BY: RORY SPEARS, ASSISTANT EDITOR.

The Links and Tee’s Golf Dome is open, but in the meantime the outdoor range and foot golf are still open for play. Lake Street in Addison. Addisonparks.org and or call (630)-233-7275.

             AT 7 AM SAT. NOV. 1, THE WHITE PINES GOLF DOME TEE’S OFF THE DOME season in Bensenville. Long time owner Mike Munro will be there to greet the early bird golfers, but he isn’t the owner anymore.

Munro (above photo right standing) recently sold the dome to the Northbrook based Kempersports management. Munro will still be there, at least for the time being as the transition settles in.

Kempersports plans to make improvements as time goes on, some of those details to come soon. Including a Yeti-Club Rewards Card, a loyalty based rewards card for frequent users of the dome. $20 until December 1, juniors under 18 Free. The domes regular teachers like Chuck Lynch, Dan Kochevar and others will return.

Golfers on Golf partner Mike Munro joins us this weekend for a chat about the dome sale and more, brokered through the Evanston based Chris Charnas at Links Capital Advisors.

New range balls and new mats across the board, details information at (630)-422-1060.

   MCQ’s, Jim McWethy’s indoor operation located on Bolingbrook Drive in Bolingbrook, opens for golf tomorrow Nov.1 at 8 AM. Final preparations were going forward today, to have the dome golf ready for the weekend. While you are there, don’t forget to enjoy the BBQ menu and or play the ponies at the Breeders Cup running this weekend at Santa Anita.

MCQsdome.com or Mistwoodgc.com for details, rates, hours and more.

Links and Tee’s Golf Dome back up and running. Stay Clicked in for details.

The Gog Blog Returns this weekend..

BY: ASSISTANT EDITOR, RORY SPEARS

MISTWOODGC.COM

The renovation of the Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville has entered it’s final phase. That would be the construction of the clubhouse. The work in phase three started in August and continues to make progress.

The project started over two years ago when owner Jim McWethy decided it was time to make Mistwood into what it was supposed to be from day one.

First up was the rehiring of architect Ray Hearn who was the original architect of Mistwood. Hearn was given the chance or a second chance to do what he wanted to do the first time around. As McWethy says, “I wanted to give to Ray a chance to bring a little bit of Scotland and Ireland to the western suburbs.” That part of the plan has been completed and is a success.

JIM MCWETHY STANDS ON MISTWOOD’S SWILCAN BRIDGE

The golf course is now complete with some 20 Sodwall bunkers and fescue, that give Mistwood the feel of a British Open. Mistwood now has it’s own version of “Amen Corner”.  The locals call it “Kelpies Corner.”

What is Kelpie you ask. You need to visit Mistwood to find out, you will return but all of the golf balls in your bag on the first tee might not.

There is a touch of island green to be found at Mistwood as well, that would be on the redone third hole. Add a few new tee boxes and mistwood now plays a bit longer, as in over 7,000 yards for those big hitters who are looking for that type of challenge.

The golf course is the home of the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open, and it’s likely to get more tournaments in the years ahead. But first the other two phases of Mistwood had to get completed.

THE MISTWOOD PERFORMANCE CENTER

Phase two is the Mistwood Performance Center that is a full indoor and outdoor facility.

First up, is the inside of the center that is part performance, part repair and part food and beverage. The bar is one of the best 19th holes you will find at any golf course public or private. It too will fit right in with those found in Scotland or Ireland.

The outside is one of the biggest putting greens you can find in the area. The full size natural grass or matted range, is complete with target greens and bunkers. The new short game area adds another factor to the Performance Center. The recent results at the Illinois State High School Golf Championships, show that both boys and girls and teams that use Mistwood and their professionals had a very successful championship.

THE CLUBHOUSE WORK IS WELL UNDERWAY

Phase three is now underway as of August when the wrecking of the old clubhouse started. Now the old structure  has been completely removed and the new walls have started going up.

“It’s going to be spectacular,” said McWethy. “Almost nothing will be as innovative, creative and attractive as this will be.”

The design is created by the Chicago based Daniel Wohlfeil, and the clubhouse is expected to open in June well ahead of the IWO that will be played in July.

The new clubhouse is actually not one building, but two. The outlook will be one that has the same stone look as the Performance Center, that was also designed by Wohlfeil. The overall look should resemble a Scottish village.

The outside of the clubhouse.

The one building will be the banquet facility, that will be able to hold from 250-300 people for various types of functions.

“We do want people who are not golfers to still have a place they can come for a great meal,” said McWethy.

