Author: lenz

Iconic Harbour Town is just one reason for golfers to hit Hilton Head

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina – The Harbour Town Links, with its iconic lighthouse behind the No. 18 green, may give Hilton Head Island most of its international exposure, but this golf destination is more than just Harbour Town.

A lot more, in fact.

While Harbour Town — home of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage tournament — celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, the rest of the island also enhances the area’s reputation of being a golf mecca.

Harbour Town, along with Atlantic Dunes and Heron’s Point, are all part of the Sea Pines Resort. Atlantic Dunes was the National Golf Course Owners Association 2018 Course of the Year.

“We’re the drivers of why people come here,’’ said Cary Corbitt, president of the South Carolina Lowcountry Golf Course Owners Association and vice president of Sea Pines, “but not everybody wants to just play Harbour Town and Atlantic Dunes – and we’re fine with that.’’

Fee to play Harbour Town generally tops $300 and at Atlantic Dune’s it’s upwards of $150. Both are extremely well-conditioned courses that draw about 30,000 rounds annually, but there’s also perfectly fine public courses nearby that charge less than $100.

Those numbers are just fine with Corbitt, who came to Hilton Head when he was in college to work as a volunteer at the first Heritage tournament (won by Arnold Palmer), returned when he was done with college in 1974 and started at Sea Pines in 1978.

“Sea Pines is a family destination resort. We’re not bashful about what we charge, but we don’t feel we’re uppity or better than anyone else,’’ said Corbitt. “The other courses help round everything out.’’

Hilton Head has 40,000 full-time residents. They benefit from the island’s beautiful beaches as well as the golf, as both attract tourists. So does the nearly 300 restaurants – many of them solidly upscale – on the property.

Lodging is more than ample with more than 6,000 villas, condos and homes on the rental market and more than 20 hotels and inns also available. Custom-built golf packages are no problem.

The non-golf attractions are also plentiful. They’re highlighted by the tennis academy at Sea Pines that is run by the legendary Stan Smith who won titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Hilton Head got its name because a ship owned by William Hilton first spotted the island over 300 years ago. Charles Fraser, son of one of the families that owned most of the island, started it on its way as a tourist destination when he drew up a master plan for a resort community in 1956. Hilton Head was incorporated as a town in 1983 but golf had arrived in 1962 when the Ocean Course opened.

Golf grew rapidly after that, but not without some major developments along the way. The Ocean Course was totally renovated by Davis Love III is now called Atlantic Dunes. Famed architect Pete Dye, who designed Harbour Town with consulting help from Jack Nicklaus, also is responsible for Sea Pines’ other course, Heron’s Point. That course started under the name of Sea Marsh.

Now the golf landscape is spread around. Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort has three courses on its 2,000 acres that are bounded by three miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline on one side and a sheltered Intracoastal Waterway on the other. This resort’s featured course is Palmetto Dunes, which has one hole on the ocean and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1967. The others at the resort were creations of George Fazio (the island’s only par-70) in 1974 and Arthur Hills in 1986.

There’s also the Heritage Collection, seven courses and 81 holes spread over three clubs. Oyster Reef, a Rees Jones design with – at least arguably – the best putting surfaces on the island, is not to be missed. Sixteen courses are on the island and there’s also 13 off-island layouts close at hand.

All the courses are beneficiaries of the recently-expanded Hilton Head Island Airport. Last year it started twice weekly (Saturdays and Sundays) flights directly from O’Hare, so Chicago golfers could step right off the airplane and be on the first tee at many of the courses in a matter of a few minutes.

Even without that luxury transportation getting from Chicago to Hilton Head isn’t a problem. Many more flights are available to the Savannah Hilton International Airport, which is just 45 minutes from the island.

And then there’s the hurricanes. No doubt, they can be a problem but not even one of the strongest – Hurricane Matthew in 2016 – kept golfers off the Hilton Head courses for long.

Atlantic Dunes head professional Bobby Downs has worked in the golf industry on the island for 36 years. After 22 seasons at Palmetto Dunes he was eagerly awaiting the opening of Atlantic Dunes when Matthew struck at a most inopportune time.

“The Ryder Cup had just finished, and we (the U.S. team) had won,’’ recalled Downs. “We had a great Grand Opening and Davis (designer and U.S. captain Davis Love III) was to be here on Sunday with the trophy, but three days prior we got hit by the hurricane and were shut down for three weeks.’’

Tree damage was extensive, but Atlantic Dunes bounced back quickly, just like the Hilton Head courses have done for decades.

“In the end we were better off because a lot of trees that weren’t meant to be there after 50 years were weeded out,’’ said Corbitt.

Mission Inn isn’t one of Florida’s biggest golf resorts — but it’s one of the best

No. 17 at Mission Inn’s El Campeon course may be the toughest par-5 in Florida. It’s a double dogleg with the approach to the green requiring a third shot over a pond — plus you must either go over or around a tree in the middle of the fairway that can block a shot to the putting surface. That infuriating tree has been confronting golfers for over 100 years. That’s why the hole is called `Devil’s Delight.’

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, FLORIDA – Florida is loaded with golf courses – about 1,500 of them – and the state’s golf resorts include such famous multi-course meccas at PGA National, PGA Golf Club, Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass, Innisbrook and Doral.

In contrast, Mission Inn Resort & Club on the outskirts of Orlando has just two courses but, make no mistake, it is as special a place as any of the others.

Mission Inn is just a bit different. It has one of the Sunshine State’s oldest courses, now called El Campeon, that is rich in history. Its companion course, 27-year old Las Colinas, isn’t exactly new but is a nice complement to El Campeon, which dates back to 1917.

