Chicagoland Golf News

SPRINGFIELD - The LPGA State Farm Classic has renewed its contract with title sponsor, State Farm through 2011, Executive Director Kate Peters announced. The tournament will celebrate a milestone 35th anniversary in 2010, making it one of the longest running tournaments on the Tour. The 72-hole LPGA State Farm Classic will be held June 10-13 at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield.

"State Farm has been a generous sponsor and strong partner of this tournament for 17 years, helping us make the LPGA State Farm Classic more successful each year," Peters said. "We are grateful for their continued support and look forward to celebrating 35 years in 2010." 

The second annual Golf World Readers’ Choice Awards have been announced, which recognized the 50 best private, public and resort golf facilities in the country. Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook, Ill., was ranked as No. 28 among public facilities, and was the only Illinois golf course to be named to the public facility list. The rankings are based solely on the input of Golf World readers in an online ballot format.

Golf World readers were asked to evaluate the nation’s golf facilities in three distinct categories — private, public and resort — based on 13 different performance criteria, including quality of the course, course conditions, reputation/prestige and service. More than 46,000 individual facility ratings were received. 

The newly renovated Cog Hill Golf and Country Club's Dubsdread, has been named to the Golf Magazine's 2009 Top 100 Course in the U.S. list. The Jemsek-owned golf facility and home course of the PGA Tour's BMW Championship is ranked 87th. Cog Hill was one of 14 courses that made the list for the first time.

"This is one of the industry's toughest list to get on because it combines public, private and resort courses, so the competition is very tough and we are thrilled to make this list for the first time," said Frank Jemsek , CEO, Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. "The renovation by Rees Jones has been very well received by our customers, the raters and earlier this month by the PGA Tour players. They all have been very positive about all the changes, especially the greens and bunker work. We are pleased to continue to provide Chicagoland golfers one of the best daily-fee experiences in the country." 

Golfers who want to experience playing a course that is set up for the final round of a PGA Tour event will get that opportunity at Cog Hill's newly-renovated Dubsdread. The nationally-ranked course, which will host the 2009 BMW Championship Sept. 10-13, will be open for public play on Monday, Sept. 14 with the tournament's Sunday final round pin placements.

Golfers will be able to compare their game to the best in the world. The BMW Championship is the third leg of four in the FedExCup Playoff Series. The top 70 players on the FedExCup point list are expected to play at Dubsdread for a purse of $7.5 million with the winner taking home $1.35 million. 

GRAYSLAKE - Only one of a handful of courses to host final stage qualifying for the 2009 U.S. Open earlier this season, Stonewall Orchard Golf Club will host the 87th Illinois PGA Section Championship Aug. 31 thru Sept. 2. A daily-fee facility that is open to the public, this will be the fourth time that Stonewall Orchard has hosted the Illinois PGA's most prestigious event and one that is currently on rotation with renowned private facilities Medinah and Olympia Fields.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Stonewall Orchard was the first Arthur Hills-designed course to open in the Chicago market and has quickly accumulated not only the accolades from both the golfing public and media, but has hosted prestigious events since opening in 1999, including three U.S. Open local qualifiers and a Super Seniors event as part of the Senior PGA Tour. 

LAKE FOREST, Ill.  - The turning point of Saturday afternoon's final match of the 107th Western Amateur came on the ninth hole at the blustery, sun-drenched and humid Conway Farms Golf Club.

Zach Barlow, a senior at the University of Illinois, had a downhill four-foot putt  that, if converted, would slow the momentum of Kent State junior John Hahn, who led Barlow 2-up and had a three-footer for birdie to restore a three-hole lead he had built earlier in the match but had seen slip the hole before. 

U.S. Solheim Cup Captain Beth Daniel and European Solheim Cup Captain Alison Nicholas announced their respective 12-player squads for the 2009 Solheim Cup during a joint press conference over the weekend at the Ricoh Women's British Open.

At the end of the two-year qualifying process, Paula Creamer and Gwladys Nocera are the leading points earners for the U.S. and European Solheim Cup Teams, respectively. 

The newest and most reliable online marketplace for purchasing discounted rounds of golf provides golfers the opportunity to play more and pay less.

TeeTimeSavings.com, formerly GolfUS.com, has officially launched its easy-to-use and informative Web site that features a comprehensive catalog of premier courses in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio where golfers in those areas can buy rounds of golf at special prices. More than 200 courses are currently featured on the site, which will expand quickly to add new courses and resorts in even more areas throughout the country.

Officials for the 2009 Solheim Cup recently announced that the tournament's Ping Pavilion tickets are sold out.

The Solheim Cup, which features 12-woman teams from the U.S. and Europe in a team match-play competition, is set for Aug. 17-23 at Rich Harvest Farms golf course in Sugar Grove. The Ping Pavilion is a climate-controlled indoor spectator hospitality pavilion located off the 17th green. It features televisions, seating areas, and a complete pay-as-you-go menu.

How many strokes do you waste on the green? If you’re like most, the answer is too many. One company helping thousands improve their stroke is Boccieri Golf: Maker of the Heavy Putter.

The inventor of Heavy Putter Stephen Boccieri – previously a nuclear engineer by week, scratch golfer by weekend – spent his free time evaluating equipment from all manufacturers, finding structural inconsistencies across the board. Boccieri began modifying the equipment to improve performance.