Golftime Midwest Summer/Fall 2018 by Killarney Golf Media

SUMMER|FALL 2018

MIDWEST

THE BEST OF THE MIDWEST Whistling Straits Headlines Winners of Our First Playerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Poll

THE STELLAR SEQUEL The Sensational New South Course at Arcadia Bluffs www.golftimemag.com

ACES & EAGLES YOUR GOLF & GAMING GU IDE

Beloit, Wisconsin

ROAD TRIP No. 18

M�e golf �an you can shake a 9-iron at. When it comes to championship golf, there’s no better destination than Alabama. Come play where the PGA TOUR professionals compete and see why Golf Digest editors picked two of Alabama’s golf resorts among their favorites. For starters, there are the 468 holes along the world-renowned Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Stretching from the mountains in the north to the Gulf Coast in the south, America’s original golf trail opened 25 years ago and recently completed a massive renovation of its 26 courses. Then there are the many other impressive courses scattered across the state, designed by the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jerry Pate. Each with its own set of challenges, each with its own rewards. Plan an epic road trip to great golf courses across the state of Alabama.

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You’ve seen green grass and blue skies before, but mix that with the unique and colorful terrain of the Red Rock Golf Trail and you’re in for a blast of color that will widen your eyes and revitalize your game. With courses like Sand Hollow, Green Spring, Dixie Red Hills and Coral Canyon, it’s like Mother Nature went crazy and didn’t know where to stop with her paint brush. St George, Utah is the new hot spot for destination golf trips St. and it’s easy to see why. With 10 courses within a 10 mile radius, the Red Rock Golf Trail has everything you’re looking for. Daily ights into SGU on American, Delta & United Airlines make getting there a cinch. Going home.... well, that may take some convincing.

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Contents

‘Strait’ Shooters 38

Our Readers Pick Winners of First Midwest’s Best Awards

Casinos & Courses 50

Your Guide to the Midwest’s Best Gaming & Golfing Towns

60 Ragin’ Cajun

These Killer Louisiana Courses Will Drive You Wild

Domo Arigato

You’ll Be Thanking This Swing-Saving Robot Trainer

Publisher’s Note

66 Pro Golf Preview

Bump & Run

94 Midwest Select

Featured Courses

Rules of the Game 23

84 A Date With Dana

Your Guide to Chicagoland and Surrounding Area Golf

104 The Back Nine

Instructor’s Corner 24

Our Interview With Ascendant Architect Dana Fry

ON THE COVER: The 221-yard, par-3 seventh hole at Whistling Straits, by Nile Young Jr.

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

Beyond the Bluffs 28

The South Course at Arcadia Bluffs a Unique Experience

Volume 13, Issue 2

The Best of Midwest Award winning Par-5 11th at The Bluffs Course at Arcadia Bluffs, page 38.

Editor’s Note

A Division of Killarney Golf Media, Inc. P.O. Box 14439 Madison, WI 53708

Phone: 608-280-8800 Fax: 866-877-9879

PRESIDENT

John Hughes

GENERAL MANAGER Jim Kelsh

jim@killarneygolfmedia.com

MARKETING DIRECTOR AND SALES Sarah Starmer

sarah@killarneygolfmedia.com

EDITOR

Don Shell

editor@golftimemag.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Danny Freels Rob Hernandez Dennis McCann John Morrissett

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Nile Young Jr.

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

Muddy Creek Creative

FOUNDER

Kim Thompson

h, opinions. Everyone, as they say, has one (sometimes more) and they vary as much as the people who possess them. And while we may live in a world full of fake news and spin cycles, differing opinions are part of the ebb and flow of conversation, the blue waves crashing on the beach of public discourse. That brings us to a course, of course. Actually, a pair of courses: Michigan’s Arcadia Bluffs and Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits, two of the finalists for Best Overall in our very first Best of the Midwest Awards balloting. Our readers crowned Whistling Straits the Best of the Midwest this year, over Arcadia and Treetops Resort’s Signature course. The sensational Straits is a wonderful winner for our very first awards, but here’s my opinion on all this: We’re the real winners. That’s right, there are plenty of worthy champions in the Midwest, and we’re spoiled with tons of terrific golf destinations. For Exhibit A, take a look at our feature story on page 28, on the stellar new South Course at Arcadia Bluffs. The new Dana Fry design makes the most unique 1-2 combo in the country, joining the beautiful Bluffs course. Fry’s a man on the rise following the 2017 U.S. Open at his co-design, Erin Hills. Don’t miss our interview with the architect on page 86. The South Course is sure to be in the running for Best New Course next year, but in the meantime, check out our many deserving winners in the Best of the Midwest Awards, starting on page 38. There’s plenty of award-worthy content for you in this issue, including our feature on the best pairing since pocket aces: golf and gaming. We have a great assortment of casinos and courses here in the Great Lakes, and we take you on a tour of the finest starting on page 50. It’s no gamble to golf in Louisiana, where you’ll find 15 can’tmiss courses on the Audubon Golf Trail — along with some great grub, to boot. Don’t miss Danny Freels’ feature on page 60. There’s plenty more where that came from, and we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we did. It’s full of the best the Midwest has to offer, and we hope you’ll agree, it might just be our best issue ever. But that’s just my opinion.

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

A Masterpiece BY ANDY NORTH & ROGER PACKARD

Trappers Turn Golf Club continues to inspire excellence with an unparalleled golf experience. Trappers Turn features 27 holes of award winning championship golf. Set amidst the scenic canyons of Wisconsin Dells, Trappers Turn is the destination for golfing enthusiasts. Visit TrappersTurn.com for the best available rates.

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Bump & Run NEWS & NOTES FROM THE WORLD OF GOLF

COURSE OF THE WORLD: That Voodoo That You Do

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

Jamaica’s White Witch Offers Some of the Caribbean’s Best Golf The trade winds howl ahead off the Caribbean Sea, making the sight ahead of even more terrifying. Here, on the first tee of the spectacular White Witch Golf Club at Rose Hall Plantation Ritz-Carlton in Jamaica’s Montego Bay, you’ll feel the hair on your neck raise for all the right reasons. Maybe it’s the ghost of Annee Palmer, the famously beautiful and infamously evil plantation owner rumored to still haunt her home here. But it’s probably the ghostly great golf course before your eyes. The White Witch, you see, is supernaturally good. Spread out on 600 acres of the former 4,000-

acre sugar plantation, the Witch, designed by Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril, is considered one of the Caribbean’s best courses. With 16 of the 18 dramatic holes offering scenic views of the Caribbean Sea, von Hagge and Baril have crafted a course far prettier than Palmer on her best day. It’s not without its warts, namely craggy rocks, diabolical greens and fearsome forced carries over ravines — and that’s just on the opener. The White Witch is a memorable, magical adventure for anyone lucky enough to cross her path. Visit www.whitewitchgolf.com

Bump & Run

Wild & Woolly

PGA adds stops in Detroit and Minneapolis

Out with the old and in with the new on the PGA Tour. The Tour announced it’s returning to two bustling metro areas in the Midwest next year, with Detroit (pictured) and Minneapolis getting stops on the schedule. The TPC Twin Cities course in suburban Minneapolis, long host to the PGA Tour Champions’ 3M Championship, will now play host to a main PGA Tour tournament with a seven-year contract starting in 2019. The event will be called the 3M Open, officials announced in June.

Detroit is also getting a Tour stop, after Quicken Loans owner and city savior Dan Gilbert pushed to bring the Tour to his home city, after a 10-year break from playing in Michigan. The Detroit Golf Club will host the Quicken Loanssponsored event. The 2019 dates will not be confirmed until later in July when the PGA Tour reveals its full schedule for the next FedEx Cup season. Visit www.pgatour.com

Right: photos by Ryan Farrow

RETURN OF THE TOUR

Left: Vito Palmisano

Massive Mammoth Dunes a spectacular addition to Midwest golf scene When Sand Valley Golf Resort stormed the golf scene in 2017, the world stood up and took notice, marveling at the Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw-designed stunner, built on 2,000 acres near Nekoosa, Wisconsin. Created by golf resort mastermind Mike Keiser, Sand Valley was special from the start, in part for the promise of a second course, a magical track by Scotsman David McLay Kidd, who built Keiser’s brilliant Bandon Dunes in Oregon 20 years ago. Mammoth Dunes, as is its moniker, is a big, bold new course open this summer in the heart of central Wisconsin. The 6,935-yard gem is designed with playability in mind, featuring well, mammoth fairways as much as 120 yards wide,

gargantuan greens and simply stunning visuals from tee to green. Keiser gave Kidd “just” 1,500 acres to play with, and the result is a playground people will flock to again and again. Green fees start at $205 for guests at the resort. Also open this year is The Sandbox, the resort’s par-3 short course, making Sand Valley tops on a long list of destinations to see this summer. www.sandvalleygolfresort.com

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Springs Course - Architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. North Nine Course - Architects Roger Packard and Andy North

Both Rated

Bump & Run

by Golf Digest

News of the Weird

From the ‘Only in Florida Dept.’ … The Florida State Golf Association’s Mid-Amateur tournament came to a wild end May 13 after golfer Jeff Golden (pictured) conceded the match to Marc Dull after suffering “an unfortunate injury” during a weather delay. The injury? He got into a fistfight with his opponent’s caddie, Brandon Hibbs, in the parking lot. “I was extremely shaken up,” Golden told GolfChannel.com. “I had concussion symptoms.” Golden later said on Twitter that both Dull and Hibbs were rude and disruptive during the match, and that “alcohol appeared to be influencing [Hibbs’] behavior.” Dull refused to concede and won when Golden eventually conceded the match. Ah, Florida. Always anything but … Dull.

GREAT GOLF

Not-So-Guilty Pleasure Vice Golf offers premium performance without the price

As anyone who’s ever lost a sleeve of ProV1s on the first hole can attest (hey, not me), golf can be a costly endeavor. But the venerable team at Vice Golf has made it their mission to change all that. Vice Golf has 10 high-quality variations of golf balls built for every level of player, from distance balls for beginners, to three-piece, high-spin models built for pro performance. And starting at just $2 per ball, it’s a major savings from some of the other top manufacturers, which has helped Vice Golf generate a ton of buzz in the biz. Vice might just be the not-so-guilty golf pleasure you’ve been looking for. www.vicegolf.com

and so much more in Spring Green, Wisconsin!

608-588-7000

www.thehouseontherock.com 400 Springs Dr. Spring Green, WI 53588

Enjoy the natural beauty and sites of this unique area including: The House on the Rock, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, The American Players Theatre and more. Join us for an unforgettable Couple’s or Family Getaway, visit our website for more information. Just 35 miles west of Madison, Wisconsin along the Wisconsin River. Top Photo by Nile Young Jr.

The House on the Rock Resort combines championship golf with breathtaking views and excellent service. While designing 27 holes of golf, three prestigious golf course architects took advantage of the amazing natural surroundings. The House on the Rock Resort offers flexible packages, contemporary and casual dining, a Spa, and Fitness Center.

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Bump & Run

Gettin’ Groovy with Bettinardi

Chicago clubmaker introduces ‘Summer Lovin’ putter Bob Bettinardi is known as the purveyor of precision, hand-milled putters. But he’s also a pretty groovy guy. That’s why his new “Summer Lovin’” putter is so perfect for the coolest cat in clubmaking. With a tie-dye pocket insert and the company’s stellar BB1 Flow design, Summer Lovin’s a great way to get your groove on the greens back. $750. www.bettinardi.com

TIGER WATCH– We’re tracking the return of Tiger Woods,

the golfer, and the new South Shore Golf Club project underway in Chicago: THE GOLFER:

THE COURSE

WARM: After a hot start to the season, Tiger’s seen highs (tie for second at the Valspar Championship, and tie for 11th at the Players) and lows (tie for 32nd at the Masters and missed the cut at the U.S. Open). Still, it looks like Tiger’s on the way back. Good for him, great for golf.

HEATING UP. The proposed South Shore Golf Club, as part of the Obama Presidential Library in the Jackson Park area of Chicago, cleared two major hurdles this spring, with plans passing the Jackson Park District Board and the Chicago City Council. Stay tuned!

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

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Prairie Bluff Public Golf Club OPENED IN JULY OF 1998 by Lockport Township Park District, Prairie Bluff Public Golf Club offers 18 holes of championship golf spread out over 237 acres of rolling terrain. Each of Prairie Bluff’s superbly manicured holes is framed by flowing TEE STATISTICS prairie grass which, along with 10 lakes, adds to the beauty and Yards Par challenge of the course. Golfers can warm up, or just practice, at Gold 7007 72 our 10-acre driving range, 10,000-square-foot putting green and Blue 6466 72 White (M) 6054 72 short game area complete with practice bunker. Prairie Bluff now White (W) 6054 72 offers permanent tee times on Saturdays and Sundays. Green 5326 72 Golfers and non-golfers alike will enjoy Prairie Bluff’s beautiful 12,000-square-foot clubhouse with a remodeled dining room, bar area and outdoor patio serving great food with outstanding service. The clubhouse also features video gaming located in its own friendly, private room. Moreover, the remodeled pro shop offers patrons the latest in equipment and apparel. Prairie Bluff is a perfect location for your next golf outing, banquet, wedding or any event. With room to accommodate 200 guests, our impeccable service will leave a lasting impression on all. Come visit Prairie Bluff today!

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MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

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Rules of the Game

The ’Cone’ of Shame: Natural Impediments By John Morrissett

1 In stroke play, a player’s ball lies in a bunker, and a pine cone lies in the bunker, but several feet away. To help any following groups not get a bad lie next to the pine cone, the player tosses it out of the bunker before playing. What is the ruling?

A: The player incurs no penalty. B: The player incurs one penalty stroke. C: The player incurs two penalty strokes. Answer: (c) 2 Steve plays his approach to a green. Danny then plays his approach to the same green, his ball comes to rest directly behind the pitch-mark that Steve’s ball had left one foot short of the green. What is the ruling?

A: Danny may not repair the pitch-mark. B: Danny may repair the pitch-mark. C: Danny may drop his ball one club- length to the side of where it lies. Answer: (a) 3 In stroke play, a player’s ball lies in a bunker, and a paper cup lies in the bunker near his ball. The player removes the paper cup before playing. What is the ruling?

A: The player incurs no penalty. B: The player incurs one penalty stroke. C: The player incurs two penalty strokes. Answer: (a) 4 Joe’s ball comes to rest just short of the green. Grant’s approach shot then lands in front of Joe’s ball, creating a pitch-mark on Joe’s line of play, and bounces onto the putting green. What is the ruling?

A: Joe may not repair the pitch-mark. B: Joe may repair the pitch-mark. C: Joe may drop his ball one club-length to the side of where it lies. Answer: (b)

5 In stroke play, a player’s ball lies in a lateral water hazard. A hazard stake is on the player’s line of play. The player removes the readily movable stake. What is the ruling?

A: The player incurs no penalty. B: The player incurs one penalty stroke. C: The player incurs two penalty strokes. Answer: (a) 6 In a match between Harry and William, on the par-5 fourth hole both players’ tee shots are in the fairway, with William’s ball farther from the hole. Eying the pond in front of the green, William asks Harry if he is going to go for the green. Harry pulls out his 3-wood and says “Yes.” William goes for the green himself and hits the pond. Harry then lays up with an 8-iron. What is the ruling?

A: There is no penalty to either player. B: William loses the hole. C: Harry loses the hole. Answer: (a) 7 In stroke play, Grover shanks a ball that strikes the golf bag of his fellow-competitor Duke and is deflected out of bounds. What is the ruling?

A: Grover may replay the stroke without penalty. B: Grover incurs no penalty for striking Duke’s golf bag but must proceed under penalty of stroke and distance for going out of bounds. C: Grover incurs one penalty stroke for striking Duke’s golf bag and the additional penalty of stroke and distance for going out of bounds. Answer: (b) John Morrissett is Competitions Director at Erin Hills and former Director of Rules of Golf for the USGA. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Instructors Corner

How to Prepare Your Body for Golf Elevation Sports Performance can get your game ready to roll

olf has become an athletic sport and golfers are seeing the benefits to spending some time in the gym. Tiger Woods started a fitness trend with golfers in the late ’90s that changed the golfers’ landscape forever. The staff of PGA Instructors and TPI Certified Trainers at Elevation Sports Performance works together with clients to maximize golfer’s abilities. “The body-swing connection is the main focus of our training,” explained Mike Mandakas, PGA professional and owner of Elevation Sports Performance, one of the premier training facilities in the Midwest. “We give lessons to the clients that are just looking for a tune-up with their golf swing, and we train golfers that are just looking to hit the ball further, too.” The clients that are the most successful, Mandakas says, are those that work on both. “The success we have with our clients is training them how to improve their game during two different points: when they have a club in their hands, and when they don’t,” Mandakas explained. “Teaching a golfer how to swing a club and training a golfer how to use their body more efficiently are the two main focuses of our training.” Biomechanics of the golf swing are based

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

on three key aspects of training: balance, flexibility, and power. After they evaluate the golfer to identify strengths and weaknesses, the Elevation team puts together a training program individualized for the client. These programs are designed for golfers in the offseason, in season, and before their round. “Most golfers don’t know how to warm up properly before a round of golf, either,” Mandakas said. “They think grabbing a club and doing some stretches will do the trick. That’s better than nothing, but there are many things you can do before you go to the course to prepare your body for fouor to five hours on the course. We train our players to be able to do a workout before the round and be able to make it through a full 18 holes of golf without fatigue.” For that reason, they focus on endurance as a key component to their training, Mandakas said. Whether you are a beginner or play highlevel competitive golf, Elevation Sports Performance has a program designed for you to help your game.

PGA Instruction • TPI Fitness Training Custom Club Fitting • College Recruiting Mental Coaching • Golf Simulators Memberships Available

Visit www.elevationsportsperformance.com for more information.

Diamond Edge Academy • 7850 S. Quincy Street, Willowbrook, IL 60527 www.elevationus.com • info@elevationus.com • 847.652.3293

Instructors Corner

Travis Becker PGA Professional

Chris Pytell PGA Professional

Travis Becker is the Director of Instruction and Club Fitting for the Ironworks Golf Academy located in Beloit, Wisconsin. In 2015, the Wisconsin PGA voted Travis the Teacher of the Year, and was rated by his peers as one of Golf Digest’s “Best Teachers” in the state of Wisconsin. In 2016, Travis was also selected by the Golf Channel Academy to become the only lead coach in the state of Wisconsin. In addition, Travis has been recognized by Titleist as a Top 100 club fitter.