As old as El Campeon is, the layout still holds up just fine in top-level amateur tournaments. That’s rarely the case for layouts of similar vintage, but El Campeon is the tougher of the two Mission Inn layouts. Both are well-conditioned and used regularly for the Florida high school championships. They’ve also hosted many, many college tournaments, U.S. Golf Association qualifiers and small professional events.

The par-3 eighth is the most historical hole on El Campeon. It’s the only hole that has maintained its same spot in the rotation since the course opened in 1917.

Mission Inn’s big tournament resume is surprising, considering that neither course permits walking except in extraordinary circumstances. They’ve just withstood the time as good shot-making tests for measuring which player is the best on any given day or in any give competition.

El Campeon’s history is extraordinary. George O’Neil, a Chicago teaching pro who dabbled in course design, created the course for William Howey – a citrus magnate who wanted something to entertain some of the visitors to his estate that was built just before World War I.

O’Neil is known more for his teaching than his architectural efforts. He gave lessons to such luminaries as former President Warren G. Harding, Charlie Chaplin and John D. Rockefeller. Golfing greats Harry Vardon and Chick Evans also were tutored by O’Neil.

The fifth hole is the shortest of the four par-5s on the Las Colinas course.

The 6,300-yard course was originally called Chain O’ Lakes and there was no grass on its greens from its opening in 1917 until 1938. The putting surfaces consisted of well-oiled sand and the rest of the course, without the benefit of irrigation systems, was unkempt. Visitors stayed at the Bougainvillea Hotel until it burned down in 1920.

A Scottish architect, Charles Clarke, refurbished the course while the Hotel Floridian was built to replace the lodging lost in the fire. The course continued as an attraction and its players included Ben Hogan, Patty Berg and Babe Zaharias before Nick Beucher bought the facility in 1964 and gradually transformed the place into a Spanish colonial- themed resort.

The beauty of the resort provides a stunning backdrop for golfers finishing their rounds.

Beucher started a successful career as a salesman while living in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette. That came after he had fulfilled a life-long dream when he and a friend made a 39-day, 1,400-mile horseback ride from Del Rio, TX, to Mexico City. They stayed in missions along the way, and the horseback adventure led to Beucher’s renaming efforts at the resort.

The golf course, stretched to 7,015 yards, was revived and re-routed and became El Campeon. The resort and hotel became Mission Inn and it now includes El Conquistador, a fine upscale restaurant; La Hacienda, a good dining spot for breakfast and lunch; Spa Mirabella; the El Cornedor Fitness Center; a beautiful outdoor bar/gathering place called Plaza de las Palmas; and hotel segments tabbed San Angel, San Diego and San Miguel.

El Campeon has 85-foot elevation changes — some going up, some going down – on six holes and its No. 17 hole, a par-5, is one of the toughest anywhere. A double-dogleg dubbed Devil’s Delight, the green is fronted by a live oak tree in the center of the fairway and a pond. More than a few Mission Inn golfers wish that the tree would be hit by one of the hurricanes that occasionally visit the area, but so far that hasn’t happened.

Las Colinas isn’t nearly as interesting. Former PGA Tour player Gary Koch created the original design for the course’s opening in 1992 and veteran Florida architect Ron Garl made some major changes in 2007. The result is a course that is more typically resort style and user friendly than El Campeon.

This courtyard fountain is another example of the Spanish influence at Mission Inn.

The 1,100 acres that comprise the Mission Inn property contain much more than the two golf courses. There’s 30,000 square feet of conference space with 19 meeting rooms and two large ballrooms. The 176 guest rooms, suites and villas are supplemented by two lounges and a poolside bar. About 75 percent of the lodging and corporate rooms have golf course views.

Beacher passed away in 2005 at age 88 while residing in what is now the penthouse suite of the hotel. He passed on his enthusiasm for the place to his six children, however, with one son Bob the resort president and another, Bud, the vice president and general manager. Two daughters also play prominent roles in the resort’s operation.

Diners at the upscale El Conquistador are greeted by this imposing figure in a suit of armor at the front door.

The staff more recently added a significant non-family member. Roy Schindele, executive director of sales and marketing at Bay Hill, now is in a similar role at Mission Inn.

The Howey mansion and mausoleum are located across from Mission Inn but it not part of the resort property. That land, though, does include the Marina del Rey Pavilion on Lake Harris. It includes 50 slips that are used by residents and the result has two pontoon boats and one fishing boat that get heavy use in waters that are great for bass fishing.

There’s also four clay courts and two all-weather courts for tennis and two more courts for pickleball. All have lights to allow for night play. Team-building facilities, which include a rock-climbing wall, are also part of the marina area. Boat rides to Mount Dora, a quaint little town with its own unique attractions, and a short trip to nearby Tavares – the self-proclaimed “Seaplane Capitol of the World’’ – are also readily available.

The Marina del Rey provides another recreational dimension for Mission Inn guests.

Alfredsson notches another `Grand Slam’ in wrap-up to Senior LPGA season

Helen Alfredsson claims Senior LPGA trophy from Cook Company chairman Steve Ferguson.
FRENCH LICK, Indiana – Winning a Grand Slam in senior women’s golf isn’t unusual. You just need to win two tournaments to do it.

England’s Laura Davies did it in 2018 and Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson accomplished the feat on Wednesday when she captured the Senior LPGA Championship on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.

Alfredsson won the first leg of the slam when she captured the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles, in North Carolina, in May. She was a three-stroke winner in the Senior LPGA on Wednesday in golf’s last major championship of 2019 on any of the pro tours.

“It was a great feeling to win the U.S. Open and get a USGA trophy,’’ she said, “but I was most pleased with being able to do it in the and,, and being the strongest then.’’

Alfredsson’s win at French Lick came on a frigid day when temperatures dropped 20 degrees over night and winds picked up. She was the only player to finish under par, completing the 54-hole test at 2-under 214. Juli Inkster was three strokes behind in what was basically a two-player duel throughout the final round.

