Chicago Public Golf

We here at the Chicago Golfcast are compiling some serious internet resources so that you never have to worry about bookmarking another site related to golf in Chicagoland. We are using the free resources at the community bookmarking site called del.icio.us. Before you click on the del.icio.us/chicagogolfcast/ link over in the right margin, let’s talk in general terms about what this “community bookmarking” is all about.

Del.icio.us, in its simplest form, is just a place to put all of your bookmarks so that you don’t have to retype them every time you want to go the website. You could also do this with bookmarks in your browser, but those are on your hard drive and you can’t access them if you’re at another computer. But that’s not all.

Del.icio.us also allows you to tag each bookmark. A tag is simply a word you use to describe some aspect of your bookmark. You can tag all of your bookmarks with as many tags as you want. This lets you group them by topic, by frequency, or however you want to group them.

And finally, del.icio.us let’s you share your bookmarks. So not only can you see what others across the globe are bookmarking in your favorite topics, but you can help others by sharing your bookmarks with them. This is what we’re doing, sharing our bookmarks with you so you don’t have to go find the sites on your own.

This brings us to the bookmarks we have set up in del.icio.us/chicagogolfcast/. Once you click on that link, you are presented with a relatively simple screen that has a list of website bookmarks on the left side and a list of tags on the right side. Let’s key in on the tags and take one tag as an example. Why don’t you open up another browser session so that you can toggle back and forth between this description and the del.icio.us screen.

Okay, the first thing I want you to do is look at the list of tags and find the tag “hills.” This stands for Arthur Hills, the world renowned golf course architect based in Toledo, Ohio. Click on “hills” and let’s see what you get. On the left side of your screen you have two great Chicago golf courses designed by Arthur Hills, Stonewall Orchard and Bolingbrook. If you were to click on them directly it would link you to their official websites. Simple stuff huh?

Now look on the right side. You should see a list of “related tags.” Note that there is a related tag that says “+islandgreen.” This is where you get some serious power from del.icio.us so strap yourself in. This is telling you that one or more of the bookmarks tagged with “hills” also has a tag of “islandgreen.” Click on the island green tag and guess what you get. That’s right, a list of Chicago golf courses that have island greens, of which the Arthur Hills designed Bolingbrook is one.

Now look a little closer at the Bolingbrook Golf Club link on the left hand side. Right below it you should see in small print the words “to hills islandgreen top40x Stevenson.” These are links to all of the tags for Bolingbrook Golf Club. We have already seen why it is tagged “hills” and “islandgreen.” If you click on “hills” it just pops you back to the list of Arthur Hills designed courses in Chicagoland where we began this adventure. But note that it also has the tags “top40″ and “xpwstevie.” It is tagged “top 40″ because we at the Chicago Golfcast have decided that Bolingbrook is one of our top 40 courses in the region. Go ahead and click on the link to “top40″ and you can see a list of the rest of the top 40 (keep in mind that it’s still in process). Or if you want, click on the tag “xpwstevie.” This is a list of all the courses that you could get to if you were to take the Stevenson Expressway from downtown. This is a precursor to our regional breakdown which we plan to make much more detailed in the future.

Wow, I am bone tired just thinking about the circles we could run in if we stayed at this. So go grab a Red Bull and spend some time sorting through this on your own. We have a bunch of different stuff out there. Here are some examples of tags we have set up:

• roadtrip gets you a list of courses that are a little out of the region, but close enough to prompt a fresh tank of gas and a day or weekend trip
• architectsites gets you a list of the major architects that have courses in the region so that you can link to their sites and learn more about their philosophies and their projects
• teetimes puts you in touch with the two major providers of web based tee times for the region so you don’t ever have to talk to a human until you get to the course

We’re going to keep adding on and we may talk about a tag of the month in our podcast or write about it in the blog. Keep coming back to check for new stuff.

I love all sports. Of course, golf is my number one sport from every perspective, but more on that later. For now, I want to talk about how “judgment calls” have been batted around in the media lately and how I, as a golf junkie, deal with it.

The Super Bowl seems to have blown the lid off the issue of the role of officials in the outcomes of games. Not only is the sports media talking about the “worst refereed game in NFL history,” but they are also digging up past transgressions of officials. Someone last week on ESPN 1000 brought up the White Sox versus Angels blown call in the ALCS as another example of the fix. Then Phil Jackson goes on a tirade against the officials in Dallas for not calling fouls on the Mavs because, he asserts, Mark Cuban (the Mavs Owner) intimidates them. I can’t wait to hear somebody dredge up Ohio State’s National Championship a few years ago and the catch (or non-catch) in the end zone. And I’m sure it will really heat up this week when figure skating and ice dancing start in Turin.

For me, I love it. I love the controversy that judgment calls stir up and it does not turn me off in the least. I have learned to expect bad calls because that is just the way human beings work. If it makes you mad enough to stop watching football, basketball, or figure skating, then that’s your problem. You’re cheating yourself out of a lot of great drama and you’re being unrealistic with your expectations.

Maybe one of the reasons I’m so tolerant of this is that my number one sports and gaming pursuit - GOLF - has none of this controversy. Whether I’m playing or watching, I don’t have to deal with bad calls at all. In golf, all you have to do is take fewer strokes than your competition, and you win. That’s it…just hit the ball fewer times…nothing else can get in your way of victory.