Chris Pytell has conducted more than 10,000 individual and group lessons since 1994. He enjoys instructing men, women, and junior golfers of all ages and levels, having transformed many junior players into competitive collegiate golfers. Because he believes that the learning process accelerates when golf is taught at a simple level, his lessons concentrate on the fundamentals of the game. Chris still plays in 10–15 PGA tournaments annually, believing that by maintaining his competitive edge he will help his students achieve their full potential.

Iron Works Golf Academy

Skokie Sports Park

608-473-0095

847-674-1500, ext. 3100

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Dana Fryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new South Course at Arcadia Bluffs taking the club to another level By Don Shell Photos by Nile Young Jr.

To the Bluffs &

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

ARCADIA, Michigan — The warm, setting sun slowly sank into the horizon, out past those limitless waves of blue, gently lapping the sandy shores of Lake Michigan below us, reflecting up onto the sky above with the most postcard-perfect purple haze you’ve ever seen. We’re sitting on a white wooden park bench parked on the side of the 12th tee box of the (newly renamed) Bluffs course at Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club, patiently waiting our turn, and contemplating just how wonderful life can be. Of course, this lake, this view, this experience is the supernatural, intangible ingredient that has made Arcadia Bluffs what it has been for the past two decades, which is one of the very best golf clubs on the planet. But here in the tiny northern Michigan town of Arcadia, just south of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the place named America’s Most Beautiful, we have proof the best can get even better. New lodging. More lodging. A fitness center. New dining. A full-fledged lodge. These were all part of the incremental changes the club has made in the past 10 30

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

years, slowly, thoughtfully, consistently. But this summer, Arcadia Bluffs unveils its biggest change yet, adding the sensational new South Course on Aug. 1, instantly transforming itself from a golf club, to a golf destination. More than it even was already. “Absolutely, we’re even changing our mission statement,” said Arcadia Bluffs President and Chief Operating Officer Bill Shriver. “It used to be, ‘To be the finest dailyfee golf course in the United States.’ Now it says, ‘To be the finest golf destination in the United States.’ Because that’s what we are — a destination.”

DIFFERENT BY DESIGN The South Course — all 7,412 yards of it — is turning the spotlight back to this corner of the Midwest, thanks in large part to its big brother, yes, but also its designer, the ascendant architect Dana Fry, of Fry/Straka Global Golf Design. Fry is most famous for his co-design on the other side of the lake, Wisconsin’s Erin Hills, host of the 2017 U.S. Open, but he’s had a long, successful career

working with Tom Fazio and especially Dr. Michael Hurdzan. Despite his past success, the South Course is undoubtedly Fry’s biggest, boldest solo design yet. And as he puts it, it had to be. “The existing course at Arcadia, as I’ve heard 200 times now, it’s everybody’s favorite golf course, and they all keep talking about it and the views and the setting,” Fry said this spring. “And that is a major part of what makes golf what it is. And whether it’s Shinnecock Hills or Augusta National or Cypress Point, they’ve all got that unbelievable setting. And here (at the South Course) we didn’t have that unbelievable setting. We had good topography, but it does not have Lake Michigan.” What it does have, however, is an architect and an owner completely aligned in a singular vision. Arcadia owner Richard Postma and Fry wanted to build something dramatically different than the Bluffs, different than almost everything else in the Midwest, save for a quirky, classic, little course called Chicago Golf Club. “The summer before last, summer of ’16, I get a call from Warren (Henderson, one of the architects of Arcadia Bluffs and a longtime friend) and he says, ‘Well, we’re going to be working together real soon.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ and he says, ‘Rich

(Postma) has decided he’s going to build another course and you’re doing it.’ And that was it. “I came up a few days later, and I stood on what’s now the third hole, the highest point on the property, and I said, ‘You know, Rich, have you ever been to Chicago Golf Club?’ and he said, ‘Well, yes I have.’ And I said, ‘What do you think of it? Obviously, it’s one of my all-time favorites, as it is for almost every architect.’ And he said the same thing. And I said we could do the same thing — create a feeling of Chicago Golf Club on the site. And he said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And that was it.”

SQUARING THE CIRCLE The result is a geometric, asymmetric homage to the greats of golf course architecture, C.B. Macdonald, Seth Raynor and Alister Mackenzie. With 90-degree angles — right edges! — on the greens, flat-bottom bunkering lying perpendicular or diagonal to the fairways, even square greens, the South Course isn’t just different than the Bluffs, it’ll be an experience unlike most have ever played. And that’s the … ahem, point. “Those two courses could not be more opposite,” Fry said. “I mean, the bunkering doesn’t look like each other … there’s not one mound on this property, I can assure

PREVIOUS SPREAD: The South Course’s 540-yard, par-5 sixth hole. ABOVE LEFT: While it might seem post-modern, the South Course’s architecture is as old-school as it gets in America, an homage to Chicago Golf Club. RIGHT: The 429-yard first hole offers a bit of everything you’ll see on the South, including its ubiquitous flat-bottom bunkers. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

you, there is none. The high points are the greens. “I think it is incredibly visually dramatic, on a low-profile scale. The other course obviously has these massive contours and with the backdrop it’s off-the-charts striking. This is striking in a polar-opposite way.” That certainly isn’t to say the South Course isn’t visually appealing, or memorable. Indeed, even six weeks before opening, it’s clear it’s shaping up to be a beautiful bookend to the Bluffs. “I’m doing things that I’ve never done, like, I’m taking fairways that are doing deadstraight lines for 200-300 yards, in the fairway,” Fry laughed. “And the way the bunkers are cut in diagonally into the fairways. 32

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

And the fairway may have half the bunker on the back side. And the collars at Chicago Golf Club … the high point is the putting surface, so the collars go straight down into the bunkers. They’re mowing the collars with the greens mowers! The superintendent (Jim Bluck) thought I was crazy. Fry and the universally acclaimed Arcadia Bluffs groundskeeping team even took a trip to the Windy City to see the ways of the Chicago Golf Club crew, how that team tackles the quirks inherent to such a demanding design.

THE RIGHT ANGLE Here on the South Course, the midday sun beating down, it’s easy to see the stark con-

The shortest par 4 on the course at just 361 yards from the tips, the South’s second hole is a sweet treat.

trast, the asymmetrical, geometric design coming through loud and clear — even from the first (rectangular) tee. Built on a sizable, 311-acre stretch of land a mile from the Bluffs, the former apple orchard is now a veritable sea of green, an impressive expanse of grass that started from scratch in 2017. “Everything you see here out here was a seed at some point,” laughs Jim Bluck’s understudy, the South Course superintendent Ryan Williams. “That’s pretty crazy.” No, crazy might just be the course itself. The first hole is preview of everything that’s to come, with some of all of the South’s

design elements for good measure. At 429 yards from the tips, this par 4 offers a sod farm-sized fairway to aim at off the tee (average size, 55-60 yards wide), bunkers cutting in at right angles across the fairway, and a false front to the enormous, angular green. The South Course will be known for the sheer size (they average a whopping 9,600 square feet — about a quarter-acre) and squared shape of its greens, which are at times comically huge and contoured, and exaggerated in their angular appearance. “They’re bigger than average greens with (continued on page 36) WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Inside the ‘Arcadia Experience’

You see it on their brochures. You hear it from the staff. You feel it all around you. It’s the Arcadia Experience, and it’s a real thing. Here are three reasons why:

SERVICE

Arcadia Bluffs is known for the view, but its staff is one-of-a-kind, too. Starting with COO Bill Shriver, the customer- and family-friendly atmosphere extends everywhere. Director of Golf Zack Chapin was named 2017 PGA Merchandiser of the Year, due in no small part to that service-oriented mantra, while Superintendent Jim Bluck is one of the very best in the business. The staff is unflaggingly, genuinely nice, Chapin said, because it believes in creating an unforgettable experience. “You get a lot of guys that make their annual pilgrimage here,” he said. “They plan for it, they look forward to it, they take our brochure and put it in their office and think, ‘It will be here soon.’”

AMENITIES

Once a lonely outpost, Arcadia has added quite an array of lodging options over the years, including The Lodge, with 15 guest rooms and one suite above the main clubhouse, most facing west with a jawdropping view of the lake and the Bluffs Course. The Cottages offer 1,900-square-foot, four-bed, four-bath gated cottages on the hillside behind the Bluffs’ second hole, complete with all the comforts (maybe more) of home. And the new Bluffs Lodge, which opened last year, features 21 guest rooms with two queen beds, as well as a stellar fitness facility. Arcadia is also home to diverse dining options, including the main Dining Room for more formal affairs full of locally sourced fare (filet mignon and morel mushrooms? Yes, please), while the stellar Lakeview Room is perfect for a more casual drink or dinner, and the Sunroom is Arcadia’s answer to elegant events.

INTANGIBLES

Arcadia’s view is beyond beautiful, but the experience is about the little things, too: The park bench on the tee of the 12th green on the Bluffs is a sea of tranquility. The stairs in the cavernous bunkers. The snowy owl that’s made the club its home (really). The Adirondack chairs lining the patio above the 18th green, an unbeatable sunset spot. The way dogs aren’t just welcomed, they come to work with their owners. The way your heart jumps when you come through the front gate — every time. And yes, the sunsets. Heavens, yes. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

OLD IS NEW AGAIN

The “stair-step” bunkers on the 417-yard, par-4 17th are destined for fame — along with the rest of the South Course. a lot of contour in them,” Fry said. “That means you’ll have 150-foot putts, sometimes with 20 feet of break, sometimes with 20 feet of break going two different ways. They are going to be unlike anything anyone’s ever seen.” For Exhibit A, you need only turn to the heavily tiered green at the 604-yard, par-5 third hole. Quite nearly a perfect square, the third is one of several such greens on the course, often flanked by wraparound, flat-bottom bunkers like corner tabs in an old-time picture frame. Other highlights on the front are the 200yard, par-3 fifth, which most days plays into the prevailing, howling wind whipping off the lake, and the 461-yard, par-4 ninth, with its own cubist creation for a green. The back nine is where things really get interesting, however, starting with the stunning, 189-yard, par-3 12th hole. The terrific 36

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

12th has the most memorable green on the course, an upside-down horseshoe wrapping around a devilish pot bunker, sloping off sharply on all sides. Hit it on the wrong side of this horseshoe, and your luck will most definitely run out. The 447-yard, par-4 13th was the last to be built, and the most “familiar” aesthetically, playing to a bit of a bowled, rounded Biarritz-inspired green, a large swale in the center to contend with. It might be traditional, but it’s a beauty. Traditional goes back out the window very soon, and outright heads for home at the sensational, 417-yard, par-4 17th hole, which plays uphill and over the “stair-step” bunkers on the left side of the fairway. These are reminiscent of the “church pew” bunkers at Oakmont, but these flat-bottom beauties stack atop each other, climbing the hill toward the squared-off hole.

While some of the South Course’s asymmetrical aesthetic is obvious from ground level, much of it is only noticeable from the air, and the drone footage better shows Fry’s brilliance here. The rest is a surprisingly subtle history lesson of the oldest design trends in America. What will the average American’s reaction be? Fry can’t wait to find out. “A lot of players at Arcadia are also members at some of the high-end clubs, but the vast majority have never heard of Piping Rock, The Creek Club or Fishers Island,” he said. “They literally have no clue what these places are. It’ll be very interesting to see their reactions, when they go to the first green, and the right side is 140 feet deep, and the right line is dead straight, and the front is dead straight, with this massive false front on it. “They’re going to think this is wild. It’ll be interesting to see how they like, what to them is new, but what is really old school architecture — to the extreme. “I really admire Rich for taking such a chance, to do something so boldly different.”

The South Course is most definitely all that and more. Is it a risk to do something so polar opposite what has made the club so successful? Maybe. But it’s hard to bet against an owner and a team that seems to somehow get it right in everything it’s ever done. But unlike its billion-dollar view, Shriver says the secret to their success isn’t magical: It’s simply listening to their customers. “Most of the changes we’ve made over the years — almost all of the changes we’ve made — are bred from the need, guests ask for it,” Shriver said. “At first you hear, ‘You know, if you had this, it’d be good, or if you had that.’ And after you hear it 10 times, you think, ‘That’s not a bad idea.’ Everything we’ve done over the years is borne out of people asking, and that turns into more — more of everything. “Now we feel like we have everything. Now we feel like we have a resort.” Yes, sir, you most certainly do. Green fees on the Bluffs are $195 peak, $90 after Oct. 10, while the South Course green fees are $150 peak, $75 after Oct. 8. Visit www.arcadiabluffs.com.

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Whistling Straits — Photo by Nile Young Jr.

GOLFTIME MAGAZINE’S

Best of the Midwest Awards

2018 The Spectacular

Straits Whistling Straits wins top spot of inaugural Best of the Midwest Awards

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LEFT: The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort. BELOW: Chicago’s Cog Hill No. 4, Dubsdread. Valley, the terrific twosome of young upstarts on the upscale Wisconsin golf scene. We expect this trio of terrific courses to be a mainstay on the awards scene for years to come, and they remain a must-play on any golfer’s list in the Great Lakes.

ILLINOIS

Cog Hill No. 4 (Dubsdread), Lemont, Ill. Fittingly, the fan-favorite course in Illinois comes from the club credited with bringing the “country club experience” to the masses: Cog Hill. Founder Joe Jemsek’s crown jewel, Dubsdread, has been a beloved staple in the Midwest golf lineup, and edged PGA Tour stop Deere Run and Eagle Ridge Resort’s The General.

INDIANA

rom St. Paul to Springfield, Sheboygan (Wisconsin) to Cheboygan (Michigan), Chicago and Columbus, we’ve heard you. Your voices — and your votes — have been resoundingly clear in the firstever Best of the Midwest Awards, where our readers helped us find the greatest golf in the Great Lakes. We had overwhelming winners, stunning upsets, and photo-finishes in the first-ever awards, which proved one thing across the board: You love golf in the Midwest as much as we do. So here, without further adieu, are the winners of the first-ever Best of the Midwest Awards! Thanks to all of you who voted, and congratulations to our winners! 40

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

BEST OVERALL

Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.

Congratulations to our heavyweight champion of the Midwest, Whistling Straits, the Pete Dye-designed masterpiece on the sunrise side of Lake Michigan. With craggy cliffs, blackface sheep, a couple of Majors and the 2020 Ryder Cup on its resume, it’s tough to top this incredible course. The Straits beat serious contenders in Arcadia Bluffs, Forest Dunes, and the Dye Course at French Lick Resort. It also withstood a challenge by the Rick Smith Signature Golf Course at Treetops Resort, which cleaned up big in the awards this year. But anyone who has visited the Straits at Kohler’s sublime American Club knows it’s truly as close to golf royalty as we will find in the

Midwest, and the perfect course to wear the crown as Best Overall. Bravo.

WISCONSIN

Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis. Naturally, the Straits also won Best in Wisconsin, handily topping Erin Hills and Sand

The Dye Course at French Lick Resort, French Lick, Ind. In what could be Pete Dye’s most visually stunning masterpiece, The Dye Course at French Lick offers incredible views and challenging play across a veritable moonscape of Indiana’s highest hillsides. The Dye Course topped worthy contenders Purgatory Golf Club and Dye’s own Kampen Course at Pur-

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ABOVE: The stellar Rick Smith Signature Course at Treetops Resort, Michigan’s favorite. BELOW: Wonderful Wilderness Resort, Minnesota’s best. RIGHT: Wisconsin’s Sand Valley, voted Best New Course by our voters, deservedly so.

MINNESOTA

Wilderness at Fortune Bay, Tower, Minn. It’s wild. It’s woolly. It’s the quintessential North Country golf experience. It’s the Wilderness at Fortune Bay, and it’s the winner of Best Course in Minnesota. Carved through the towering pines of Tower, Minnesota, Wilderness topped the terrific twins of the Quarry Course and Legends Course at Giants Ridge.

MICHIGAN

The Rick Smith Signature Course at Treetops Resort, Gaylord, Mich. In a surprising upset, Treetops Resort’s stellar Rick Smith Signature course topped Whistling Straits’ “sunset side” cousin, Arcadia Bluffs. Treetops is one of the most popular destinations in the Midwest, and the outpouring of love for the Signature course was unbeatable. Another fan favorite, Forest Dunes, also made a strong showing in this year’s voting.

BEST NEW COURSE

Sand Valley Golf Resort, Nekoosa, Wis. In the closest voting of our awards, the Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw-designed Sand Valley narrowly squeaked by the Tom Doakdesigned The Loop at Forest Dunes. Sand Valley is set in a veritable desert of dunes, buried for thousands of years under glacial Lake Wisconsin and pine forests. The wait was clearly worth it. The Loop is really two courses in one, the Black and the Red, as the world’s only reversible golf course.

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

ABOVE LEFT, RIGHT: Photos by Nile Young Jr.

due. And as the sponsor of this year’s awards, one lucky voter wins a weekend getaway at French Lick. Turn to page 45 in this issue to see who won!

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BEST DESTINATION Gaylord, Mich.

Sure, it doesn’t have crashing cliffs like Bandon or Pebble. It doesn’t have Southern charm and the fish fries of Myrtle Beach. But what the glorious golf Mecca called Gaylord, Michigan, has in spades, friends, is fantastic, affordable golf. Gaylord’s 15 courses in the Mecca offer big-name architects and lower prices than you’d expect, helping it edge out Kohler and its Northern Michigan cousin, Traverse City. It’s called America’s Summer Golf Capital for a reason — it owns golf season.

BEST VALUE

Treetops Resort, Gaylord, Mich. Five fantastic courses by Rick Smith, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and Tom Fazio. Unlimited stay-and-play golf packages starting at $99 (!). That’s part of what has made Treetops the tops on so many summer checklists. As the crown jewel in America’s Summer Golf Capital, Treetops wins with quantity, quality, and affordability. Forest Dunes and Lawsonia in Green Lake, Wisconsin, also garnered votes.