Inkster started the final round with a two-stroke lead and struggled with a 76. Alfredsson posted a 70 and captured a $100,000 first prize from a $650,000 purse. Davies tied for 19th in her title defense and Nicole Jeray, a teaching pro at Mistwood in Romeoville and the only Chicago player in the field, tied for 36th among the 49 finalists.

There were some other notable developments. Dave Harner, the director of golf at French Lick Resort, confirmed that the tournament won’t be played on its unusual fall dates in 2020 – and won’t have live television coverage because of it. It’ll move to late July instead, meaning both of the senior majors will be played just a month apart.

The Golf Channel gave the inaugural Senior LPGA live TV coverage with its first staging in 2017, but there was a stipulation that the event be played on weekday dates in October. Bad weather and financial considerations led to French Lick opting to move the event to the summer months.

In another notable development Lee Ann Walker was assessed what might be the biggest penalty in golf history. Walker was assessed a 58-stroke penalty because her caddie had been lining up her putts and Walker didn’t step away before making her stroke. She learned of her infraction 23 holes into the tournament and wound up being given a score of 127 for the first round and 90 for the second.

Next year’s fourth playing of the Senior LPGA will be July 27 to Aug. 1. Instead of the Monday through Wednesday scheduling of the last three years the 54-hole event will run Thursday through Saturday after a practice round and two pro-ams kick off the festivities.

Alfredsson’s win was just part of an interesting wrap-up to Senior LPGA

Helen Alfredsson takes Senior LPGA trophy from Cppk Company chairman Steve Ferguson.
FRENCH LICK, Indiana – The third playing of the Senior LPGA Championship was a weird one, and that was even before eventual champion Helen Alfredsson teed off in Wednesday’s final round.

Alfreddson eventually won the senior Grand Slam, which amounts to winning just two tournaments – the U.S. Senior Women’s Open and Senior LPGA Championship. Laura Davies accomplished the feat last year, and Alfredsson completed her Slam on Wednesday with a three-stroke victory over Juli Inkster.

The temperature dipped more than 20 degrees and the wind picked up significantly on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, but Alfredsson finished the 54-hhole test as the only player under par. Her concluding 70 gave her a three-round total of 2-under-par 214 and earned her the $100,000 first prize from a $650,000 prize fund.

Other significant developments were unfolding as Alfredsson was working her way to the victory.

Even before the second round was history Dave Harner, the director of golf at French Lick Resort, confirmed that the tournament won’t be played on its unusual fall dates in 2020 – and won’t have live television coverage because of it.

Then, a few hours before the second round was over, Lee Anne Walker was alerted that she would be assessed a big number of penalty strokes because her caddie had been lining her up on her putts on the putting surface, and she did not step away before making her stroke. The infraction, repeated frequently over Walker’s first 23 holes, wound up as a 58-stroke penalty.

After a discussion the rules officials and Walker’s penalty numbers were added up her scores were 127 for the first round and 90 for the second.

Under new rules a player cannot receive a cash payment without posting a score. In finishing last among the 78 players in the Senior LPGA field Walker received $1,390.

Walker, even without the penalty strokes, was only a minor factor in the tournament standings but the change in scheduling for next season will have long-range effects.

“We just couldn’t take the weather any more,’’ said Harner.

Next year’s fourth playing of the Senior LPGA will be July 27 to Aug. 1. Instead of the Monday through Wednesday scheduling of the last three years the 54-hole event will run Thursday through Saturday after a practice round and two pro-ams kick off the festivities.

The tourney has had weather problems. Temperatures neared the freezing level during tournament rounds in 2018 and Wednesday’s final round of this year’s event began in 47-degree temperatures and never got more than five degrees warmer than that.

There was, of course, much more involved in the schedule change than just cold temperatures. The Senior LPGA went to October because that was the only way The Golf Channel would provide live coverage. That coverage was expensive — $860,000 for this year’s playing – and the viewership (estimated at 100,000 per day) didn’t meet expectations. The cost of the telecasts cut into the charity money that long-time beneficiary Riley Children’s Hospital could receive.

So, the tournament did what few events have done in the past – proceed without TV support – and that move was not met with much reluctance by the players.

“I’m excited about it,’’ said Jane Geddes, now into her fourth month as executive director of The Legends Tour. “(The new dates) will give us a nice stretch of tournaments, which we don’t have now and the weather will be better. Kids will also be out of school. It would be nice to have TV coverage, but we also know that it’s expensive.’’

Harner plans to line up streaming for coverage of next year’s final round.

“As the tournament grows and the tour goes into more market places maybe being on TV would make more sense,’’ said Geddes. “Everyone always wants to be on TV, but is it really worth all that money to have eyeballs on that event? It’s almost $1 million. That’s the reality. We’ve been living with that on the LPGA for a long time.‘’

This year it was the last major championship for any of the pro tours. Next year the Senior LPGA won’t event be the last event of the year for The Legends. Geddes said a new event in Minneapolis will be played the following week, though she withheld details of next year’s sites.

The new dates put the Senior LPGA closer to the only other major for senior women. The U.S. Senior Women’s Open is scheduled for July 9-12 in 2020, at Brooklawn in Fairfield, Ct.. The next Senior LPGA will also come two weeks after French Lick’s other tour stop. The Symetra Tour’s annual tournament here is played on the resort’s Donald Ross Course.

As for Sunday Senior LPGA wrapup, Inkster started the day with a two-stroke lead but slumped to a 76. Most of her problems surfaced on the back nine, and they enabled Alfredsson to take control. It was a two-player duel most of the way.

Defending champion Davies tied for 19th and only Michelle McGann (69) shot a lower final round than Alfreddson.

“`I was a great feeling to win the U.S. Open (at Pine Needles in May) and get a USGA trophy,’’ she said. “but I was most pleased with being able to do it in the end, that I was the strongest then.’’

