For the third consecutive year, the Chicago Golf Show will be offering a free 18-hole round of golf to every show attendee. The nation’s oldest consumer golf show, the 2012 Chicago Golf Show takes place starting Friday, February 24 and runs through Sunday, February 26 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in northwest suburban Rosemont.

Chicago Golf Show attendees will be able to receive a free 18-hole round of golf for a GolfVisions course in one of three regions in greater Chicago – North/Northwest, West/Southwest, or South/Southeast. Local GolfVisions clubs include Foxford Hills Golf Club, Ravisloe Country Club, Tanna Farms Golf Club, Nettle Creek Country Club and Chalet Hills Golf Club.

The winner of Golf Channel’s 2011 Big Break Ireland, Mark Murphy will be appearing on the Daily Herald Golf Academy stage. The Ireland native will be sharing his thoughts and insights about winning the popular Golf Channel show.

“I’m thrilled to be coming to the Chicago Golf Show,” Murphy said. “Chicago is a tremendous golf town and I’m looking forward to meeting all the golfers at the Chicago Golf Show. I’m sure many of them will be able to trace their roots back to Ireland.” Murphy will appear on the Golf Academy Main Stage on both Friday and Saturday.

Hit the latest new clubs from golf’s top club manufacturers at the expansive 2012 Chicago Golf Show indoor driving range at “Chicago’s Largest Demo Days”. Club manufacturers specializing in both adult and junior clubs will be on hand to explain the features and benefits of their latest products.

Dozens of Illinois PGA professionals again will be on hand to offer attendees free lessons on the full swing, short game, and putting. Top golf instructors will conduct scheduled seminars on the Golf Academy Stage to help attendees get their games in shape for the coming season. The Chicago Golf Show is supported by the Illinois PGA and the Illinois Junior Golf Association, which will once again conduct its annual scavenger hunt.

Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance online at www.chicagogolfshow.com. Those who purchase online receive a $1 discount.

2012 Chicago Golf Show
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Rosemont, IL

Friday, Feb. 25 – Noon-7PM – $5
Saturday, Feb. 26 – 9:30AM-6PM – $10
Sunday, Feb. 27 – 9:30AM-4PM – $10

Under age 12 – Free
Ages 12-15 – $4

Share/Bookmark

Winter warmth has enveloped Chicago golf once again in historic fashion. Chicago golf officially got its start in 1895 with the advent of the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, the nation’s first 18-hole golf club. Since that time, it’s highly unlikely the golf gods have smiled on Chicago during the normally frigid winter as they have this season.

With temperatures expected to hover around 50 degrees for the remainder of this week, including a high near 60 on Tuesday, this month will go into the record books as one of the most golf-favorable Januaries in history. Many Chicago golf courses will once again be open for business the week, as they were earlier this month during equally tepid conditions.

According to WGN Meterologist Tom Skilling, Chicago has already enjoyed 9 days at or above 50 degrees, with the average being five. This great weather comes nearly a year to the day of the great 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard, Chicago’s 3rd biggest snowstorm ever which dropped 22.3″ of snow.

Here are a couple local courses that are confirmed open for business this week:

Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club – Channahon
$15 to walk or $25 with cart. Call 815-467-7888 for more information.

Willowhill Golf Course – Northbrook

Share/Bookmark

A plan for a proposed new golf course on a 250-acre site overlooking Lake Michigan in Lake County seems to be losing altitude before it can even get airborne. According to a TribLocal report, the Lake County Forest Preserve District board is weighing its options after no bid requests were submitted for the parcel of land that was once owned by the U.S. Army, which closed its Fort Sheridan base on the property in 1993. The property’s northern section included an 18-hole golf course.

Lake County Forest Preserve District Executive Director Tom Hahn pointed to a decline in rounds played across all Lake County Forest Preserve golf courses. “The climate out there for the golf industry is poor,” Hahn said. “Many golf courses are closing down.”

The Fort Sheridan site was decommissioned as a military base in 1993. The Lake County Forest Preserve acquired what is now the Forest Preserve property from the military in 1998. Under the terms mutually agreed when the transfer of property took place, the original golf course was to be restored.

