Golf: May 2008 Archives

This week's edition of The Hole Picture swings over to Tamarack Golf Club in Naperville, specifically the 196-yard, par-3 17th. I pulled my tee shot into the water during a recent round there, in part because the wind was gusting pretty hard from right to left. The water on the right is tricky, too.

For me, part of what makes the 17th so intriguing are the holes that come before and after it. The 16th is easily the most demanding hole on the course. It's a 456-yard dogleg left with a peninsula fairway. If you've had a hard time with that one, that frustration can linger on 17. No. 18 is no picnic, either, with out of bounds on the left and water on the right on that 388-yard par 4. Take a deep breath before taking on this challenging trio.

Cory Ferrell passed a major test early on in his relationship with Jennifer Broggi, the woman he ended up marrying.

Jennifer, a Naperville native, met Cory, a Maryland native, in Ohio during a golf professional training program in Columbus, Ohio, in October 1999. The couple, both of whom are gof pros (Cory at Seven Bridges, Jennifer at Glendale Lakes), have been together ever since, through thick, thin and Midwest chill.

This week's edition of The Hole Picture focuses on Seven Bridges Golf Club in Woodridge, specifically the hole that closes out the front nine. This monster of a par 5, at 579 yards, can give you momentum going into the challenging back nine or sweep it away. Here's how head pro Cory Ferrell suggests you attack it:

"Depending on your tee shot, you can be rewarded going into the back nine; (No. 9) offers a chance to go for the green in two. Depending on the Chicago winds would be the next thing. If it's into you, it's going to be more of a challenge to carry the little creek that goes in front.

"I think that hole's a good challenge where you rewarded for two good shots if you can get it on the green. it's probably not the most challenging hole, but it goes back to course management and making decisions. You've got to really think yourself around the course."

What has your experience been like at Seven Bridges?

Golf Master Teaching Professional Carl Rabito, who sets up shop at Bolingbrook Golf Club for a total of several months during the summer, is set in his ways when it comes to instruction. That is to say, he lives by the laws of physics. (Read more about Rabito in Thursday's Naperville Sun, or here).

Just how did he become so resolved?

This week's edition of The Hole Picture zeroes in on No. 9 on the Lakeside Course at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton. What's really interesting about this hole is that it features a fairway bunker in the shape of Dick Tracy's head, which you can see pretty well in this image.

Let me shed some light on that. The first thing you need to know is that Cantigny is built on the estate of Robert R. McCormick, the first publisher of the Chicago Tribune. And the Tribune employed both Dick Tracy creator Chester Gould as well as one of its longtime illustrators, Naperville resident Dick Locher, hence the nod to the comic strip detective.

Now I'll throw this out there: If you could pick someone's visage to be replicated in a bunker, who would it be? Maybe Naperville Mayor George Pradel? Or how about one in the shape of the Millenium Carillon?

For quite a while, Country Lakes Golf Course had been fighting a losing battle to try and keep the course maintained. From a lack of ball washers to poorly maintained grounds, to debris and refuse strewn all over the course, it's safe to say it had hit rock bottom in recent years.

But the new management seems dedicated to changing all that. It has a long way to go, but at least it can no longer be described as unkempt, and the fairways and greens are gaining consistency. After speaking with some of the staff members, they seemed genuine in saying all the right things, and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that the worst is behind them.

The clubhouse still needs some work. When I was there this week, the lights were off everywhere but the pro shop and bathrooms. Yet from what I understand, that project is up to the course managers over at Royce Realty, and not in the hands of the golf staff.

What's most important to you when choosing a golf course? Price? Quality of the grounds? Challenging layout? A place to relax after your round?

Naperville golfers had best beware when they head out to some area courses, as some changes can be a bit tricky. Others are simply helpful. For other modifications courses have been making, read this week's Fore Sight, in the May 8 edition of The Sun or here.

River Bend
"We've redone the bunker on No. 1 and put a bunch of boulders around it into the water area just to solve our erosion problem there," said Mike Reilly, River Bend head pro.
"We're still planning a new tee area on No. 4. That's in the very basic stages. We've got the dirt down, but that's about it. We're probably looking at next spring on that. We'll continue to keep planting trees of course; trees are big with us."

