Author: lenz

Professionally speaking, Dustin Johnson is all that Myrtle Beach needs

Memorabilia from Dustin Johnson’s PGA Tour career are featured in TPC Myrtle Beach’s clubhouse.

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina – I love Myrtle Beach. There, I’ve said it again. With 100 courses in a very condensed area, there’s no golf destination quite like it.

After about a half dozen visits spread over several years there’s one thing I don’t quite understand about this golf mecca yet, however. None of the professional tours stop there, and only one prominent player, Dustin Johnson, calls Myrtle Beach home.

Why is that? I have asked around. The big pro tournaments, I’ve been told, cost too much money. The last one here was the Senior PGA Tour Championship, which ended a seven-year run in 2000 after losing its sponsorship.

My guess, though, is that the real reason the pro stops aren’t on the calendar is because Myrtle Beach doesn’t need them for promotional purposes. Besides, this area on the Atlantic seaboard near the North Carolina line is a place to play golf – not watch it.

Not only that, but Myrtle Beach does have a big event – the biggest in fact. The World Amateur has been played here for 32 years and draws over 3,000 players annually. More on that event later.

A fountain contributes to the ambience around the clubhouse at True Blue.

Perhaps more junior golf programs would stimulate more pro tour players, but Johnson is as big-time a player as there is in the game. He hasn’t won a major title yet, but he’s come close with runner-up finishes in both the 2011 British Open and 2015 U.S. Open. At 31, Johnson has nine wins on the PGA Tour and is currently No. 9 in the World Golf Rankings and he’s demonstrated his devotion to the community where his golf game blossomed.
Turtles in the huge bunker are part of drama at True Blue’s finishing hole.

Though he grew up in Columbia, S.C., Johnson established himself golf-wise as a college student athlete at Costal Carolina in Myrtle Beach. He spent much of his time then at the school’s General James Hackler Course as well as at TPC Myrtle Beach and the TPC connection continues to this day.

Basically Johnson has had a 10-year relationship with Myrtle Beach. He hosted the inaugural Dustin Johnson World Junior tournament in February and the Dustin Johnson Golf School is based at TPC Myrtle Beach, which also has a big display of Johnson memorabilia in its clubhouse. Through his charitable foundation Johnson has contributed $250,000 to junior golf in South Carolina and the World Junior is at his home club.

This hole, the par-4 17th, had a look like no other on our round at True Blue.

Even though he lives more in Florida and California now, Johnson still plays out of Myrtle Beach when he enters a tournament. TPC Myrtle Beach is a good fit for him. Designed by Tom Fazio with Lanny Wadkins acting as a consultant, that course opened in 1999 and hosted the last of Myrtle Beach’s PGA Tour stops the following year, Tom Watson winning the Senior PGA Tour Championship there.

TPC Myrtle Beach, located in Murrells Inlet, it a great track but not necessarily the best course that the area has to offer. Ranking them all is a very subjective thing, and my order of preference keeps changing. Right now top five would be: 1, Caledonia; 2, TPC Myrtle Beach; 3, Dunes Club; 4, True Blue; 5, Dye Course at Barefoot Resort. But that could change tomorrow.

What about Grande Dunes, Heritage, King’s North at Myrtle Beach National, the Moorland Course at Legends Resort or Tidewater. They’re all good, and there’s a lot more that I haven’t played. (Just give me time).

One misconception about Myrtle Beach to be noted: there’s plenty of other things to do besides golf. It doesn’t have to be all golf, by any means.

The thirteenth hole may be the most memorable par-3 at TPC Myrtle Beach.

Brookgreen Gardens, for instance, is a beautiful and most interesting place with its stunning sculptures. You could be entertained a whole day there.

Then there’s there beautiful beaches, all varieties of lodging, lots of children’s activities (which include elaborate miniature golf attractions), a minor league baseball team and tons of memorable restaurants. Ours included Sea Captain’s House, Wicked Tuna and Old Vienna Café. The first two offer ocean-front views.

The nearby Hammock Coast area, which includes the communities of Murrell’s Inlet, Pawley’s Island, Litchfield Beach, Garden City, Georgetown and Andrews, offers more diversions in the way of history, shopping, antiques, art galleries, water sports, dining and nature activities.

Though you don’t have to play golf every day to enjoy Myrtle Beach – hitting the links would never be a bad option.

The next big event golf-wise at Myrtle Beach will be the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am at the Dye Course at Barefoot. A huge annual party, it’ll be played on April 11.

A much bigger deal comes up in August with the 33rd playing of the World Amateur About 35 courses will be used for the week-long event, to be played Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, and tournament coordinator Scott Tomasello expects about 3,500 players to participate. The only state that didn’t have a player in last year’s World Am was Idaho, and the entries included golfers from about 25 foreign countries as well. Early registration for that event starts on March 29.

No. 5 at TPC Myrtle Beach is a beautiful 158-yard par-3.

Hilton Head has the best clubhouse on the PGA Tour — and much more

Few PGA Tour events are blessed with clubhouses as spectacular as this one at Harbour Town.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina – It’s inevitable, I suppose.

