Chicagoland Golf News

KemperSports recently named Brian Carlson general manager of Royal Melbourne Country Club, a premier private club with an 18-hole Greg Norman designed golf course in Long Grove, Ill. Carlson brings to the position more than 13 years of management experience in the private club sector.

Carlson joins KemperSports after serving as general manager of the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, a private club located in Corona del Mar, Calif. Previously, he was general manager of the University Club of Pasadena and clubhouse manager at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Newport Beach, Calif. 

Medinah Country Club is on the clock as the next U.S. Ryder Cup venue in 2012 and the club is wasting no time in preparing for golf's most passion-filled event. A group of 37 Medinah members and staff traveled to Louisville for this year's Ryder Cup to meet with their counterparts from Valhalla Golf Club and executives with the PGA of America.

"We're looking forward to infusing the 39th Ryder Cup with a unique Chicago flavor," said Bill Kamm, general chairman of the 2012 event. "We're already setting the groundwork for what we anticipate will be one of the greatest sporting events ever to hit the Chicago area." 

Benton Harbor, Mich. – New Zealand’s Danny Lee showed why he is among the world’s top-ranked amateurs Sunday, delivering a pair of 4 and 2 match play wins to claim the 2008 Western Amateur Championship at Point O’Woods Golf & Country Club in Benton Harbor, Mich.

Lee became the first winner since Bubba Dickerson in 2001 to take both medalist and match play honors, joining an elite group of dual winners that includes Phil Mickelson (1991), Scott Verplank (1985), Curtis Strange (1974) and Ben Crenshaw (1973). 

EAST MOLINE, Illinois - Twenty-nine of them have won tournaments in the last two years. Nine have major championships on their resumes, including Cedar Rapids' own Zach Johnson, winner of the 2007 Masters Tournament.

Fifty-one rank among the Top 100 money winners this year on the PGA Tour.

These players are among the sparkling group of pros who will compete this week at the 2008 John Deere Classic at Tournament Players Club Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. 

Already established as one of the premier online marketplaces to find great golf at unbelievable prices, GolfUS.com has re-launched, doing away with its auction platform in favor of an instant purchase format that allows golfers to buy golf rounds and other golf-related merchandise for as much as 50 percent off retail.

The "New" GolfUS.com will be "The Place to Save" for rounds of golf in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Arizona, Florida and Georgia. In addition to these renowned golf destinations, www.golfus.com is planning to expand, giving golfers across the country a great way to save on rounds of golf. The site currently features a little more than 150 golf courses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Some of golf’s most influential leaders and members of the game’s most prominent associations converged on the nation’s capitol to celebrate a bipartisan Congressional resolution which declared April 16, 2008 as National Golf Day.

The golf leaders discussed the game’s impact on society, in particular its role to the U.S. economy.

The golf industry is the sports and entertainment worlds’ largest contributor to our economy, generating $76 billion in direct economic impact according to a recent study, the 2005 Golf Economy Report, commissioned by World Golf Foundation’s GOLF 20/20 initiative completed earlier this year and released at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. 

 The Trophy Club has handed out its fair share of hardware in the past. Now it's time for the majestic Lebanon, In. offering to be on the receiving end of a deserving award.Since opening in the fall of 1998, the Trophy Club has handed out some of the most prestigious championships contested in the state of Indiana, hosting the Indianapolis Open, Indiana State Senior Open, Challenge Cup, Indiana State Open and Indiana Senior PGA Championship.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND – Northern Illinois University’s men’s golf team shot a 325 on a blustery day at Wexford Plantation and finished in a three-way tie for last place at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate hosted by Francis Marion University, almost 60 shots back of the winning score for the event.

The Huskies didn’t set any scoring records but they did record a victory for their school and took a step toward transitioning from tragedy to normalcy.

The two-day tournament marked Northern Illinois’ return to athletic competition following a 10-day layoff due to the Feb. 14 campus shootings that prematurely ended the lives of five students. Monday’s opening round also coincided with the return to classes on the NIU campus. 

ATLANTA, GA – LastMinuteGolfer.com has announced that it plans to step up its efforts to help each of its participating courses to reduce their fixed costs. The company, currently representing that nation’s largest community of golfers (413,284 members), is offering 500 dozen range balls to each new LastMinuteGolfer course that joins the program before March 15, 2008.

LastMinuteGolfer’s growing family of over 575 golf courses continue to benefit directly from this effort as well, receiving monthly range ball rebates of up to $167/ month.

OAK FOREST, IL - Cook County Forest Preserve Golf ("FPG") and Billy Casper Golf ("BCG") announce reduced greens fees and other promotional prices on apparel and equipment next week (through Nov 2) at the 10-course system - capping another year of enhnced playing experiences for the community through value-rich golf rates, accessible instructional programs and high-quality course conditions.

"Frankly, every week is about customer appreciation for Billy Casper Golf and the Forest Preserve system," says BCG Senior Vice President Bill Rehanek. "Our practices set Billy Casper Golf apart from other course operators, and we are happy to commemorate our 'customer-first' approach with value-laden offerings for area golfers."

For $19.99, golfers can either walk or ride at Highland Woods or FPG's flagship layout, the Golf Digest-rated 4.5-star George Dunne National. Greens fees at popular Indian Boundary are $14.99 and includes use of a golf cart. The rest of the FPG courses are $9.99 to play per round.