The Senior LPGA was the last of pro golf’s major championships of 2019 on any of the pro tours.

Last major of 2019 tees off today on French Lick’s Pete Dye Course.

FRENCH LICK, Indiana – This may surprise you. One of America’s professional tours still has one of its major championships remaining in 2019.

The climax to The Legends Tour season is the third annual Senior LPGA Championship, to be played on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort from Oct. 14-16. It tends to get lost in the shuffle, and not just because it’s so late in the season. The Monday through Wednesday scheduling isn’t the norm, either, but it has enabled the circuit for women 45 and over to gain live TV coverage on The Golf Channel.

LPGA stars of the past had trouble finding tournaments until Jane Blalock created The Legends Tour in 2000. It grew slowly, but in the last few years these senior women received some long overdue signs of respect.

The Legends Championship became their premier event when French Lick’s hierarchy created it – along with a Legends Hall of Fame – in 2014. That championship is no longer held, having been replaced with a bigger and better version when the LPGA finally got involved directly with its senior circuit.

England’s Trish Johnson became the first champion of a senior women’s major when she won the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship on the Pete Dye Course in 2017.

The U.S. Golf Association, after three years of deliberation following an initial announcement, staged its first major tournament for senior women last year – the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, IL. England’s Laura Davies won that one by a whopping 10-stroke margin to conclude an emotional week that was more important for the creation of the event than it was for who won.

Since then things have been quiet on the senior women’s front. The most notable development was Blalock’s departure as executive director of The Legends Tour and the hiring of Jane Geddes as the circuit’s chief executive officer. This could be significant down the road, but Geddes has been on the job only three months and hasn’t put her plans into effect yet. In fact, she hasn’t announced even announced any of them but says she has some significant things in the works for 2020 and beyond.

The big difference is that Blalock was both the head of The Legends Tour as well as its tournament promoter.

“Janie wore two hats,’’ said Geddes, who was asked by LPGA commissioner Mike Whan to take the job. “There was no governing body. I am the governing body, with no conflicts.’’

Blalock may still create tournaments for The Legends, but Geddes takes a broader approach for the circuit.

“I look on it as the Legends experience more than the Legends Tour,’’ she said. “We’ll have camps, travel trips. We don’t play (tournaments) week in and week out, but we can have pro-ams or challenge events, excursions or clinics. We’re a great group of women who bring great value. It’s fun to watch us play, and we have the ability to interact. That’s what my era does best.’’

Like Blalock, Geddes was a top LPGA player who has competed in both the Senior LPGA Championship and U.S. Senior Women’s Open. She took a different path after her full-time playing career wound down. Geddes spent time working for the LPGA, then – armed with a law degree — she left to become chief of staff in professional wrestling.

“It was very fun,’’ she said. “The wrestlers are sports actors. I was there four years, and it was a 24-hour job. I wanted to get back into golf.’’

So now she’s back, and how she transforms The Legends Tour next year will largely determine the circuit’s future.

For now, though, the show is all about the estimable Laura Davies and her supporting cast in the third Senior LPGA. The purse will be $650,000 with the champion receiving $100,000.

Davies won the second Senior LPGA Championship at French Lick last October and Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson took the second U.S. Senior Women’s Open, played at Pine Needles in North Carolina in May, by beating Juli Inkster and Johnson by two strokes.

The Senior Women’s Open drew a crowd at Pine Needles that was comparable to the one it enjoyed at Chicago Golf Club, and a similar event is expected for a third run at French Lick. Hollis Stacy will be added to the Legends Hall of Fame before the tournament tees off and the field will undergo only minor changes from a year ago. Karen Stupples and Laura Baugh will compete for the first time with Stupples preferring to compete rather than stay in The Golf Channel broadcast booth.

Dave Harner, director of golf at French Lick, has added two special exemptions — Lori Atsedes and Clarissa Child — after the scrapping of the on-site qualifying round. The starting field will be 78 players as opposed to the 81 scheduled to play last year. Only 80 eventually teed off.
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Senior LPGA tourney at French Lick will conclude this year’s majors

The year’s major golf championships aren’t finished just yet. There’s still one to go.

Indiana’s French Lick Resort will host the third annual Senior LPGA Championship on its Pete Dye Course from Oct. 14-16. The 54-hole final event of The Legends Tour season has an unusual Monday through Wednesday schedule because that enabled the circuit for women 45 and over to gain live TV coverage on The Golf Channel.

England’s Trish Johnson became the first champion of a senior women’s major when she won the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship on the Pete Dye Course in 2017. The U.S. Golf Association staged its first major tournament for senior women last year – the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton. England’s Laura Davies won that one by a whopping 10-stroke margin.

Davies also won last year’s second Senior LPGA at French Lick last October and Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson took the second U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles, in North Carolina, in May. Those players, along with American Juli Inkster, loom as the favorites for the year’s final major at French Lick. A $650,000 prize fund will be on the line with the champion getting $100,000.

Beth Daniel, (left) was one of the LPGA’s top stars in her heyday and a former Solheim Cup captain. She won’t be competing at French Lick, but she recently received the coveted Woman of Distinction Award from Cece Durbin of the Women’s Western Golf Association. (Rory Spears Photo)

Since last year The Legends have undergone a change in leadership. Jane Blalock, who founded the circuit in 2000, stepped aside and Jane Geddes assumed the role of chief executive officer three months ago. Geddes, who still competes on the circuit, won the last of her 11 LPGA titles at the 1991 Chicago Challenge, which was played at White Eagle, in Naperville.

Illinois Open changes

White Eagle, which has just undergone a major renovation by architect Todd Quitno, will be the primary site of next year’s Illinois Open. According to published reports White Eagle will replace The Glen Club as the primary site of the tournament finals with nearby Stonebridge the secondary site.