Major improvement projects that impact a PGA Tour event will get more attention than ones that don’t. That’s why you can’t downplay all that’s been done at Harbour Town Golf Links. This home base for the RBC Heritage Classic, coming up on April 14-17 – the week after the Masters – has been in a state of flux for a while.

The original clubhouse for that course, built in 1969 – the same year the Heritage was played for the first time — was demolished after the 2014 Heritage Classic and its replacement was somehow ready in time for last year’s tournament.

How a $25 million facility can be constructed in less than a calendar year amazes me. The new version is spectacular. It has 4,000 square feet of lockerroom space, a 1,900-square foot pro shop and a 2,200 square foot banquet and events space on the top floor. Inside, on two floors, are paintings covering the Wall of Champions.

The entire project, measured at 55,000 square feet, isn’t just big. It’s awesome, and no other PGA Tour event is blessed with a home clubhouse this good.

When the PGA Tour stars return for the 2016 Heritage they’ll find a new golf course. The Harbour Town Golf Links was closed after Jim Furyk’s victory in 2015. The course was re-grassed and a new irrigation system installed. The course was re-opened for play last fall and now the PGA Tour players will weigh in on the course updating. Chances are good they’ll love it, as Harbour Town has long been one of their favorite stops.

The Jim Furyk painting is the newest addition to Harbour Town’s Wall of Champions.
Falling right after the pressure-packed Masters, the Heritage offers a more relaxed atmosphere – one that is ideal for family time while still providing a title well worth winning.

Over the long haul Hilton Head isn’t just about one big week of tournament golf. It’s a vacation spot so good that the International Association of Golf Tourism Operators named Hilton Head Island as its North American Golf Destination of the Year for 2016 and Golf Digest has listed Hilton Head as one of America’s Top 10 for Buddy Trips, for Best Courses, Value, Lodging, Weather, Couples Trips and Food and Drink Locations.

What might get lost in the over-the-top work done at the tournament venue is that significant improvements have also been taking place at Hilton Head’s other golf facilities. In fact, no other golf destination has spent so much in a very short period of time.

Golf Etc. was setting up operations during our visit to the Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course at Palmetto Dunes.

To be clear, there’s much more than golf going on at Hilton Head. Our latest visit showed there were lots of happy, healthy people. They were enjoying hiking, cycling and strolling along a beautiful beach. But golf is the big thing.

During the last three years over $250 million has been invested in new construction and renovations by the area’s course owners. That’s why there’s so many good golf options in the Hilton Head area.

Counting the nearby towns of Bluffton and Beaufort, there are 28 courses available – and they’re all good.

Pete Dye, who designed Harbour Town, also was the architect for nearby Heron’s Point. It was South Carolina’s Golf Course of the Year in 2015. The Plantation Golf Club Clubhouse, which serves the Heron’s Point and Ocean Course players, was the Golf Inc.’s 2015 Clubhouse of the Year.

Other designers whose creations adorn the Hilton Head community include Arthur Hills and George Fazio, who have courses in their names at the Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort; Bob Cupp, the architect for Palmetto Hall; Rees Jones (Oyster Reef and Country Club of Hilton Head), Jack Nicklaus (Golden Bear and Indigo Run), Gary Player and Bobby Weed (Hilton Head National), Davis Love III (Eagle’s Point) and Arnold Palmer (Crescent Point). Those places are making things happen, too.

Palmetto Dunes’ Arthur Hills Course is the first course we’ve visit that offered the Golf Bike to its players.
Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, for instance, designated its delightful Arthur Hills Course as the first on the island to offer Golf Bikes. They’re among the newest things for on-course transportation and three are available for rental at the Hills layout. Our tester used one for nine holes and got a great workout. While ride the bike didn’t help her golf game on that day, it was still a fun experience.

Another of the three Palmetto courses, the Robert Trent Jones Ocean Course, has added Golf Etc. – an elaborate club-fitting, building and repair facility. Club fittings are done in an outdoor setting that permits full ball flight. And more than 20,000 total club and shaft combinations are possible with the products of Titleist, Cobra, Callaway, TaylorMade, Nike, Ping, Mizuno, Edel, Fujikura, Matrex, Aerotec Steelfiber, Nippon, KBS, TrueTemper, Accra, Paderson and others available.

Harbour Town may be the celebrated course in Hilton Head but it doesn’t get all the attention. In fact, this year it’s a clearcut No. 2 behind Ocean Course. That layout, the first 18-holer built at Hilton Head in 1962, is closed to allow for a major renovation supervised by the Davis Love III design group. Love, again the U.S. Ryder Cup champion, won the Heritage five times and is just the man to take another course in the area to a new, higher level.

When he’s done with the Ocean Course the Hilton Head golfers will have still another good option – as if they really needed one!

Harbour Town’s renovated course is being prepared to host its first RBC Heritage Classic.

Ocean influence makes golf on Amelia Island something special

Few ocean holes are as scenic as No. 15 — a par-3 at Amelia Island’s Ocean Links.

AMELIA ISLAND, Florida – Located in the northeastern most corner of Florida, Amelia Island isn’t the easiest place to find and it isn’t all that big, either – just 18 square miles.

