Len Ziehm’s Golf Travels

Features on the beautiful and unique golf courses throughout the United States.

Medinah will restore – not renovate – this Bendelow course

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm For reasons that have long escaped me, Tom Bendelow is still not in the World Golf Hall of Fame. He was the course architect that, perhaps more than any other, got golf started in the United States. That’s especially evident in the Chicago area. Bendelow’s name has been on about 800 courses that were built from, roughly, 1895 to 1930. Most that have survived have been radically altered, among them Medinah’s famous No. 3 course that has hosted three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and the 2012 Ryder Cup matches. [caption id="attachment_1018" align="alignright" width="300"]Superintendent Curtis Tyrrell is tackling another big project at Medinah. Superintendent Curtis Tyrrell is tackling another big project at Medinah.[/caption] Bendelow was the original designer of all three courses on the Medinah property in the 1920s. The No. 1 layout was renovated last year by Michigan architect Tom Doak. More extensive work has been done on No. 3 over the years to prepare that layout for its big tournaments, and Rees Jones was the latest architect to do the work there. (more…)

Public golfers can experience a Donald Ross creation at Ravisloe

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm I guess you can learn something every day. I thought I knew a bit about Donald Ross, the famed golf designer, but I didn’t realize he had designed only one public course in Illinois. That course is Ravisloe in Homewood, which went public when Claude Gendreau purchased the club in 2009. Cheryl Justak, publisher of Golf Now! Chicago, and I had played Ravisloe during its 107 years as a private club (my lone round there was about 20 years ago). We were duly impressed by our long-planned return visit this week. The course was in great shape, the rough was so thick it was frequently difficult to find your ball and the greens and bunkers were both challenging and fun. The clubhouse was nice, too. All in all, a good experience. (more…)

Here and there: French Lick dominates in hosting senior majors

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm Dave Harner, director of golf at the French Lick Resort in southern Indiana, looked for a big event to spotlight the stunning Pete Dye Course when it opened for play in 2009. He ended up establishing the premier event for the LPGA’s Legends Tour – the only 54-hole event on the circuit for women professionals 45 and over. The first Legends Championship was played in 2013 on the Dye-designed layout built on one of the highest points in the Hoosier state. That event quickly became something special, as the Legends Hall of Fame opened the same week as the tournament in the historically-rich West Baden Springs Hotel nearby. And that wasn’t all. (more…)

Here and there: PGA happy with Harbor Shores’ changes

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm Golf courses generally get toughened up before they are used for a major professional tournament. That wasn’t the case at Harbor Shores, the Jack Nicklaus design in Benton Harbor, Mich., however. Harbor Shores has already hosted the Senior PGA Championship twice and has already been awarded that plum for 2016 and 2018. It’ll play differently for the future events. Bob McFeeter, managing director for the course, unveiled changes to six greens (Nos. 1. 2 and 6 on the front nine and Nos. 12, 14 and 16 on the back). Two fairways, at the sixth and 14th holes, also underwent some tweaking and beach sand at the No. 7 hole was replaced with regular bunker sand. (more…)

It Ziehms to Me: Florida Historic Golf Trail is something special

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm Golf trails are nothing new. Courses and clubs have formed marketing partnerships for years with varying degrees of impact. In the United States alone there are at least 50 trails. Texas has five separate of them. Colorado Golf Trails is one marketing entity, but it promotes 10 different trails within that state, and some of those trails have as many of 12 courses. Go to http://www.golftrips.com/golftrails/ to check out the various trails out there. [caption id="attachment_891" align="alignright" width="300"]Golfers of all abilities have enjoyed Riviera for 62 years. Golfers of all abilities have enjoyed Riviera for 62 years.[/caption] Most famous is probably the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which unites 11 Alabama golf facilities. It’s been a rousing commercial success, but some of the “trails’’ amount to nothing more than websites. I’ve played all the courses on Indiana’s Pete Dye Golf Trail and some courses on a few of the others, including the Robert Trent Jones. This winter, though, I’ve been introduced to one that is different – and in some ways better – than all the others. (more…)

It Ziehms to Me: Senior Women’s Open is finally a reality

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm The U.S. Golf Assn. has finally committed to holding a national championship for senior women players. Though long overdue, that’s good news. On the other hand, the first such tournament won’t be held until 2018 and there will be differences between the first U.S. Senior Women’s Open and the only other major event for senior women, which is put on by the LPGA Legends Tour. [caption id="attachment_878" align="alignright" width="300"]French Lick’s Pete Dye Course hosts the only major championship for senior women now, but that will change in 2018. French Lick’s Pete Dye Course hosts the only major championship for senior women now, but that will change in 2018.[/caption] The Legends Championship has been played the last two years at the Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind., which is also the site of the Legends Hall of Fame. The Legends event is over 54 holes; the first U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be over 72 holes. Players can ride in the Legends event, won the first two years by Lorie Kane and Laurie Rinker. As per USGA tradition in open championships, the Senior Women’s Open will be walking-only. And, of course, the Legends is for former LPGA players while both amateurs and professionals can compete in the Senior Women’s Open. (more…)