The other building will have two stories, with the lower floor housing the pro shop and the locker rooms. While the upper floor will have staff offices complete with a view of the golf course. The underground area will serve as an area for storage including and area for golf carts.

The purposed inside look of the new clubhouse.

McWethy makes no secret of wanting more tournaments than just the Illinois Women’s Open.

“We want more,” said McWethy. “We are interested in more national amateur and professional events for both men and women.”

McWethy admits that the economy is not yet where it should be, but he believes that if you offer a good first class product the golfers and business will come.

“There is still enough business out there and plenty of people playing golf,” said McWethy.

One thing that the club has noticed since the golf course reopened, is that golfers are coming from further away to play the golf course. Another positive is that junior program is growing as well.

THE WALLS ARE GOING UP AT THE MISTWOOD CLUBHOUSE

” We have built a great golf course, and now we have the Performance Center,” said McWethy. “Now the clubhouse is third piece of the puzzle, when it’s done I feel we will have one of the finest golf facilities in the area.”

The golf course was originally designed by Hearn and it opened in 1998. The Hearn renovation left the golf course closed in part of 2011 and 2012.

Since then the golf course has received multiple awards for the renovation grom Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. For more information on Mistwood, please visit Mistwoodgc.com or call (815)-254-3333.

BY: RORY SPEARS AT ROLLING GREEN GC, SPRINGFIELD PA. SITE OF THE 2016 USGA WOMENS AMATEUR.

What a crazy last few days, it all starts with the PGA of America removing President Ted Bishop from office, 30 days before term limits and time would have removed Bishop anyway.

Bishop’s offense, well depending on who you talk to, there were many. The straw that broke the camel’s back was calling Ian Poulter a “Whiny Lil’ Girl” on Twitter. Wow, a tweet gone bad and Bishop goes bye-bye.

Bishop was wrong here, and if he had axe to grind with Poulter, Twitter was not the way to do it. Bishop offended his share of women, and men too with his “tweet”. In these days of having so many that get offended so quickly, the need to apologize was there. But the ouster and the erasing of his PGA presidency. Is that getting carried away, likely so.

The PGA compounds a mistake by making a bigger one, and called more attention to the issue in the way they handled it. The NCAA does silly things like this, when some player in the pro ranks, says his school cheated years ago. So current regimes get penalized, who have done nothing wrong. The NCAA takes away championships and awards from years ago, and tries to act like they never happened. Funny thing is that the NCAA doesn’t return any money to the TV networks that showed those games, that didn’t happen.

Yeah some school really didn’t win that national championship, oh and Reggie Bush didn’t win that Heisman Trophy either, yeah right. Many fans recall watching those events, but somehow they never happened.

See Lawsonia.com Green Lake Wisconsin. Not too late for a 36 hole getaway, and stay and play.

I’m not sure the PGA could not have tolerated Bishop for another year, or even six months. But for 30 days. You have an apology read, and tell him to keep his mouth closed for a month and stay off of social media, or else.

Some will say that social media has claimed another victim, that might be true. Social media does seem to have ways of getting people into trouble. Which is why some people just stay off of it in the first place.

The thing about firing people who make a mistake, is that it fuels the fire for more of such firings in the future. It would sure be interesting to have many of the same people who call for such firings, to have to live by the same standards in their life. It makes you wonder if the outcry would be so loud. After all humans make mistakes, and you have to wonder if those who over-react and do the firings, are really human themselves.

It’s been a rough year for the PGA of America. Ryder Cup issues, president issues, members getting dismissed by sporting goods chains, the game itself under fire. Is it too late to form a committee. Here’s to a better 2015 for the PGA of America. With venues like the Philadelphia Cricket Club for the PPNC, French Lick Resort for the Sr. PGA Championship, and Whistling Straits for the PGA Championship, we know the golf will be great. Here’s hoping everything else lives up to par or better.

MT. PROSPECT GOLF CLUB, THE RENOVATION CONTINUES

Last week I took a 2 1/2 hour tour of the Mt. Prospect Golf Club under renovation, with Director of Golf Operations Brett Barcel.

Like with all renovations the parts of the golf course where the work first started is starting to take shape already. Some of the holes still have plenty of work to be done.

The great weather over the weekend allowed the crews to do some catch up, and you can bet with temps headed into the Mid-70’s today, they will spend as many hours out there as they can. The heavy rains of a few weeks ago, didn’t help the fall time table.

I’ll have a full report coming up later this week on Mt. Prospect and how things are progressing on the renovation. It is taking shape.

THE FINAL STRETCH RUN for the 2014 outdoor season is going on now. The weather is starting to turn, and the best days for fall golf might be behind us. But there should be a few more remaining so take advantage while you can.