When it comes to golf, however, Amelia Island is clearly in the big time. It has 117 holes, seven of which play along the Atlantic Ocean, but the heart of the golf community here is at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort. It contains 54 of those holes.

If you’re a golfer who craves ocean views, this is a good place to visit. We’ve visited several courses with ocean in their names on both the east and west coasts of the United States, and with most it’s only a token reference. Not so with Ocean Links, one of the three 18-holers at Omni Amelia Island Plantation. It has five holes on the water. Four run parallel to the Atlantic shoreline and No. 15, a par-3, has a spectacular backdrop of the ocean from behind the green.

Omni took over ownership of the Amelia Island Plantation Resort in 2011 and made some costly improvements. They included sprucing up of some of the best-established courses in the area. All the greens were redone and new irrigation systems were installed on 27 of the holes

Amelia Island Plantation has been the centerpiece for golfers since Omni took over resort ownership.

The resort opened in 1974 with 27 holes, all designed by legendary architect Pete Dye. One of his protégés, Bobby Weed, got involved two decades later when 18 of the original holes were designated for the Oak Marsh course.

Weed tweaked the other nine and designed a fourth nine, and those 18 holes became the Ocean Links course with Weed the architect of record. The third course, designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1987, is Long Point. It’s the members course but resort guests can also gain access to it. All three courses were used when The Golf Channel staged Big Break Florida with 12 female contestants in the fall of 2013. (The show aired the following spring).

Dye returned to give Oak Marsh an updating after it passed the 30-year mark and it’s been included in Golf Digest’s Top 75 Resort Courses in the U.S. and Travel & Leisure Golf’s listing of Florida’s 50 Finest Courses.

Not one to dwell on the magazine rankings, I was most intrigued by Ocean Links. In addition to the array of ocean holes, it has an unusual composition – six par-3s, eight par-4s and four par-5s. Its length – only 6,108 yards from the tips – is deceiving. Ocean Links has its tight spots and elevated greens and doesn’t play like your typical short course.

Oak Marsh isn’t on the ocean, but the Pete Dye design has its testy holes — like the par-3 seventh.

The holes meander along the ocean, through lagoons and wetlands and into some of the residential neighborhoods. While walking is no problem at Oak Marsh, it wouldn’t work at Ocean Links because there’s too much distance between the greens and tees in many places.

Still, the course has a couple of interesting tidbits in its history. Golf for Women magazine has named it one of the 50 Best Courses for Women and one of the holes-in-one produced there came from a helpful contact – Golf Channel personality Matt Ginella. He made his first career ace on the 15th.

Weed’s role with the course extends beyond being a Dye protégé. He also spent time as its superintendent in addition to his design work. That also includes the creation of Slammer & Squire at World Golf Village in nearby St. Augustine. Weed has also been involved in the creation of four of the Tournament Players Club layouts.

Golf at Amelia isn’t all at the Omni resort. The Fernandina Beach Golf Club has 27 holes and is one of the country’s most popular municipal courses and at least two others on the island – Amelia River and Golf Club of Amelia Island – also merit mention.

No. 5, a par-3, starts a run of holes along the Atlantic at Ocean Links.

Amelia Island isn’t all about golf, either. In fact, it’s a most interesting place from an historical perspective – though of not quite the magnitude of St. Augustine, long billed as America’s Oldest City. Amelia is almost as old, dating back to 1562 when Frenchman Jean Ribault raised the first flag there. Amelia Island is the only place in America where eight different flags have flown – those of France, Spain, Great Britain, the Patriots of Amelia Island, the Green Cross Flag, Mexico, the National Flag of the Confederacy and, of course, the banner of the U.S.

The U.S. flag went up in 1821 and that prompted a building boom that included two elegant hotels. They in turn led to such prominent families as the Vanderbilts, DuPonts and Carnegies being among the visitors. In later years the modern shrimping industry was founded on Amelia Island.

For now, though, Amelia Island draws visitors because of its 50-block area of downtown Fernandina Beach, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places; its delightful weather and beautiful beaches. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that the golf is so good here as well.

Course views are fine, but here’s what it looks like from the upper floors of the Omni hotel.

Housing boom could bolster World Golf Hall of Fame

A sign of the times: housing units are being built around both of the World Golf Village courses.


ST. AUGUSTINE, Florida – The World Golf Hall of Fame should be a regular stop for serious golfers. For me it’s been an annual one the last five years.

This time there were some notable changes since the winter of 2015. The menu at the delightful Caddie Shack restaurant changed three times (and is about to be changed again) in between my last two visits. The new hot entrée is the fried potato golf balls appetizer. They’re terrific.

The Hall of Fame museum continues to be freshened up, though it was surprising that no mention was made of golf’s return to the Olympic Games, which is just a few months away. The Bob Hope “Shanks for the Memories exhibit – a popular fixture since the Hall opened in America’s Oldest City in 1998 – is still going strong and that won’t change. A few months ago the late comedian’s family sent over three truckloads of more memorabilia. It’s not on display yet, but obviously a few new looks to the mainstay exhibit is in the offing.

Champions of the 2015 major tourneys are already included in the Hall of Fame.