After commissioning a feasibility study, the concept of building a self-sustaining golf course on the land came into question. Golf courses operated by Lake County cannot be financed by taxpayer dollars; construction and operating costs must be self-sustaining. In addition, a new golf course would have to compete with the many other public courses on the North Shore in a declining golf market. In recent years, Lake County has been losing money on two of its three existing golf courses.

Current Lake County Forest Preserve Golf Courses include ThunderHawk in Beach Park, Countryside in Mundelein and Brae Loch Golf Club in Grayslake. The forest preserve district staff will be working on other options for the site, hoping to have a plan in place over the next couple of months.

Share/Bookmark

Looking for more ways to get Chicago Golf into your life? Check out the new Chicago Golf Report for Currents, Google’s new app for magazine-style browsing of your favorite publications, RSS feeds, or Google+ streams. Google Currents is the fast and easy way to get free magazine-like editions for your tablet & phone for high speed offline reading.

Click this link in your mobile browser, and you’ll be prompted to add Chicago Golf Report in Currents. Right now, you won’t be able to find the new edition via Currents’s in-app search, but it should be included in the directory soon.

Chicago Golf Report on Google Currents is the best way to stay on top of the latest in Chicago golf news, golf courses and upcoming Chicago golf events. It’s the perfect way to browse, read and learn on your mobile device. And best of all, it’s free!

Share/Bookmark

As part of its commitment to grow the game, The PGA of America has announced that three Chicago golf development programs have been selected as Top 100 Play Golf America performers. Sugar Creek Golf Course in Villa Park, Village Greens of Woodridge and Chicagoland Golf Academy, which has multiple locations, were all named to the Top 100 list by the PGA of America.

The PGA of America recognizes outstanding Play Golf America facilities around the country for their successful programs and for becoming leaders in growing the game of golf. The PGA’s award analysis included various Play Golf America programs such as Get Golf Ready, Free Lesson Month, Free Fitting and Trade-Up Month and Family Golf Month. The top performers within each program were identified using a rating system based on the number of participants, events, and financial impact to the community.

Through this highly distinguished list, the PGA looks to recognize PGA and LPGA Professionals for extraordinary efforts in using Play Golf America programs to generate business and grow the game at their facilities. Congratulations to the Chicago PGA Professionals who participated in PGA of America Play Golf America events.

Chicago Golf Programs named to the Play Golf America Top 100 list:

Sugar Creek Golf Course
Jeffery Siegmund, PGA

Chicagoland Golf Academy
John McCartin, PGA

Village Greens of Woodridge
Brandon L. Evans, PGA

Share/Bookmark

Originally known as The Colombian in the 1920s and then as Bon Air in the 1930s, the Chevy Chase name came to existence in 1949. The course was originally built in 1924 by the Knights of Columbus, it’s now known as Traditions at Chevy Chase.

Originally designed by legendary golf course architect Thomas Bendelow, Traditions at Chevy Chase was renovated in 2002 by Bob Lohmann. This 18-hole, par 72 course pays homage to the architecture from the origin of the game of golf. The course features deep pot bunkers lined with native fescue grasses, generous rolling greens, and undulating bent-grass fairways. It also offers four sets of tees to challenge players of all skill levels.

Located on Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling, this fantastic club and golf course also offers a grand ball room which has a 5000 sq. foot dance floor and will seat 600 guests. The Gable Room Bar and Grill serves beer and cocktails along with appetizers, sandwiches and burgers.

You can get professional private or group lessons here at this picturesque 18 hole golf course. You can expect beauty as well as water hazards and sand traps. Take the time to truly enjoy this course with its sheer perfection.

Traditions at Chevy Chase
1000 N Milwaukee Ave
Wheeling, IL
(847) 537-0082
http://www.chevychasecountryclub.com/

Share/Bookmark

How many rounds of golf will you play for the rest of your life? If you could play for free, how many rounds of golf would you play? Attend the Tinley Park Golf Show February 17-19 at the Tinley Park Convention Center and you could play golf for the rest of your life for free.

Sponsored by Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, the Tinley Park Golf Show will make one lucky golfer’s dreams come true with free golf for life. According to the National Golf Foundation, the average golfer plays about 21 rounds per year. With free golf for life, you could easily double or triple that number without consideration.