BEST LUNCH @TURN

Legends on the Hill, Treetops, Gaylord, Mich. What are the three most important things for a great lunch at the turn? Taste, time and price. Legends on the Hill at Treetops hits the mark in all three, and adds unlimited views from the top of the ski hill as an appetizer! The restaurants at Wilderness at Fortune Bay and the Dye Course at French Lick Resort also made readers’ mouths water. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The sixth hole of Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed Masterpiece was the inspiration for the name Treetops Resort, for obvious reasons. The Natural at Beaver Creek is one of 15 fine and affordable courses in the golf Mecca of Gaylord, Michigan. Treetops’ Legends on the Hill is the best place for a mid-round brew — and a view. 44

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Luck of the Draw

Tim Graves couldn’t believe his ears. “You never think you are really going to win, so I never planned for this call,” said the 47-year-old maintenance supervisor from Otsego, Michigan, near Kalamazoo. “I am super stoked about winning!” He should be. The avid golfer plays in a league three nights a week at The Lynx Golf Club in Otsego, and has explored the top courses all across Michigan. But now he gets to take a weekend trip to the fantastic French Lick Resort, in French Lick, Indiana, which is home to the (Pete) Dye Course, our winner as Best Course

in Indiana. In addition to the Pete Dye-designed masterpiece, French Lick Resort is also home to the classic Donald Ross Course, a casino, and two incredible hotels, including the historic West Baden Springs Hotel. Graves was joined by Nancy Mathiowetz of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and Brandon Wales, of Plymouth, Michigan, who each won a laser range finder by Laser Link Golf. The trio was randomly drawn from our Best of the Midwest voters entries. With a full dance card already this summer, Graves says he’ll save his trip for a guys’ getaway next June. Besides, this’ll give him time to milk it for all it’s worth. “I told them they’d better be really nice to me this year,” he laughed. If they’re not, Tim, give us a call. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Forest Dunes Golf Club is home to two (maybe three, depending how you count The Loop) great golf courses, but it’s the service that makes a good experience great. And Forest Dunes is great.

abolical bunkering? You know it. Welcome to Whistling Strait’s stunning 17th, the 249yard “Pinched Nerve,” which topped Arcadia Bluffs’ 13th and the 17th at Giants Ridge, Chasta, Minnesota, among others.

BEST PAR 4

Forest Dunes No. 17, Roscommon, Mich.

BEST SERVICE

Forest Dunes, Roscommon, Mich. Great service is something so hard to describe, but so easy to spot when you see it. It’s an intangible element that makes good golf courses great, and great golf courses Forest Dunes. Friendly, helpful, intuitive and genuine are just a few ways to describe the people working here, which makes Forest Dunes a special experience in a special place.

BEST PAR 3

The Straits Course No. 17, Kohler, Wis. What makes the best par 3 in the Midwest? Craggy cliffs down to a raging shoreline? Check. Howling wind whipping your ball into the wide blue yonder? Check. “Dye”46

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Tom Weiskopf has built plenty of amazing holes over the years, but his fantastic, 302yard par-4 17th might be his very best — and thanks to our voters, it’s named Best Par 4 in the Midwest. At just 302 yards from the tips (yet surrounded by grassy, inescapable dunesland), it beckons like a siren for you to blast it with all your might. It might just break your heart instead.

BEST PAR 5

Arcadia Bluffs No. 11, Arcadia, Mich. It’s one of the most picture-perfect par 5s on the planet, a 633-yard downhill stunner, culminating in a cliffside green that drops off into the wide blue of Lake Michigan. It’s also your winner as the Best Par 5 in the Midwest, and we couldn’t agree more.

EXPERIENCE The Best Golf Course

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Explore Minnesota Golf Alliance Play the Best of the Best • ExploreMinnesotaGolf.com 1. Arrowwood Resort

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2. Black Bear Golf Course www.golfatthebear.com

3. Braemar Golf Course www.braemargolf.com

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4. Breezy Point Resort

www.breezypointresort.com

5. Chaska Town Course www.chaskatowncourse.com

6 Cragun’s Resort www.craguns.com

7. Destination Bloomington www.bloomingtonmn.org

8. Edinburgh U.S.A.

The land of 10,000 water holes invites you to test your game at some of the most beautiful and challenging courses in the world — enjoy Minnesota golf.

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9. Giants Ridge Golf & Ski Resort www.giantsridge.com

Play the

10. Golden Eagle Golf Club

BEST of the BEST

www.golfgoldeneagle.com

11. Grand View Lodge www.grandviewlodge.com

12. Legends Club www.legendsgc.com

13. Madden’s on Gull Lake www.maddens.com

14. Minnesota National GC www.prestwick.com

St. Cloud

94 www.royalclubmn.com

8 18. Rush Creek Golf Club 18

17 20

3 Golf Club 15 19. Stonebrooke 5

Arcadia Bluffs, Arcadia, Mich., and Forest Dunes, Roscommon, Mich. In the most perfect finish possible for our first Best of the Midwest Awards, two incredible courses tied for Best 19th Hole, for very different reasons! Forest Dunes’ 19th hole is actually that — a 117-yard par-3 bet-settler — that’s the golf equivalent of the mint on your pillow. Genius. Arcadia’s 19th hole, on the other hand, is simply the best place to have a post-round 48

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

drink in the Midwest. Imagine sipping a cold beverage in an Adirondack chair on the patio, clapping for the groups coming in, and watching the setting sun dip into Lake Michigan as the bagpiper plays from high on the hill. Magic. There you have it, the first-ever Best of the Midwest Awards. We know you probably have some strong opinions about the winners, and those that didn’t win. We’d love to hear them! Share your thoughts on our website, www.golftimemag.com.

23 12 20. StoneRidge Golf Club 35 16

www.stoneridgegc.com 26

21. Superior National Golf Club www.superiornational.com

22. Territory Golf Club www.territorygc.com

23. The Wilds Golf Club

13 24

23 12 26

17 20 15

Quality, Variety, Price-Point Value

Rochester

YOUR MINNESOTA GOLF

“BUCKET LIST”

www.thumperpond .com

25. Wilderness at Fortune Bay www.golfthewilderness.com

26. Willingers Golf Club www.willingersgc.com

ExploreMinnesotaGolf.com

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GOLF22IN St. Cloud MINNESOTA

24. Thumper Pond Resort

Dulut

Twin Cities A GREAT STORY

10 4

Brainerd

Twin Cities

www.golfthewilds.com

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

BEST 19th HOLE - TIE

7 www.stonebrooke.com 19

5 19

Alexandria

www.ridgesatsandcreek.com

www.rushcreek.com

Alexandria

16. Ridges at Sand Creek 17. Royal Golf Club

Duluth

15. Prestwick Golf Club

If there’s a better spot to watch the sunset after your round in the Midwest than Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club, our readers didn’t know it (and neither do we).

Brainerd

www.mnnationalgolfcourse.com

10 4

YOUR GAME. YOUR TIME. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

81 49

Golf and gaming are two of a kind, and the Great Lakes have both in spades. Here’s your guide to the best in the Midwest By Dennis McCann

LEFT: Photo by Nile Young Jr.

hile many course owners and operators have had their struggles in recent years, one segment of the golf industry stands as a bright spot. Even during the recent crippling recession, golf course development and ownership at Indian casinos grew by healthy margins as many tribes diversified their economies and moved toward fullscale destination resorts. If the idea of merging golf and gaming strikes some as incongruous, Tony Mancilla, general manager at Island Resort and Casino in the Upper Peninsula town of Harris, Michigan, said it actually makes perfect sense. “What’s the first thing golfers do when they get to the first tee?’ he said. They gamble? To borrow a phrase: Bingo! Golfers, Mancilla said, “are higher disposable income people,” — the very demographic tribal resorts already court for their casinos. Getting golfers to come as part of stay-and-play packages is especially helpful because they can spend money by night as well as by day. “Every time we keep the golfer overnight it’s a big deal for us. They really like the bar and they really like table games,” Mancilla said. “They’re really good customers.” Growth in golf and gaming combinations

have been strong. From 2004 to present, the number of tribes with golf courses and the total number of golf holes essentially doubled, according to Matthew Robinson, a Minneapolis consultant who works with tribes across the country on golf and other development efforts. Today, 70 tribes in 20 states own 105 golf courses, led by California with 14. In the Midwest, six Minnesota tribes also have golf courses, along with five in Michigan and two in Wisconsin. Mancilla’s resort is testimony to the WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

synergy that comes with golf and gaming. This year the resort opened a second golf course, Sage Run, to go with the 10-year-old Sweetgrass Golf Club that has drawn accolades even in golf-rich Michigan. Thanks to the revenue from its hotel and casino, Mancilla said, a tribe can build a high-end golf course and charge less per round than a stand-alone course owner could. Many tribes have come a long way from the days of operating smoky bingo halls. Increasingly tribes have added golf, spas, meeting facilities and other amenities to their resort offerings. Some tribes built new courses, sometimes using top designers, while others elected to purchase nearby golf courses to more quickly join the golf-andgaming segment. Ernest Stevens, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin who serves as chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission in Washington, D.C., said he never played golf until he started attending golf course dedications at various reservations. Stevens said just as casinos benefit non-Indian stores and restaurants by attracting visitors, tribal 52

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

golf courses can help non-Indian owned courses through stay-and-play packages. “It’s been a real good economic boon, not just for the tribes but for the local economies,” he said. “The golf family is a natural for our gaming world, and vice-versa. Some people go to golf and the casino is secondary. It’s been a good complement for many years now.” And luckily, we have this dynamic duo in spades here in the Midwest. Here are a few of the best spots to enjoy both:

Harris, Michigan GAMING: Island Resort & Casino, owned by the Hannahville Potawatomi Community, offers more than 1,200 slots, blackjack, craps, poker and roulette, along with spa and entertainment center. GOLF: Sweetgrass Golf Club, named for one of the four plants used in native medicines and boasting an island green 15th hole, has been rated as one of Michigan’s best public courses. This year, Sage Run, named for another medicinal plant, will open at the resort, which also offers packages that

PREVIOUS, LEFT: The Turtle Creek Casino near Traverse City, Michigan. PREVIOUS RIGHT: The Meadows at Mystic Lake Golf Club in Prior, Minnesota. ABOVE: Sweetgrass Golf Club at Island Resort in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula hosts the Symetra Tour’s Island Resort Championship in June. include the tribal courses along with the terrific Greywalls Golf Course in Marquette and TimberStone Golf Course in Iron Mountain. GRUB: 5 Bridges Steak and Seafood House at the resort offers great steaks and an extensive craft beer menu. WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: Relax in the resort’s Drift Spa, perhaps for a Sacred Stones Massage using heated stones — a traditional native healing technique — a Sports Massage or a Massage for Two.

Carlton, Minnesota

GAMING: Black Bear Casino Resort, owned by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, offers 400 hotel rooms, the Otter Creek Event Center and a casino with 1,800 slots, blackjack, poker and more. GOLF: The popular Black Bear Golf Course, with full pro shop and PGA pro on site, is popular with golfers throughout the

Northland. GRUB: Seven Fires Steakhouse serves lunch and dinner and offers the one-pound prime rib dinner as its “must-try Seven Fires Special.” WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: Head north to greatly underrated Duluth and enjoy the dining, brewpub and casual shopping of Canal Park and, if you are lucky again, you get to stand just feet away from a 1,000-foot cargo carrier entering or leaving the Port of Duluth/ Superior.

Traverse City, Michigan

GAMING: Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Leelanau Sands Casino and Lodge and Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel, all owned by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, offer Vegas-style entertainment with more than 1,300 slots, 40 tables games, poker room and more. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

GOLF: The Traverse City area boasts more than 20 popular golf courses, including three gems at Grand Traverse Resort – the Jack Nicklaus-designed Bear, the Gary Playerdesigned Wolverine, and Spruce Run. The resort also offers a Golf Academy, with simulator and lesson areas, and has a Dave Pelz Scoring Game School on site. GRUB: Whether you choose the resort’s Aerie restaurant for steaks, Red Ginger for contemporary Asian fare, or Apache Trout Grill for Lake Superior whitefish or walleye, it’s hard to go wrong in Traverse City, which Bon Appetit has named one of its top five “foodie towns.” WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: A toast is in order. You’ll think you’re in the French wine district when you head up either winery-dotted Old Mission Peninsula or the Leelanau Peninsula, named by Liquor.com as one of “eight stunning wine regions to discover.” 54

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

ABOVE: The Gary Player-designed gem called The Wolverine at Grand Traverse Resort near Traverse City, Michigan, is an underrated winner. LEFT: Fortune Bay Casino is home to Minnesota’s Best winner The Wilderness Golf Club.

Tower, Minnesota

GAMING: The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa owns Fortune Bay Resort Casino, with more than 25,000 square feet of gaming on two floors, and the Wilderness at Fortune Bay golf course. The resort also offers an RV park and marina on Lake Vermilion. GOLF: The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, known for its setting among tall pines and rock outcroppings on the shore of Lake Vermilion, has won numerous awards in recent years, including being ranked No. 1 in the Mobile Golfer’s Top 50 Golf Courses You Can Play in America.

GRUB: The resort’s Sunset Steakhouse boasts “some of the best steaks in the Northland,” including the $23.95 Tomahawk Steak.

table games, poker room and even off-track betting on thoroughbred, harness and greyhound races.

WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: Enjoy the rich history and culture of the surrounding the Iron Range. Ride the Lake Vermilion mail boat that delivers mail to island residents, tour Soudan Underground Mine State Park to learn the history and hardships of iron mining, take in the International Wolf Center or North American Bear Center in Ely or, for music lovers, visit the Bob Dylan Museum in his hometown of Hibbing.

GOLF: Thornberry Creek Golf Course’s 18-hole championship course is not only home to the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic but also the official golf course of the Green Bay Packers. It also features a nine-hole executive course with family-friendly tees.

Green Bay, Wisconsin

GAMING: The massive Oneida Casino, with its Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, has one of the Midwest’s largest gaming areas, with more than 2,000 slots, numerous

GRUB: When in Rome, as they say, enjoy Packer lore while dining at the 1919 Kitchen & Tap (named for the year of the Packers’ birth) on the atrium level of Green Bay’s most sacred site, Lambeau Field. Outside, perform your own Lambeau Leap onto the statue of front-row fans or bow in respect at the bronze likenesses of Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

920.434.7501, ext. 117 | golfthornberry.com

ABOVE: Wisconsin is home to two casino-resorts, including Oneida. BELOW: Harbor Springs, Michigan, is where you’ll find Odawa Casino and the hidden gem, Little Traverse Bay Golf Club. WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: Head northeast onto the Door Peninsula, one of the Midwest’s favorite vacation destinations, for a bit of New England-flavored fun in the many picturesque communities on the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. And don’t miss the goats on the grass roof of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay, where paper-thin Swedish pancakes are a must.

Traverse Bay Golf Club, and the lakefront beauty called Bay Harbor. GRUB: Petoskey and nearby Harbor Springs are a feast for foodies. Check out Petoskey Brewing or Beards Brewery for some great food and local craft beer, Teddy Griffin’s Roadhouse for some comfort food, or up the ante with the roasted loin of lamb at Chandler’s. WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: Check into a waterfront suite at the incredible and affordably opulent Inn at Bay Harbor. Enjoy fine dining at the Inn’s Vintage Chop House, and make a tee time at Bay Harbor Golf Club, one of the Midwest’s most postcard-perfect clubs.

Petoskey, Michigan

GAMING: The Odawa Casino Resort has 50,000 square feet of gaming space, with more than 1,000 slots, 127 guest rooms, and three restaurants. GOLF: The area has an amazing array of great golf, with Boyne Highlands Resort’s four great courses, Crooked Tree Golf Club, Little 56

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

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Prior Lake, Minnesota

GAMING: There’s room for everybody at

Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, just southwest of the Twin Cities, which is owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. With 776 rooms, it is one of the largest hotels in the Twin Cities and has gaming to match, with slots, bingo, Blackjack and “Cosmic WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

North Star Mohican Casino is one of the oldest and biggest in the Midwest, and a sure bet for a good time. Blackjack,” an event that combines “loud music, blacklights and Blackjack.”

Simmons to Wynona and the Big Noise, celebrated its 25th year in gaming in 2017.

GOLF: The Meadows at Mystic Lake, formerly

GOLF: The Mohicans expanded from gaming

Lone Pine Golf Course, was totally remodeled after its purchase by the Shakopee Sioux. And there are plenty of other nearby courses to try because Minnesota claims more golfers, and more golf courses per capita, than any other state. GRUB: Mystic Lake’s restaurant menu includes

10 dining and drinking spots, from Mystic Steakhouse to Fusion Noodle Bar to Mystic Deli. WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: Go for even bigger. The

Mall of America is just 25 minutes away, complete with aquarium, roller coaster, Moose Mountain Adventure Golf and, oh yes, even stores.

Bowler, Wisconsin

into golf by purchasing Pine Hills Golf & Supper Club and now offers a golf experience with the full flavor of Wisconsin’s Northwoods, complete with a massive log clubhouse. Despite its woodsy setting, the resort is just an hour away from the golf temptations of Green Bay, Appleton and some of Wisconsin’s best-known courses. GRUB: Entire books are devoted to the classic

Wisconsin supper club, so experience it for yourself at Pine Hills Supper Club with the traditional Friday fish fry — cod or perch, of course — or the Saturday night prime rib. The before-dinner brandy old fashioned is optional, but you’ll not convince many Wisconsin natives of that.

GAMING: Northern Wisconsin’s North Star

WHEN YOU HIT IT BIG: Splurge on a cabin on

Mohican Casino Resort, with more than 1,200 slots, table and other games, Tarradea Salon and Spa and an entertainment facility that features national acts from Kiss’ Gene

one of the many nearby lakes of Up North, Wisconsin, to wet a line, paddle a canoe or simply relax. You deserve it — you’re a winner.