Dates have not been announced but officials from both White Eagle and Stonebridge confirmed the site change, according to the reports.

Here and there

The Illinois PGA will have a representative in next year’s Senior PGA Championship at Michigan’s Harbor Shores course. Roy Biancalana, of Fresh Meadows in West Chicago, tied for 22nd at the Senior PGA Professionals Championship last week at Barton Creek, in Texas, to earn his spot at Harbor Shores.

The Women’s Western Golf Association presented its Woman of Distinction Award to Beth Daniel and Hollis Stacy will be this year’s lone inductee into The Legends Hall of Fame at French Lick when the ceremonies are held prior to the Senior LPGA Championship.

Vince India and Brad Hopfinger, winners of both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open and competitors on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, switched to the PGA Latinoamerica circuit last week in Ecuador. India tied for 10th and Hopfinger tied for 46th. Patrick Flavin, also a winner of both of Illinois’ top tournaments, tied for 32nd and is fifth on the Latinoamerica season money list.

Chris French and Jim Sobb scored big wins as the Illinois PGA’s tournament season wound down. French, playing out of Aldeen in Rockford, won the IPGA Players Championship at Crystal Tree, in Orland Park, and Sobb took the Super Senior Open at Makray Memorial, in Barrington.

The all-star team from Cog Hill, in Lemont, is in the national finals of the PGA Junior League for the fourth straight year. The finals run through Monday (OCT 14) at Grayhawk, in Arizona.

ILLINOIS GOLF HALL OF FAME INDUCTION: What I REALLY wanted to say

A most memorable moment for Joy and me at the Illinois Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, with my daughter Heidi and grandson Sterling at The Glen Club on Oct. 18, 2019.
The big night was Oct. 18, 2019, at The Glen Club in Glenview, IL. That’s when I was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.

First order of business to get ready for that big event was to prepare a speech and, I’ve quickly learned, that wasn’t so easy.

My first effort far exceeded the prescribed time limit, so I gave a shorter version that night. That version, though, didn’t touch on everything I wanted to say. This is the undredacted version:

Being inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame was a big deal to both me and my family. There aren’t many family members left, but my daughter Heidi and grandson Sterling are here from their home in North Carolina and my sister Julie and brother-in-law Joe came in from Wisconsin. Joy’s son Brian and daughter-in-law Molly didn’t come so far, but they’re with us tonight while celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary, and Joy’s other daughter-in-law, Violet Sarver, is also here tonight.

For me there’s some symmetry involved in tonight’s event. In 1989 I gave the induction speech for the first inductee into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame – Chicago Golf Club creator C.B. MacDonald. Now, to be inducted myself, makes this night all the more special.

I also want to say how happy I am to be inducted in the same class with both Emil and Carol. I only wish Carol could be with us. Though she was already in the World Golf Hall of Fame she told me in our last meeting how special it would mean for her to be in the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame as well, and now she’s getting her wish. As for Emil, our friendship goes back a long, long way. In fact, Emil’s brother Lou gave me my first golf lesson way back when I was 11 years old and Emil has been a good friend for all these 50-plus years.

The plaques and photos on the walls of The Glen Club make it official. Emil Esposito, Carol Mann and I all worked in different areas of golf but now we’re all members of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.

I’ve found that Hall of Fames can be interesting things. In 2004 the Illinois State Soccer Association put me in its Hall of Fame even though I’d never played on a soccer team. In golf it’s a little different. I’ve played a lot of golf, just not very well. My handicap has never dropped below 16. Obviously my role in these things is through journalism and – call it a lack of ambition if you want – but writing about sports for newspapers (and some magazines, too) is the only job I ever wanted since my years in junior high school. Indeed I’ve been a lucky guy.

I’ve always been proud to be a member of the media ranks, and golf is a big reason for that. Though I covered a lot of things in my 50-plus years in the newspaper-magazine field, I always felt that golf wrote well. Sometimes the story lines were so captivating that the stories seemed to write themselves.

Take my first U.S. Open – a rainy Sunday at Oakmont in 1973 when a skinny kid from California that no one had much heard of at the time – his name was Johnny Miller – shot a 63 to win the tournament. That’s still the low score posted in a major championship.

And then there was my first Masters in 1986. That coincided with Jack Nicklaus’ last of a record six wins in that tournament. Never – before or since – have I experienced the electricity in the air when Nicklaus was playing the back that day.

Here’s how the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame became what it is today.

While I’ve covered lots of tournaments around the country I’ve been basically a Chicago guy, and there was plenty going on here. I got an up-close look at a rousing victory by the U.S. women in a Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms and a devastating defeat by the U.S. men in a Ryder Cup at Medinah. I also reported on the first U.S. Open decided in sudden death, but my reporting wasn’t limited to tournament play.

I’ve been around to see the opening of such great golf facilities as Kemper Lakes, Cantigny, Conway Farms and Rich Harvest Farms and witnessed the creation of a much-needed event that has now survived 25 years – the Illinois Women’s Open. Needless to say, I’ve got lots of good memories and met lots of interesting people — most of whom I consider friends — along the way.

From the Chicago front My most memorable finish by a champion came in an LPGA event that is no longer held. Martha Nause, trying to chase down Laura Davies in the final round of a 1991 tournament known as the Chicago Sun-Times Shootout, finished birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle to win by one at Oak Brook Golf Club. She got the win by holing out from 100 yards out on her last shot to win by one shot. Hard to top that finish!

Steve Lesnik, who developed KemperSports — one of golf’s biggest management firms, was a big help in us starting the featured Travel section of lenziehmongolf.com.

Then there was my best performance by a local player. There have been a lot of good ones, but none can match Nick Hardy’s 28-under-par finish in a 10-shot victory at the 2016 State Amateur at St. Charles Country Club.