The inaugural Tinley Park Golf Expo is open to the public and will feature golf instruction and activities, information on golf courses and destinations, golf equipment and apparel. The beautiful Tinley Park Convention Center offers free parking and easy access to I-80, I-57 and I-94/294.

Tinley Park Golf Expo
February 17-19, 2012

Tinley Park Convention Center
18451 Convention Center Drive
Tinley Park, IL 60477

Friday: Noon – 7 PM
Saturday: 9 AM – 6 PM
Sunday: 9 AM – 4 PM

Admission Friday: $ 5.00
Admission Saturday and Sunday: $10.00

Visit the Tinley Park Golf Expo website for more information.

Share/Bookmark

Support the Illinois PGA Foundation’s youth golf initiatives by purchasing a limited-run special event license plate to celebrate the 2012 Ryder Cup matches. The Ryder Cup takes place this September at beautiful Medinah Country Club and this commemorative license plate will be valid for Illinois drivers between August 2 and September 30.

This unique program comes from a partnership with the Illinois PGA Foundation in conjunction with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. The Illinois PGA Foundation supports charitable organizations such as GolfWorks Illinois, which is a youth-based scholarship and work-study program in cooperation with the University of Illinois.

The 2012 Ryder Cup includes a total of 28 matches which will take place over three days, Friday to Sunday, September 28-30. Friday and Saturday includes four fourball matches and four foursomes matches. Ryder Cup Sunday features all team members in 12 singles matches. The winning team is determined by cumulative total points.

Team captains for the 2012 Ryder Cup matches are José María Olazábal for Europe and Davis Love III for the USA. The European team has won four of the last five Ryder Cup matches, including 2010 at Celtic Manor Resort in Wales. Tickets for the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah are sold out, but are selling briskly from re-sellers.

Purchase your 2012 Ryder Cup special event license plate at the Illinois PGA website. The plates are available at three price points, $80, $40 and free depending on your membership status.

Share/Bookmark

The Cantigny Golf Show is coming to Wheaton and will be Chicago golf’s first chance to think about the upcoming season and experience all of the new products available. This inaugural show will take place at Cantigny Golf Course in Wheaton on Thursday, February 2nd from 11AM to 8PM.

Visit the Cantigny Golf Show to check out new 2012 equipment lines from manufacturers such as TaylorMade, Cleveland, Mizuno, Miura, Nike, Titleist, Tour Edge and Wilson Staff. You could also win some of this new equipment with special prize drawings every 30 minutes. Pre-register online or by phone and you’ll be entered to win a Cantigny Golf 18-hole foursome.

In addition to the new golf product lines, the Cantigny Golf Show show will also feature educational programs by Cantigny’s teaching professionals, club-fitting seminars and golf fitness demonstrations. Admission is $10 and parking is free. Children 12 and under are also free.

Cantigny Golf Show
27W270 Mack Rd
Wheaton, IL
CantignyGolf.com
(630) 260-8199

Title: Cantigny Golf Show
Location: Wheaton
Link out: Click here
Description:
Date: 2012-02-02

Share/Bookmark

There may no longer be an annual PGA TOUR event in Chicago, but the PGA TOUR will have a year-round presence in Chicago. According Crain’s, a 60,000 square-foot PGA TOUR Superstore is planned to open this spring near Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. The store will be located at Golf and Meacham roads and will sell tennis merchandise, in addition everything related to golf.

PGA TOUR Superstores are owned and operated by Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, Inc. (GTPS) and headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The company is the PGA TOUR’s exclusive PGA TOUR golf retail partner. Current PGA TOUR Superstore locations include the Myrtle Beach, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver and Naples metro areas.

According to Crain’s, PGA TOUR Superstore is planning a second Chicago-area store this year, but the location has not yet been announced. The stores will be PGA TOUR Superstore’s first Midwest locations.

For a better idea of what will be available at the Schaumburg PGA TOUR Superstore, visit the online version of the PGA TOUR Superstore

Schaumburg PGA TOUR Superstore
1321 E. Golf Road
Schaumburg, IL

Share/Bookmark