Newest feature in the Hall is the Major Memories exhibit, which features an interactive replica of the Masters scoreboard. The 2015 winners of the four majors – Jordan Spieth (Masters and U.S. Open), Zach Johnson (British Open) and Jason Day (PGA Championship) get their recognition and the latest Hall of Fame inductees – Laura Davies, David Graham, Mark O’Meara and architect A.W. Tillinghast – have their floor space, too.

That foursome, in a departure from tradition, was inducted at St. Andrews instead of in St. Augustine but the next induction ceremony will be staged back in Florida in 2017.

All that is well and good, but most important thing the Hall has going now is in the housing market. There are 200 units under construction within the World Golf Village boundaries and three major housing communities are being created on the Village outskirts. There hasn’t been this much construction going on in the immediate area in at least five years.

The World Golf Hall of Fame stands tall in a majestic setting.

Jim Hahn, in his fourth year as general manager of the Village’s Slammer & Squire and King & The Bear courses, sees the building boom as a trigger point for more good things. He admits that golf memberships and rounds played haven’t shown much improvement yet and the retail shops have basically been converted to office space. All that, though, could change as the homes now under construction are sold and their owners move in.

There’s already been talk of a significant competition – the Web.com Tour Championship — being played on the Village courses. That’s not a done deal yet, but at least it’s under consideration.

This regular visitor felt the World Golf Hall of Fame never looked better. It’s always been a pleasant place to visit, whether you’re a serious golfer or one who has had little exposure to the game. There seems to be something for everyone there, and more will likely discover that in the next few months. March is always the busiest month at World Golf Village and May will be big, too, with the PGA Tour’s Players Championship coming to nearby TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, FL.

Laura Davies and David Graham were part of the latest class of Hall of Fame inductees.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Kingsmill’s “packages” take politics into account

Golf is tough at the DubsDread course in Orlando, FL., even before you tee off. The practice range has a forced carry from all the hitting bays.

Our road trip ventures resume next week, with five weeks worth of stops at golf destinations in Florida, the Carolinas and Virginia. Before our on-site reports resume, however, here’s an array of things going on at golf facilities around the country.

THE KINGSMILL Resort, in Williamsburg, Va., unveiled its own “Best Golf Package Ever,’’ and it seems a good one. For $139 you get a round of golf, AAA Four Diamond accommodations and a breakfast overlooking the James River.

In making that announcement, though, the resort had some tongue-in-cheek fun, admitting that today’s politicians might have other ideas on what golf packages should be. With Primary Season in full swing, here’s what they think some of the Presidential contenders might be thinking.

The Bernie Sanders Package might allow for everyone to play for free. “But,’’ surmised the Kingsmill staffers, “there would be a tax of $139 per person so that others can play for free.’’

The Donald Trump Package “could be so amazing that you’ll want to pay an extra $139 to make your game great again.’’ But, said the staffers, ““just don’t ask for any details on the package.’’

Hillary Clinton’s “package’’ has the resort keeping the golfers’ scores on a computer service in the pro shop bathroom. Then, “if you don’t like your final score it can just be wiped clean.’’

And finally there’s the Marco Rubio “package.’’ In that one you can play with anyone under 46 years old for free. “Ideal for people travelling with kids,’’ is the lure behind that one.

Location-wise, Kingsmill has a long history with political conflict. The land on which it resides was also where skirmishes in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars were fought.

Veteran Chicago teaching pro Chuck Lynch unveiled his new invention — the Swing Trac — at the Chicago Golf Show. Lynch teaches at White Pines in Bensenville. (Photo by Rory Spears)

KOCH JOINS LEGENDS: Carin Koch, twice a winner of the LPGA Tour and once a champion on the Ladies European Tour, will make her debut on the LPGA’s Legends Tour in that circuit’s 2016 opener, the March 4-6 Walgreens Charity Classic at the Grandview course in Sun City, Ariz.

The 36-hole tourney will have a $250,000 purse for the 50 players in the 45-and-over division and a separate purse will be available in the Honours Division, for players 63 and over.

The Legends also have a big event the week after the Masters. Thirty of the Legends players will hook up with 139 from the LPGA’s Symetra Tour and another 12 from the women’s circuit in Taiwan in the second Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial at Cypress Lake in Ft. Myers, FL., from April 11-17. The Symetra players will compete for $200,000 and the Legends for $150,000.

Here’s another new mode of on-course transportation — a Golf Bike, on display at the PGA Merchandise Show.

ANOTHER BIGGIE AT MYRTLE BEACH: Myrtle Beach will conduct its March Championship on March 6-8. The 54-hole individual low net competition has drawn players from 24 states, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada. Six courses will be used for the competition — Farmstead, Hackler, Long Bay, Panther’s Run, Shaftesbury and Wing Wing Avocet.

Two of the most popular courses at South Carolina destination – Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and True Blue – are featured in a Spring Break Getaway offering. Lodging is at True Blue, and that course will also become the first Myrtle Beach course to offer Goalboards. Operating like snowboards or skateboards, they’re the newest thing in course transportation.

Two packages are being offered – a three-night four-round version for $729 per person and a five-night, six-round version for $949.

