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Illinois Golfer ChangChang winswins IllinoisIllinois PGAPGA •• BMWBMW ChampionshipChampionship previewpreview IllinoisIllinois GolferGolfer DigitalDigital EditionEdition SeptemberSeptember 20182018 SunsetSunset ValleyValley rebornreborn Page 2 • September 2018 • Illinois Golfer www.illinoisgolfer.net ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Buzz In This Issue –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– News –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The old and new Sunset Valley 4 Stonebridge rescues ‘Birdies’ It’s sunny for golf in Philadelphia 8 Kudos to Stonebridge Country Club for stepping in the North Texas PGA Section and was among the Chang scores Illinois PGA title 13 up on short notice – and on a holiday weekend – to host Aussies mulling how to create a charity event. Opinion –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– the Illinois PGA’s Birdies for Charity fundraising mara- “There were seven other pros who were born in Grill Room: Low score wins, no? 3 thon on Tuesday, Sept. 4. The payoff: about $425,000 Australia and working in the Dallas area,” Johns told Departments via 1,014 birdies in one long, rewarding day. Len Ziehm for IllinoisPGA.com. “We felt fortunate to –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Held at River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst be working in the United States and wondered how we Around Illinois: Streelman’s driven 17 since its inception in 2011, the big day was in danger of could give back.” The Calendar 19 not being played because of the continual deluges the Another Aussie, Mark Harrison, just happened to The Scoreboard 20 The Directory 21 western and northern suburbs have been inundated be running the North Texas PGA. He figured a mara- Tour Guide 30 with for over a week. Addison Creek runs through the thon day tied to fundraising – people pledging money east side of River Forest’s course, and it was more like for each birdie a pro made – would work. Thus, Birdies a lake on a couple of holes as Tuesday approached. for Charity, the name the same as the similar fundraiser The rest of the course was soggy. used to great success by the John Deere Classic. Realizing the problem was worsening by the hour, In the first eight years in Dallas, the day raised River Forest head pro Chris Gumbach reached out over $1 million for charity. Illinois Golfer for help, and Stonebridge, where Andrew Stevens is Johns suggested a similar day for the Illinois Sec- –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– the head pro, answered. Quickly, arrangements were tion to Gumbach, and the fun began. And in Illinois, any September 2018 Digital Edition • Vol. 4, No. 7 made to move the day-long deal – play begins at 7 pro could participate. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– a.m., which the pros playing continuously all day, per- The inaugural edition in 2011 saw 14 pros playing Published monthly April through December, haps as many as 90 holes, going for birdies above all and $44,000 raised. By last year, when $280,000 was with occasional special issues else – to Stonebridge. raised, the grand total was over $1.18 million. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Publisher & Editor Tim Cronin The club would otherwise be closed on the day “Never in a million years did I think we could crack Travel Expert Len Ziehm after a Monday holiday, so it wasn’t a matter of dis- $1 million in seven years,” Gumbach said. “That was –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– placing members, but it still meant opening the locker pretty cool.” Join us online at www.illinoisgolfer.net Write us at P.O. Box 541, Worth, Illinois 60482 room, and making sure the grounds staff would have This year, 44 pros from 38 clubs teed it up, while E-mail us at [email protected] the course ready. And it’s rained plenty at Stonebridge the Central Illinois division debuted its own fundraiser Call us at (708) 638-1164 as well. at the Country Club of Decatur. Follow us on Twitter: @illinoisgolfer –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The entire day here was the brainchild of Travis Charities include the Illinois PGA Foundation, the Display / classified advertising: Ronald McDonald Houses of Chicagoland, and JDRF. Call (708) 638-1164 for particulars. Johns, a teaching pro at Medinah. The Australian was Illinois Golfer assumes no responsibility for unsolicited ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– materials or claims of advertisers. Caveat emptor. The Cover The par-3 fourth hole at the remodeled Sunset Valley Golf Club in Highland Park offers an enticing –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– © 2018 Illinois Golfer LLC, a unit of Cronin Multimedia view combined with a challenging tee shot. / Tim Cronin / Illinois Golfer Page 3 • September 2018 • Illinois Golfer www.illinoisgolfer.net ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The Grill Room by Tim Cronin Low score wins, doesn’t it? ow score wins. everyone else would be even. Junior League and The First Tee, who are taught Obvious, no? Then they would play 72 holes, and the player that every stroke must be counted and all the rules Your proprietor recalls Curtis most under the adjusted par would be the winner followed. Strange mentioning the obvious for of the FedEx Cup. Imagine this explanation: “But, kids, if you’re La good reason during the madcap 1999 Brit- Say Jordan Spieth came in the leader. He gets really good, we’ll take some shots off to make it ish Open, after Jean Van de Velde threw away a the 10-under bonus. He shoots an actual 7-under exciting for television on Sunday afternoon, be- regulation victory but was still alive in the playoff 281 over four rounds. He gets listed as 17-under cause we don’t want someone winning one thing eventually captured by Paul Lawrie. on the scoreboard. and someone else winning another.” Balls were flying in every direction but the Say Matt Kuchar, the pride of Georgia, was This hairbrained scheme comes along just as proper one for a moment, prompting Strange to seventh in points entering East Lake. He shoots sports betting – over-the-table, that is – begins to say, “Low score wins.” 12-under 276. He’s properly listed as 12-under. increase nationally. If the bizarre idea that leaked out of the PGA Say those two guys are the top two finish- Golf has handicaps so you can play against a Tour office last week comes to pass next year, ers. Spieth’s real score of 281 isn’t as good as player better or poorer than you and the $2 Nas- that may no longer be true. At least, not in the Kuchar’s 276, but Spieth wins the silverware and sau still remains competitive. This is not that. This Tour Championship, which as far as the suits are the pot of gold that goes with it because the PGA is stupid. concerned closes the season. Tour has its thumb on the scale. Kuchar goes Nobody’s talking on the record yet, but we’d The suits want the winner of the Tour Cham- home with a laurel and hearty handshake, and the imagine the wizards of Ponte Vedra Beach had pionship to also be the winner of the season-long spillover from the pot of gold. many a meeting to massage all the fine points. FedEx Cup. A logical enough thought, we sup- Say it ain’t so. They’re big on meetings there, and sometimes pose. We also suppose the easiest way to do that What is supposed to be a legitimate golf com- even venture into the outside world. is to dump the point system – already adjusted as petition turns into a Chicago election. His honor This turns the PGA Tour’s big season champi- the playoffs start – and just go with the scoring at the Mayor, as Len O’Connor called Richard J. onship into a sham, and, in the minds of the cyni- East Lake. Points would qualify the 30 players, Daley, would have been proud. Maybe Kim Jong- cal, casts doubt into everything else the Tour does. as it works now, and matter no more on Thursday un, the Pyongyang madman whose pop was said Bobby Jones grew into golf at East Lake. morning. The winner of the tournament wins the to be a tremendous golf slouch, smiles at the idea. Once, after calling a penalty on himself in the whole shebang. What could be more simple? With this move, the PGA Tour makes the 1925 U.S. Open, Jones was complimented for do- That’s too simple for the suits. They want to Tour Championship more illegitimate than most ing so and responded, “You might as well praise tie the points to the scoring in 2019. Supposedly, of the handicaps in the Crosby Clambake. me for not robbing a bank.” the points leader would start 10-under-par on You could have a situation where the best five We can only imagine what the great man the scoreboard before he took a swing in anger. scorers in the tournament end up sixth through would think of this idea, and of it being applied at The second in points might be 8-under, the third 10th because of the contrivance applied before- his golf course. 6-under, the fourth 4-under, the fifth 2-under, and hand. Explain that to the kiddies in the PGA He’d hope the Tour suits didn’t run banks. Illinois Golfer Cover Story OldOld andand newnew convergeconverge atat reimaginedreimagined SunsetSunset ValleyValley Architect Rick Jacobson puts together a winner for Highland Park – and there’s a new clubhouse, too! Page 5 • September 2018 www.illinoisgolfer.net ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– After the decision to keep Sunset Valley, the question was how to renovate it. Rick Jacobson had the answer. By Tim Cronin Reporting from Highland Park ––––– aking an old golf course and effectively laying a new one on top of it while us- ing as much of the old infrastructure – the sprinkling system, the best of the Tdrainage, and so on – is like gutting an old house and installing new walls, flooring, electrical and water.

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