I’ve reported on great Chicago performances by — among many others — touring pros Hale Irwin, Nick Price, Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb and local stalwarts Joel Hirsch, Gary Groh, Steve Benson, Jim Sobb and Mike Small on the men’s side and Kerry Postillion and Nicole Jeray on the women’s front.

Indeed I’ve been a lucky guy.

My story in golf starts in the early 1970s when Jim Mullen, the sports editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, declared me the paper’s golf columnist. I was the youngest person in the department by quite a bit at the time, and the golf beat then amounted to reporting on just the bigger local tournaments, but golf was evolving and the golf beat quickly exploded. In a matter of just a few years I was reporting on tournaments around the country.

I was supported by a media contingent at the induction ceremonies by a group of friends that included Dave Lockhart, Gary Holaway, Barry Cronin, Ed Sherman and Tim Cronin.

It was very exciting to be a part of that, but – 41 years later – I was looking forward to a fun retirement. I had a game plan. Joy and I would travel extensively, reporting on basically golf destinations for various publications, and I’d dabble in the then relatively new world of golf websites as well.

Then Doug Ray, the publisher of the Daily Herald, came into the picture. For some reason Doug didn’t think that I was quite ready to ride into the sunset, and I’m glad he felt that way. It’s been both a pleasure and an honor to write for the last 10 years for a newspaper that has been seriously committed to covering our great sport.

The website venture has worked out pretty well, too. My daughter Heidi put together the first version of lenziehmongolf.com as Sun-Times retirement closed in, and the site has grown through the years. We now have eight partner sites around the country and Joy and I have visited 47 of the 50 states in the course of our travels, missing only Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming. The only problem is that now I feel more people might be more interested in Joy’s photography than in the pieces that I’ve been writing. But, so be it.

Ed Sherman (center) and Terry Hanley are long-time friends in the Chicago golf media world.

Making a Hall of Fame isn’t just about reminiscing, though. Mainly, it’s about appreciating what you’ve been given and I wanted to use this night to single out some special people – the media colleagues that I’ve worked with the most over the last 50 years.

The media wing of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame isn’t very big yet. In 30 years there’s only been four media members inducted, me being the fifth – and I’m the first to go in in 14 years. This very nice honor that has come my way couldn’t have happened without the friendship and support of these people.

First, from the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame selection process, there’s Rory Spears, Tim Cronin, Ed Sherman and Nick Novelli. (Nick also provided most of the pictures on this page).

From the Western Golf Association, Gary Holaway and I have worked together on various projects basically since Day 1.

The golf beat was growing fast when I was at the Sun-Times, and I eventually needed a writing partner. Barry Cronin was my first one, and he’s now been the media relations director of the John Deere Classic for over 20 years. Barry owns a special distinction in golf. During the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes he witnessed lightning wiping out my computer moments after I’d finished writing the main story for the Chicago Sun-Times. That led to my old meltdown in my 50-plus years in journalist — not a pretty site.

Illinois PGA executive director Carrie Williams got the program started at The Glen Club.

From the Daily Herald, in addition to Doug, working with sports editors Tom Quinlan and Mike Smith has been a delight. At Chicagoland Golf I’ve enjoyed a similar relationship with publisher Val Russell.

Friends at the golf organizations have also played a big role – Bill Ibrahim and Palmer Moody at the Illinois PGA; Rich Skyzinski, Matt Baylor and Casey Richards at the CDGA; and Susie Wagner at the Women’s Western Golf Association.

From the fascinating world of golf websites, four of my eight partner sites are Chicago based. In addition to Tim’s Illinois Golfer and Rory’s Golfers on Golf, it’s been great having support from Cheryl Justak’s Golf Now! Chicago and Dave Lockhart’s LinksVideo.

And, I also want to mention three friends who are no longer with us but haven’t been forgotten – Reid Hanley, golf writer for the Chicago Tribune; Phil Kosin, who created both Chicagoland Golf and the Illinois Women’s Open; and Mike Spellman, my first golf-writing partner at the Daily Herald.

For me it’s been a great run – and it’s not over yet! Thank you all for sharing in this great night.

Hanging out with the gang from KemperSports always is a fun time.

Q-School is sure to bring a dramatic ending to golf’s 2019 season

The year’s biggest golf championships are over. Now comes the hard part.

There’s another side to professional golf that contrasts sharply with what your see on television screen. It’s called Q-School, and it’s the main path to get to most every one of golf’s pro tours. Some lucky ones have gotten to a pro tour without going to Q-School – but not many. Win a lot of money fast or win a tournament right after turning pro and you could get a tour spot but few – very few – have been able to do that over the years.

For the men, there’s no Q-School for the PGA School anymore. The young hopefuls begin their quest for a tour card at the Korn Ferry (formerly Web.com) Tour Q-School. It’s the best path to the PGA Tour, but first you’ve got to earn your berth on it through three stages of qualifying school. It’s a bit complicated on how it all works.

As of this printing Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim was trying to play his way onto the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs. He finished in the top 75 on the Korn Ferry money list and that got him into the three-tournament playoff series. The top 25 in those playoffs get PGA cards for 2019-20, and Ghim came through when it counted the most, finishing in 23rd place to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2019-20 season.

Ghim was one of the lucky ones. What happened to two other Chicago area players who competed on the Korn Ferry Tour this season was painful – excruciatingly painful. Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger and Deerfield’s Vince India just missed a spot in the Korn Ferry Playoffs. Hopfinger was No. 79 and India No. 85 on the season point/money list.

For India his life changed in a heartbeat. The 2018 Illinois Open champion got hot in the last regular season tournament in Portland, leading after two rounds and contending well into the back nine. He just needed a par on the final hole to get into the Korn Ferry Playoffs, which would have assured him at least a return to that circuit next year and a top 25 finish would make him a PGA Tour player.

