Monday, April 2, 2012
Best par-3s, best par-5s. Most unique holes. Best pro shops. Best snack bar. Best on-course restaurant. Best driving range. Best value. Vote and help pick the best courses in every way.
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Monday, April 2, 2012
Hey golf fans, if you're not playing golf, you're talking golf. Share your expertise here with duffers and pros alike in our "Best of the Southland" golf polls. Every week, you'll find a new poll. Chime in with a review and a vote. Just click on the link and you'll be taken to the poll. Sunday, April 30: The Best Course for Beginners Who won? Check out the results! Sunday, May 6: The Best Greens Who won? Check out the results! Sunday, May 20: The Most Intimidating Drives Who won? Check out the results! Sunday, May 27: The Best Grounds Crew Who won? Check out the results! Sunday, June 10: The Most Unique Hole Design Who won? Check out the results! Sunday, July 8: Best Value Voting ends July 20!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Director of Golf/PGA professional Bob Schulz tells you how to play the treacherous par-5, fifth hole in New Lenox.
The good news is that it’s a par-5. The bad news is that you can get in trouble fast if you’re not careful. The par-5, fifth hole at The Sanctuary is listed at 568 yards from the black tees. Offering a dogleg left, tee shots that stay too far left will make the second shot difficult. As you approach the hole, the landing space available in the fairway is reduced and becomes chute-like. Rated as the No. 1 handicap hole on player scorecards, your work isn’t finished on the green, either, as pin placement plays a huge factor. “You definitely don’t want to have to putt downhill,” Sanctuary pro Bob Schulz said.
41.522634
-87.943153
The Sanctuary Golf Course
485 N Marley Rd, New Lenox, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-how-to-play-the-sanctuarys-scary-no-5
1709543
/locations/6880027
Lessons in the third hole on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club.
A blind tee shot downhill, followed by an uphill shot to a green surrounded by potential traps. No wonder the third hole on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club is rated as the No. 1 handicap hole on player scorecards. The par-4 hole was the most difficult in the U.S. Open in 2003, according to Club President Jeff Goldman. Out on the links, club member Mike Lewis shared a bit of local knowledge and did Patch the honor of explaining an ideal way to attack the daunting hole. Then, he did a good job himself of completing the task, recovering from a minor fairway bobble to salvage a bogey-5.
41.520794
-87.682569
Olympia Fields Country Club
2800 Country Club Dr, Olympia Fields, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-how-to-play-olympia-fields-toughest-hole
1730932
/locations/6887503
Course pro Gregg Tengerstrom shows how to play the eighth hole on the South Course at Silver Lake Country Club.
A sloping fairway and beautiful setting are the highlights of Silver Lake Country Club's signature hole, the eighth hole on the South Course. A marshland creates a natural water hazard, and bunkers on the back of the green require the golfer to be accurate off the fairway with their approach shots. Silver Lakes pro Gregg Tengerstrom demonstrates how to play the hole from the white tee box. The hole measures 370 yards from there. But there are four tee boxes to pick from. The others: Blue 417, Gold 300 and Red 300. Course captain Bert Coghill says the South Course is his favorite, but all 45 holes at Silver Lake Country Club provide a unique challenge. "It is a tricky and scenic course," he said. "It makes you think."
41.62022
-87.819259
Silver Lake Country Club
14700 S 82nd Ave, Orland Park, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-how-to-play-silver-lakes-toughest-hole
283216
/locations/6886931
Learn how to play one of George Dunne's most difficult holes. Watch out for the water.
George W. Dunne National Golf Course boasts an array of challenging holes, so it's difficult to pick one hole as the most difficult. But the 17th hole was as good as any to demonstrate the challenges George Dunne provides. Mike White, a friend of course officials, explains the best way to play the 17th hole. The hole is a par-3 and is guarded in front by a large pond that serves as a hazard for holes 17 and 18. With sand traps past the green and water in front of it, the tee shot is difficult and must be precise. White was able to hit his target.
41.596161
-87.755766
George W. Dunne National Golf Course Forest Preserve
16310 Central Ave, Oak Forest, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-how-to-play-the-17th-hole-at-george-dunne-national
1353620
/locations/6879955
A sloping island green looks deceptively close on this challenging par-3 hole.