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Check out our new Golftime website to keep up with news and offers! GolfTime Magazine is dedicated to people who realize the world’s greatest game is more than a pastime, people who appreciate the rich variety and value in the region they call home.

www.golftimemag.com Find us on

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MOUNTAIN Geaux Tell It On The

Louisianaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Audubon Golf Trail is a tasty treat. The food is really good, too By Danny Freels

TPC Louisiana

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON once wrote that, “The state of Louisiana has always been my favorite portion of the Union. …” The naturalist and painter, famous to this day for his illustrated, 1830s work The Birds of America, spent almost two years in Louisiana, mostly in New Orleans and around St. Francisville northwest of Baton Rouge. He was clearly inspired by the beauty that he saw during those 23 months because at least 80 of the paintings included in the book were created in Louisiana. As a way of honoring someone who appreciated the area so much, the Audubon Golf Trail was established in 2001. Fifteen courses make up the Trail and each one is or has plans to become a member of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, a program “dedicated to protecting the environment and preserving the natural heritage of the game of golf.” This past May, I was fortunate to play six of the courses on the Trail. Each was enjoyable, pleasing to the eye but also quite different. Just minutes from downtown New Orleans, on St. Charles Avenue, is Audubon Park Golf Club. Originally built in 1898 (probably consisting of only a few holes), this golf course is part of the very popular Audubon Park that also includes the PREVIOUS SPREAD: Maui’s great golf includes the stellar Kapalua Golf Resort. ABOVE: The stunning start to your round at Wailea Golf Club’s Emerald Course. RIGHT: The Emerald’s fantastic, par-4 fourth hole features views and lava rocks. 62

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Audubon Zoo. (Obviously, the state really likes this guy.) Nearby to both Tulane and Loyola universities, Audubon Park GC is a challenging but fun layout that plays to a par of 62. Three tees are available – measuring between 4,420 yards and 3,341 yards – and water is in play on nine of the 18 holes. Set on rolling terrain that is dotted with one100-year-old oak trees, Audubon Park GC is tougher than you may think. Plus, it’s the only golf course in America that’s accessible by streetcar. Culinary note: should you play here in the morning, consider the grits and beef breakfast dish, known as grillades, that’s available inside the club’s restaurant. To my surprise, it was quite good. Fifteen miles southwest of New Orleans, in Avondale, you’ll find one of the most enjoy-

LEFT: John James Audubon’s legend looms large in Louisiana, even two centuries later. This 1826 painting is by Scottish artist John Syme. ABOVE: Audubon Park is a par 62 executive course and the perfect warm-up to your stay. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

able courses a serious or recreational golfer can play anywhere: TPC Louisiana. Opened in 2004, TPC Louisiana was designed by Pete Dye with the assistance of former PGA Tour players Steve Elkington and Louisiana native Kelly Gibson. In addition to being fair and fun (which I can’t say for some of the other Pete Dye courses I’ve played), another reason to experience this beautiful layout is the fact that it’s the host venue of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour each year. From the tips, this challenging tract measures a hefty 7,425 yards. Thankfully multiple tee combinations are also available that measure between 6,931 yards and 5,122 yards. To make it even more exciting, water is in play

on seven of the holes and there are more than 100 bunkers to contend with. Oh, wait, did I mention there are alligators lurking about? Trust me: pick the proper tees and you’ll find this Tour stop to be very playable. In addition to its many fine golf courses, Louisiana is known far and wide for its food — and I don’t just mean seafood. One favorite you can’t find anywhere else is a sausage called boudin. Pronounced “boo-dan,” this tasty item is a mixture of pork (or seafood), rice, onions, green peppers and seasonings. It’s so popular here that it’s eaten for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. Some people like it stuffed into a pastry, others like it in the form of a sausage link with a side dish. As for me, I

FROM LEFT: Boudin is the ubiquitous treat served everywhere in Louisiana. The Arnold Palmer-design Bluffs at Thompson Creek. Music and food are the fuel for New Orleans’ soul. The Wetlands Golf Course is one of the newest entrants on the Trail. BELOW LEFT: Audubon’s painting of the purple heron. love the boudin balls. They’re breaded, deepfried and served as an appetizer. Thirty minutes northwest of the state capital of Baton Rouge, in St. Francisville (where JJ Audubon combed the woods for birds to paint nearly two centuries ago), is a course that can definitely be described as pretty as a picture: The Bluffs at Thompson Creek. Designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in 1988, The Bluffs winds its way through dense forest and possibly features more elevation changes than any other course on the Audubon Golf Trail. Except for the first hole — which I felt was too hard for an opener — the course is a good test for better players but still quite playable for those of us with less ability. Adding to its beauty, several of the holes are framed by attractive homes with well-kept lawns and lots of flowers. Five sets of tees are available at The Bluffs, measuring

between 6,997 yards and 4,630 yards. Opened in 2006, The Wetlands Golf Course in Lafayette, just over two hours west of New Orleans, is a true public layout that offers five sets of tees and measurements between 7,293 yards and 5,025 yards. From any of the forward tees, the course is a hoot to play because of the generous fairways. The further back you take it on, however, the more you’ll learn how The Wetlands got its name. The numerous marsh areas are in play and ready to ruin your round if you don’t avoid them. Course management is the key to playing well at this fun layout. Two other “musts” if you’re visiting vibrant Lafayette: 1) dinner at the Blue Dog Café and 2) an hour or two at the Blue Moon Saloon on Wednesday night. That’s

ONE ‘COOL’ SIDE TRIP

Roughly 30 miles south of Lafayette, on Avery Island, you’ll find the home of one of America’s most famous products: Tabasco sauce. Founded by Edmund McIlhenny in 1868 right there on Avery, the original red pepper sauce was created to liven up the bland foods of the post-Civil War era. An immediate hit throughout the country, McIlhenny was soon selling his product in places as far away as Europe. Still family-owned and operated, Tabasco today comes in eight varieties (including green) that offer tastes “from mild to wild.” In addition to the factory tour that’s available, the facility features a company museum, general store and restaurant. 64

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

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Lake Charles is home to Gray Plantation, one of the Trail’s very best. ABOVE: Atchafalaya Golf Club is one of the prettiest — and toughest. “jammin’” night for local musicians and it’s a blast. Gray Plantation Golf Club in Lake Charles, in the southwest corner of the state, is one of the best and most challenging courses on the Trail. Designed by Rocky Roquemore and opened in 1999, this very lovely layout is set on land nearby to the Calcasieu River. At first glance, Gray Plantation appears straightforward and simple. It’s not. Like a siren’s song, the numerous risk/reward holes here will have you crashing on the rocks if you get sucked in. The fairways are wide at Gray Plantation, but so are the water hazards that frequently stand in your way. The putting surfaces are also good sized and, in places, well sloped. The straightaway par-4 18th, by the way — with the beautiful plantation-style clubhouse serving as a backdrop – is one of the prettiest holes anywhere. Four sets of tees are available at Gray Plantation, measuring between 6,946 yards and 5,392 yards. Atchafalaya at Idlewild Golf Club in Patterson, an hour and a half southwest of New Orleans, is named for the largest swamp in America. Nearby Atchafalaya Basin (pronounced “ut-cha-fa-lay-a”) measures 20 66

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

miles wide and 150 miles long. The basin is no country for old men. This golf course, however, is wonderful country for men and women of all ages — although it’s pretty long, too. Designed by Robert Von Hagge and opened in 2006, this extremely attractive layout tips out at 7,533 yards and features a course rating of 76.4. That, kids, is sturdy. Thankfully, four other tees are available that measure between 7,032 yards and 5,263 yards. Not surprisingly, due to the numerous ponds and wetlands that come into play (hey, it’s swamp country!), this course looks tight even from the “sensible” tees. In truth, the fairways are wider than they look and the greens are accessible and very puttable. Don’t let its name give you pause. Atchafalaya at Idlewild — like the Audubon Golf Trail — is a really good choice. I have a feeling that if John James Audubon was around today, and had become a golfer, he’d be traveling the Trail and doing the same thing he did over 200 years ago: communing with nature … and looking for birdies. Visit audubongolf.com and audubon.org for more information. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Dawn of a New Game

The sun is rising on some of the Midwest’s great new tournaments

2018 Pro Golf Preview

fter golf’s scorching summer in the Midwest last year, with Erin Hills in tiny Erin, Wisconsin, hosting the 117th U.S. Open, there’s much more in store this summer. That event saw more than 200,000 spectators travel to southeastern Wisconsin as the Open returned to the Midwest for first time since 2003, when Olympia Fields (Illinois) Country Club played host. (For more about this great event, don’t miss our interview with Erin Hills co-architect Dana Fry, on page 86.) This summer has stayed hot for golf in the Great Lakes. We’ve seen the PGA Senor Championship at Jack Nicklaus’s Harbor Shores, in Benton Harbor, Michigan. We’ve seen the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Chicago’s Kemper Lakes. And the 100th PGA Championship returns to prestigious Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis in August. Bellerive previously hosted the tournament in 1992. Worth noting is that 2018 will be the last time the PGA Championship will be played in mid to late summer. In 2019, the event will make a permanent move to the month of May and become the second major championship on the calendar behind the Masters in April. Meanwhile, two new events are on the golf calendar for this summer. The inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be played at venerable Chicago Golf Club, America’s first 18-hole course. The event, to be held July 12-15, will feature both professional and amateur players in the 50-plus age group. (It’s also a great way to see Chicago Golf Club, the inspiration for the new South Course at Arcadia Bluffs, which Fry drew heavily from in the design. See our story on page 28.) The PGA Tour Champions is adding two new events to its 2018 calendar with one set for Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The Ally Challenge will be played the week of Sept. 10-16 and for many on the senior circuit it will be a homecoming of sorts as Warwick Hills was the long-time home of the now defunct Buick Open. The names of many current PGA Tour Champions players dot the Buick Open’s list of champions. Here is a rundown of the 2018 events in the Golftime region: Green Bay’s Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic returns for its sequel this summer.

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

2018 Pro Golf Preview July 5-8, Oneida, Wisconsin

LPGA Tour THORNBERRY CREEK LPGA CLASSIC

COURSE: Thornberry Creek at Oneida DEFENDING CHAMP: Katherine Kirk TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: Year Two of the tournament at the official golf course of the Green Bay Packers. July 9-15, Highland Park, Illinois

PGA Tour Champions CONSTELLATION SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Exmoor Country Club DEFENDING CHAMP: Scott McCarron TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: The Senior Players Championship is one of five majors on the Champions tour. Scott McCarron fired a final round 6-under 66 to defeat Bernhard Langer and Brandt Jobe by one shot. July 12-15, Sylvania, Ohio

LPGA Tour MARATHON CLASSIC

COURSE: Highland Meadows Golf Club DEFNDING CHAMP: In-Kyung Kim TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: In a poll of LPGA players, the Marathon Classic was voted fifth favorite of all the stops on the tour. July 12-14, French Lick, Indiana

COURSE: French Lick Resort DEFENDING CHAMP: Erynne Lee THE SKINNY: Erynne Lee won the inaugural championship on the third playoff hole. 70

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

Symetra Tour DONALD ROSS CLASSIC AT FRENCH LICK RESORT

The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

2018 Pro Golf Preview July 12-15, Wheaton, Illinois

Aug. 10-12, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

COURSE: Chicago Golf Club TV: FOX THE SKINNY: A new USGA championship. Eligibility for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open championship will be limited to professional and amateur female players, age 50 and older.

COURSE: Brown Deer Park Golf Course DEFENDING CHAMP: Brittany Marchand THE SKINNY: Canadian Brittany Marchand shot a 13-under 203 to win the 2017 championship by three strokes.

July 12-15, Silvis, Illinois

PGA Tour JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

COURSE: TPC Deere Run DEFENDING CHAMP: Bryson DeChambeau TV: CBS/Golf Channel THE SKINNY: Bryson DeChambeau became the 21st player to make the John Deere Classic their first PGA Tour career victory. Aug. 2-5, Akron, Ohio

PGA Tour WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

COURSE: Firestone Country Club (South) DEFENDING CHAMP: Hideki Matsuyama TV: CBS/Golf Channel THE SKINNY: Hideki Matsuyama’s final round 61 tied the course record. That round included seven birdies and an eagle. Aug. 9-12, St. Louis, Missouri

PGA Tour PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Bellerive Country Club DEFENDING CHAMP: Justin Thomas TV: TNT/CBS THE SKINNY: The PGA Championship marks its centennial at Bellerive, which last hosted the event in 1992. 72

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Symetra Tour PHC CLASSIC

Aug. 16-19, Indianapolis, Indiana

LPGA Tour INDY WOMEN IN TECH

COURSE: Brickyard Crossing Golf Club DEFENDING CHAMP: Lexi Thompson TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: With her 2017 win at the inaugural championship, Lexi Thompson became the first woman to kiss the famous yard of bricks in victory. Aug. 17-19, Battle Creek, Michigan

Symetra Tour FIREKEEPERS CASINO HOTEL CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Battle Creek Country Club DEFENDING CHAMP: Erynne Lee THE SKINNY: Erynne Lee recorded seven birdies in her final round to win the championship by two strokes. Aug. 23-26, Columbus, Ohio

Web.com Tour NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: Ohio State University Golf Course – Scarlet Course DEFENDING CHAMP: Peter Uihlein TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: American Peter Uihlein earned the 2017 victory in only his third start on the Web.com Tour.

Photo by Jim Kelsh

LPGA Tour U.S. SENIOR WOMEN’S OPEN

Juli Inkster — U.S. Senior Women’s Open WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

2018 Pro Golf Preview

Bernhard Langer â&#x20AC;&#x201D; PGA Tour Champions

Tiger Woods Aug. 29-Sept. 2, Cleveland, Ohio

Sept. 10-16, Grand Blanc, Michigan

COURSE: Canterbury Golf Club DEFENDING CHAMP: Nicholas Lindheim TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: California native Nicholas Lindheim sank a 35-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a three-way playoff to win the 2017 championship.

COURSE: Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club DEFENDING CHAMP: N/A TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: The inaugural championship puts the spotlight back on Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, known for being home to the Buick Open that ended in 2009.

Web.com Tour DAP CHAMPIONSHIP

Aug. 30- Sept. 5, Blaine, Minnesota

LEFT: Photo by Jim Kelsh

PGA Tour Champions 3M CHAMPIONSHIP

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

COURSE: TPC Twin Cities DEFENDING CHAMP: Paul Goydos TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: Paul Goydos defeated Gene Sauers on the first playoff hole to win the 2017 title.

PGA Tour Champions THE ALLY CHALLENGE

Oct. 15-17, French Lick, Indiana

LPGA Legends Tour SENIOR LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP

COURSE: The Dye Course DEFENDING CHAMP: Trish Johnson TV: Golf Channel THE SKINNY: Trish Johnson went wire-to-wire to win the Senior LPGA Championship last year. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

The Back Nine

Golf Tech Talk

Training Transformer

RoboGolfPro shows you the science behind a perfect swing by Dennis McCann

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to take my word because you werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t there, but for one day this spring I found my swing. The ideal swing for me, starting with a nice full turn back without my troublesome loop at the top, then down the perfectly proper path to contact and through the ball to a fully executed belly-button-forward finish. I held the pose. Of course I did.

Golf Tech Talk

Equipment 2018

did all that, yes, but can’t take credit. While my hands were on the club’s grip, the club was safely secured in the arms of my teacher, which happened that day to be a robot. Yes, robot. I took a lesson with RoboGolfPro, which just might be the most technologically advanced swing training method in all of golf. Put it this way: If George Jetson took golf lessons, it would be like that. The lesson took place at the recently opened One Under Golf Center in DePere, Wisconsin, near Green Bay, a facility that also includes golf simulator, hitting bay with launch monitor, putting green, club fitting area and more. But I was there to

ROBOGOLFPRO WAS DESIGNED TO SPEED UP THE LEARNING CURVE FOR GOLF INSTRUCTORS AND STUDENTS BY ALLOWING THE ASPIRING GOLFER TO ACTUALLY FEEL THE IDEAL SWING. meet the robot — or, more properly, for a demonstration of the ultimate in high-tech swing help under the guidance of Matt Wood, director of instruction at One Under as well as men’s and women’s golf coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The author gets a little guidance from the RoboGolfPro, showing him the perfect swing.

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Equipment 2018

RoboGolfPro was designed to speed up the learning curve for golf instructors and students by allowing the aspiring golfer to actually feel the ideal swing. As Wood put it, it’s one thing for a teaching pro to tell a student, sometimes over and over, what he or she should be doing; it’s another thing entirely when there is a robot to almost instantly help the student feel that elusive ideal swing. Wood began our session by watching and videotaping my warm-up with a 7-iron in the simulator. As Lincoln found at Gettysburg, there was much to address: that pesky loop

at the top of my backswing, a little drift in the turn, too much right hand influence that caused “scooping” at contact and a tendency to fall back instead of finishing high, all of which help explain a handicap in the teens. Then we moved to the robot, where the robot, using the data Wood had given it about my club head speed, direction and other elements of my flawed swing, helped me make the proper swing. A TV monitor in front of me allowed me to watch while the robot and I went through the steps of the swing. And as long as I held on and went through the motions, it

IT FORCES THE STUDENT TO FEEL FROM TAKEAWAY TO FINISH EXACTLY

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

The RoboSwingPro guides students from start to finish, showing them the ideal swing for their body type, swing speed and more. BELOW: Customizable options are available, like this one from Pebble Beach Golf Links. was going to be right. “The robot can make (the student) do what we’re asking them to do,” Wood said. In large part, the benefit of the robot is eliminating miscommunication. A student may fail to catch a teacher’s instructions but the robot’s desired swing cannot be misunderstood. It forces the student to feel from takeaway to finish exactly what the desired swing should feel like and to repeat it until it feels right. If one part of the swing is especially troublesome — the takeaway, for example, or the finish — the instructor can have the robot isolate that part of the swing in addi-

tion to the full swing experience. In Wood’s view the robot can help almost any golfer. The day before my lesson he worked with a golfer who had only one hand but who appeared to benefit from feeling what his proper swing

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Golf Tech Talk

RoboGolfPro was designed to speed up the learning curve for golf instructors and students by allowing the aspiring golfer to actually feel the ideal swing. should feel like. Wood said some golfers can be helped in a single session while — and I tried not to take this personally — “some people know they’re projects.” After time with the robot it was back to the simulator for the tricky part — emulating the perfect swing on my own without robotic assistance. Wood videotaped those shots as well to compare with my earlier, pre-lesson swings and watched to see if I was incorporating his advice — tucking my right elbow more and making a more complete turn. With more than one swing thought in my head contact was less than perfect but it was clear I was addressing — or trying to — my 82

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swing needs. The high-tech help didn’t end when I walked out the door, either. An hour later Wood emailed a 14-minute video of my efforts with three drills aimed at eliminating the issues my lesson had identified. According to RoboGolfPro, even on the PGA Tour there is some interest in robotic teaching. Bryson DeChambeau and Vaughn Taylor are said to be owners and believers. If I can get that day’s swing to the course, I’ll be a believer as well. Which begs just one question: Where will I find a golf cart with room for my robot? For more, visit www.oneundergolfcenter.com.

