The Expansive Work of Todd Quitno

A well-established manufacturer of house paint has, for over a century, used a slogan that its product “covers the earth”.

And there is a well-established local golf course architect whose work, it can be said, covers all of Chicagoland. That architect is Todd Quitno of Quitno Golf Designs, Park Ridge, Illinois.

With a passion for golf and golf course design that was instilled in him by his maternal grandfather, who was a greenskeeper, Todd followed in the footsteps of this ancestor’s vocation, and sought an education in landscape architecture. With a degree in this major, Todd graduated from Ball State University in 1996 and joined Lohmann Golf Designs, Inc. as an associate architect. As the golf construction boom took off, Todd quickly rose to Senior Project Architect, leading both new course and renovation projects for two decades. In 2018, he became Partner and Senior Vice President of Design, and the company rebranded to Lohmann Quitno Golf Course Architects, Inc.

New course construction slowed dramatically, both locally and nationwide; hence the work of surviving golf design companies became course renovation. (Editor’s note: Only one new golf course has been added to the Chicago metro area in the past 16 years. The Chicago Highlands Club in Westchester, Illinois, is widely recognized as the most recent major brand-new 18-hole outdoor golf course built from the ground up in the Chicago metropolitan area, having opened in 2010 on a converted landfill site.)

Chicago Highlands Club

In July 2022, Todd founded Quitno Golf Designs, Inc. with a focus on renovation work to improve the quality and viability of existing golf courses while embracing community and environmental connections.

An impressive number of 40 courses in the Chicago area have been touched by Quitno Golf Designs, stretching from Zion in the north, south to Frankfort, and from Glencoe / Lake Forest in the east, west to Sycamore. Chances are that most Chicago golfers have played at least one course from the Quitno portfolio during the past twelve months.

Todd is a Member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, serving on the Board of Governors, its Golf Committee, and its Education Committee. Todd has been recognized by numerous local and national organizations, including Golf Inc. magazine’s Renovation of the Year (2004, 2005, 2010, 2012) and the ASGCA’s Design Excellence Award (2014, 2020).

A brief summary with visuals of selected Chicago-area QGD, Inc. projects is presented below, with the complete listing at the article’s conclusion.

Private course that hosted a US Open: The Merit Club (Libertyville, IL) was the host site of the 2000 US Women’s Open, but the course (originally built in the early 1990s) needed updating and the members wanted to specifically address bunker renovation and greens expansion. Working in collaboration with fellow architect, Nathan Crace, the design team prepared a targeted plan that will be completed with a full-course irrigation overhaul beginning in 2025. The renovations focused on new, more natural bunkering, greens adjustments to add much needed pin placements, and fairway expansions to bring the course up to date for today’s members.

Public, very municipal, course fostering junior golf: Canal Shores is the beloved 18-Hole urban golf course — owned by three different municipal entities and operated by the non-profit Evanston Wilmette GCA. The course had fallen on hard times with failing greens, tree overgrowth, with antiquated irrigation and drainage systems. Wanting to reemerge as a facility aimed at youth golfers and relying 100% on volunteer leadership and private funding, the golf course was completely rehabilitated under the guidance of Quitno Golf.

Highlights of the new design include all new greens, a 60-yard putting hole, a 25,000 sq ft putting green and practice center dedicated to junior development and the WGA’s future caddie training program. Several of the new holes are also inspired by famed template holes such as the Punchbowl, Biarritz, Short, Alps and Road.

Upscale 27-hole public gem: Comprehensive upgrades are underway at this high-end 27-hole public facility in Wheaton. Cantigny Golf, owned by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, is a popular Roger Packard design that began with the first 18 holes opening for test rounds in April 1989. The official dedication was held on June 5, 1989, featuring a 9-hole exhibition with champion Andy North. Cantigny Golf was named the “Best New Public Course in America” by Golf Digest in January 1990. Presently managed by KemperSports, Cantigny offers a “private club for a day” experience and is regarded as one of the top public access courses in the Midwest.

Working with Wadsworth Golf Construction over three phases, Quitno Golf Design is equipping the Woodside, Lakeside, and Hillside nines with new greens, tees, bunkers, irrigation, and fairway re-grassing to modernize the course and reinforce Cantigny’s elite status.

Eighteen Hole Par-3 Course: There’s nothing quite like The Valley Lo Club, located in Glenview, Illinois; not here in suburban Chicago, or perhaps, anywhere else. It’s mainly a private tennis club, that happens to have a par-3 (one par-4) 18-hole routing built around a 28-acre lake.

The golf course first opened in 1965, and club management desires their par-3 course to feature a re-worked, first-class design with modern state-of-the-art maintenance and conditioning. QGD is working with Golf Creations to provide the new layout and equipment to meet the needs and wants of management and resident-members. The master plan is presented here. Grand reopening of the Front Nine: Spring 2027. Back Nine: 2028.

Putting Greens: To date, Todd Quitno has designed six putting greens for golf facilities in the Chicago area, one at a private club and five at public golf courses. These Quitno-designed greens vary in size from 18,000 to 33,000 square feet. All five public putting greens are named in Chicago Golf Report’s article listing Chicago’s top practice putting greens, with Cantigny Golf (30,000 sqft), Shepherd’s Crook-Bellwether (23,400 sqft), and Deerpath GC-The Lawn (30,000) all holding rankings in the top five.

The Bellwether at Shepherd’s Crook

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Anetsberger Golf Course, Northbrook, IL
Bartlett Hills Golf Club, Bartlett, IL
Bloomingdale Golf Club, Bloomingdale, IL
Biltmore Country Club, Barrington, IL
Blackstone Golf Club, Marengo, IL
Bonnie Dundee Golf Course, West Dundee, IL
Boulder Ridge Country Club, Lake in the Hills, IL
Bridges of Poplar Creek, Hoffman Estates, IL
Canal Shores, Evanston, IL
Cantigny Golf, Wheaton, IL
Chevy Chase Country Club, Wheeling, IL
Crystal Lake Country Club, Crystal Lake, IL
Deerfield Golf Club, Riverwoods, IL
Deerpath Golf Club, Lake Forest, IL
Forest Hills Country Club, Rockford, IL
Geneva Golf Club, Geneva, IL
Glencoe Golf Club, Glencoe, IL
Glen Oak Country Club, Glen Ellyn, IL
Harborside International Golf Center, Chicago, IL
Heritage Bluffs Golf Club, Channahon, IL
Heritage Oaks Golf Club, Northbrook, IL
Indian Hill Club, Winnetka, IL
Inverness Golf Club, Inverness, IL
Ivanhoe Club, Ivanhoe, IL
Merit Club, Libertyville, IL
Midlothian Country Club, Midlothian, IL
Oak Park Country Club, Elmwood Park, IL
Prestwick Country Club, Frankfort, IL
Randall Oaks Golf Course, West Dundee, IL
Riverside Golf Club, North Riverside, IL
Schaumburg Golf Club, Schaumburg, IL
Shepherds Crook Golf Course, Zion, IL
Skokie Country Club, Glencoe, IL
Square Links Golf Course, Frankfort, IL
Sycamore Golf Club, Sycamore, IL
Tam Golf Course, Niles, IL
Valley Lo Club, Glenview, IL
Vernon Hills Golf Course, Vernon Hills, IL
White Eagle Golf Club, Naperville, IL
Wilmette Golf Club, Wilmette, IL