My Monday morning quarterbacking the day after the Masters only relates to the competition on the golf course. It’s about who executed the shots and who didn’t. It’s about who crumbled under pressure and who didn’t. I never have to waste my breath on bad calls, or poor coaching decisions, or conspiracy theories. I just talk about the game and the ability of the participants to excel (or not) in the purest form of competition known to man. Mano-a-mano, no coach, no officials. Can you take fewer strokes than your competition? Can you do what it takes to win? Can you get the job done?

Now granted, I have done my share of dealing with externalities in the world of sports and gaming. I am a big fan of Notre Dame football and dealing with off-the-field issues comes with the territory not only because it’s football, but also because Notre Dame is such a polarizing force in college football. With so many supporters and detractors, you can’t avoid some faction blowing some issue way out of proportion. A bad call in their favor becomes a conspiracy by the NCAA to drum up better ratings for college football. The coach has a decent season and he becomes the savior of the program and college football in general. It goes both ways and I have started to relish it despite my large, emotional investment in the outcomes of games.

I relish it because at least we’re talking about sports, and that can never be bad. But for me, a conversation about college football will never be as good as a conversation about golf. Golf discussions are much more constructive, intelligent, and rewarding because we don’t have to waste time sorting through all of those off-the-field issues. We talk about the game - the game that we love.

George Dunne #8, par 4
392-349-316-286
Oak Forest, IL
Architect(s): Killian and Nugent

I was standing behind the green looking back at this interesting little dogleg right around the lake and could not help but snap a picture on this beautiful fall day. Click on it and you can see the 150 marker back across the water. It is probably the easiest par 4 on the front nine at George Dunne, but don’t breathe too easily because there is plenty of treachery. Yardage book? We don’t have no yardage books here dude. Just eyeball the 150 marker with respect to the water to get a feel how far to hit your tee shot. I leave the driver in the bag and hit a fairway wood. But don’t leave too much in the bag because the shorter the approach, the less daunting the carry over the water. Just hope and pray that the pin is not tucked right because it turns the green into a postage stamp. And believe me, you do not want to be in the bunker hitting back towards the water.

Let me toss a number at you - how ’bout 262? That, according to a CNN/Money poll, is the “count of public golf courses within 30 miles” of Chicago. Big deal you say, Chicago is a big city, that’s probably not that many golf courses.

Hold on there dude, let me throw a few more numbers at you. How about 113 and 120. Those are the number of “golf courses within 30 miles” of New York and Los Angeles respectively. WOW. Let me pinch myself and say that again, WOW. Now you’re floored I’m sure.

In short, if you were to crack out the calculator and add the number of golf courses around New York to the number of golf courses around Los Angeles, you would still not have as many golf courses as Chicago does. Go ahead, follow the link above and put the cities in yourself. Chicago 262, Los Angeles + New York, 233.

But you know what, that’s not even the half of it. That only scratches the surface of how abundant golf in Chicago is. Because with that abundance comes a quality/value combination that will absolutely rock your world. That, my friend, is what we are going to explore.

Because of how much golf there is, we are going to have to concentrate on a subset of golf in the area. For starters, we are going to dig into the top 40 or 50 daily fee courses. When I say daily fee, that means anyone can play them. We will not spend any significant time on private clubs. And the beauty of Chicagoland golf is that just because they are the top courses in the area, doesn’t mean they’re expensive. There will be plenty of sub $40 options that will be comparable to any golf experience you have had in your life.

Unfortunately, Chicago does have a slight weather issue. I sit here on February 5th knowing that I have at least 45 days before I can even think about getting a round in. And even then, the first few months can throw a lot of rough weather at you. That does, however, give us time to concentrate on certain administrative items. So until the weather clears up, we are going to talk about the designers, the golf shops, the equipment, web resources, etc…

Let’s get rolling, come back soon.

Welcome to the Chicago Golfcast. We want to be your number one destination for information on golf in Chicagoland. We will help you figure out which daily fee course to play next, keep you updated on Chicago area golf news, and entertain you with interesting thoughts and analysis.

We want you to think about the game differently than you do now. It is so much more than just a “fun thing you do with some friends occasionally.” We want you to have a passion for the game. We want your weekend plans during the season to revolve around the game of golf. We want it to dominate your thoughts so much that even when you’re sitting in an important meeting at work you find it difficult to focus on the task at hand. We want it to be the activity around which your entertainment plans are based rather than something you squeeze in if you have time.

To further your passion, we are going to talk about ours in hopes that it will rub off. Patrick and I, plus a few of our friends will consistently bring you fun and interesting content related to Chicagoland golf. We’re going to do it in a variety of formats. Primarily, we will host a regular podcast on the subject. This could take place on-site, after a round of golf locally. Or maybe we will just meet at a local bar or golf shop and spend 30 to 45 minutes sorting through important issues related to our passion. Additionally, you will get written reviews of courses we play on this site and we will give you web-based tools to help you sort through the myriad of golf options you have in this great city.

This is a living and breathing project for us and it will evolve as the year progresses…come back soon for more.