Cog Hill Outdoor Demo Day Saturday April 26th. 9- 2 PM
BY: RORY SPEARS
RETURNING TO MT. PROSPECT
NOTE* This is Part 2 of three segments of
going back to one’s roots in the game of golf.
For me, it started at the Rob Roy Golf Club
in Prospect Heights. Rob Roy will be Part
3 that is coming soon.
After my first few rounds at Rob Roy I went
with friends to play Mt. Prospect. Soon after
it was a trip to Chevy Chase in Wheeling. A
segment that ran last fall.
As part of a grow the game segment, I have
heard many a golfer talk about how fun it
was to play golf at some course or another
as a child. Remembering the course they
grew up on that their mom or dad took them
to.
Maybe this is the year you go back and enjoy
your roots, bring dad or mom along. Maybe
it’s time to take your kids or grandchildren
out to where you learned the game. Try it
you’ll like it. It might not be a high school
reunion, but golf reunions are fun as well.
Not long ago I returned for a round of 18
holes at Mt. Prospect. The course will be
undergoing a major renovation starting in
June, headed up by architect David Esler.
If you would like to play Mt. Prospect this
summer, you need to do so by U.S. Open
weekend or you will need to wait a full
year.
Welcome to the Mt. Prospect Golf Club
It was only my third or fourth round of
real golf back in the day. After getting
a little better at the Rob Roy short nine,
a group of my friends and I wanted to
play the big 18 hole course. After the
trip up to the clubhouse, we found out
and outing had the course full. At the
suggestion of our pro Bob McDonald,
we headed over to Mt. Prospect, and
to this day I’m glad we did.
It started a long term respect, for the
classic style course than ran between
some nice homes in Mt. Prospect. On
two occasions it almost became where
my first hole-in-one was made. But
that finally happened in 2005 down in
Pinehurst.
PAR 3 7TH, ONE OF THE GREAT TWO-TIER GREENS
Former Mt. Prospect head professional Emil
Esposito helped one of my friends out who
was a dollar short on our first visit there. At
that point Mt. Prospect became a second
home when I wasn’t at Rob Roy.
Esposito found a sign on the tree when he
was first the pro at Mt. Prospect, no kids
on the putting green before noon. Esposito
wasted no time taking that sign down, he
knew he wanted the kids on his side and
for doing things like that he got them.
THE PAR 3, 12TH AT MT. PROSPECT
Heading back to play the courses that
helped you get hooked on the game in
the first place, is a walk down memory
lane. With the renovation coming this
summer, it was nice to get a final walk
around the course. I’m anxious to see
how the course will turn out.
The maintenance facility will be moved
and redone, the practice facilities will
get improved. That can not happen fast
enough for current pro Brett Barcel and
his staff.
Barcel and his group of assistant pro’s
run one of the best junior programs in
the entire Chicagoland area. In fact the
course is home to the golf teams of the
local Prospect High School. Prospect’s
girls team won the Illinois state golf
championship last fall.
Many of the idea’s we hear about today
to grow the game, are things that have
been happening at the Mt. Prospect golf
club for a while now.
If Mt. Prospect is part of your past or
if you just enjoy the course, get out
and play it before it closes down in
June.
My visit back in time for me was great,
but I’m anxious to see what will the
next chapter of Mt. Prospect be like.
TO HEAR OUT INTERVIEW WITH
BRETT BARCEL CLICK HERE:
For more information on the Mt. Prospect
Golf Club visit, Mppd.org. or you can
call (847)-632-9500.
