Makray Memorial GC debuts this June on Barrington acreage previously occupied by Thunderbird GC.

By Len Ziehm The District’s “embarrassment of riches” keeps growing with every renovated, reconstructed and new member .

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he golf course building boom may have to shut down courses for a few months and get all the slowed in most regions of the country, work done without contending with golfers. but not in the Chicago District. At least Last year generated three notable examples of that. not entirely. The District continues to changed 17 of the 18 holes on T have an embarrassment of riches, as far as its famed Course No. 3 in preparation for the 2006 golf courses are concerned—and the existing courses PGA Championship. On the public side, Woodstock- are getting better. based architect Bob Lohmann so completely revised While the number of totally new courses is declining the historic Chevy Chase course in Wheeling that it in this area, the transformation of older ones has stepped merited a new name, The Legends of Chevy Chase. up considerably. Recent renovations now arriving at Another area architect, Rick Jacobson of Libertyville, completion have resulted in dramatically enhanced lay- took apart one of the two 18-holers at Indian Lakes outs or the birth of “virtually new” courses on top of old Resort in Bloomingdale and created a more modern ones. That’s the latest trend, at least in Chicago. layout now dubbed Blackhawk Trace. Moreover, since piecemeal improvements disrupt Those courses all opened last season, and that trend play and golfers slow down construction work, will continue this year. One such project in particular Chicago golf decision-makers are increasingly opting stands out.

GREAT EIGHT

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAKRAY MEMORIAL GC

he CDGA enthusiastically welcomes eight new member clubs in 2004. T Additions to the fold include the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run, the Quad Cities home course of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic; Springfield’s The Rail, a Robert Trent Jones, Sr. design that hosts the LPGA Tour every Labor Day weekend; and Point O’Woods, the Benton Harbor, Mich. site of the Championship. The Rail Golf Course, Springfield PHOTO BY CHRIS SPARKS, GOLF

Highland Springs Golf Club Poplar Creek Country Club Rock Island, Ill. Hoffman Estates, Ill. 309-732-7265 847-884-0219 www.poplarcreekcc.com Hilldale Golf Club Hoffman Estates, Ill. The Rail Golf Course 847-310-1100 Springfield, Ill. www.hilldalegolf.com 217-525-0365 www.railgolf.com Oak Hills Country Club Palos Heights, Ill. Tournament Players Club at Deere Run 708-448-5544 Silvis, Ill. 309-796-6000 Point O’Woods Golf & Country Club www.tpcatdeererun.com Benton Harbor, Mich. 269-944-1433 University Golf Club www.pointowoods.com University Park, Ill. 708-747-0306

MAY/ JUNE 2004 19 THE DEBUT OF MAKRAY MEMORIAL During construction, the moving of more than 2 million The Makray Memorial Golf Club will open in Barrington cubic yards of dirt took place. Hence, this course won’t resem- sometime this June. Any resemblance to Thunderbird, the 18- ble any other in the Chicago area, and its trademarks will be holer that previously occupied that property, will be purely big greens and deep bunkers. By the time construction of a coincidental. new clubhouse is complete, the cost of the venture is project- Paul Makray wasn’t a high-profile figure in the Chicago golf ed to be between $15 and $20 million. community, but he was passionate about the game. After build- Makray Memorial, of course, isn’t the only emerging star in ing a successful plastic-manufacturing plant in Norridge, the constellation of courses that comprise the CDGA. Other Makray in 1962 purchased what was then Hillcrest Acres dramatic developments are playing out this season. Country Club. It, along with the homes that surrounded the layout, had been built by Harry Howe. Howe opened the orig- REMEMBERING DONALD ROSS inal course in 1953. Philadelphia-based Ron Prichard has become the architectural When Makray took over, the course’s name was changed to expert on courses designed by the renowned Donald Ross. Thunderbird, and the sporty layout had functioned as a relax- The Scottish-born Ross was among the first great architects ing place for informal public play ever since. Makray family of American courses, and he was very active in the Chicago members have been active in its operation throughout, and area. While his designs have withstood the tests of time, now they’ve turned the place into a memorial for the man who they’ve also required restoration and updating—and Prichard introduced them to its charms. has been the main man to do that. Thunderbird closed on June 17, 2002 to allow architect Harry Two years ago he restored the historic layout of Skokie Vignocchi the chance to ply his art. He’ll unveil a course that meas- Country Club, host of the 1922 U.S. Open. His work there ures 7,015 yards from the back tees and plays to a of 71. Other encouraged other private clubs with Ross courses to bring him amenities include a short-game practice area and a new driving in to reclaim classic Ross design elements. Prichard has worked range and learning center, which will feature a teeing area of 60,000 his magic on Lake Shore and Beverly, and his endeavors on one square feet. The range is to measure 360 yards long and 110 yards of the area’s oldest courses—Exmoor in Highland Park— wide. The back of the teeing area will feature a synthetic surface should be unveiled around May 1. The Exmoor project was six that will allow practice when the grass area isn’t available. years in the planning stages. PHOTO COURTESY OF JACOBSON GOLF DESIGN

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“He put some bunkers back in, took some trees out, expanded some greens and widened some fairways to get back to the original design,” Exmoor head professional Ron Romack explains. Prichard also lengthened the Exmoor layout, which was built in 1896 and remodeled by Ross in 1914. The building of eight new tees expands the course by about 300 yards. It’ll now measure about 7,100 yards from the tips.

