2020 WINDY CITY PUBLIC GOLF YEAR IN REVIEW...AND WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021

Was 2020 the craziest year for golf in my memory? Absolutely.  But it also turned out to be a surprisingly good year for Windy City golfers, Once the season got on track in May after an early false start and people became accustomed to the Covid-19 protocols, almost every public course was able to remain open, and many reported full tee sheets.  The mandated 10 minute time intervals was great for pace of play, and an outdoor activity like golf was a popular and relatively safe alternative in the time of pandemic.

I started and finished my local golf season in Huntley (Pinecrest on May 9th and Whisper Creek on November 20th), and totaled 882 holes spread across 38 courses. I was able to play some of the very best Chicagoland public layouts, including Cantigny, Mistwood, Pine Meadow, George Dunne, Arrowhead and Bolingbrook, and 2 drives to the southern fringes of area golf paid rich rewards, as Cinder Ridge and Kankakee Elks are both worth a road trip to experience.  Here are some highlights:

EXTRA FREE TIME EQUALS MORE GOLF

Fewer weekend barbeques, travel sports, weddings, graduations and other activities equaled more opportunities to golf, and area players took advantage of the open time to hit the links.  My experience showed that it was difficult to get a good morning weekend tee time unless I booked early in the week, and even afternoon times were hard to come by at certain popular courses. It just felt like more people were using golf courses as a place to get together with their friends and feel comfortable.  But prepay requirements were common to minimize clubhouse traffic and indoor mask wearing mandates were a constant reminder that this was not a normal season.

FIRST TIME VISITS AND OVERDUE RETURNS

I made first time visits to 4 courses in 2020, plus another handful that it had been longer than I can remember since I played. Turnberry is another private club that has recently opened to the public. Designed by Lawrence Packard, it has plenty of scenic character as it flows over the hilly McHenry County countryside.  Buffalo Grove is a popular North suburban muni that is a quality value play which I enjoyed.  The Traditional Course at Countryside in Mundelein is short in distance (6,400 yard par 72 from the tips) but stout in challenge due to plenty of elevation change and a few fun, quirky holes,  But my first visit to the Kankakee Elks course was a revelation, an amazing throwback experience from the golden era duo of William Langford and Theodore Moreau. 

I made the trip down I-57 on a steamy Friday afternoon in mid-August and I discovered a fantastic layout with creative grass fairway cross bunkers, steeply elevated greens and some of the most unique, undulating and yes, maddening putting surfaces you'll find anywhere near metro Chicago. Only a handful of sand traps and one water hazard does not at all diminish the experience and adds to the charm.  If  you haven't mastered a lob wedge or are shaky with the putter, you might be in for a long day, but whatever the case, enjoy this classic play. Quite possibly the most enjoyable $30 I've ever spent golfing.

Cinder Ridge celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2020, the dream of owner George Kappos, who not only designed the routing across a long abandoned strip mine, but did most of the work himself with a small crew of helpers.  Kappos utilized the dynamic terrain and acres of wetlands and forest like a seasoned golf architect (he had no formal training), and the course has matured into a well groomed, scenic and challenging play that is worth the drive down I-55 to Wilmington.  Click Here read the whole amazing story of George Kappos and Cinder Ridge.

A few miles east of Kankakee Elks and just a short drive from the Indiana border lies Minne Monesse, another old school layout that has a country charm that I really enjoyed.  I'm guessing it's been 20 years since my last play, and the course has made some significant changes over the years, but it maintains a great variety of holes that will keep your interest throughout the round. Cardinal Creek in Beecher features the North, South and Center 9's, and I was able to play all 3 for $40 with a cart in 5 hours on a 90 degree Friday afternoon in July.  The par five 6th hole on the South course will test your game, and there are several other good holes here.