When standing on the back of an elevated tee box on the 176-yard, par-3 seventh hole at Palos Country Club, the flagstick still looks to be close, the hole almost inviting. It's anything but close, and the hole is guarded on the right side by a large pond. The tee shot requires golfers to play a left-to-right ball. Because if you stray left you'll end up in a large bunker next to the green that makes it a very challenging hole, indeed. The first thing you will notice once you get to the green is its pronounced sloping terrain. Only two golfers ever have aced the seventh hole, according to pro shop manager Kalynn Banks, and the club dates to the early 1900s.
41.652253
-87.807632
Human Service Connections
7652 W Golf Dr, Palos Heights, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-taking-it-to-the-banks-on-seventh-hole-at-palos-country-club
274720
/locations/6880078
Golf pro Rich Santangelo shows off the signature 16th hole at the Odyssey Golf Course, a par-five hole with an island green believed to be one of the first of its kind in the United States.
The signature hole at the Odyssey Golf Course isn’t your typical island green, and it’s fitting that for the first three years, the 16th hole green wasn’t surrounded by water. But after a few years in business, course consultant and Odyssey golf pro Ed Staffan decided to create a signature hole for the course. “Twenty years ago, I don’t know if there was a par-five in the country with an island green,” Staffan said. “It turned out great because it’s short enough where a big, strong golfer on a windy day can reach it in two, but he’s got to make that decision if he wants to go for it or not. We might have been the first golf course with an island-green par-five (hole).” Odyssey golf pro Rich Santangelo played the part of gracious host …
41.54264
-87.771129
Odyssey Country Club
19110 Ridgeland Ave, Tinley Park, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-526-yards-to-island-green-at-odyssey-country-club
320295
/locations/6886970
The par-4 seventh hole at the Chicago Heights Park District West Course facility is a dogleg left that calls for accuracy off the tee and touch around the green.
Chicago Heights resident John Mitchell is like the mailman. He keeps his appointed rounds. He plays the Chicago Heights Park District West Golf Course nearly every day after work. And he has an opinion on how to go about that task. He feels the 422-yard, par-4 seventh hole is the most challenging hole on the nine-hole layout. “It is the No. 1 handicap hole on the course,” Mitchell said. The trick is to drive the ball off the tee down the right side of the fairway and avoid the bunkers, which come into play on both sides of the hole. “It is important to play toward the right-hand side at the top of the hill if you want to be successful on this hole,” Mitchell said. In a demonstration, he did just that, knocking his drive right where he …
41.51051
-87.65661
Chicago Heights Park District Golf Course - West
W 11th Pl & Scott Ave, Chicago Heights, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-seven-is-no-slice-of-heaven-on-west-course-in-the-heights
1784891
/locations/6887550
Saturday, March 31, 2012
How do you play the 475-yard, par-4 16th hole at Glenwoodie Golf Course? Ryan Grelecki explains.
Palos Hills resident Ryan Grelecki has had lots of practice on the signature 16th hole at Glenwoodie Golf Course. The 475-yard, par-4 hole has been a challenge for many over the years. After the course underwent renovation in 2011, the hole became even more difficult after the removal of three willow trees that used to save a lot of balls from going out of bounds. “We didn’t want to change the length of this signature hole,” Glenwoodie golf pro Phil Robbins said. The ideal tee shot on 16 is one that lands in the right-center of the fairway. “That gives you a straight shot to the green,” Grelecki said. “If you go too far left, you are going to be blocked by trees. And if you go too far right, you will go out of bounds.” Grelecki scored an …
Stony Creek Greens Superintendent Tim Scott shares some insider tips on the course's 14th hole, which can play several ways depending on the tee box you choose.
Stony Creek is one of the shorter tracks in Southland golf, but its intricate layout still provides a challenge for all golfers. The 14th hole is a perfect example of a hole that can prove difficult if golfers don't find the fairway. The 370-yard, par-4 hole features a slight dogleg right, making it tough for people with a natural draw. Tee shots from the back tees must cross over a creek and stay in between a pair of bunkers on each side of the fairway. "The big hitters can hit a 3-wood off the tee, leave it short of the bunker and have a mid-iron into the green," said Tim Scott, Greens Superintendent at Stony Creek. On the approach shot, golfers have a large green as a target, but beware of three-putting.
41.705113
-87.766272
Stony Creek Golf Course
5850 W 103rd St, Oak Lawn, IL
/articles/golf-video-demo-mastering-the-14th-hole-at-stony-creek
1754660
/locations/6879962
Michael A Targosz
9:27 am on Thursday, June 23, 2011
Right in the Lumberyard more ›