Caledonia and True Blue are also part of an Honors package which offers a five-night stay and seven rounds for $1,195. The other courses in this package are Grande Dunes, Tidewater, Dunes Club and two of the three rated courses at Barefoot Resort (ones designed by Pete Dye, Tom Fazio and Davis Love III). Lodging is at the Marina Inn.

MASTERS – IN CHICAGO? The First Tee of Greater Chicago will use the first day of the Masters tournament, on April 7, to stage a Golf Fashion Show at Old Crow Smokehouse, 149 W. Kinzie River North.

The fund-raising event, to run from 6-9 p.m., will feature “Masters-inspired food and drink.’’ Tickets, available through the First Tee’s website, are $85 and VIP Super Tickets are $150.

Need new golf shoes? No problem. Plenty of them — in all styles and colors — were available at the PGA Merchandise Show.

NEW AT SWEETGRASS: Island Resort & Casino, in Harris, Mich., plans to unveil its new Drift Spa this spring. The resort’s Sweetgrass course is a host site on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour.

Creation of the spa is part of an $8 million resort and casino expansion project. Ground has also been broken on a second course that will be much different than Sweetgrass, even though Paul Albanese is the designer of both.

RYDER CUP FEVER? The Ryder Cup matches, last played on American soil at Medinah in 2014, will return at Hazeline, in Chaska, Minn., this fall. They’re scheduled from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2 and Premier Golf is already offering travel packages. They start at $2,895 and include four nights lodging, a season ticket to the matches, daily breakfasts and round-trip transportation to and from the course as well as a VIP chalet option off the No. 16 hole.

SEQUEL AT CONCESSION: Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin will be honorary captains of the U.S. and Great Britain-Ireland teams in the second playing of the Concession Cup from April 19-23 in Bradenton, FL. Concession, the host club, is a Nicklaus design and the honorary chairman of the event is a Concession member – former U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger.

The Ryder Cup-style event features 18-player teams. Eight on each squad are Mid-Amateurs (ages 25-54), eight are seniors 55 and over and two are seniors 65 and over. The U.S. won the first playing of the event 21 1/2-14 ½ in 2014.

Golf Show triggers IPGA announcement on new Illinois Open sites

Weather notwithstanding, you know the local golf season can’t be far away when the Chicago Golf Show is on the horizon.

The show started on a small scale 33 years ago, an experimental venture by the Illinois PGA at Harper College in Palatine. It has grown into the largest consumer golf show in the country. About 300 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors are expected to attend the Friday-Sunday event at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont

While the smaller Tinley Park Golf Expo celebrated its fifth anniversary two weeks ago, the Chicago Golf Show remains the big one for local players anxious to start the season. This year’s show will feature its first-ever exhibition by popular local trick shot specialist Peter Longo, dubbed the “King of Clubs.’’

Three members of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears – Emery Moorehead, Mike Richardson and Jim Morrissey – will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their championship season by taking lessons from IPGA professionals Kevin Weeks, Brad Syslo and Kurt Kollmeyer. Moorehead will get his public lesson on Friday, Richardson on Saturday and Morrissey on Sunday.

Exhibitors include local courses and organizations, equipment and fashion manufacturers and travel destinations. Show hours are noon-7 p.m. on Friday (FEB 26), 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday (FEB 27) and (9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday (FEB 28).

Adult tickets are $5 on Friday and $10 on Saturday and Sunday. Youngsters under 12 will be admitted free and those 12-15 will get in for $4. Show attendees will also get coupons for free rounds from GolfVisions, which operates 16 area courses.

Though the courses have been basically closed since last fall, the Chicago golf community has not been idle during the winter, and tournament play isn’t far off. Carrie Williams, starting her first full season as executive director of the Illinois PGA, used Chicago Golf Show Week to make her first major announcement – the return of the Illinois Open to Royal Fox in St. Charles.

Royal Fox will host the tourney for the eighth time; only The Glen Club, in Glenview, has hosted the premier event for Illinois golfers more times. The Illinois Open has been played at The Glen nine times. Royal Fox will co-host with St. Charles neighbor Royal Hawk from July 25-27.

The Illinois Open will have seven state-wide qualifying rounds in June to determine 258 finalists. It’ll mark the second year for an expanded field and two-course format for the 54-hole finals. All qualifiers will play both courses in the first two rounds, and those who survive the cut will battle over Royal Fox in the final round.

The Illinois PGA will begin its tournament season on April 11. Its full schedule will be announced this week and registration will open on the section’s website on March 1. and The Chicago District Golf Assn. campaign will tee off on April 27.

While the only Western Golf Assn. tournament for this season in the Chicago area will be the Western Amateur, to be played at Knollwood Club in Lake Forest from Aug. 1-6, there are two new professional tour events on the calendar — the Web.com’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe from June 9-12 and the Ladies PGA UL International Crown, at Libertyville’s Merit Club from July 19-24.

The CDGA has created a major new addition to its schedule – an Individual Net Series for players with established handicaps. It’ll include four Better Ball of Pairs events and two Individual Net competitions, all to be played between May 23 and Sept. 13.