Industry Insider

DANA FRY The Golftime Interview

Dana Fry discusses his new South Course at Arcadia Bluffs, being a fitness buff, and how the U.S. Open at Erin Hills has changed his life

By Don Shell

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Industry Insider

ot off the U.S. Open at Erin Hills in 2017, the course he codesigned with longtime partner Mike Hurdzan and golf writer Ron Whitten, and the hotly anticipated new South Course at Arcadia Bluffs opening this summer (see page 28), Dana Fry has become one of the biggest names in golf course architecture. Now partnering with architect Jason Straka at Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design, we caught up with the ascendant architect at the Michigan Golf Show earlier this spring:

GOLFTIME MAGAZINE: Can we start with the U.S. Open? Now that you’ve had some time for it in your rear-view mirror, what’s your take on it? DANA FRY: Well, obviously never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever have my name associated with a golf course that has a U.S. Open — it just doesn’t happen. Now, obviously it did for Mr. Robert Trent Jones (II) a couple years before us (at Chambers Bay) — and a lot of people don’t know, we were in the final four for that job, came close to getting them both — but regardless, we had a U.S. Open and it went well and I know from talks that there’ll be future events there.

GM: But not too many living architects can say they’ve had a U.S. Open course.

DF: Well, basically just Robert Trent Jones, Mike Hurdzan and I, and Ron Whitten, because he was involved at Erin Hills. It’s a very small club, and you can see from the courses they’re picking now, probably not going to be any different (living architects) coming on board anytime soon. 86

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

GM: Obviously you’ve had a great career before Erin Hills, but what did the Open do for you personally, as well as professionally?

DF: Well, your name gets spread around the world, so that was a major, major change. I’ve struggled — I worked with Tom Fazio for five years, from ’83 to ’88, and then from ’88 to 2012 I was with Mike Hurdzan and was his partner. But we’d still struggled when we’d go outside the U.S., in particular. Nobody would know who we were. In Asia or the Middle East and these other places I’d go, you’ve got to be almost celebrity status or you’re not good. It’s not right, but it’s reality, and you can’t get the jobs because of that. This obviously has helped change that. I met a player who I’ve become very close to (editor’s note: the player’s name is still undisclosed as of press time), and we’ll be doing design work on select courses in the future. And that came about because of the U.S. Open. He’s seen the golf course and a few others and he liked the golf course, and he’s seen the quality of the work. So that wouldn’t have come about without a U.S. Open. I hope to be doing this at least another 20 years, maybe 25, God willing. I exercise, I work out. I’m like the Gary Player of golf architects. I take my health unbelievably serious. I exercise and lift weights and do interval cardio almost every day of my life. I’m convinced I (wouldn’t get as much work) if I was an out-of-shape guy that didn’t have a lot of energy and a zest for life. I mean, that’s part of the deal. And I live to travel. And I want to do new courses, too. The vast majority of new golf courses is going to be spread all over

the world. I don’t want to do a lot of work, frankly, but I want to spend a maximum amount of time on very select projects. I honestly believe the best work of my career is ahead of me now, because I know what’s coming down the road.

GM: And now you have more of a choice in your projects, right?

DF: Well, now instead of losing jobs to — you

pick the name, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Greg Norman, you know, Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo — I’ve lost jobs to those guys a bunch of times. Now it’s different because you’re on that side of the fence. And it is different. The deals are different, the clientele is different, and you’re going to be working on some incredible sites and places that I would never have a chance. And again, that all came about because of the U.S. Open. WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Devil’s Pulpit

Industry Insider GM: Now, you’ve already been overseas, though, right? You were in China?

DF: That’s right, I lived in Hong Kong for five years, from 2008 to 2013, before moving back to Boca Raton (Florida) and then Naples. Mike Hurdzan and I did a lot of golf courses in mainland China, we had six open.

GM: You got your start working for Tom Fazio, a pretty good gig right out of the gate in college. What’d you learn from him?

DF: Well, the guy I met was a guy named Andy Banfield. Andy was then and still is today, Tom’s right-hand man, and of all the people in our industry that are unheralded? He is at the top of that mountain. Because most people have never heard his name, and he’s a very unassuming guy, and — not saying this as a knock to Tom Fazio — but Tom Fazio would not be who he is today without that guy. Andy’s the guy that did Shadow Creek (in Las Vegas). And Andy’s the guy that made Tom Fazio say, “I learned that there’s no such thing as a bad site, when you have the money. With an unlimited budget, you can do anything.” Andy’s the best earthmoving guy that ever lived.

GM: And then you went to work for Dr. Mike. DF: I met Mike — Pete and Alice Dye, Alice Dye actually did the introduction to Mike Hurdzan, at the National Superintendents Show in Houston, Texas. And I was talking to Pete and Alice about possibly going to work for them — this was in February of ’88. And Mike Hurdzan came up the escalator and started talking to Pete and Alice, and they introduced me, and I’d never heard of him, I didn’t know who Mike was. I told him (after they’d left) I was thinking of going to 88

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work for them, and he said ‘Before you do that, I’m doing a course up in Canada called the Devil’s Pulpit’ — which was his first big job, ever. So I went to work for Mike, not knowing what the outcome would be. We formed quite the odd couple, and I say that endearingly. Mike is a brilliant guy, technically, maybe the best that’s ever been in our profession, from agronomics, soil sciences, environmental issues, helping jobs get permitted … he absolutely was The Kingpin, I mean, he was the guy. And saying that’s not my background would be the understatement of all

time! (Laughs.) My background was runnin’ bulldozers and creating shapes at that time. And I never got on a bulldozer again (after going to work for Mike). The last thing I ever shaped — here’s some trivia for the real golf nerds — the last thing I personally ever shaped, was the seventh hole at the Devil’s Pulpit, which was a par 3. It just went from there. He became the technical guy, and I was more the artistic guy, and I spent a tremendous amount — when you start talking about our biggest jobs, Calusa Pines, and Naples National, and Devil’s Pulpit, and Devil’s Paintbrush, those

great, big jobs — I was there every week with those guys. I was at Arcadia Bluffs, literally every week — think I missed the week of the U.S. Open — from April through October, because I wanted to be there. And that’s how I want to do it going forward, and I’m really motivated to do it.

GM: I haven’t been to the South Course yet at Arcadia, but it looks incredible.

DF: Yeah, it’s really, really different. I met (Arcadia Bluffs owner) Rich Postma four years ago. Warren Henderson, one of the designers of the original course (the Bluffs,

together with co-architect Rick Smith) — not many people know, but Warren used to work for Mike Hurdzan and I, and he worked for us when we built a course in Vancouver called Westwood Plateau. He was there for two years on that job. And I got a call from Rick Smith, who was working on his short course (Threetops at Treetops Resort), and asked if I’d go work with him. I was honored that he asked, but I said I didn’t want to leave Mike Hurdzan. I said, but I’ve got this guy, Warren Henderson, so that’s how that happened. So fast-forward, the summer before last, summer of ’16, I get a call from Warren and he says, ‘Well, we’re going to be working together real soon.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ and he says, ‘Rich has decided he’s going to build another course and you’re doing it.’ And that was it. And that’s how it started. I came up a few days later, and I stood on what’s now the third hole, the highest point on the property, and I said, ‘You know, Rich, have you ever been to Chicago Golf Club?’ and he said, ‘Well, yes I have.’ And I said, ‘What do you think of it? Obviously, it’s one of my all-time favorites, as it is for almost every architect.’ And he said the same thing. And I said we could do the same thing, create a feeling of Chicago Golf Club on the site. And he said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And that was it.

GM: It sounds like you’re doing some things

the look and feel and the way they did things. They’re going to think this is wild. It’ll be interesting to see how they like, what to them is new, but what is really old school architecture — to the extreme. I really admire Rich for taking such a chance, to do something so boldly different.

GM: It’s going to be the most unique 1-2 punch of courses in the country, right?

DF: Right, because those two courses could not be more opposite. I mean, the bunkering doesn’t look like each other … there’s not one mound on this property, I can assure you, there is none. The high points are the greens. I think it is incredibly visually dramatic, on a low-profile scale. The other course obviously has these massive contours and with the backdrop it’s off-the-charts striking. This is striking in a polar-opposite way.

GM: You’ve done a lot of work in the Midwest — thank you for that. Aside from Erin Hills and now the South Course, do you have any favorites?

DF: I did one in Peoria, Illinois called Weaverridge, and I became very, very good friends with the owner, Jerry Weaver, and I stayed with him and his family when we were WeaverRidge

that you’ve never done in your career.

Wild Rock Golf Club, Wisconsin Dells, is a Mike Hurdzan, Dana Fry design. 90

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

DF: No. I’ve seen a lot of golf courses, and Tom Doak, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, Gil Hanse, Mike DeVries, these guys are doing some great old-style golf courses, but I’ve never seen one built to the degree of looking like a MacDonald/Raynor golf course than that one. And again, not copying style, but WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

A Riverside Legend Since 1924

EagleSticks, Zanesville, Ohio, is also a Hurdzan/Fry design.

GM: I don’t think most people understand how tight-knit the architecture community is.

DF: Yeah, you develop a lot of close bonds, and it’s also unbelievably competitive, because there’s not a whole lot of work, today, like there was when Mike and I got started up until the crash of ’08. They were building 300-400 courses a year, I think. We would do five, six, seven jobs a year, opening, and working on 10-15 others at the time. It was crazy. That’s why I always admired the work of Tom Doak, Coore/Crenshaw, Gil Hanse. They always stuck to their guns and always did very few projects when they 92

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

could have done a lot more. But the quality of their work consistently stayed high. And you know what? I caught on to it later, but I’m doing the same thing. And every one of those guys would tell you some of their best friends they developed on those jobs. Some of these jobs I’m working on now are going to be the biggest jobs in whatever part of the world they’re going in, with some of the most influential people in that area, and just to get the opportunity to hang out with those types of people — we’re talking leaders of industry and powerful political figures, some of the wealthiest people in the world — and you get to become (friends). To those guys, they have all the toys in the world, but those golf courses become a focal point of their life. So you become [someone with “rock star” status] — yes, on a much smaller scale. I’m a normal guy — I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, for God’s sake — I’ve been to 109 countries! It’s just amazing stuff. For more from our interview with Dana Fry, visit www.golftimemag.com. For more about Dana, visit his site, www.frystraka.com.

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BERRIEN HILLS G O L F

C L U B

At Berrien Hills Golf Club, we’re all about the golf. Our pristine greens and natural riverfront beauty are accented by mature hardwoods and winding streams, all nestled minutes from I-94, as well as downtown St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Playing at over 6,200 yards from the back tees, our greens and fairways provide a challenge and memorable experience to golfers of all levels. At Berrien Hills Golf Club, our mission is to provide an excellent golfing experience, in a relaxed atmosphere.

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

building it, and my family would vacation there. I did the same thing at a course called Annbriar, in Waterloo, Illinois. I became very close to the owner and his wife, and they built the course in memory of their daughter. That’s the thing the average (golfer) doesn’t understand, the bonds you build while building these golf courses last a lifetime. I’ve been a friend of Warren Henderson’s now since 1991-1992. That’s how this job happened, 25 years later, just purely because of a friendship.

www.berrienhills.com

•

269-925-9002

690 W. Napier Avenue • Benton Harbor, Michigan

Midwest Select

The ninth hole at Pilgrimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Run, Pierson, Michigan

Photo by Nile Young Jr.

YOUR GUIDE TO CHICAGOLAND AND SURROUNDING AREA GOLF COURSES

Midwest Select

Midwest Select Abbey Springs Golf Course (R) Fontana, WI, 262-275-6111 www.abbeysprings.com

Bear Slide Golf Club (P) Cicero, IN, 317-984-3837 www.bearslide.com

Bob-O-Link Golf Club (PV) Highland Park, IL, 847-432-0917 www.bobolinkgolfcourse.com

Buck’s Barn Golf Resort (P) Thomson, IL, 815-259-8278 www.bucksbarngolfresort.com

Ackerman Hills (P)

Bedford Valley Golf Course (R)

The Bog (P)

Bucks Run Golf Club (P)

A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort (R)

Beeches Golf Club (P)

Bolingbrook Golf Club (P)

Buena Vista Golf Course (P)

West Lafayette, IN, 765-494-3139 www.purduegolf.com Kewadin, MI, 800-678-0122 www.a-ga-ming.com

Aldeen Golf Club (P)

Rockford, IL, 815-282-4653 www.aldeengolfclub.com

Anetsburger Golf Course (P) Northbrook, IL, 847-291-2971 www.anetsbergergolf.com

Battle Creek, MI, 269-965-3385 www.gulllakeview.com

South Haven, MI, 269-637-2600 www.beechesgolfclub.com

The Beloit Club (PV) Beloit, WI, 608-473-0089 www.beloitclub.com

Berrien Hills Golf Club (P)

Benton Harbor, MI, 269-925-9002 www.berrienhills.com

Saukville, WI, 262-284-7075 www.golfthebog.com Bolingbrook, IL, 630-771-9400 www.bolingbrookgolfclub.com

Bon Vivant (P)

Bourbonnais, IL, 815-935-0400 www.bonvivant.com

Bonnie Brook Golf Course (P) Waukegan, IL, 847-360-4730 www.waukegangolf.org

Mt. Pleasant, MI, 989-773-6830 www.bucksrun.com DeKalb, IL, 815-758-4812 www.buenavistagc.com

Buffalo Grove Golf Club (P) Buffalo Grove, IL, 847-537-5819 www.buffalogrovegolf.com

The Bull at Pinehurst Farms (P) Sheboygan Falls, WI, 920-467-1500 www.golfthebull.com

Chicago Hts Park District Golf Course East (P) Chicago Hts, IL, 708-754-3673 www.chparkdistrict.net

Chicago Hts Park District Golf Course West (P) Chicago Hts, IL, 708-754-1400 www.chparkdistrict.net

Bull Valley Golf Club (PV)

Annbriar Golf Course (P)

Big Fish Golf Club (P)

Boone Creek Golf Club (P)

Burnham Woods Golf Course (P)

Cinder Ridge Golf Course (P)

Antioch Golf Club (P)

Big Run Golf Club (P)

Boughton Ridge Golf Course (P)

Butler National Golf Club (PV)

Coachman’s Golf Resort (R)

Apple Canyon Lake Golf Course (P)

Billy Caldwell Golf Course (P)

Boulder Ridge Country Club (PV)

Butterfield Country Club (PV)

Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (P)

Apple Orchard Golf Course (P)

Biltmore Country Club (PV)

The Bourne Golf Course (P)

Calumet Country Club (PV)

Columbus Park Golf Course (P)

The Arboretum Club (P)

Binder Park Golf Course (P)

Cantigny Golf (P)

Conway Farms Golf Club (PV)

Cantigny Youth Links (P)

Country Lakes Country Club (P)

Cardinal Creek Golf Course (P)

Countryside Golf Course (P)

Carriage Greens Country Club (P)

The Course at Aberdeen (P)

Cary Country Club (P)

Coyote Creek Golf Club (P)

The Castle Course at Northern Bay (R)

Coyote Crossing Golf Course (P)

Waterloo, IL, 888-939-5191 www.annbriar.com Antioch, IL, 847-395-3004 www.antiochgolfclub.com

Apple River, IL, 815-492-2477 www.applecanyonlake.org

Bartlett, IL, 630-540-4807 www.bartlettparks.org/facilities/golf Buffalo Grove, IL, 847-913-1112 www.arboretumgolf.com

Hayward, WI, 715-934-4770 www.bigfishgolf.com Lockport, IL, 815-838-1057 www.bigrungolf.com Chicago, IL, 773-792-1930 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Barrington, IL, 847-381-1960 www.biltmore-cc.com

Battle Creek, MI, 269-979-8250 www.binderparkgolf.com

Arlington Lakes Golf Club (P)

Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (P)

Arrowhead Golf Club (P)

Bittersweet Golf Club (P)

Arlington Heights, IL, 847-577-3030 www.ahpd.org/algc Wheaton, IL, 630-653-5800 www.arrowheadgolfclub.org

West Lafayette, IN, 765-494-3139 www.purduegolf.com Gurnee, IL, 847-855-9031 www.bittersweetgolf.com

Aspen Ridge Golf Course (P)

Black Forest at Wilderness Valley (R)

Atwood Homestead Golf Course (P)

Black Hawk Run Golf Club (P)

Bourbonnais, IL, 815-939-1742 www.aspenridgegolf.com Rockford, IL, 815-623-2411 www.wcfpd.org/golf

Aurora Country Club (PV) Aurora, IL, 630-892-3785 www.auroracc.com

Balmoral Woods Country Club (P) Crete, IL, 708-672-7448 www.balmoralwoods.com

Barrington Hills Country Club (PV) Barrington, IL, 847-381-4200 www.barringtonhillscc.com

Barrington Park District (P) Barrington, IL, 847-381-0687 www.barringtonparkdistrict.org

Barker Lake Golf Course Legend (P) Winter, WI, 715-266-4152 www.haywardlakes.com/barkerlake

Bartlett Hills Golf Club (P) Bartlett, IL, 630-837-2741 www.bartletthills.com

Battle Ground Golf Club (P) Battle Ground, IN, 765-567-2178 www.golfbattleground.com

Bay Harbor Golf Club (P) Bay Harbor, MI, 866-548-7427 www.boynegolf.com

Gaylord, MI, 866-585-7090 www.blackforestgolf.com Stockton, IL, 815-947-3011 www.blackhawkrun.com

Black Sheep Golf Club (PV) Sugar Grove, IL, 630-879-2000 www.blacksheepgolfclub.com

McHenry, IL, 815-455-6900 www.boonecreekgolf.com

Bolingbrook, IL, 630-739-4100 www.bolingbrookparks.org

Lake In The Hills, IL, 847-854-3010 www.boulderridge.com Marseilles, IL, 815-496-2301