LPGA’s 66th season is off to a good start at Golden Ocala

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm OCALA, FL. – The first event of the LPGA’s 66th season isn’t being held very far from the site of the circuit’s very first tournament, in 1950. That one was at Palma Cella Country Club in Tampa. It’s not far from the organization’s headquarters, either. The 2015 opener is being played at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club, a beautiful facility nestled in the horse country of northwestern Florida. It’s about 100 miles from Palma Cella and it’s not much further to LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach. [caption id="attachment_865" align="alignnone" width="584"]Golden Ocala offered everything the LPGA needed for its season opener. Golden Ocala offered everything the LPGA needed for its season opener.[/caption] This season opener, though, is an indication of how far the LPGA has come, and the inaugural Coates Championship could trigger the biggest year yet for the premier women’s circuit. This LPGA opener represents a departure from recent years, when the circuit usually played its first tournament outside of the U.S. (Four of this year’s first five events, though, will still be beyond U.S. borders – in the Bahamas, Australia, Thailand and Singapore). The Coates Championship at Golden Ocala doesn’t have the traditional Thursday-Sunday run. This one started on Wednesday and will conclude on Saturday to avoid a conflict with the Super Bowl. (more…)

Bay Hill is a reflection of Arnold Palmer’s style

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm ORLANDO, FL. -Roy Schindele, director of sales and marketing for Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge, stresses one thing before taking you on a tour of the facilities. "This is not a resort. It's a country club," said Schindele, and that's an important distinction to make from the outset if you’re lucky enough to visit this place. There's a different, very nice feeling about Bay Hill - and why wouldn't there be? After all, it's been at least a winter home for perhaps the most charismatic athlete of all time for nearly 50 years. Bay Hill umbrellaBased on our visit, Bay Hill has become more than just a winter retreat for Palmer, who spends considerable time in the summer months in Latrobe, Pa., the town where he grew up. He's 85 now, and health issues have basically relegated him to hitting practice balls on the Bay Hill range these days. I'm told he rarely gets on the course. Yet, Palmer has an apartment behind the tennis courts and is a frequent visitor to all the club's facilities. Guests see him playing cards, dining with a group of friends or riding around in his golf cart. While he remains one of the most accommodating of all public figures, Palmer doesn't spend much of his time posing for pictures or signing autographs for guests. Bay Hill is just where he enjoys life. (more…)

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Mystic Hills was a fun ending to Pete Dye Trail tour

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm CULVER, Ind. – Mission accomplished. It took four years, but my attempt to play all seven courses on Indiana’s Pete Dye Golf Trail ended with a bang on a cold but sunny November afternoon – a most pleasant way to finish a most pleasant golf odyssey. While Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is the most famous of the few such golf ventures, the Dye Trail is special, too. There may be fewer courses, but those included offer plenty of variety and an historical touch as well. [caption id="attachment_854" align="alignright" width="192"]Mystic Hills flags Mystic Hills golfers had a high-flying time at the Big Cup Chili Open.[/caption] Dye – arguably the premier golf course architect of this generation — picked the seven for the Trail from the 25 courses he designed in his home state. They included his first-ever 18-holer, now known as Maple Creek, and – until just a month ago – his last course, the Pete Dye Course at French Lick. Maple Creek was known as Heather Hills when it opened in 1961. Design-wise it was a joint effort between Dye and wife Alice. Dye’s latest creation is at Keswick Hall, near Charlottesville, Va. I’m scheduled to play there in two weeks. (more…)

Finding America’s first golf course wasn’t easy

Len Ziehm on GolfBy Len Ziehm WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – Setting foot on the grounds of America’s first golf course took awhile – four years to be exact. Finally, though, it happened. That’s the good news. The unfortunate part is that Oakhurst Links, saved by a purchase by Jim Justice, owner of the Greenbrier Resort, was closed for the season a week into November. Playing this unique layout was not an option. [caption id="attachment_849" align="alignright" width="300"]Oakhurst’s welcome sign is somewhat hidden in the woods and not really close to the road leading to the clubhouse. Oakhurst’s welcome sign is somewhat hidden in the woods and not really close to the road leading to the clubhouse.[/caption] Some history: Oakhurst Links was a golf course from 1884 until at least 1912. Then Russell Montague, owner of the property, converted it into a horse farm. Just a few of Montague’s neighbors played the course way back when, and a book — “Oakhurst: The Birth of America’s First Golf Course’’ by Paula DiPerna and Vikki Keller (Walker & Co., 2002) – detailed the early history of the place. (more…)