Featured Chicago, Illinois Golf Course Guide

The four-man scramble is one of the most enjoyable formats for team competition in golf. After all, finding one decent shot out of four is a welcome proposition to many golfers. Beginning this spring, golf clubs across the country will be able to compete in The Great American Scramble and vie for the coveted title of National Champions in Las Vegas.

After the longstanding Buick/Oldsmobile Scramble shut down in 2005, golfers were left without a national scramble competition. PGA Professional Wayne Stone decided to change that. Stone created an event aimed at bringing excitement, camaraderie and team-building experiences back to golfers through the scramble format.

Stone, who is the director of Golf at Windermere Country Club in Windermere, Fla., decided there was enough interest to create a national scramble just by gauging the response of his members to the loss of the Buick event. Encouraged by the feedback, Stone set out to create the national tournament that was currently missing from the golf world.

Learn to Score Better

It is the Catch-22 of golf. If we only scored a little bit better, we’d be more excited about practicing more, which would lead to even better scoring. Yet most every infomercial you’ve ever watched says the “key” to a better score is a new club or a training aid when what we probably need is obvious; some time with a teaching professional who is passionate about helping us improve our score so that we can conquer that Catch-22.

But we’re afraid to break the cycle. “Golf School” sounds more like a prison sentence than an opportunity for a golf epiphany. We fear we’ll be embarrassed in a group of players who are better than we are.

The United States Golf Academy at the Indiana National Golf Club at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Indiana wants to smash that stereotype. The Academy has some revolutionary thoughts, and passionate pros, who want to change the way you think of “golf schools” and get you on the road  to enjoying the game more than ever. 

For a perfect resort golf experience without leaving Chicagoland area proper, look no further than to Foxford Hills Golf Club in Cary.

At a charming, Southernstyle clubhouse Foxford Hills Golf Club, with a spacious veranda evokes the Carolinas. Inside, it’s bright and airy with a well-stocked pro shop, an inviting bar and grill, and accommodating locker rooms. Hospitality is friendly, not fussy, and always courteous. Attention to detail is everywhere. It’s resort golf ambiance, and you haven’t yet set foot on the golf course.

Ah, the golf course. The first six holes are relatively wide open, with expansive greens, spacious, undulating fairways, and discrete water and wetlands. The look is windswept and coastal; you almost expect to hear the muted thunder of the ocean and cries of gulls. Many of the next 12 holes, especially the back nine, meander up and down hills framed by mature hardwood trees. Sixty distinctive MacKenzie-style bunkers populate the course. The flavor is vintage Carolina...the conditioning, consistent with what you’d find at elite private clubs.