A BUNKER STORY A Chicago District architect and past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, Marengo-based Bob Lohmann is the author of still another high-profile renovation,

PHOTO BY DALE TAUBENSEE at venerable Midlothian Country Club. Extensive bunker work was one hallmark of this project. Lohmann’s plan involved refurbishing all of Midlothian’s 82 bunkers in the classic steep-faced, flat-bottomed style favored by membership. He also engineered the relocation of dozens of fairway bunkers that had been rendered meaningless hazards (Above) Newly refurbished hole no. 12 at Highland Park’s by decades of tree growth and equipment advances. Now, fair- Exmoor CC, where architect Ron Prichard restored elements way bunkers have been reestablished away from the tree lines of the Donald Ross remodeling executed in 1914. and closer to the fairway corridors in landing zones more con- (Opposite) Libertyville-based architect Rick Jacobson sistent with today’s increased driving lengths. transformed Indian Lakes Resort’s former West course into An 1898 H.G. Tweedie design, Midlothian debuts its new the new Blackhawk Trace layout. bunkers and redesigned finishing hole this spring.

MAY/ JUNE 2004 21 WELCOME BACK Village Links of Glen Ellyn, perennially one of Chicago’s busiest public layouts since its opening in 1967, will be available for play again on June 23. It’s been renovated by Garrett Gill and Paul Miller, and Gill’s involvement is especially meaningful since his late father, David Gill, did the original design for The Links. The revamped layout will play 200 yards longer from the back tees and 200 shorter from the front. “The new course will be noticeably different in several respects,” remarks general manager Matt Pekarek. “The greens complexes will be the part most improved from the design standpoint. The greens will be much more varied in shape, and they’ll be more interesting with their mounds and depressions. They’ll be about 20 percent bigger in size and they’ll be deeper. The biggest difference in playing the course will come in the short game.’’ While The Links will be slow in opening, it’ll be going full tilt once the first tee shot is struck. Just five days after seeing its first rounds, the renovated course will host the general qualifying round for the . The Links has hosted that qualifier since 1980 with the exception of 1986, when it hosted the Illinois Open instead, and last year, when construction forced a move to Bolingbrook Golf Club.

22 CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLFER PHOTO BY MIKE KLEMME Kemper Lakes GC remains open for public play during its transition to private club. Here, the approach and green of no. 11, a 534-yard par 5; the 12th fairway is visible at right.

GOING PRIVATE For 25 years, Kemper Lakes Golf Club has been recognized as one of the finest pure golf facilities in the country. Kemper Lakes has played host to some of the greatest players in the world as the site of dozens of elite golf events, including the 1989 PGA Championship won by Payne Stewart, six Senior PGA Tour events and most recently, the inaugural LaSalle Bank Open. In an unprecedented move for the Chicago area, Kemper Lakes is in the process of converting from a nationally ranked public golf course into a fully private golf club. Never before in the District has a golf course as acclaimed as Kemper Lakes made such a switch. Currently ranked #27 on ’s list of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses,” Kemper Lakes will limit golf membership to 300. Within the first few months of its mem- bership offering, Kemper Lakes had already issued its first 75 founding memberships. The course remains open to the public during its transition to a private club, so District golfers longing to take a shot at this legendary layout might consider teeing it up this season.

COMING IN 2005 At some point during this golf season, we’ll hear more about spectacular plans for 2005, including two new courses under construction this year that should open the following season. Cherry Hills, a public course that opened in Flossmoor in the 1920s, has been taken over by the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District. Now closed for construction, it will open in 2005 as Coyote Run, an upscale public layout designed by Batavia-based architect Greg Martin. Work began last September with the moving of some earth and

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trees and the digging of ponds. Seeding is planned for August. NINE AT A TIME What’s perhaps most intriguing about this one is that golf Architect Jacobson is halfway through the renovation at 36-hole course superintendent Dave Ward left Olympia Fields—incur- Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale. His Blackhawk Trace course, ring a pay cut, no less—to take a similar job with the public which had been Indian Lakes’ West layout, opened last fall and will facility that is five or six blocks from where he grew up. host a new event May 6-9 when the National Golf Association Superintendents don’t generally leave high-profile clubs, espe- Hooters Tour will make its Chicago debut there. It’s the third-largest cially an Olympia Fields, site of last year’s U.S. Open. But Ward men’s tour in the country, behind the PGA and Nationwide circuits. craved a new challenge. Now Jacobson will begin work on the East course. He plans “It was probably time for a change,” Ward comments. “After to incorporate Donald Ross-style bunkers in that one. As was the (1997) U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Open, I was burned the case on the West, Jacobson will work on nine holes at a time out. Those were wonderful experiences, but I didn’t have too so that the resort will always have 27 holes available for play. much of a life the last 10 years.” While doing that, he’ll take a similar approach to renovating Cherry Hills had been closed for two years prior to the the 18-hole course at Sportsman’s Country Club for the inception of the rebuilding effort. Greg Meyer, director of the Northbrook Park District. With Sportsman’s nine-hole course Homewood-Flossmoor Park District, says the facility was pur- in the mix, some configuration of 18 holes will be open for play chased for $8 million and the renovation will cost another $3.5 at all times during the project, which should conclude in time million. The new course will have bentgrass fairways, tees and for the 2007 season. The biggest task on Sportsman’s original greens and five lakes. 18 will be renovating the bunkers, which were designed in KemperSports Management is also launching an exciting 1930 by Edward B. Dearie, an associate of Ross and noted new project, Hawthorn Woods Country Club in north greenkeeper at several Chicago clubs. suburban Hawthorn Woods. It will have an Arnold Palmer Not only that, but Jacobson was also retained by Sunset Signature-designed course, a 20,000-square-foot clubhouse, Ridge Country Club in Northfield to create and implement a state-of-the-art fitness center, swimming pool, tennis renovation plan. It will begin this summer, and the course will courts, fine dining and other world-class amenities. The be closed until the spring of 2005. private facility will be part of a 60-home development on 674 acres of wooded landscape. Len Ziehm covers the local golf scene for the Chicago Sun-Times.

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