Bowes Creek Country Club (P) Elgin, IL, 847-214-5880 www.bowescreekcc.com

Boyne Highlands Resort (P) Harbor Springs, MI, 866-548-7427 www.boynegolf.com

Boyne Mountain Resort (P) Boyne City, MI, 866-548-7427 www.boynegolf.com

Brae Loch Golf Course (P) Grayslake, IL, 847-968-3444 www.lcfpd.org/brae_loch

Braidwood Fairways (P) Braidwood, IL, 815-458-2965

The Brassie (P)

Chesterton, IN, 219-921-1192 www.thebrassie.com

Briarwood Country Club (PV)

Blackberry Oaks Golf Course (P)

Deerfield, IL, 847-945-2660 www.briarwoodcc.com

Blackberry Patch Golf Club (P)

Indianapolis, IN, 317-492-6572 www.brickyardcrossing.com

Bristol, IL, 630-553-7170 www.blackberryoaks.com

Coldwater, MI, 517-238-8686 www.blackberrypatchgolf.com

Darien, IL, 630-985-3730 www.carriagegreens.com Cary, IL, 847-639-3161 www.carycountryclub.com

Arkdale, WI, 608-339-9891 www.www.castleatthebay.com Plano, IL, 630-552-3242 www.cedardellgolfclub.com

Munster, IN, 219-836-6931 www.munster.org

Bristol Oaks Country Club (P)

Chapel Hill Country Club (P)

Bloomingdale Golf Club (P)

Lockport, IL, 815-836-8858 www.golfbrokenarrow.com

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Beecher, IL, 708-946-2800 www.cardinalcreekgolf.com

Chalet Hills Golf Club (P)

Bristol, WI , 262-857-2302 www.bristoloaks.com

Riverside, IA, 877-677-3456 www.riversidecasinoandresort.com

Wheaton, IL, 630-668-8270 www.cantignygolf.com/youthlinks

Bridges of Poplar Creek CC (P)

Bliss Creek Golf Course (P)

BlueTop Ridge at Riverside (P)

Wheaton, IL, 630-668-8463 www.cantignygolf.com

Centennial Park Golf Course (P)

Blackthorn Golf Club (P)

Bloomingdale, IL, 630-529-6232 www.bloomingdalegc.com

Homewood, IL, 708-799-2230 www.calumetcc.com

Bridges Golf Course (P)

Hoffman Estates, IL, 847-781-3681 www.bridgesofpoplarcreek.com

Sugar Grove, IL, 630-466-4177 www.blisscreekgolf.com

Oak Brook, IL, 630-323-1000 www.butterfieldcc.org

Cedardell Golf Club (P)

Madison, WI, 608-244-1822 www.golfthebridges.com

South Bend, IN, 574-232-4653 www.blackthorngolf.com

Oak Brook, IL, 630-990-3333 www.butlernational.org

Brickyard Crossing (P)

Blackstone Golf Club (P) Marengo, IL, 815-923-1800 www.blackstonegc.com

Burnham, IL, 708-862-9043 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Cary, IL, 847-639-0666 www.chaletgolf.com

McHenry, IL, 815-385-3337 www.chapelhillgolf.com

Broken Arrow Golf Club (P)

Chesapeake Run Golf Club (P)

Brown Deer Park Golf Course (P)

Chicago Golf Club (PV)

Milwaukee, WI, 414-352-8080 www.browndeergolfclub.org

Bryn Mawr Country Club (PV) Lincolnwood, IL, 847-676-2660 www.brynmawrcountryclub.com

North Judson, IN, 574-896-2424 www.chesapeakerungolf.com

Wisconsin Dells, WI , 608-254-3971 www.christmasmountainvillage.com Wilmington, IL, 815-476-4000 www.cinderridge.com Edgerton, WI, 608-884-8484 www.coachmans.com Lemont, IL, 630-257-5872 www.coghillgolf.com

Chicago, IL, 312-746-5573 www.cpdgolf.com/courses/columbus-park Lake Forest, IL, 847-234-6979 www.conwayfarmsgolfclub.org

Naperville, IL, 630-420-1060 www.countrylakescountryclub.com Mundelein, IL, 847-968-3466 www.lcfpd.org/countryside Valparaiso, IN, 219-462-5050 www.golfataberdeen.com Bartonville, IL, 309-633-0911 www.golfcoyotecreek.com

West Lafayette, IN, 765-497-1061 www.coyotecrossinggolf.com

Coyote Run Golf Course (P) Flossmoor, IL, 708-957-8700 www.coyoterungolf.com

Crab Orchard Golf Club (P) Carterville, IL, 618-985-2321 www.craborchardgolfclub.com

Craig Woods Golf Course (P) Woodstock, IL, 815-337-3116 www.crystalwoodsgc.com

Crane’s Landing Golf Club (R) Lincolnshire, IL, 847-634-5935 www.craneslandinggolf.com

Cress Creek Country Club (PV) Naperville, IL, 630-355-7300 www.cresscreekcc.com

Crestview Golf Course (P)

Wheaton, IL, 630-665-2988

Kalamazoo, MI, 269-349-1111 www.crestviewgolfcourse.com

Westchester, IL, 630-214-9490 www.chicagohighlands.com

Traverse City, MI, 231-946-2975 www.golfthecrown.com

Chicago Highlands (PV)

Crystal Tree Golf & Country Club (PV)

Woodstock, IL, 815-338-3111 www.crystalwoodsgc.com

Bellaire, MI, 231-533-9000 www.golfthechief.com

Bonnie Dundee Golf Club (P)

Woodstock, IL, 815-337-4411 www.bullvalleygolfclub.com

Crystal Lake, IL, 815-459-1237 www.clcountryclub.com

The Chief Golf Course (P)

Morton Grove, IL, 847-965-5353 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Beverly Country Club (PV)

Carpentersville, IL, 847-426-5511 www.bonniedundeegc.com

Crystal Lake Country Club (PV)

Orland Park, IL, 708-403-3000 www.crystaltreecc.org

Angels Crossing Golf Club (P)

Chicago, IL, 708-636-8700 www.beverlycc.org

Lake In The Hills, IL, 847-659-1766

Chick Evans Golf Course (P)

Christmas Mountain Village Golf Resort (R)

Vicksburg, MI, 269-649-2700 www.golfangelscrossing.com

Crystal Highlands Golf Facility (P)

The Crown Golf Club (P)

Crystal Woods Golf Club (P) Dayton Ridge Golf Club (P) Ottawa, IL, 815-434-0145

Deer Creek Golf Club (P)

University Park, IL, 708-672-6667 www.deercreekgolfcourse.com

Deer Valley Country Club (P) Deer Grove, IL, 815-438-4653 www.dvforegolf.com

Deer Valley Golf Course (P) Big Rock, IL, 630-556-3333 www.deervalleygc.net

TPC Deere Run (SP) Silvis, IL, 309-796-6000 www.tpc.com/deererun

Deerfield Golf Club (P)

Riverwoods, IL, 847-945-8333 www.deerfieldgolf.org

Deerpath Golf Course (P) Lake Forest, IL, 847-615-4290 www.deerpathgolfcourse.com

The Den at Fox Creek (P) Bloomington, IL, 309-434-2300 www.thedengc.com

Devil’s Head Resort (R) Merrimac, WI, 800-472-6670 www.devilsheadresort.com

Discover Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo, MI, 800-888-0509 www.discoverkalamazoo.com/golf

Douglas Park Learning Course & Mini Golf (P) Chicago, IL, 312-747-7670 www.cpdgolf.com

Downers Grove Golf Course (P) Downers Grove, IL, 630-963-1306 www.dgparks.org

Eagle Brook Country Club (PV) Geneva, IL, 630-208-4653 www.eaglebrookclub.com

Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa (R) Galena, IL, 800-892-2269 www.eagleridge.com

Eaglewood Resort & Spa (R) Itasca, IL, 877-285-6150 www.eaglewoodresort.com

Eastern Hills Golf Course (P) Kalamazoo, MI, 369-385-8175 www.kalamazoogolf.org

Edgebrook Country Club (SP) Sandwich, IL, 815-786-3058 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Edgebrook Golf Course (P) Chicago, IL, 773-763-8320 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Edgewood Valley CC (PV) La Grange, IL, 708-246-2800 www.edgewoodvalleycc.com

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Midwest Select

Midwest Select Elgin Country Club (PV)

Gaylord Golf Mecca (P)

Grand Traverse Resort and Spa (R)

Heritage Glen Golf Club (P)

Ironwood Golf Course (P)

Lake Park Golf Course (P)

Elmbrook Golf Course (P)

Geneva Golf Club (PV)

Grayslake Park Golf Course (P)

Hickory Hills CC (P)

Island Hills Golf Club (P)

Lake Shore Country Club (PV)

Erin Hills (P)

Geneva National Resort (R)

Graystone Golf Links (P)

Hickory Knoll Golf Course (P)

Itasca Country Club (PV)

Lake Zurich Golf Club (PV)

Great River Road Golf Club (P)

Hickory Point Golf Club (P)

Elgin, IL, 847-741-2707 www.elgincc.com

Traverse City, MI, 231-946-9180 www.elmbrookgolf.com Erin, WI, 262-670-8600 www.erinhills.com

Evanston Golf Club (PV) Skokie, IL, 847-676-0300 www.evanstongolfclub.org

Gaylord, MI, 800-345-8621 www.gaylordgolfmecca.com Geneva, IL, 630-232-2055 www.genevagc.com

Lake Geneva, WI , 262-245-7000 www.genevanationalresort.com

George W. Dunne National Golf Course (P)

Evergreen Golf Club (P)

Oak Forest, IL, 708-429-6886 www.forestpreservegolf.com/courses

Evergreen Park Country Club (P)

Glenview, IL, 847-724-7272 www.theglenclub.com

Acme, MI, 800-236-1577 www.grandtraverseresort.com Grayslake, IL, 847-548-4713 www.glpd.com

Tinley Park, IL, 708-720-6600 Nauvoo, IL, 800-233-0060 www.golfnauvoo.com

Green Acres Country Club (PV)

The Glen Club (SP)

Northbrook, IL, 847-291-2200 www.greenacrescountryclub.com

Evergreen Park, IL, 773-238-6680

Glen Flora Country Club (PV)

Frankfort, IL, 815-469-3350 www.greengardencc.com

Highland Park, IL, 847-432-3600 www.exmoorcountryclub.org

Glen Oak Country Club (PV)

Westmont, IL, 630-810-5330 www.dupagegolf.com

Flagg Creek Golf Course (P)

Glen View Club (PV)

Waukegan, IL, 847-360-4777 www.waukegangolf.org

Flossmoor Country Club (PV)

Glencoe Golf Club (P)

Marquette, MI, 906-225-0721 www.marquettegolfclub.com

Elkhorn, WI, 262-723-5722 www.evergreengolf.com

Exmoor Country Club (PV)

Waukegan, IL, 847-244-6300 www.glenfloracc.com

Chicago, IL, 312-616-1234

Glen Ellyn, IL, 630-469-5600 www.glenoakcountryclub.org

Countryside, IL, 708-246-3336 www.flaggcreekgolfcourse.org

Golf, IL, 847-729-6500 www.glenviewclub.com

Family Golf Center Illinois (P)

Flossmoor, IL, 708-798-4700 www.flossmoorcc.org

The Fort Golf Resort (R)

Indianapolis, IN, 317-543-9597 www.thefortgolfcourse.com

Foss Park Golf Course (P) North Chicago, IL, 847-689-7490 www.fossparkgolf.org

Fountain Hills Golf Club (P) Alsip, IL, 708-388-4653 www.fountainhillsgc.com

Four Winds Golf Club (P) Mundelein, IL, 847-566-8502

Fox Bend Golf Course (P) Oswego, IL, 630-554-3939 www.foxbendgolfcourse.com

Fox Lake Country Club (P) Fox Lake, IL, 847-587-6411 www.foxlakecc.net

Fox Run Golf Links (P)

Elk Grove Village, IL, 847-228-3544 www.foxrungolflinks.com

Fox Valley Golf Club (P)

North Aurora, IL, 630-879-1030 www.aurora-il.org

Foxford Hills Golf Club (P) Cary, IL, 847-639-0400 www.foxfordhillsgolfclub.com

Frankfort Square Park District Golf Course (P) Frankfort, IL, 815-469-1600 www.fspd.org/Square-Links-Golf-Course.asp

Glencoe, IL, 847-835-0250 www.glencoegolfclub.com

Glendale Lakes Golf Club (P) Glendale Heights, IL, 630-260-0018 www.glendalelakes.com

Glendarin Hills Golf Club (P) Angola, IN, 260-624-3550 www.glendarinhills.com

Gleneagles Country Club (P) Lemont, IL, 630-257-5466 www.golfgleneagles.com

Glenview National 9 GC (P) Glenview, IL, 847-657-1637 www.golfglenview.com

Glenview Park Golf Club (P) Glenview, IL, 847-724-0250 www.golfglenview.com

Glenwoodie Golf Club (P) Glenwood, IL, 708-758-1212 www.glenwoodiegolf.com

Golf Center Des Plaines (P) Des Plaines, IL, 847-803-4653 www.dpparks.org/golfcenter/

Golf Club of Coldwater (P) Coldwater, MI, 517-279-2100 www.golfclubofcoldwater.com

The Golf Club at Harbor Shores (R) Benton Harbor, MI, 269-927-4653 www.harborshoreslife.com

The Golf Club of Illinois (P) Algonquin, IL, 847-658-4400 www.golfclubofil.com

French Lick Resort (R)

The Golf Courses of Lawsonia (P)

Fresh Meadow Golf Club (P)

Golf Nation (PV)

French Lick, IN, 888-936-9360 www.frenchlick.com Hillside, IL, 708-449-3434 www.freshmeadowgc.com

Green Lake, WI, 800-529-4453 www.lawsonia.com Palatine, IL, 847-202-4653 www.golfnation.us

Fyre Lake National Golf Club (P)

Golf Vista Estates Golf Course (P)

Galena Golf Club (P)

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa (R)

Sherrard, IL, 800-575-1394 www.fyrelakenational.com Galena, IL, 815-777-3599 www.galenagolf.webs.com

Monee, IL, 708-534-8204 www.golfvistagolfclub.com

Lake Geneva, WI, 800-558-3417 www.grandgeneva.com

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Green Garden Country Club (P) Green Meadows Golf Course (P) Greenshire Golf Course (P) Greywalls (P)

Griffith Golf Center (P) Griffith, IN, 219-923-3223

The Grove (PV)

Long Grove, IL, 847-550-0983 www.thegrovecc.com

Gull Lake View Golf Club & Resort (P) Augusta, MI, 269-731-4149 www.gulllakeview.com

Harborside International (P)

Paw Paw, MI, 269-657-2552 www.heritageglengolf.com

Hickory Hills, IL, 708-598-5900 www.hickoryhillscntryclub.com Lake Villa, IL, 847-356-8640

Forsyth, IL, 217-421-7444 www.decatur-parks.org/golf/index.php

Hickory Ridge Golf Course (P) Galesburg, MI, 269-382-6212 www.golfhickoryridge.com

High Point Golf Club (P) Essex, IL, 815-365-4000 www.golfhighpoint.com

Highland Park Country Club (P) Highland Park, IL, 847-433-9015 www.highlandparkcc.com

Highland Woods Golf Course (P) Hoffman Estates, IL, 847-359-5850 www.forestpreservegolf.com

The Highlands of Elgin (P) Elgin, IL, 847-931-5950 www.highlandsofelgin.com

Hilldale Golf Club (P)

Hoffman Estates, IL, 847-310-1100 www.hilldalegolf.com

Hinsdale Golf Club (PV)

Clarendon Hills, IL, 630-986-5330 www.hinsdalegolfclub.org

The House on the Rock Resort (R) Spring Green, WI, 608-588-7000 www.thehouseontherock.com

Hughes Creek Golf Club (P)

Normal, IL, 309-454-9620 www.golfironwood.org

Centreville, MI, 269-467-7261 www.islandhillsgolf.com Itasca, IL, 630-773-1800 www.itascacountryclub.com

Ivanhoe Club (PV)

Mundelein, IL, 847-970-3800 www.ivanhoeclub.com

Jackson Park Golf Club (P)

Chicago, IL, 773-667-0524 www.cpdgolf.com/courses/jackson-park

Joe Louis “The Champ” Golf Course (P)

Riverdale, IL, 708-849-1731 www.forestpreservegolf.com/courses

Des Plaines, IL, 847-391-5730 www.dpparks.org

Glencoe, IL, 847-835-3000 www.lakeshorecountryclub.com Lake Zurich, IL, 847-438-2431

Lake Lawn Resort (R) Delavan, WI, 262-725-9066 www.lakelawnresort.com

Lakemoor Golf Course (P) Lakemoor, IL, 815-759-0011 www.lakemoorgolfclub.com

Lakewoods Forest Ridges GC (P) Cable, WI, 800-255-5937 www.lakewoodsresort.com

The Leelanau Club (P)

Joliet Country Club (PV)

Bingham, MI, 231-271-2020 www.leelanauclub.com

Kampen Course (P)

Fox Lake, IL, 847-587-6795 www.leisurevillagefoxlake.com

Kankakee Country Club (P)

Libertyville, IL, 847-362-5733 www.libertyville.com/golfcourse

Joliet, IL, 815-723-9613 www.jolietcountryclub.com

West Lafayette, IN, 765-494-3139 www.purduegolf.com Kankakee, IL, 815-933-6615 www.kankakeecountryclub.com

Kankakee Elks Golf Club (P) St. Anne, IL, 815-937-9547 www.elksgolf627.com

Kemper Lakes Golf Course (PV) Long Grove, IL, 847-320-3450 www.kemperlakesgolf.com

Ken Loch Golf Links (P) Lombard, IL, 630-620-9665

Leisure Village Golf Course (PV) Libertyville Golf Course (P) Lick Creek Golf Course (P) Pekin, IL, 309-346-0077

Lincoln Oaks Golf Course (P) Crete, IL, 708-672-9401 www.lincolnoaksgolfcourse.com

Lincolnshire Country Club (PV) Crete, IL, 708-672-5090 www.lincolnshirecountryclub.com

Links & Tees Golf Facility (P)

Kishwaukee Country Club (PV)

Addison, IL, 630-458-2660 www.addisonparks.org

Richmond, IL, 815-678-7940

Klein Creek Golf Club (P)