Instead, India made double bogey on the last hole. It dropped him out of the Korn Ferry Playoffs and left him with two stages of Q-School just to play on the circuit again.

Hopfinger and India were college teammates at Iowa and toiled on the Web.com/Korn Ferry circuit for several seasons just looking for the break that would change their lives. The possibility is still there, so is the pressure.

Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, meanwhile, is just starting that challenge. Hardy couldn’t have done much more as an amateur. He was a mainstay on great teams at Illinois for four years. He earned coveted Sweet Six berths in three Western Amateurs. He qualified for multiple U.S. Opens, made the cut in several PGA and Korn Ferry Tour events after landing sponsor exemptions and set a scoring record in winning an Illinois State Amateur.

Still, when Q-School came a few months after his collegiate eligibility expired at Illinois, Hardy wasn’t quite ready.

“In the first stage I was 20-under, but in the second I missed by two shots and made bogey on the last two holes,’’ said Hardy. “I was that close.’’

So one of the greatest amateurs to come out of the Chicago ranks in years was left scouring for tournaments in between practice sessions at the Merit Club, in Libertyville, in his first year as a professional.

“I put myself in a tough situation without a place to play,’’ he said, “but I learned a lot. That’s what I wanted to do – play Monday qualifiers and see what I could do. It’s really not easy. I made a few but didn’t do any good in those tournaments. Still there were a lot of positives.’’

Hardy qualified for the U.S. Open again. He won mini-tour event in Oklahoma, which paid $20,000, and he was runner-up in the Illinois Open.

“I had my moments, but there are some things in my game that I need to address,’’ he said. “It’s just one-two things that I need to address to play with the best in the world.’’

The primary one, Hardy believes, is wedge play. His college coach, Mike Small, went through the same process as a young player and he gave Hardy some good counseling.

“Coach told me you can’t just try harder in golf,’’ said Hardy. “Golf is like baseball. You give your full effort but that one thing – step back, be softer – I’m fighting that every day. That’s just who I am. Every golfer has their things about them. You give your best effort but – just by playing harder – doesn’t get it done.’’

Now older and wiser, Hardy is ready to try again.

“I believe in myself. I’m not worried about the competition,’’ said Hardy. “I’m just worried about myself.’’

Bolingbrook’s David Cooke, who won the Illinois Open for the second time last month, is another facing a playing dilemma but his is different than Hardy’s. Cooke has full playing privileges on the European PGA Challenge Tour, a stepping stone to the European PGA Tour. That’s the path that current world No. 1 Brooks Koepka took to get where he’s at now.

Cooke isn’t sure that’s what he wants to do. Last year he could have played a full schedule on the Challenge Tour but didn’t. Recently married and backed by a sponsorship agreement with Wilson, Cooke is preparing for a return to the European Q-School in November.

Other options include the PGA Latinoamerica circuit. Highwood’s Patrick Flavin, the 2017 Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open champion, and Wheaton’s Tee-K Kelly, a two-time Illinois State Amateur winner, have done well there while awaiting their chance at Q-School. Hardy said those tours are an option.

“Hopefully I’ll get my (Korn Ferry) card this fall, but all options are open. My plan for this fall is to play full-time on the Korn Ferry Tour next year. I’m very optimistic.’’

The finals of the Korn Ferry qualifying school are Dec. 12-15 at a site that hasn’t been announced.

Coaching change triggers excitement for NIU men’s golf team

I hate writing season-ending columns, mainly because – for me – the golf season never ends. One season just blends into another.

This time, though, there are some subjects that need to be addressed – one big one in particular. Northern Illinois University has a new men’s golf coach, and this hiring could reverberate throughout the college golf world.

John Carlson was hired after the Huskies’ season ended. Tom Porten had been the NIU coach the last 10 seasons and Carlson will retain Porten’s assistant, Andrew Frame, as the “associate head coach.’’

Carlson has been at Minnesota since 2010. He was head coach through 2017 and director of golf the last two seasons. The Gophers’ shining moment under Carlson came at the Big Ten Championships in 2014 when they took the title and became the only school other than Illinois to rule the Big Ten since 2009.

The NIU teams will continue to use Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, as their home course and RHF owner and NIU alum Jerry Rich, who was involved in the interviewing process for the new coach, gave his blessing to Carlson. Rich called him “ideal’’ for the job.

Carlson in turn voiced his appreciation for “the opportunity to develop champion student athletes using the world class facility at Rich Harvest Farms.’’

The Huskies will open the 2019-20 season at the Badger Invitational and that’ll be a homecoming of sorts for Carlson. He was a four-year letterman on the Wisconsin golf team.

Carlson has two returnees who are coming off successful summer seasons. Senior-to-be Jordan Less won the 100th playing of the Chicago District Amateur and sophomore-to-be Tommy Dunsire teamed up with his brother Scott to win the Chicago District Amateur Four-Ball title.

A FEW OTHER things need to be addressed before we close the curtain on 2019.

First, Medinah Country Club needs a defender for the way its No. 3 course was treated by the PGA Tour stars at last month’s BMW Championship. They found the course easy pickings, and no club member anywhere likes to have his course viewed that way. In Medinah’s case, the weather conditions were ideal for scoring and – let’s face it – the players are that good.

I like the comment from champion Justin Thomas on that subject: “It doesn’t matter what course it is. You give us soft, good greens and soft fairways and we’re going to tear it apart. It’s just how it is.’’ I like his bluntness.

Second, a longstanding appraisal of courses in golf-rich Michigan has Arcadia Bluffs and Forest Dunes generally standing head and shoulders above the others. Now that I’ve played them both I can weigh in on that matter. Arcadia has beautiful views on the water and eye-catching mounding throughout, but I’m not so sure it’s the best course in Michigan. I’m not sure Forest Dunes is, either. There’s just too many good courses in that state to concede anything to those two.