Heading back towards Chicago on Route 394 is Lincoln Oaks, a true neighborhood course that winds through a mid-century Crete sub-division.  At one time the Ladies course at the adjacent Lincolnshire Country Club, Lincoln Oaks is just pure fun, with 6 par three's and 5 par five's (4 on the front nine) over the 6,200 yard par 71 layout.  And co-owner and General Manager Mark Haines is always happy and willing to sit and talk golf.

It had been at least a decade since I played Pine Meadow, but a 3 pm twilight time at the end of May allowed for plenty of time to finish and a $42 walk / $54 ride green fee was the perfect price point for this beautiful parkland course.  The back nine is one of my favorites in all Chicagoland.

Growing up in the south suburbs, I spent time at Burnham Woods, the Cook County Forest Preserve course that dates back to 1923.  After 40 years, I made a return in 2020.  The course needs work (well, a lot of work), but the heavily wooded corridors and postage stamp greens is uniquely different from modern courses and has loads of potential.  There are some good holes here (4,9,16,18 are my favorites), and this is one layout I'd love to see the Forest Preserve District commit to an upgrade. 

I SURVIVED A DAY ON A GOLF BOARD

I've been wanting to try it but I had been a little too nervous to pull the trigger, but I finally took my 1st stab at a Golf Board on Halloween at George Dunne.  The alternative to a golf cart, the golf board is like a motorized skateboard for one that rides the turf with the flip of a toggle switch.  The bag straps to the front and you change direction by shifting your weight, a little tricky to start but once you get the hang of it, it's a blast and a pretty good core workout, too.  Definitely worth a try.  Click Here to read the full story of my day with the Golf Board. 

JOLIET CC CLOSES ITS DOORS...BUT CALUMET STILL OPEN

Although only open to the public for a short time, the Joliet CC was an engaging Tom Bendelow parkland design with a unique layout and a high fun factor, but ownership decided to close for good over the winter and turn the land into industrial use, robbing public golfers the opportunity to experience this classic course for years to come.

If I had to pick between Joliet and Calumet CC as to which would be closing in 2020, I would have chosen the latter, but Calumet not only made it through 2020, but has announced that it will remain open for the 2021 season as a semi-private club.  This is the rare chance for the public golfer to play a course designed by the legendary Donald Ross.  You can travel a mile or two down Dixie Highway to Ravisloe and spend the day for a great 36 hole Ross double dip!

PRE-PANDEMIC TRAVEL

A family vacation in February doubled as a golf trip for me as I played 3 rounds in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  Barcelo Lakes weaves thru a Mangrove Forest and was a good, affordable play, but La Cana and Punta Espada provided the big payoff, oceanside golf along the Caribbean Sea.  La Cana features three 9's and I played the Tortuga and Arrecife courses, which are the original 18 designed by P.B. Dye and features 14 ocean views and 4 holes along the sea.  

Punta Espada is a Jack Nicklaus masterpiece and is ranked by Golfweek Magazine as the #1 course in the Caribbean and Mexico.  Cut through white limestone bluffs, Nicklaus was able to place 9 holes waterside for plenty of scenic eye candy.  Golf in the Dominican is not cheap (Punta Espada was the most I ever paid for a round of golf), but seeing the waves crashing along the rocky shore is a priceless experience.

MEMORABLE SHOTS AND ROUNDS

I make no secret that I am a very average, 20 handicap golfer, and although my index has recently been as low as 15, a steady flood of mediocre rounds this summer pushed it up to 19 by the end of the year.  My best 18 hole scores were a 16 over par 87 at the North Course at Silver Lake and an 88 at the par 72 Buffalo Grove course, and I did card a 4 over par 39 on the back nine at Gleneagles White (I won't discuss the 48 on the front).  A good round at Prairie Bluff was sunk by a disastrous triple bogey on the 18th hole for an 89.

