for several years and was the site of a U.S. Women’s Amateur, the Grand Slam of Golf and 24 straight Illinois PGA Championships before an ownership change led to the facility going private.

Spence moved on, too. Prior to the Kemper experience he spent six years as an off-and-on PGA Tour player. Afterwards he established himself as a teacher, working with –among others — the famed Bob Toski, and an expert on course operations.

He enjoyed all those things, but found out that he loved course architecture more than anything else. Spence hooked up with Davis Love III to create Love Golf Designs in 1994. Kinderlou Forest, now celebrating its 10th anniversary under owner John Langdale (pictured below on right with Spence), was one of the first of the 20 courses that Spence built on Love’s behalf. It is most likely the best.

“We continued until the economy went bad,’’ said Spence. “Now (Love Golf Designs) is on hold, but Davis had a major desire to get into golf course architecture later in his career. I wouldn’t be surprised if the company started up again.’’

Love, of course, was the 1997 PGA champion and the losing U.S. captain in the dramatic Ryder Cup matches played at Medinah last September. He’s resumed his playing career and is also the host for the McGladrey Classic, a PGA Tour event played on his home course in Sea Island, Ga.

Kinderlou Forest has had a great first 10 seasons. Spence has declared it “better than Kemper Lakes’’ and isn’t so sure it isn’t the best course in Georgia – even though that state is home to legendary Augusta National, where the Masters tournament is played every April.

“There’s a lot of similarities between here and Kemper Lakes,’’ said Spence. “Both are great golf courses. Kemper Lakes has a lot of water and length. Kinderlou Forest doesn’t have as much water, but has variety in length and look on every hole.’’

Spence won’t designate a signature hole at Kinderlou, believing all 18 are special. The most striking visually, though, is the par-5 fourth, which features a large, deep cavern. You can play over it or around it. Either way, you don’t forget it.

The cavern, created when soil was needed to build a highway fronting the course, also extends in front of the tee at the par-3 fifth hole (see photo above).

The lack of houses on the property is another similarity between Kemper Lakes and Kinderlou. So is the personality of the owners. Langdale and his family have long been prominent in various business and political endeavors in south Georgia, just as Jim Kemper was prominent in the insurance world in Chicago.

“Jim Kemper was one of the most special people I’ve ever known,’’ said Spence. “He became a fatherly figure to me, helping my life in any way he could. John Langdale is the same way. He wanted a showplace for Lowndes County. He wanted to give back, just like Jim Kemper did at Kemper Lakes. I’ve been very fortunate to work with special people.’’

As was the case at Kemper Lakes, Spence moved on to other projects after Kinderlou Forest was up and running. Langdale brought him back six months ago to take Kinderlou Forest to a new level.

The first 10 years certainly weren’t bad. About 200 homes were built on the 4,000-acre property and the course, built on 600 of those acres, has already hosted a pro tour event (the Web. com Tour’s South Georgia Classic will be played there for the eighth time in April).

Kinderlou Forest, though, stands somewhat alone on the outskirts of Valdosta, a city of 54,000 and home to Valdosta State University and its 13,000 students. The weather makes golf an option year-around and overall living is affordable.

Kinderlou’s No. 13 has the feel of the famous courses at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

“We’re in the process of building it into a community, possibly a retirement community,’’ said Spence. “We’re trying to get people to come in here, and if they do they’ll want to stay.’’

Two Chicago area club professionals, Phil Benson and J. Anderson, have already brought groups from Chicago to check out what Kinderlou Forest has to offer.

As good as it is, Kinderlou Forest — at 7,474 yards from the tips –is no course for retirees, so a second — much shorter layout — will be needed. A lodge is also a consideration, though Kinderlou has townhome villas available for golfing guests and plenty of hotels are nearby. But space for more homes is abundant.

“If Kinderlou goes as planned we will have a lot of people coming from out of state, and a lot coming to retire,’’ said Spence. “It’s a great place to live. We’re building an atmosphere that you’d rather be here than anywhere else.’’

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: New Concession Cup will bring back good memories

BRADENTON, FL. – The Ryder Cup matches have produced plenty of drama over the years, but one of the most memorable events in the competition didn’t involve anyone hitting a shot.

It came in 1969 at England’s Royal Birkdale, in the final singles match between American Jack Nicklaus and England’s Tony Jacklin. Nicklaus conceded a two-foot putt to Jacklin, which resulted in their match being halved and the competition ending in a tie for the first time.