New IPGA head professionals have been named at several clubs. They include Daniel Behr, at Ravinia Green in Riverwoods; Dan Kochevar, at Carriage Greens in Darien; Nathan Perry at Aurora Country Club; Luan Ramadani, at Joliet Country Club; Chad Robbins at Arrowhead, in Wheaton; Andrew Stevens, at Calumet Country Club, in Homewood; and Shane Stuart, at Silver Ridge, in Oregon, IL.

Cog Hill, the premier public facility, has announced the creation of a new tournament that is planned as an annual attraction. The Cog Hill Amateur will be played May 21-22 on the Nos. 2 and 4 courses at the 72-hole Lemont facility. Entries will be limited to the first 100 applicants and the top 72 after 36 holes will qualify for the championship flight.

Both Cog Hill and Cantigny, in Wheaton, have announced starting dates for major teaching programs. Cantigny will kick off a new six-week course on fitness training for golfers on March 3 and the Golf Academy schools at Cog will begin on March 19.

This Florida course sure knows how to attract golfers

WINTER PARK, FLORIDA – A big reason for scheduling a round at Winter Pines Golf Club is that it is – at least arguably – the busiest course in Florida. Given the reported 1,500-plus courses in the Sunshine State – and particularly the array of good ones in the Orlando area – that’s saying something.

Determining the busiest course anywhere is difficult, since the number of rounds played is self reported. It’s hard to imagine any U.S. course, for instance, getting more rounds than Rancho Park – the city-owned Los Angeles hotbed that is blessed with consistently better weather year-around than any course in Florida.

Winter Pines is right up there in popularity, though. In 1992 it had a reported a high of 90,000 rounds. That’s about 300 players a day. That number dropped off to about 75,000 rounds in 2002 but general manager Steve Singh says the course still averages about 65,000 per year despite the economic struggles that have affected the golf industry nation-wide.

I’ve played Rancho Park, once the site of the PGA Tour’s Los Angeles Open and the U.S. Golf Association’s U.S. Senior Open among other big events. It’s still a championship-style course and still busy. Winter Pines is much different.

The course is short, but not a par-3 or executive-length layout. It plays at 5,401 yards from the tips and is a par-67. When building began in 1964 the architect, C.A. McCalister, plotted a par-62 course for the five original owners of a course then temporarily called Golfside Country Club.

The course opened in 1968 and was expanded in 1977. Five holes were lengthened by Bud Timbrook, a golf professional who was part of the original ownership group, and Gardner Dickinson, the veteran PGA Tour player.

Ed McMillin, whose family owns a pie factory in Erie, Pa., bought the course in 1980. About to turn 90, McMillin had the right idea from the start, offering players a good product at a fair price. That policy continued when McMillin’s son Jon served as the club’s general manager. Jon is now the club president. Singh started working at Winter Pines 13 years ago when he washed carts as an 18-year old and worked his way up to the GM position.

“Winter Pines is my family, and I’m very lucky to be part of the company,’’ Singh says. He’s not alone in feeling that way. Joe Ondo, the superintendent, arrived in 1979 and hasn’t left. He plans to retire in August after 37 years on the job.

The Winter Pines leadership has the right idea. It draws big numbers of players year-around — not just during the heart of the tourist season –for a variety of reasons.

You can’t beat the price (currently a high of $25 on the weekends, cart included), but the popularity of Winter Pines is just based on cost. The course conditioning is good throughout. The practice area is more than ample. For those who prefer walking, the course is great for that. There are programs offered for juniors and an event calendar for all types of older players as well. The clubhouse had a cheerful atmosphere and the staff was friendly when we visited.

Located across the street from the Orlando city limits, Winter Pines felt like just what it is – a nice neighborhood golf course. Winter Park Pines is the subdivision in which the course is located, and it’s only about 15 minutes from the downtown area.

As for the course, its most striking architectural feature is the stream that meanders through most all the holes. It serves as a hazard in spots and a visual enhancement in others. Players, though, will probably find the four consecutive par-3 holes on the back nine the most memorable aspect. The layouts has two par-5s, the longer of which is 480 yards. The seven par-3s range from 85 yards (front tee at No. 8) to 224 (back tee at No. 12).

There are no par-5s on the back side, and that may be a big plus in attracting new players. Shorter holes do facilitate lower scores and lower scores are encouraging for any player. Winter Pines won’t beat you up, that’s for sure, and showing a greatly improve score on the back nine is incentive to come back for more.

Lehman’s radical new Florida course is one of a kind

OCALA, Florida – The ingenuity of golf course architects never ceases to amaze me, but Tom Lehman – a player first and designer a distant second – has outdone all his architectural counterparts for the time being.

Lehman — a two-time major championship winner, former Ryder Cup captain and a regular on the Champions Tour – has unveiled a radical new design. Working with Tripp Davis, an architect with roots in Oklahoma, Lehman created a full-fledged 18-hole course on just 50 acres.

And, actually, the course is much more than that. It can be played as a six-hole par-3 layout, a six-hole executive course (one par-3, four par-4s and one par-5), an 18-hole par-54 short course or a full 18-hole par-72 layout that measures over 6,600 yards.

This mind-blowing creation is at the Trilogy Golf Club at Ocala Preserve in Florida, just three miles down the road from Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club – home of the Coates Championship on the LPGA Tour.