Third, it’s good that the Western Golf Association and BMW came to a last-minute agreement on a contract extension to host the FedEx Cup Playoff event. Still, a lot of questions still need answers. Where will the event be held after Olympia Fields hosts in 2020? Will the rotation of sites in and out of the Chicago area be reinstated? (For the record, I hope not).

Fourth, the Illinois PGA is going to have a tough time finding an alternate course for the Illinois Open that stands up to Ridgemoor, this year’s choice. The Chicago layout, which is rich in history, was the best-received alternate layout for the finals since the IPGA expanded the field and went to the two-course format for the finals.

Fifth, scheduling-scheduling-scheduling. Just once I’d like to see a season schedule without any notable tournament conflicts in 2020. This year there was just one – the Illinois Women’s Open and Women’s Western Amateur were played at virtually the same time. It can’t be that hard to put them on different dates.

Sixth, I’m reluctant to delve too deeply into the Oct. 18 Illinois Golf Hall of Fame inductions, since I’m blessed to be involved in them. However, I must express my regret that one of my fellow inductees, the late, great Carol Mann, won’t be with us. Carol was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame years ago but still wanted to be similarly honored in her home state. I know, because she told me in one of her last visits. Carol announced the players during the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when it was played at her former home club, Olympia Fields, in 2017.

Seventh, there’s another big event that’s close to my heart coming up the week before the Hall of Fame inductions. It’s the Senior LPGA Championship, which will be played at not-so-far-away French Lick Resort in Indiana. There were no big championships for senior women until this classy resort stepped forward. First came The Legends Championship, a major that grew into the Senior LPGA Championship. Along with both came the establishment of the Legends Hall of Fame, which is housed at the West Baden Springs Hotel on the outskirts of French Lick. Then came television coverage of the big tournament, albeit on weekdays in the fall. The U.S. Golf Association eventually created a U.S. Senior Women’s Open, but these women who did so much for the growth of the game deserve much more.

Eighth, and I’m promoting this – I admit it. The International Network of Golf is a unique group in that it brings the media together with the golf industry. It’s different than the other industry groups and has a very special event coming up from May 31-June 3, 2020. It’ll be the 30th anniversary of the ING Spring Conference, and it’ll be held in Valley Forge, Pa. My friends in all phases of the golf industry could benefit by attending and should put it on their calendars.

And finally, to bear out my contention that the golf season is long from being over, check out the tournament schedules of the Illinois PGA and Chicago District on their websites. The IPGA is busy with tournaments through Oct. 21 and the CDGA will go strong until Oct. 7. Also note that the Illinois Women’s Golf Association will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Senior Championship Sept. 10-12 and it’ll be in the Chicago area this time — at Bolingbrook Golf club.

Ghim overcame his nerves to earn PGA Tour card

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman will have Chicago area company on the PGA Tour next season. Doug Ghim, former Arlington Heights resident and Buffalo Grove High School graduate, has earned playing privileges for the circuit’s 2019-20 campaign.

Ghim did it by finishing in the top 25 money winners in the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs, a three-tournament competition matching the top players on the Korn Ferry (formerly Web.com) circuit and the PGA Tour players who failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

For Ghim it came down to the last putt on Monday in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at Victoria National in Evansville, Ind. After making a bogey on the 17th hole Ghim needed a par on the 72nd hole of the tournament to secure his card on golf’s premier circuit. He got it by getting up and down from a green-side bunker. It gave him a tie for 19th in the tournament and the No. 23 spot in the playoff standings.

Ghim’s elation after that last 10-foot putt dropped was captured on video and passed along widely on social media. He broke down in tears while leaving the green, then tweeted “IT HAPPENED.’’

Given time to reflect, Ghim admitted the pressure was intense.

“I’ve never felt nerves like that before,’’ he said. “To have it all come down to one putt is pretty surreal.’’

Given the solid amateur career that Ghim had, his qualifying for the PGA Tour in his rookie season as a touring pro shouldn’t be a surprise.

Though playing high school golf only as a freshman, he earned a scholarship to collegiate powerhouse Texas and was a mainstay for the Longhorns for four seasons. Working with his father Jeff as his swing instructor, Ghim preferred to play in the bigger junior tournaments around the country rather than be limited to high school events. He competed very rarely in Illinois as an amateur and that decision paid off.

Ghim made the U.S. teams for both the Walker Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup matches and a runner-up finish in the 2017 U.S. Amateur earned him a berth in the 2018 Masters tournament. Ghim didn’t let that opportunity get away, either. He was low amateur, finishing in a tie for 50th place, and brought home some coveted crystal by making three eagles during the tournament.

After finishing up at Texas he turned pro, moved to Las Vegas and earned a berth on the Korn Ferry circuit through its three-stage qualifying tournament last fall. His play during the regular season, though, wasn’t noteworthy. He had a tie for third in Colombia in the second tournament of the season in February and two top-10s in June but was only No. 52 on the point list at the conclusion of the regular season.

That left him out of the top 25 who gained automatic PGA Tour cards for the 2019-20 campaign, and he was trending in the wrong direction entering the season-ending playoff series. He had three missed cuts to conclude the regular season but was steady in the playoff events, finishing tied for 23rd and tied for 37th before his nail-biting finish on Monday.

Chances are Ghim won’t get much of a rest before the next PGA Tour season begins. It’ll tee off on Thursday with A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier event in West Virginia. While most of the established PGA Tour players will compete only sparingly for the rest of 2019, the young players will want to get their seasons off to a good start.

The fall events will provide a chance for Ghim and the other Korn Ferry Tour graduates to get into a series of big-money tournaments and earn FedEx Cup points before the top stars return full-time.