Nicklaus’ gesture was considered great sportsmanship in some quarters, but not in keeping with the competitive aspect of the event according to others – among them some of his U.S. teammates. The debate has raged on as the Ryder Cup – staged last September at Medinah with Europe winning in dramatic fashion – taking its place among the most popular team competitions in all of sports.

Fast forward over 40 years. Jacklin settled in this Florida community between Tampa and Sarasota and Nicklaus went on to do great things as a course architect while his playing career was winding down. That’s when their paths crossed again, for the building of The Concession – a dazzling but challenging course that will soon host an event of its own to further rekindle that Nicklaus-Jacklin moment from the past.

This time it was Jacklin making the gesture, an effort to boost the image of a course that he designed in collaboration with Nicklaus. The new event is The Concession Cup, which is certain to become a nice addition to the world golf calendar. It’s in keeping with how the club was created in the first place.

“Jack was being courted to build a golf course, and I approached him with this idea,’’ said Jacklin. “His conceding that putt was a big relief to me, and it’s become a famous moment. It’s brought up at all the Ryder Cups.’’

Jacklin suggested a course named in honor of Nicklaus’ famous concession. Nicklaus liked the idea and eight years ago The Concession was built with the two playing an exhibition match that drew several thousand spectators in January, 2006, as the highlight of its grand opening.

While the layout is a “Nicklaus Signature’’ course, its scorecard notes that it was designed “in association with Tony Jacklin.’’ That was a concession on Nicklaus’ part, too. Jacklin found the land and would have been content if that was the end of his role in the course’s creation but Nicklaus didn’t want that. Jacklin (left in photo above) and Nicklaus made it a collaborative effort.

“Jack has done thousands of golf courses and I’ve done several,’’ said Jacklin, “but we did this one together.’’

The club has embraced the concession of ‘69 by using silhouettes of Nicklaus and Jacklin in its logo – one of the most striking in golf (pictured above) – and the two will be honorary captains at this spring’s Concession Cup, a new team event that will bring together the top mid-amateur, senior and super senior players from the U.S. and Great Britain/Ireland.

Nicklaus’ courses are all super challenging, and The Concession is one of only 12 courses in the U.S. with a slope over 150. The 7,474-yard (from the back tees) layout has a slope of 155. It was built over 540 acres, an extremely large land usage for an 18-hole course.

The course will complete a three-year agreement to host the men’s Big Ten Match Play Championship this winter and will host the NCAA men’s and women’s championships in 2015. It tried to land the LPGA’s Solheim Cup but was unsuccessful. The creation of the Concession Cup, though, will elevate the club’s profile and create a competition that might eventually be incorporated into the U.S.Golf Assn. schedule.

“We’ve been striving through the years to attract attention to our place through tournaments,’’ said Jacklin. “That’s not an easy thing to do, but we’re all very excited about this one. It’ll be a massive event.’’

The biennial match play competition will bring together the best mid-amateur, senior and super senior players from the U.S. and Great Britain/Ireland two weeks after the next Masters. There’ll be a practice round and opening celebration gala on April 29, a charity amateur event on April 30, nine foursome matches on May 1, nine fourball matches on May 2 and 18 singles matches on May 3.

While the competitors on both teams won’t be announced for a few weeks, the U.S. team will include Nicklaus’ son Gary along with top amateurs Nathan Smith and Vinny Giles. Paul Azinger, former U.S. Ryder Cup captain and a Concession member, will be honorary chairman of the event and ex-PGA Tour player turned golf commentator Gary Koch will emcee the banquet. He’s a Concession member, too.

Still seeking members, The Concession was named the Best New Private Course in the U.S. by Golf Digest in 2006 and its practice facility is one of the best in the world. Tour players Brittany Lincicome, Hollis Stacy, Sandra Gal, Dicky Pride, Scott Hoch and Andy Bean use it regularly and famed instructor David Leadbetter has declared The Concession his “home away from home.’’ He’s worked with his top players and given lessons there.

In late January Concession Cup officials made their first player announcement. Vinny Giles (U.S.) and Garth McGimpsey (Great Britain-Ireland) will be playing captains.

First players on the U.S. squad are Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga.; Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa.; John “Spider” Miller, Bloomington, Ind.; Pat Tallent, Vienna, Va.; Paul Simpson, Raleigh, N.C.; Danny Yates, Atlanta; and George Zahringer, New York. First GB-I players named were Ian Brotherston, Maurise Kelly, Adrian Morrow, Arthur Pierse and Andrew Stracey.