According to Brian Woodruff, who left a club job at Vistancia in Arizona to become The Trilogy’s head professional a month before the course’s February 2 grand opening, the highly innovative design was Lehman’s idea and Davis helped him bring it to fruition.

Lehman lists Verrado and Encanterra in Arizona as his two main golf architectural efforts and he also is planning an 18-holer at the Prairie Club in Nebraska. The Trilogy, though, is better proof that his creative juices are flowing big-time.

Trilogy is actually four courses. Two are 18-holers. The short Skills is a par-54 with holes ranging from 63 to just over 200 yards and the Players will stretch over 6,600. It’s a par-72 and includes two tee complexes and two hole locations per hole.

Also available are two six-hole loops – the Gallery which is a par-3 layout and the Players, which is a par-24 with one par-3, four par-4s and one par-5. Players with limited time will be accommodated on those holes.

Mixed into all that is the possibility of a Horse Course, one in which players can have a match much like the classic version of a basketball game of the same name. The Horse Course isn’t completely new. The Prairie Club in Valentine, Neb., has a 10-hole version designed by Gil Hanse, architect of the Olympic Games venue in Brazil, and Geoff Shackelford. I’ve played it and found it lots of fun.

Getting players around The Trilogy sounds complicated (and it is, believe me), but Woodruff – sounding only somewhat confident – said “I don’t believe players will get confused.’’

Well, we’ll see. The course won’t be fully open until Feb. 12, when public players get their first crack at it. Then it’ll be a case of deciding what players can play which of the four courses and at what times. One thing that will help is the use of different colored flags. They’ll be blue on the Skills Course and red on the Players Course.

For starters the courses will be open to members only Sunday to Thursday and the public can play Fridays and Saturdays. Members will pay $7 for use of the course for a whole day. The public rate will be $35 in the current tourist season and $20 out of season.

The Trilogy will be a walking-only course with push carts and a Golf Skate Caddy available for those who don’t want to carry their own bag.

One other unique thing of note: there’ll be only one tee marker per hole. A player can tee off within a yard in front, behind or to either side of the marker. Lehman wanted to create different lies, even from the tees.

There’s a bit of history to this new concept. The land on which The Trilogy was built was once a golf course – an 18-holer called Ashley Farms. Its owners went bankrupt and the land sat idle for six years. Lehman and Davis built their course in nine months and it’ll eventually have a boathouse and clubhouse with all the amenities. The surrounding housing community is targeted for 1,700 homes, about 50 of which are in various stages of construction.

I thought I’d seen everything when I walked over The Loop, a Tom Doak design in Roscommon, Mich., when it was in the early stages of construction. Planned as a second course to complement play at the adjoining Forest Dunes, The Loop layout enables players to go 18 holes in one direction on one day and then play 18 in the other direction the next. And I thought that was radical.

As is the case with The Trilogy, I’ll have to see The Loop in operation before I can judge it. The Loop is expected to open this summer. Woodruff promised me a chance to play The Trilogy once its deemed ready for play. You can bet I’ll take him up on it.

This Florida course sure knows how to attract golfers

Winter Pines’ golfers get a good look at the green on the par-3 eighth hole from behind the No. 7 green.

WINTER PARK, FLORIDA – A big reason for scheduling a round at Winter Pines Golf Club is that it is – at least arguably – the busiest course in Florida. Given the reported 1,500-plus courses in the Sunshine State – and particularly the array of good ones in the Orlando area – that’s saying something.

Determining the busiest course anywhere is difficult, since the number of rounds played is self reported. It’s hard to imagine any U.S. course, for instance, getting more rounds than Rancho Park – the city-owned Los Angeles hotbed that is blessed with consistently better weather year-around than any course in Florida.

Winter Pines is right up there in popularity, though. In 1992 it had a reported a high of 90,000 rounds. That’s about 300 players a day. That number dropped off to about 75,000 rounds in 2002 but general manager Steve Singh says the course still averages about 65,000 per year despite the economic struggles that have affected the golf industry nation-wide.

Signs of city life are visible at Winter Pines but don’t detract of the atmosphere on the course.

I’ve played Rancho Park, once the site of the PGA Tour’s Los Angeles Open and the U.S. Golf Association’s U.S. Senior Open among other big events. It’s still a championship-style course and still busy. Winter Pines is much different.

The course is short, but not a par-3 or executive-length layout. It plays at 5,401 yards from the tips and is a par-67. When building began in 1964 the architect, C.A. McCalister, plotted a par-62 course for the five original owners of a course then temporarily called Golfside Country Club.

The course opened in 1968 and was expanded in 1977. Five holes were lengthened by Bud Timbrook, a golf professional who was part of the original ownership group, and Gardner Dickinson, the veteran PGA Tour player.

Ed McMillin, whose family owns a pie factory in Erie, Pa., bought the course in 1980. About to turn 90, McMillin had the right idea from the start, offering players a good product at a fair price. That policy continued when McMillin’s son Jon served as the club’s general manager. Jon is now the club president. Singh started working at Winter Pines 13 years ago when he washed carts as an 18-year old and worked his way up to the GM position.