I had 15 birdies for the year, which computes to a not so good 1.6% of the 936 holes I played in 2020, but I had 2 at an early October round at George Dunne, which was an accomplishment at this monster course. A 25 foot, left to right

sidewinder on the tricky 15th green was the highlight of that day. I also chipped in for a birdie on the 8th hole at Barcelo Lakes in Punta Cana which totally changed the trajectory of a lousy round.  The best finish was at Carillon, where I ended with a bang on the 4th of July.  The 9th hole on the White course (18th hole of the round) is an intimidating par 5 with a fairway split by a pond. another lake left, and more water fronting the green.  I avoided the hazards, reached the green in regulation and was dead center on a 12 footer for the birdie.

But my most memorable shot did not really

have a great outcome. On the par four 2nd hole at Mistwood, my second shot found one of the dreaded pot bunkers fronting the green, and it stopped about a foot from the base of the stacked sod wall. With basically zero experience in escaping one of these, I took my sand wedge and swung hard...and had no idea where the ball went.  After a few minutes, we finally found it, nestled in the thick grass behind me at the front right of the trap. A 3 putt triple bogey was a rough way to start, but I regrouped and the 91 on a 134 slope at a top Windy City track was my favorite round of 2020.

DEAL HUNTING 

I pride myself on finding the best deals for Windy City golf.  If you don't mind playing in the afternoon, you can always save a few dollars.  Palatine Hills is a very good park district

course and is walker friendly, a Noon tee time in June cost $43. Northwest suburban RedTail winds thru acres of protective wetlands and under $50 w/cart late morning weekend times can be found, as I did in August.  The Sanctuary in New Lenox was one of the few area courses that did not charge holiday rates on July 3rd, so a $34 w/cart senior rate round was one of the best 2020 deals on this far south suburban layout. Hilldale is the only Robert Trent Jones design in Chicago, and after Noon green fees offer a significant savings, as $39 w/cart on the Friday before Labor Day weekend was a great way to start the holiday weekend.  Marengo Ridge and Carillon are 2 courses I like and I paid $45 and $49 w/carts, respectively for weekend morning

rounds, anytime you can find a decent play for under $50 before Noon on the weekend is a real deal.

Group Golfer and Golf Moose are 2 sources for excellent deals.  They both work in a similar fashion, prepaid rounds at a discount that can be used anytime before an expiration date, with a few weekend time restrictions.  I used Golf Moose to purchase 4 rounds w/cart for $50 total at Streamwood Oaks, a solid 9 hole track, and I've already seen Pinecrest, Hughes Creek, Bittersweet and Arrowhead featured for 2021 at various discounted prices.

EXPECTATIONS FOR A NEW YEAR

After 37 years of waking area golfers out of their winter slumber, the 2021 Chicago Golf Show has been cancelled.  The show consistently draws thousands of area golfers to the Rosemont Convention Center, with local courses, resorts, club manufacturers and any golf related businesses represented, and was always a must attend event on my calendar.  The smaller Tinley Park Show has also been a casualty of Covid.  Fingers crossed that both will return in 2022.

But is there light at the end of the tunnel for life returning to pre-pandemic normalcy in 2021?  Definitely.  How will this affect the state of Windy City Golf?  My hope is that some of the changes that happened last year will carry over.  10 minute tee time intervals are great for pace of play and should be the standard going forward.  New golfers or those that revisited the game with the unexpected free time in 2020 will hopefully continue to find the time to play in the new year.  But I expect that some of the same restrictions will be in play, at least early in the season, so continue to keep a mask in your pocket.

Settler's Hill in Batavia will be closed in 2021.  Architect Greg Martin has been hired to work his magic on updating an already good course, including a new clubhouse, driving range and 2 new holes.  If his work at Oak Meadows, Coyote Run, Phillips Park and Fox Run is any indication, the Settler's Hill experience will be that much better.  That's something I'm looking forward to seeing when it re-opens in 2022, check back for full coverage on the progress of this exciting renovation.

And in a true pandemic and pestilence scenario, millions of 17 year locusts are due for a reappearance this summer, just another sign that the plague is still upon us.  But we'll get past the locusts as we will the virus, and golf will again be a big part of keeping a hold on sanity in 2021.  See on you on the links and stay safe!