Plainfield, IL, 815-886-2132 www.carillongolf.com

Harry Mussatto (WIU) (P)

Princeton, IL, 815-879-6531 www.huntersridgegc.com

Knollwood Club (PV)

Marion, IL, 618-997-5656 www.KokopelliGolf.com

Harry Semrow Driving Range (P)

Flossmoor, IL, 708-798-0514 www.idlewildcc.net

Kokopelli Golf Club (PV)

Williamsburg, MI, 231-938-9800 www.lochenheath.com

Hawk’s Eye Golf Resort (R)

Chicago, IL, 773-625-9630 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Lacoma Golf Club (P)

Lockport, IL, 815-838-8692

HawksHead Links (P)

Winnetka, IL, 847-251-1711 www.indianhillclub.org

Hawk’s View Golf Club (P)

Bloomingdale, IL, 630-529-6466 www.indianlakesresort.com

Chicago, IL, 312-782-7837 www.harborsideinternational.com

Harrison Hills Golf & Country Club (P) Attica, IN, 765-762-1135 www.harrisonhills.com

Macomb, IL, 309-298-3676 www.golf.wiu.edu

Des Plaines, IL, 847-296-5764 www.forestpreservegolf.com/courses Bellaire, MI, 866-868-8181 www.golfbellaire.com

South Haven, MI, 269-639-2121 www.hawksheadlinks.com Lake Geneva, WI, 877-429-5788 www.hawksviewgolfclub.com

Hawthorn Woods Country Club (PV)

Hawthorn Woods, IL, 847-847-3259 www.hwccgolf.com

Hayward Golf Club (P) Hayward, WI, 877-377-4653 www.haywardgolf.com

Heather Ridge Golf Course (P) Gurnee, IL, 847-367-6010 www.heatherridgegolf.com

Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club (P) Channahon, IL, 815-467-7888 www.heritagebluffs.com

Elburn, IL, 630-365-9200 www.hughescreek.com

Hunter Country Club (P) Hunter’s Ridge Golf Course (P) Idlewild Country Club (PV) Indian Boundary Golf Course (P) Indian Hill Golf Club (PV) Indian Lakes Resort (R)

Indian Oaks Country Club (P) Shabbona, IL, 815-824-2202 www.indianoakscountryclub.com

DeKalb, IL, 815-758-6849 www.kishwaukeecc.org

Winfield, IL, 630-690-0101 www.kleincreek.com

Lake Forest, IL, 847-234-1600 www.knollwoodclub.org Marion, IL, 618-997-5656 www.kokopelligolf.com

East Dubuque, IL, 815-747-3874 www.lacomagolf.com

Lafayette Golf Course (P) Lafayette, IN, 765-458-4588 www.lafayette.in.gov/golf

LaGrange Country Club (PV) LaGrange, IL, 708-352-0066 www.lagrangecc.org

Lake Barrington Shores GC (PV)

Hobart, IN, 219-942-2577

Barrington, IL, 847-382-4240 www.lbsgolf.com

Scotts, MI, 269-327-1327 www.irgolfclub.com

Lake Bluff, IL, 847-234-6771 www.lakebluffgolfclub.com

Indian Ridge Country Club (P) Indian Run Golf Club (P)

Lake Bluff Golf Club (P)

Inverness Golf Club (PV)

Lake Doster Golf Club (P)

Inwood Golf Course (P)

Lake Michigan Hills Golf Club (P)

Palatine, IL, 847-359-0244 www.invernessgolfclub.org Joliet, IL, 815-741-7265 www.inwoodgc.com

Plainwell, MI, 269-685-5308 www.lakedostergolf.com

Benton Harbor, MI, 269-849-4653 www.lakemichiganhills.com

The Links at Carillon (P) The Links at Kokopelli (P) LochenHeath Golf Club (P) Lockport Golf & Recreation Club (PV) Longwood Country Club (P) Crete, IL, 708-758-1811

The Loon Golf Resort (R) Gaylord, MI, 989-732-4454 www.loongolfresort.com

Lost Marsh of Hammond (P) Hammond, IN, 219-932-4046 www.lostmarshgolf.com

Lost Nation Golf Club (P) Dixon, IL, 815-652-4212 www.lostnationgolf.com

Lynx Golf Course (P)

Otsego, MI, 888-586-5969 www.lynxgolfcourse.com

Makray Memorial Golf Club (P) Barrington, IL, 847-381-6500 www.makraygolf.com

Manistee National Golf & Resort (R) Manistee, MI, 231-398-0123 www.manisteenational.com

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

Midwest Select

Midwest Select Manitou Passage Golf Club (P)

Moss Creek Golf Club (P)

Old Top Farm Golf Course (P)

Plum Creek Country Club (P)

Resorts of Tullymore & St. Ives (R)

Sandy Hollow Golf Course (P)

Manteno Golf Course (P)

Mt. Prospect Golf Club (P)

Old Wayne Golf Course (PV)

Plum Tree National Golf Club (P)

Rich Harvest Farms (PV)

Sandy Pines Golf Course (P)

Pottawatomie Golf Course (P)

Ridge Country Club (PV)

Schaumburg Golf Club (P)

Prairie Bluff Public Golf Club (P)

Ridgemoor Country Club (PV)

Scherwood Golf (P)

Prairie Isle Golf Club (P)

Ridgeview Golf Course (P)

Scovill Golf Club (P)

Prairie Lakes Resort (R)

River Bend Golf Course (P)

Senica Oak Ridge Golf Club (P)

River Forest Country Club (PV)

SentryWorld (P)

River Glen Country Club (P)

Settler’s Hill Golf Course (P)

Kalamazoo, MI, 269-343-3906

River Heights Golf Course (P)

Seven Bridges Golf Club (P)

Byron, IL, 815-234-4653 www.prairieviewgolf.com

River Oaks Golf Course (P)

Shady Oaks Country Club (P)

River Pointe Country Club (P)

Shamrock Golf Course (P)

Riverside Golf Club (PV)

Shanty Creek Resorts (R)

Rob Roy Golf Course (P)

Shepherd’s Crook Golf Course (P)

Robert A. Black Golf Club (P)

Shiloh Park Golf Course (P)

Rockford Country Club (PV)

Shoreacres (PV)

Rolling Green Country Club (PV)

Silver Lake Country Club (P)

Royal Fox Country Club (PV)

Silver Oaks Golf Club (PV)

Royal Hawk Country Club (PV)

Silver Ridge Golf Course (P)

Cedar, MI, 231-228-6000 www.manitoupassagegolfclub.com Manteno, IL, 815-468-8827 www.mantenogolf.com

Maple Hills Golf Course (P) Augusta, MI, 269-731-4430

Maple Meadows Golf Club (P) Wood Dale, IL, 630-616-8424 www.dupagegolf.com

Marengo Ridge Golf Club (P) Marengo, IL, 815-923-2332 www.marengoridgegolfclub.com

Marquette Park Learning Center (P) Chicago, IL, 312-747-2761 www.cpdgolf.com/courses/marquette-park

Marywood Golf Club (P) Battle Creek, MI, 269-968-1168 www.marywoodgolf.com

Winamac, IL, 574-595-3142 www.golfmosscreek.com

Mt. Prospect, IL, 847-259-4200 www.mppd.org/facility/golf

Naperbrook Golf Course (P) Plainfield, IL, 630-378-4215 www.naperbrookgolfcourse.org

Naperville Country Club (PV) Naperville, IL, 630-355-0747 www.napervillecc.org

Nettle Creek Country Club (P) Morris, IL, 815-941-4300 www.nettlecreek.com

Nickol Knoll Golf Course (P) Arlington Heights, IL, 847-590-6050 www.ahpd.org/nkgc

Nippersink Country Club & Lodge (SP)

East Chicago, IN, 219-391-8362

Genoa City, WI, 262-279-6311 www.nippersinkresort.com

McHenry, IL, 815-385-3435 www.mchenrycc.net

Glenview, IL, 847-729-1200 www.north-shorecc.org

McArthur Golf Course (P)

Crystal Lake, IL, 815-479-9361 www.oldtopfarm.com

West Chicago, IL, 630-231-1350

Olde Mill Golf Club (P)

Schoolcraft, MI, 269-679-5625 www.oldemillgolfclub.com

Olympia Fields Country Club (PV) Olympia Fields, IL, 708-748-0495 www.ofcc.info

Onwentsia Club (PV)

Lake Forest, IL, 847-234-0120 www.onwentsiaclub.com

Orchard Valley Golf Course (P) Aurora, IL, 630-907-0500 www.orchardvalleygolf.com

Otsego Club (R)

Gaylord, MI, 800-752-5510 www.otsegoclub.com

Otter Creek Golf Course (P)

McHenry Country Club (PV)

North Shore Country Club (PV)

Columbus, IN, 812-579-5227 www.ottercreekgolf.com

Meadowlark Golf Course (P)

Northmoor Country Club (PV)

Palatine, IL, 847-359-4020 www.palatinehills.org

Meadows Golf Club (P)

Northwood Golf Club (P)

St. John, IN, 219-365-4331 www.palmiragolf.com

The Medalist Golf Club (P)

Oak Brook Golf Club (P)

Orland Park, IL, 708-448-6063 www.paloscountryclub.com

Medinah Country Club (PV)

Oak Club of Genoa (P)

Palos Hills, IL, 708-599-0202 www.paloshillsweb.org

The Merit Club (PV)

Oak Grove Golf Course (P)

Freeport, IL, 815-235-3611 www.golfparkhills.com

Mid-Iron Golf Club (P)

Oak Hills Country Club (SP)

Park Ridge, IL, 847-823-0410 www.parkridgecc.org

Oak Meadows Golf Course (P)

Evanston, IL, 847-475-9173 www.peterjansgolf.org

Oak Park Country Club (PV)

St. Charles, IL, 630-584-4914 www.pheasantrun.com

Hinsdale, IL, 708-562-2977 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Blue Island, IL, 708-385-1994 www.meadowsgc.com Marshall, MI, 269-789-4653 www.themedalist.com Medinah, IL, 630-773-1700 www.medinahcc.org

Libertyville, IL, 847-918-8800 www.meritclub.org Lemont, IL, 630-257-3340

Midlane Golf Resort and Suites (R) Wadsworth, IL, 847-360-0550 www.midlaneresort.com

Midlothian Country Club (PV) Midlothian, IL, 708-371-2626 www.midlothiancc.org

Milham Park Golf Course (P) Kalamazoo, MI, 269-344-7639 www.kalamazoogolf.org

Mill Creek Golf Club (P) Geneva, IL, 630-208-7272 www.millcreekgolfcourse.com

Minne Monesse Golf Club (SP) Grant Park, IL, 815-465-6653 www.minnemonesse.com

Mission Hills Country Club (PV) Northbrook, IL, 847-498-3200 www.missionhillsclub.com

Mistwood Golf Club (P) Romeoville, IL, 815-254-3333 www.mistwoodgc.com

Morningstar Golfers Club (P) Waukesha, WI, 262-662-1600 www.golfthestar.com

Morris Country Club (PV) Morris, IL, 815-942-3628 www.morriscountryclub.com

100

Highland Park, IL, 847-432-6092 www.northmoor.org Rhinelander, WI, 715-282-6565 www.northwoodgolfclub.com Oak Brook, IL, 630-368-6400 www.oak-brook.org Genoa, IL, 815-784-5678 www.oakclubgenoa.com

Harvard, IL, 815-648-2550 www.oakgrovegolfcourse.com

Palos Heights, IL, 708-448-5544 www.oakhills.com Addison, IL, 630-595-0071 www.dupagegolf.com

Oak Park, IL, 708-453-5554 www.oakparkcountryclub.com

Oak Springs Golf Course (P) St. Anne, IL, 815-937-1648 www.oakspringsgolf.com

Oak Terrace Resort (P) Pana, IL, 800-577-7598 www.oakterraceresort.com

The Oaks Golf Course (P)

Cottage Grove, WI, 608-837-4774 www.golftheoaks.com

Odyssey Country Club (P) Tinley Park, IL, 708-429-7400 www.odysseycountryclub.com

Old Elm Club (PV)

Fort Sheridan, IL, 847-432-6272 www.oldelmclub.com

Old Oak Country Club (P) Homer Glen, IL, 708-301-3344 www.oldoakcc.com

Old Orchard Country Club (P) Mt. Prospect, IL, 847-255-2025 www.oldorchardcc.com

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Palatine Hills Golf Course (P) Palmira Golf Club (P) Palos Country Club (P)

Palos Hills Golf Club (P) Park Hills Golf Course (P) Park Ridge Country Club (PV) Peter Jans Golf Course (P) Pheasant Run Resort (R) Pheasant Valley Country Club (P)

Carmel, IN, 317-573-9900 www.plumcreekgolfclub.com Harvard, IL, 815-943-7474 www.plumtreegolf.com

St. Charles, IL, 630-584-8356 www.pottawatomiegc.com Crest Hill, IL, 815-836-4653 www.prairiebluffgc.com

Prairie Grove, IL, 815-356-0202 www.prairieisle.com Marseilles, IL, 815-795-5107

Prairie Landing Golf Club (P) West Chicago, IL, 630-208-7600 www.prairielanding.com

Prairie View Golf Club (P) Carmel, IN, 317-816-3100 www.prairieviewgc.com

The Prairies Golf Club (P) PrairieView Golf Course (P) Prairie Vista Golf Course (P) Bloomington, IL, 309-434-2217 www.prairievistagc.com

Prestwick Country Club (PV) Frankfort, 815-469-2136 www.prestwickcc.com

Purgatory Golf Club (P) Noblesville, IN, 317-776-4653 www.purgatorygolf.com

Quail Ridge Golf Club (P) Ada, MI, 616-676-2000 www.quailridgegc.com

Rail Golf Course (P)

Springfield, IL, 217-525-0365 www.railgolf.com

Randall Oaks Golf Club (P) West Dundee, IL, 847-428-5661 www.randalloaksgc.com

The Ravines (P)

Crown Point, IN , 219-663-5000

West Lafayette, IN, 765-497-7888 www.ravinesgolf.com

Aurora, IL, 630-256-3760 www.aurora-il.org/parksandrecreation

Saugatuck, MI, 269-857-1616 www.ravinesgolfclub.com

Phillips Park Golf Course (P)

Ravines Golf Club (P)

Pilgrim’s Run Golf Club (P)

Ravinia Green Country Club (PV)

Pierson, MI, 888-533-7742 www.pilgrimsrun.com

Pine Hills Golf Club (P) Ottawa, IL, 815-434-3985 www.pinehillsgc.com

Pine Lakes Golf Club (P) Herrin, IL, 618-942-6816 www.PineLakes18.com

Pine Meadow Golf Club (P) Mundelein, IL, 847-566-4653 www.pinemeadowgc.com

Pinecrest Golf & Country Club (P) Huntley, IL, 847-669-3111 www.pinecrestgc.com

Pistakee Country Club (P) McHenry, IL, 815-385-9854

Deerfield, IL, 847-945-6200 www.raviniagreen.com

Ravisloe Country Club (P) Homewood, IL, 708-798-5600 www.ravisloecountryclub.com

Red Arrow Golf Course (P) Kalamazoo, MI, 269-345-8329 www.kalamazoogolf.org

Red Tail Run Golf Club (P) Decatur, IL, 217-422-2211 www.redtailrun.org

RedTail Golf Club (P)

Village of Lakewood, IL, 815-477-0055 www.redtailgolf.com

Renwood Golf Course (P)

Round Lake Beach, IL, 847-231-4711 www.renwoodgolf.com

Stanwood, MI, 800-972-4837 www.tullymoregolf.com

Sugar Grove, IL, 630-466-7610 www.richharvestfarms.com Chicago, IL, 773-238-9400 www.ridgecc.org Chicago, IL, 708-867-8400 www.ridgemoorcc.com

Kalamazoo, MI, 269-375-8821 www.ridgeviewgolf.com Lisle, IL, 630-968-1920 www.riverbendgolfclub.org

Elmhurst, IL, 630-279-5444 www.riverforestcc.org Fishers, IN, 317-849-8274 www.riverglencc.com DeKalb, IL, 815-758-1550 www.riverheightsgc.com

Calumet City, IL, 708-868-4090 www.forestpreservegolf.com/courses Hobart, IN, 219-942-2747 www.riverpointecc.net

North Riverside, IL, 708-447-8152 www.rgc.org Prospect Heights, IL, 847-253-4544 www.rtpd.org/golf Chicago, IL, 312-742-7931 www.cpdgolf.com/courses

Rockford, IL, 815-962-0948 www.rockfordcc.com

Arlington Heights, IL, 847-253-0400 www.rollinggreen.org St. Charles, IL, 630-584-4000 www.royalfoxcc.com St. Charles, IL, 630-443-3500 www.royalfoxcc.com

Royal Melbourne Country Club (PV) Long Grove, IL, 847-913-8380 www.royalmelbourne.net

Ruffled Feathers Golf Club (P) Lemont, IL, 630-257-1000 www.ruffledfeathersgc.com

Rockford, IL, 815-987-8888 www.rockfordparkdistrict.org

DeMotte, IN, 219-987-3611 www.sandypinesgc.com

Schaumburg, IL, 847-885-9000 www.schaumburggolf.com Schererville, IN, 219-865-2554 www.scherwood.com

Decatur, IL, 217-429-6243 www.decatur-parks.org/golf/index.php LaSalle, IL, 815-223-7273 www.senicasoakridge.net

Stevens Point, WI, 866-479-6753 www.sentryworld.com Batavia, IL, 630-232-1636 www.settlershill.com

Woodridge, IL, 630-964-7777 www.sevenbridges.com Amboy, IL, 815-849-5424 www.shadyoakscc.com

St. Anne, IL, 815-937-9355 www.golfshamrock.com

Bellaire, MI, 231-533-8621 www.shantycreek.com Zion, IL, 847-872-2080 www.shepherdscrook.org Zion, IL, 847-746-5500 www.shilohparkgolf.com

Lake Bluff, IL, 847-234-1472 www.shoreacres1916.com Orland Park, IL, 708-349-6940 www.silverlakecc.com Braidwood, IL, 815-458-2068 www.braidwoodrecclub.com Oregon, IL, 815-734-4440

Skokie Country Club (PV) Glencoe, IL, 847-835-5835 www.skokiecc.com

South Gleason Park Golf Course (P) Gary, IN, 219-980-1089

South Shore Country Club (P)