Cantigny Golf Club
On Woodside No. 9 (a 421-yard par 4), there's a new bunker on the left side, about halfway to the green.
"This bunker kind of gave definition to where you should target your shot," Cantigny head pro Patrick Lynch said. "Generally speaking from the diff tees it's easy to carry. For some people it will come into play if they're a little bit shorter, but for the most part the idea was to give it a visual intimidation from the tee and better define the look of the hole."

On Hillside No. 5 (a 151-yard par 3), the bunker that protects the left side of the green is being extended.
"There's water that comes into play just off the green, so the safe shot is to hit long, toward the back of the green," Lynch said. "Now that bunker's going to come a little bit more into play."

On Hillside No. 3 (a 374-yard par 4), a new cluster of bunkers on the left side of the fairway can change one's strategy off the tee.
"Whereas before you could hit to the left sideand have a clean shot into the green, now that bunker definitely comes into play, especially for a longer hitter," Lynch said. "Now that's not a bailout necessarily. Now you either have to play it down the right-hand side or lay up a little bit short of that bunker."

Bolingbrook Golf Club
Because Bolingbrook is just a half-dozen years old, it's not due for an overhaul just yet. But the green on No. 12 (a 562-yard par 5) did need some refurbishing.
"The improvement we made on 12 was in response to a lot of feedback," head pro Mike Williams said. "it was poorly designed from the beginning. it was a very severe green, so we kind of softened some of the harshness to it."

This week's edition of The Hole Picture takes a peek at No. 7 -- a par 5 that's 530 yards from the tips -- at Naperbrook Golf Course in Plainfield.

Here's how Naperbrook head pro Tim Dunn suggests you attack it :

"A risk reward hole where birdie or bogey come into play," Dunn said. "Usually downwind and plays downhill. A good drive is a must to get home in two. Fairway bunker on the left and high rough and rolling hills on the right will leave you no option but to lay up. The green is surrounded by water hazards, which forces a great second shot if you are trying to get there in two. A back left pin is very tough to get at. The smart play is to lay up and leave yourself a flip wedge into the green for your third shot and hope you can one-putt for your birdie."

Although technology has advanced to the point where golf clubs can launch the ball much farther than the equpment currently on the market will allow, the sport's two governing bodies -- the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club -- set limits on clubs' potency.

St. Andrews Golf Club head pro Dave Erickson, for one, is all for establishing such guidelines.

"Some of the skill has been taken away with the big-headed driver and the distance of the golf ball," he said. "A little of the skill is gone to where people can swing very, very hard at the ball, out of control, and they can still find the ball because of these big heads, where maybe with a smaller head you needed to keep your balance a little better.

Rendering courses obsolete would be another byproduct of unleashing drives of, say, 400 yards on a regular basis.

"There are so many golf courses that might be 7,000 yards and they might be beautiful golf courses; if all of a sudden you just let loose and let a golf ball go as far as you can make it go, you're really going to make golf courses obsolete," Erickson said. "You're going to make golf more expensive because now you've got to take care of 8,000 yards instead of 7,000. It's that much more fertilizer, that much more cutting of the grass, much more time to take care of it.

"And all these other courses, what are you going to do, just walk away from them because they're so short? I think there has to be a limit on this stuff and keep part of the game to where it's the skill of the player and not the clubs."

This week's edition of The Hole Picture breaks down No. 10 on Course No. 1 at St. Andrews Golf Club in West Chicago. The 503-yard par 5 might not look like much standing on the tee or even right after your drive, as it's more than reachable for quite a few players. But there's a new twist that should ratchet up the difficulty.

"We had these humps that were already in the fairway, but we used to mow them close, like fairway length," said Dave Erickson, head golf professional at St. Andrews. "So your ball would just roll up the hump and the ball would never stay on the hump. They're near the green, these five humps, in the area from 20 to 60 yards short of it.

"So what we did, we let these humps grow wild. So it really made you think about it if you don't think you can fly over these humps. Because once you get in them and the grass is a foot long ... you don't want to take that chance next time. Now it's a par 5 that in some instances you're better laying back 80 yards than taking a chance in ending up on one of these humps. It's the most St. Andrews-looking hole we have. It basically made you think a little bit more."

I'll say. I'd much rather be taking a wedge from the fairway than trying to hack out of grass that's a foot long. Has anyone played this hole and noticed a big difference in how to approach it? What other holes at St. Andrews can be tricky?