My 41-year career on the Chicago Sun-Times sports staff ended with my retirement on June 30, 2010. During that stint I covered a wide variety of sports, but golf was a constant.
Away from the golf events, I was the Sun-Times beat writer on Northwestern University sports for 11 years, the soccer beat writer (primarily covering Chicago’s pro teams — the Sting and later the Fire — for 26 years and the hockey beat writer (covering the Chicago Wolves from 1994 to 1999, during which time they won titles in both the International Hockey League and American Hockey League) and the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks from 1999 to 2010).
While those teams created great memories, golf was always a primary focus. I was the paper’s golf writer for 40 years, during which time I covered 27 U.S. Opens, 11 Masters, 17 PGA Championships, four U.S. Women’s Opens and the last 34 Western Opens in addition to a heavy load of Chicago area events. (Since retiring from the Sun-Times I’ve covered one more U.S. Open and two additional PGA Championships).
My career at the Sun-Times officially ended with my retirement after the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach but I continued as the paper’s golf writer for the remainder of that year and also began my present duties as golf columnist for the Daily Herald chain of suburban Chicago newspapers at that time. I’m in my 17th year as the Herald’s golf columnist.
Starting in 1989 I was a columnist for Chicagoland Golf, a newspaper founded by good friend Phil Kosin and continued by owner/publisher Val Russell following Kosin’s death in 2009. Chicagoland Golf ceased publication in 2020, ending my 31-year run of column writing there. I remain a regular contributor to Chicago District Golfer, a magazine produced by the Chicago District Golf Assn. On the national side, I’ve been a frequent contributor to Morning Read and its travel website, wheretogolfnext.com, since 2018.
A Lifetime Member of the Golf Writers Association of America, I am also on the Advisory Board of the International Network of Golf and president emeritus of the Golf Travel Writers of America. For several years I was also co-host on Golfers on Golf Radio 750-AM in Chicago.
As a player I remain just an avid hacker with a handicap that never has dipped below 16. But, along the way, I’ve celebrated seven eagles, which were spread out over a 65-year span, and two were via holes-in-one. The first of them came when I was 15, the second 65 years later in a member-guest outing at Cadillac Country Club in Michigan. I’ve also celebrated a most memorable nine-hole round in the 1980s. A 45-hole tour of the five Chicago Park District courses in one day culminated with the only sub-par round of my career — a 1-under 34 at the Columbus Park course.
- A nice gesture from the Missouri School of JournalismThe University of Missouri School of Journalism honored me in its Profiles of Success in June, 2012. http://journalism.missouri.edu/alum/len-ziehm/ LEN ZIEHM Sportswriter (Retired) at Chicago Sun-Times Degree(s): BJ ’65 Whereabouts: Chicago, Illinois, United States What do you do? Retired from the Chicago Sun-Times in June 2010 after 41 years in the sports department, I’ve stepped up my freelance writing and am coordinating my writing ...
- Farewell Sun-TimesCheck out my farewell column in the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Ziehm looks back at 41 years at Sun-TimesAn interview with Crain’s Chicago Business columnist Ed Sherman, former Chicago Tribune golf writer. It hardly is accurate to say Len Ziehm is retiring. Technically, Mr. Ziehm is leaving the Sun-Times this week after 41 years. But the idea that he will stop working? Yeah, right. We’ve all seen days when Mr. Ziehm covered a golf tournament, worked ...
- Interview With Len Ziehm, Golf Writer at the Chicago Sun-TimesA Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview By Golf Wisconsin’s Brian Weis Below is an interview with Len Ziehm who is officially retired after 41 years at the Chicago Sun-Times, but still the paper’s golf writer. He also does a weekly column for the Daily Herald and monthly columns and features for Chicago Area Golf newspaper. ...
- 5 Questions With… Sun-Times Len ZiehmBy Jeff Nuich CSN Chicago Senior Director of Communications CSNChicago.com Contributor Want to know more about your favorite Chicago media celebrities? CSNChicago.com has your fix as we put the city’s most popular personalities on the spot with everyone’s favorite weekly local celeb feature entitled “5 Questions with…” Every Wednesday exclusively on CSNChicago.com, it’s our turn to grill the local ...