Ruth Lake Country Club (PV)

Cedar Lake, IN , 219-374-6070 www.southshorecc.com

Salt Creek Golf Club (P)

Momence, IL, 815-472-4407 www.ssgcm.com

The Sanctuary Golf Course (P)

Chicago, IL, 773-256-0986 www.cpdgolf.com/courses

Hinsdale, IL, 630-986-2060 www.ruthlakecc.org

Wood Dale, IL, 630-773-0184 www.saltcreekgolfclub.com New Lenox, IL, 815-462-4653 www.golfsanctuary.com

South Shore Golf Club (P) South Shore Golf Course (P) Spider Lake Golf Resort (R) Hayward, WI, 715-462-3200 www.spiderlakegolfresort.com

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101

Midwest Select

MIDWEST SELECT COURSES

Midwest Select

Spirit Hollow Golf Course (R)

Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course (P)

University Ridge (P)

Whitetail Ridge Golf Club (P)

Willowhill Golf Course (P)

Woodbine Golf Course (P)

Spooner Golf Club (P)

Tagalong Golf Resort (R)

Valley Green Golf Course (P)

Whittaker Woods Golf Club (R)

Wilmette Golf Club (P)

Woodruff Golf Course (P)

Sportsman’s Country Club (P)

Tahkodah Hills Golf Course (P)

Valley-Lo Sports Club (PV)

Wicker Park Golf Club (P)

Wing Park Golf Course (P)

Woodstock Country Club (PV)

Wild Rock Golf Club (R)

Winnetka Golf Club (P)

Wynstone Golf Club (PV)

Willow Crest Golf Club at Oak Brook Hills Marriott (R)

Wolf Run Golf Course (P)

Yarrow Golf & Conference Center (R)

Wood Wind Golf Club (P)

Zigfield Troy Golf (P)

Burlington, IA, 319-752-0004 www.spirithollowgolfcourse.com Spooner, WI, 715-635-3580 www.spoonergolf.com Northbrook, IL, 847-291-2351 www.sportsmansgolf.com

Springbrook Golf Course (P) Naperville, IL, 630-848-5060 www.springbrookgolfcourse.org

St. Andrews Golf & Country Club (P) West Chicago, IL, 630-231-3100 www.standrewsgc.com

St. Charles Country Club (PV) St. Charles, IL, 630-377-9340 www.stcharlescc.com

St. Ives Golf Club (R)

Stanwood, MI, 800-972-4837 www.tullymoregolf.com

Stardust Golf and Country Club (P)

Chicago, IL, 312-742-7930 www.cpdgolf.com/courses

Birchwood, WI, 800-657-4843 www.tagalonggolf.com Cable, WI, 715-798-3760

Tam O’Shanter Golf Course (P) Niles, IL, 847-965-2344 www.niles-parks.org

Tamarack Golf Club (P) Naperville, IL, 630-904-4000 www.tamarackgc.com

Tanna Farms Golf Club (P) Geneva, IL, 630-232-4300 www.tannafarms.com

Telemark Golf Course (P) Cable, WI, 715-798-3104 www.telemarkgolfcourse.com

Terrace Hill Country Club (PV)

Johnston City, IL, 618-527-4122

Algonquin, IL, 847-658-4653 www.terracehillgolf.com

Mundelein, IL, 847-949-8900 www.mundeleinparks.org

Kalamazoo, MI, 269-344-0040 www.thornapplecreek.com

Steeple Chase Golf Club (P) Stone Creek Golf Club (P) Urbana, IL, 217-367-3000 www.stonecreekgolfclub.com

Thornapple Creek Golf Club (P) ThunderHawk Golf Club (P) Beach Park, IL, 847-968-4295 www.lcfpd.org/thunderhawk

Stonebridge Country Club (PV)

Timber Pointe Golf Club (P)

Stonehenge Golf Club (PV)

Timber Ridge Golf Club (P)

Aurora, IL, 630-820-8887 www.stonebridge-cc.org

Barrington IL, 847-381-8600 www.stonehengegolfclub.com

Poplar Grove, IL, 815-544-1935 www.golfthepointe.com Minocqua, WI, 715-356-9502 www.timberridgegolfclub.com

Stonewall Orchard Golf Club (P)

TimberStone at Pine Mountain (R)

Stony Creek Golf Course (P)

TPC Deere Run (SP)

Grayslake, IL, 847-740-4890 www.stonewallorchard.com

Oak Lawn, IL, 708-857-2433 www.golfstonycreek.com

Iron Mountain, MI, 906-776-0111 www.pinemountainresort.com Silvis, IL, 309-796-6000 www.tpc.com/deererun

Storybrook Country Club (P)

Traditions at Chevy Chase (P)

Streamwood Oaks Golf Club (P)

Trappers Turn Golf Club (P)

Hanover, IL, 815-591-2210 www.storybrook.com

Streamwood, IL, 630-483-1881 www.streamwood.org

Wheeling, IL, 847-465-2300 www.chevychasecountryclub.com

Wisconsin Dells, WI, 800-221-8876 www.trappersturn.com

Sugar Creek Golf Course (P)

Tuckaway Golf Club (P)

Summertree Golf Course (P)

Tullymore Golf Club (R)

Villa Park, IL, 630-834-3325 www.sugarcreekgolfcourse.org

Crown Point, IN, 219-663-0800

Sunset Ridge Country Club (PV)

Crete, IL, 708-946-2259 www.tuckawaygc.com

Stanwood, MI, 800-972-4837 www.tullymoregolf.com

Verona, WI, 608-845-7700 www.universityridge.com North Aurora, IL, 630-897-3000 www.valleygreengc.com Glenview, IL, 847-729-5550 www.valleylo.org

Vernon Hills Golf Course (P) Vernon Hills, IL, 847-680-9310 www.vernonhillsgolf.com

Villa Olivia Country Club (P) Bartlett, IL, 630-289-1000 www.villaolivia.com

Yorkville, IL, 630-882-8988 www.whitetailridgegolfclub.com

New Buffalo, MI, 269-469-3400 www.golfwhittaker.com Highland, IN, 219-838-9809 www.wickermemorialpark.com

Wisconsin Dells, WI, 608-253-4653 www.wildrockgolf.com

Village Green Golf Course (P)

Oak Brook, IL, 630-850-5530 www.willowcrestgolf.com

Village Greens of Woodridge (P)

Great Lakes, IL, 847-688-4593 www.mwrgl.com/default.htm

Village Links of Glen Ellyn (P)

Mokena, IL, 815-485-2119 www.willowrungolf.net

Mundelein, IL, 847-566-7373 www.villagegreengc.com

Woodridge, IL, 630-985-3610 www.villagegreensgolf.com Glen Ellyn, IL, 630-469-8180 www.villagelinksgolf.com

Visit Green Lake

Willow Glen Golf Club (P) Willow Run Golf Course (P)

Bartlett Golf Center

Water’s Edge Golf Club (P) Worth, IL, 708-671-1032 www.watersedgegolf.com

WeaverRidge Golf Club (P) Peoria, IL, 309-691-3344 www.weaverridge.com

Weber Park Golf Course (P)

Skokie, IL, 847-674-1500 ext. 3600 www.skokieparks.org

Wedgewood Golf Course (P) Plainfield, IL, 815-741-7270 www.wedgewoodgc.com

Western Acres Golf Course (P) Lombard, IL, 630-469-6768 www.westernacres.com

Westmoreland Country Club (PV)

Long Grove, IL, 847-634-3363

Birdies & Eagles

Green Valley Golf Range

Gilberts, IL, 847-697-5000

Itasca, IL, 630-773-7997

South Elgin, IL, 847-931-2233

Hanover Park, IL, 630-289-6600 www.greenvalleygolfrange.com

Gurnee, IL, 847-549-6090

Greyslake Golf Practice Center

Bobby’s Hunt Club Golf Center Boulder Golf Range

Hoffman Estates, IL, 847-426-1588 www.boulderrange.com

Bushwood Golf Practice Center Maywood, IL, 708-344-2700 www.bushwooddrivingrange.com

Chicago Family Golf Center Chicago, 312-616-1234

Chicagoland Golf Academy Chicago, IL, 312-285-4673 www.chicagolandgolfacademy.com

Whisper Creek Golf Club (P)

Ditka’s Sports Dome

Crystal Lake, IL, 815-479-9150

Bolingbrook, IL, 630-739-7600 www.ditkasportsdome.com

White Deer Run Golf Club (P)

Diversey Driving Range

Twin Lakes Golf Club (P)

White Eagle Golf Club (PV)

Double Eagle Practice Center

White Hawk Country Club (P)

Douglas Park Learning Course and Miniature Golf (P)

Twin Lakes Recreation Area (P) Palatine, IL, 847-934-6050 www.saltcreekpd.com

Harris, MI, 906-723-2251 www.sweetgrassgolfclub.com

Long Grove, IL, 847-634-3800 www.twinorchardcc.org

Sweetgrass Golf Club (R) Sycamore Golf Club (P) Sycamore, IL, 815-895-3884 www.sycamoreparkdistrict.com

102

Twin Orchard Country Club (PV) University Golf Club (P)

University Park, IL, 708-747-0306 www.universitygolfclub.com

MIDWEST GOLF IN YOUR HANDS

Naperville, IL, 630-983-6836 www.whiteeaglegc.com

Crown Point, IN, 219-661-2323 www.whitehawkcountryclub.com

White Mountain Golf Course (P) Tinley Park, IL, 708-478-4653 www.whitemountaingolfpark.com

White Pines Golf Club (P) Bensenville, IL, 630-766-0304 www.whitepinesgolf.com

Wauconda, IL, 847-526-4000 www.golf-farm.com

Golf Learning Center at Hamilton Lakes

Crystal Lake Learning Center

Vernon Hills, IL, 847-680-6100 www.whitedeergolf.com

Des Plaines, IL, 847-803-4653 www.golfcenterdesplaines.com

Better Shots

Bartlett, IL, 630-830-9385

Wilmette, IL, 847-251-4600 www.westmorelandcc.org

Crystal Lake, IL, 815-459-3356 www.turnberrycc.com

Woodstock, IL, 815-338-5355 www.woodstockcc.com

North Barrington, IL, 847-304-2810 www.wynstone.org Augusta, MI, 800-563-4397 www.yarrowgolf.com

Woodridge, IL, 630-985-9860 www.zigfieldtroygolf.com

Stockton, IL, 815-858-3939 www.woodbinebend.com

Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame (P)

South Bend, IN, 574-631-4653 www.warrengolfcourse.com

Joliet, IL, 815-741-7272 www.woodruffgc.com

Woodbine Bend Golf Course (PV)

Golf Farm

Merrillville, IN, 219-980-5170

Belvidere, IL, 815-547-3232

Westfield, IN, 317-669-8550 www.woodwindgolf.com

BallyBunion

Turnberry Country Club (PV)

Swanhills Golf Course (P)

Aurora, IL, 630-906-1402 www.wolfrungolfcourse.net

Schaumburg, IL, 847-490-7878 www.walnutgreensgolf.com

Walnut Greens Golf Course (P)

Huntley, IL, 847-515-7682 www.whispercreekgolf.com

Westmont, IL, 630-852-7167

Winnetka, IL, 847-501-2050 www.winnetkagolfclub.com

Golf Center Des Plaines

Addison, IL, 630-458-2660 www.addisonparks.org

Sunset Valley Golf Course (P)

Plymouth, IN, 800-582-7539 www.swanlakeresort.com

Elgin, IL, 847-931-5952 www.cityofelgin.org

Homer Glen, IL, 708-301-1252 www.woodbinegolf.com

Chicagoland Practice Facilities

Turkey Creek Golf Club (P)

Swan Lake Resort (R)

Wilmette, IL, 847-256-9646 www.golfwilmette.com

Addison Links & Tees Golf Facility (P)

Green Lake, WI, 800-253-7354 www.visitgreenlake.com

Northfield, IL, 847-446-5222 www.sunsetridgecc.org

Highland Park, IL, 847-432-7140 www.sunsetvalleygolfcourse.org

Northbrook, IL, 847-480-7888 www.willowhillgolfcourse.com

Chicago, IL, 312-742-7929 www.cpdgolf.com/courses Justice, IL, 708-458-9200

Chicago, IL, 312-747-7670 www.cpdgolf.com/courses/douglas-park

Flagg Creek

Countryside, IL, 708-246-3336 www.flaggcreekgolfcourse.org

Fresh Meadow Learning Center (P) Hillside, IL, 708-449-6767 www.freshmeadowgc.com

Parfection Park Golf Center Yorkville, IL, 630-553-6855

Partner Golf Center

Chicago, IL, 773-286-2060 www.partnergolfcenter.com

PGN Fun Village

Hickory Hills, IL, 708-430-7900 www.hickoryhillsresortinfo.com

Pro Circle

Spring Grove, IL, 815-675-2747 www.procirclegolf.com

Riedy’s Tee Time

Grayslake, IL, 847-752-8483

Lisle, IL, 866-587-3122 www.riedysteetime.com

Des Plaines, IL, 847-296-5764 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Skokie, IL, 847-674-1500 ext. 3100 www.skokieparks.org

Harry Semrow Driving Range

Skokie Sports Park

Highland Park Learning Center

Sugar Grove Driving Range

Joe Louis Driving Range

Sunset Meadows

The Driving Range at Libertyville Sports Complex

T-Time Golf Range

Highland Park, IL, 847-433-3422 www.highlandparkillinois.net Riverdale, IL, 708-849-1731 www.forestpreservegolf.com

Libertyville, IL, 847-367-1506 www.libertyvillesportscomplex.com

Links & Tees Golf Facility Addison, IL, 630-458-2660 www.addisonparks.org

Lippold Park Family Golf Center Crystal Lake, IL, 815-477-5401 www.crystallakeparks.org

Marquette Park Learning Center (P) Chicago, IL, 312-747-2761 www.cpdgolf.com

Master Golf

Grayslake, IL, 847-223-6886 www.mastergolfonline.com

Sugar Grove, IL, 630-466-4554 www.sugargrovefuncenter.com

Arlington Heights, IL, 847-394-5865 www.ahpd.org/algc Homer Glen, IL, 708-301-6500 www.ttimegolfrange.com

TopGolf

Wood Dale, IL, 630-595-4653 www.topgolf.com

The Players Club of Chicago Justice, IL, 708-924-9889 www.tpcchicago.com

Village of Bridgeview Sports Dome Bridgeview, IL, 708-924-8290 www.villageofbridgeview.com

Westland Golf

Huntley, IL, 847-669-0204

Woodland Trails

Fresh Meadow Learning Center

Mt. Prospect, IL, 847-296-4653 www.rtpd.org

Oakton Driving Range

Woodridge, IL, 630-985-9860 www.zigfieldtroygolf.com

Hillside, IL, 708-449-6767 www.freshmeadowgc.com

Park Ridge, IL, 847-692-3580 www.parkridgeparkdistrict.com

Zigfield Troy Golf (P)

WWW.GOLFTIMEMAG.COM

103

The Back Nine

Fifty Shades of Blah by Danny Freels

omebody please tell me why 90 percent of the players on the PGA Tour wear ghastly gray pants every other day? To say those pants are drab is like calling John Daly “a bit out of shape.” When I was a young guy learning to play golf, one of the things that attracted me to the sport was the clothing that many of the top players wore. The outfits were stylish but subdued. Navy slacks or khakis were common, often contrasted by a white or some other light-colored shirt. Their shoes were nice, too: all black or black and white saddles. To my eyes, the look was tasteful. Also common in those days — before and after black and white TV turned to color — were cardigan sweaters in the spring and fall. All of the players wore them but the top dog was Arnold Palmer. Trust me: nobody could rock a cardigan sweater like The King. Now, were all the players of my youth good dressers? No. Three-time major champion Julius Boros wore “flood” pants long before the term was even invented. Jack Nicklaus, early in his career, wore some of the dullest outfits imaginable. Whether that was because he was trying to hide his heaviness (this was years before he slimmed down, let his blond hair grow out and became the Golden Bear) or because of his color blindness is hard to say. To top it off (no pun intended), Nicklaus often wore a “pork-pie” hat when he played and that made him look even dumpier. Peacocks on the tour were 104

rare but there were one or two. Decades before all-orange Ricky Fowler was even born, Doug Sanders was one of the most easy-tospot players on Tour. Featuring a short, quick motion (it was often said he could make a full swing in a telephone booth), Sanders won tournaments all over the country and almost always was dressed top to bottom in pink, puce or purple. With shoes to match. So, obviously, I don’t get the fixation of today’s Tour player to wear gray pants. And almost all of them do it. Gray pants with a green shirt, gray pants with a blue shirt, gray pants with a yellow shirt, and on and on. One day at a tournament this past spring, Tiger Woods wore gray pants, a gray cap and a pink shirt. One day at another tournament, Jordan Spieth wore gray pants and a red shirt with horizontal white stripes. With, of course, a white belt — which is another thing I don’t get. The last time I wore a white belt, as best as I can remember, was in the fifth grade. Mine back then also had a strap attached to it that went over my right shoulder. On it was a silver badge with the words “Lieutenant” at the top and “Safety Patrol” at the bottom. That was a cool belt. If you ask me, what the PGA Tour needs are more classy dressers like Vijay Singh, more stylish dressers like Ian Poulter (pictured), and fewer gray pants and white belts. As for today’s golf shoes that look like something an astronaut would wear on Mars? Don’t get me started.

ROAD TRIP No. 44

M�e golf �an you can shake a 9-iron at. When it comes to championship golf, there’s no better destination than Alabama. Come play where the PGA TOUR professionals compete and see why Golf Digest editors picked two of Alabama’s golf resorts among their favorites. For starters there are the 468 holes along the world-renowned Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Stretching from the mountains in the north to the Gulf Coast in the south, America’s original golf trail opened 25 years ago and recently completed a massive renovation of its 26 courses. Then there are the many other impressive courses scattered across the state, designed by the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jerry Pate. Each with its own set of challenges, each with its own rewards. Plan an epic road trip to great golf courses across the state of Alabama.

Danny Freels is a longtime golf writer, editor, and (semi) happy hacker. Follow his love/hate relationship with golf in Golftime Midwest. Download Alabama Road Trips from your app store

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