Len Ziehm has covered golf for the Chicago Sun-Times for over 37 years and has been a columnist with Chicagoand Golf since its first issue in 1989.
Mid-April, 2008 At
first, I thought it was just me going through a funk, one probably
caused by all that inclement spring weather that virtually – but not
completely – kept me off Chicago courses. Usually by Masters time I've
had a few 18-hole rounds in. This time, nada.
April, 2008: At least two new things will be part of this year’s Masters. I heartily approve of one. The other I’m not so sure about. I’d
advise all of you to make every effort to tune in ESPN from 4-6 p.m. on
Wednesday of Masters week. Then you can see, for the first time on the
tube, the lovely par-3 course that adorns Augusta National Golf Club.
Golf Show, 2008: It’s been a long, cold winter for all of us – but maybe
moreso for me than most of the rest of you. Prostate cancer surgery in
January slowed me down for awhile, but that made me all the more
anxious for the arrival of spring and the resumption of my annual
pursuit of Chicago’s multitude of great courses. But, enough about me – and no more talk about how much quieter this year’s Chicago season will be as far as tournaments go.
Winter, 2008: One of the good guys in the Illinois PGA ranks is leaving town. Mike Jones,
who spent the last eight seasons at Cantigny, is headed for Hawaii. Jones
will leave one of Chicago’s premier public courses, and the site of
last summer’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and the 2006
Western Junior to become director of golf operations at Kapalua Resort.
Kapalua has two courses, each of which will host a major tour event in
2008, and a third layout – Mauka – is expected to built in 2009. Tom
Fazio is the designer of that one, and it’ll be a private course.
Fall, 2008: Maybe
next summer’s Chicago tournament schedule won’t be as lean as it has
appeared. Already there’s one new event in the works that shows promise. Nothing
is official yet, but LaSalle Bank Open tournament director Scott Cassin
is putting together an 18-hole invitational for amateurs with the
winner getting a sponsor’s invitation into his Nationwide Tour stop at
The Glen Club.