It won’t be long now. Live televised sports competition is about to return, and golf is leading the way. While tentative tournament schedules were drawn up months ago, now there’s something concrete and – as a purely personal perk – the first two big events will be conducted almost in my Florida backyard. A four-player…
Features
WHERE ARE YOU PLAYING NEXT? Myrtle Beach
ONE IN A SERIES Rory Spears and Len Ziehm are combining efforts on golf travel destinations they’ve visited over the years. This one is on Myrtle Beach, S.C. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Golf courses here – and there’s about 100 of them – are ready for players, and they have been for quite awhile. This…
Cheers to Caddyshack on the movie’s 40th anniversary
If ever a movie – especially a sports-themed one – merited an anniversary celebration it’d be “Caddyshack.’’ This movie didn’t really have a plot. It was just a series of memorable scenes with actors Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield the lead characters. Still, over the years its fan base grew and the movie…
A change in plans: Illinois golf courses are closed again
The opening of Chicago area golf courses was short-lived. Many, under the impression that Gov. J.B. Pritzker had given his approval, opened on Wednesday in an announcement made by a group named the Allied Golf Association. Its members encompassed the Illinois Section of the Professional Golfers Association, the Chicago District Golf Association and Midwest Association…
Illinois golf courses are allowed to open — but with restrictions
To play golf, or not to play golf — that’s been a hot topic around lots of states during this coronavirus pandemic. In Illinois – especially since the recent snowfall has melted and temperatures have climbed over 60 degrees — it’s created confusion that was somewhat cleared up with a statement by the Illinois Department…
REMEMBERING PETE DYE: A giant in golf course architecture
It was back in 2010 that then Indiana governor Mitch Daniels triggered the creation of the Pete Dye Golf Trail to stimulate tourism in the Hoosier State. The following year Joy and I became among the first to play all seven courses on it. Back then I wrote that Dye was the most innovative golf…
Here’s two couples — and four Illinois PGA club professionals
The number of men among the PGA of America’s 29,000 members far outnumber the women. That’s no secret, and the number of married couples working in the business as PGA members isn’t very big either. It’s under 100 nation-wide. What might be surprising out of that segment of the golf industry, though, involves two married…
TPC Deere Run is ready to host the JDC for the 20th time
The John Deere Classic has been played in the Quad Cities of Rock Island and Moline in Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa for 48 years, but this year’s staging represents a significant milestone. It’ll be the 20th year the tournament has been played at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, which is on the…
In short, this is a golf book worth reading
Book report time again – and this one’s different. I’ve always avoided political issues on both my Len Ziehm on Golf and personal Facebook pages. The many books I’ve read lately in the political arena only tend to trigger reactions – pro and con – that I’m not interested in exploring. Rick Reilly’s recently released…
Szokol has become Jeray’s successor on the LPGA Tour
Chicago area players reaching the Ladies PGA Tour are few and far between. Only Nicole Jeray made it regularly over the last three decades and this year she’s decided to focus on a teaching job at Mistwood, in Romeoville. There will still be a local rooting interest on the premier women’s tour, however. The timing…