“Winter Pines is my family, and I’m very lucky to be part of the company,’’ Singh says. He’s not alone in feeling that way. Joe Ondo, the superintendent, arrived in 1979 and hasn’t left. He plans to retire in August after 37 years on the job.

The Winter Pines leadership has the right idea. It draws big numbers of players year-around — not just during the heart of the tourist season –for a variety of reasons.

You can’t beat the price (currently a high of $25 on the weekends, cart included), but the popularity of Winter Pines isn’t just based on cost. The course conditioning is good throughout. The practice area is more than ample. For those who prefer walking, the course is great for that. There are programs offered for juniors and an event calendar for all types of older players as well. The clubhouse had a cheerful atmosphere and the staff was friendly when we visited.

Located across the street from the Orlando city limits, Winter Pines felt like just what it is – a nice neighborhood golf course. Winter Park Pines is the subdivision in which the course is located, and it’s only about 15 minutes from the downtown area.

As for the course, its most striking architectural feature is the stream that meanders through most all the holes. It serves as a hazard in spots and a visual enhancement in others. Players, though, will probably find the four consecutive par-3 holes on the back nine the most memorable aspect. The layouts has two par-5s, the longer of which is 480 yards. The seven par-3s range from 85 yards (front tee at No. 8) to 224 (back tee at No. 12).

There are no par-5s on the back side, and that may be a big plus in attracting new players. Shorter holes do facilitate lower scores and lower scores are encouraging for any player. Winter Pines won’t beat you up, that’s for sure, and showing a greatly improve score on the back nine is incentive to come back for more.

The clubhouse is a good starting and finishing point when you visit Winter Pines.

Chicago Golf Club gets first U.S. Senior Women’s Open

America’s first 18-hole course is back on the U.S. Golf Assn. tournament schedule — and as the site of its newest national championship to boot.

Chicago Golf Club, in Wheaton, was named Saturday as the first site of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. It’ll be played July 12-15, 2018.

The USGA has been pressured to host an event for women in the 50-plus age group for several years. It has long held championships for men in all age groups and also conducts youth and women’s national championships, highlighted by the U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur, for players of both sexes, but it didn’t have an event for all the competitive older women. Those who spurred the growth of the Ladies PGA Tour were ignored.

Last year the organization announced such an event would be added to its schedule but it wasn’t until Sunday that the actual event became a reality – and the first playing is still over two years off.

“The USGA is proud to realize its vision of hosting a national championship for players of all age demographics, and we are thrilled that that first two editions of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be contested at two of the most respected courses in the U.S.,’’ said USGA president Tom O’Toole.

Pine Needles, in Pinehurst, N.C., will host the second U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2019. Both will be walking-only events over 72 holes and have 120-player fields, to be decided in a series of nation-wide sectional qualifying events for players with Handicap Indexes not exceeding 7.4. As is the format in other USGA competitions, the starting field in the finals will be cut to the low 60 and ties after 36 holes.

Sectional qualifying sites, as well as prize money for the finals, will be announced at a later date.

The Ladies PGA Tour has existed in 1950 for professional players, and that circuit has a Legends Tour for players who have reached their 45th birthday. The great players of the last few decades – like Nancy Lopez, Joanne Carner, Laura Davies, Carol Mann and Jan Stephenson – may find it challenging to get their games tournament-ready for Chicago Golf Club but they played a big role in finally getting the event on the USGA calendar.

While the USGA was slow to act on the senior women’s side, one of the other top LPGA players – Jane Blalock – organized The Legends Tour, which has provided competitive opportunities for the older, former stars of the LPGA circuit. They’re the counterparts to the PGA’s Champions Tour, which has long flourished for male players whose competitive skills have diminished with age.

“We hope this championship will inspire generations of female golfers to continue competing at the highest level long into their careers,’’ said O’Toole.

The selection of Chicago Golf Club was most appropriate, as it will make the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open something special historically. The course in Wheaton was designed by Charles Blair Macdonald, the first U.S. Amateur champion, and was renovated by Seth Raynor in 1923. Otherwise, the layout has been relatively untouched since then.

“As a founding member of the USGA, Chicago Golf Club is honored to support the newest championship,’’ said Brad Kinsey, the club’s president. “We look forward to making this, our 12th USGA championship, an exceptional event for players and spectators alike.’’

Chicago Golf Club hosted the first U.S. Open and first U.S. Amateur in 1897 and also hosted U.S. Opens in 1900 and 1911. The first U.S. Senior Women’s Open, though, will be the first USGA event at the club since the 2005 Walker Cup matches and first individual national championship since the U.S. Senior Amateur in 1979.

The USGA regularly picked Chicago courses for its biggest events in its first century of existence but that hasn’t been the case since 2000. Though the U.S. Open of 2003 and the U.S. Amateur last year were played at Olympia Fields, the USGA did not have a Chicago course on its schedule for a national championship until Saturday’s announcement.

Now, however, Chicago golf has jumped into the forefront of women’s golf. The LPGA’s UL International Crown team event will be played at the Merit Club in Libertyville in July and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be at Olympia Fields in 2017 and Kemper Lakes in 2018. The Kemper Lakes event will be played a month before the U.S. Senior Women’s Open comes to Chicago Golf Club.