The Golf Domes, like White Pines, Links and Tee’s, Buffalo Grove, MCQ’s and others will be opening soon. How about a round at Mistwood and then over to MCQ’s to pound the ponies on Breeders Cup day, you can’t beat that.

Most clubs have fall specials on green fees, pro shop merchandise and more. Pick up the phone or visit the websites to find out, who what and where you can save the $$$, and have some fun doing it.

Plenty of golf news coming your way this week right here. Stay clicked in. RS

             LINKS AND TEE’S ON LAKE AVENUE IN ADDISON. FALL OUTDOOR GOLF AND FOOTGOLF EVERYDAY. THE DOME REOPENS IN NOVEMBER. ENJOY ALL OF WHAT LINKS & TEE’S OFFERS. VISIT ADDISONPARKS.ORG OR CALL LINKS AND TEE’S AT (630)-233-7275.

BY: RORY SPEARS

THE ILLINOIS GOLF TEAM at Olympia Fields.

ILLINOIS is No.1. The Fighting Illini have finished their fall season, and have remained No.1 in the polls. Which is the GCAA Coaches Poll.

Illinois finished fourth in it’s final fall event of the year down in Florida. The Illini go back to class and prepare for another run to the NCAA championship in early 2015.

To remain No.1, Illinois got six first place votes, and a total of 503 points overall. No.2 Florida State got nine first place votes, but totaled only 501 points. Oregon was the biggest mover in the polls, Oregon got five first place votes and moved up from 14th to No.3.

No.4 Texas was the only other school receiving a first place vote (1), as the Longhorns moved up from 16th place. Rounding out the top 10 were Baylor, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, LSU, Wake Forest. No.11 Georgia Tech fell from 2nd, and No.14 Stanford fell from 3rd. Two-time national champion Alabama is 16th.

GOLFWEEK MAGAZINE has the ladies golf program at Northwestern ready to make a run at the national championship next spring. Visit Golfweek.com for the story.

BIG 3 PARTNER LEN ZIEHM at Lawsonia Golf in Green Lake Wisconsin.

2016 Ryder Cup Clubhouse Hazeltine CC, Minnesota

BIG 3 PARTNER LEN ZIEHM visits Hazeltine Country Club in Minnesota. Ziehm says the club looks ready to host the 2016 Ryder Cup right now. For more on his visit see Lenziehmongolf.com.

2014 IPGA Player of the Year, Medinah’s CC, Travis John’s.

Travis Johns the teaching professional at Medinah Country Club, was named the Illinois PGA Player of the Year for 2014. Johns took the lead in points at the final IPGA event of the Year the Players Championship that was held at the Metamora Fields Golf Club near Peoria Illinois.

Johns also won Player of the Year honors in 2010. In 2010 Johns won the IPGA Match Play Championship at Kemper Lakes for his first IPGA Major Victory. His win this year at the Players Championship was major championship No.2. Johns just needs a win in the Illinois Open and the IPGA Section championship to complete the IPGA Grand Slam.

This past week Johns was given his award at the IPGA Section Awards dinner at Medinah Country Club. In addition Mick Smith was honored as IPGA Assistant player of the Year. Smith works at Twin Lakes in Palatine. Jim Sobb was named 2014 Senior Player of the Year, Sobb is the Director of Golf at Ivanhoe Country Club in Mundelein.

Chapel Hill Golf Club in McHenry and several other clubs operated by GolfVisions are offering deals on 2015 season passes. Sign up and get your golf pass for next year, this year at a discount. Tanna Farms, Settlers Hill, and more clubs as well.

Great weather today and tomorrow. GO PLAY.

BY: RORY SPEARS, ASSISTANT EDITOR & LEAD WRITER

PGA.COM

The PGA of America Board of Directors has voted to remove President Ted Bishop from office with just over a month remaining in his term as president.

Bishop who has been a frequent user of social media, took to Twitter to be critical of golfer Ian Poulter. Poulter was a member of the European Ryder Cup Team, that recently defeated Team USA to retain the cup.

Poulter has been outspoken about the problems and comments of the USA Ryder Cup Team, Bishop responded to one of Poulters latest tweets by calling him a “little girl.”

According to a statement by the PGA, that was grounds to end Bishop’s term as president. But while it appears that comment was the straw that broke the camel’s back, it’s not the only reason Bishop was forced out.

The PGA membership in general has not been happy about the leadership under Bishop in several area’s for months. In addition to the fiasco after the Ryder Cup, and the way Bishop appointed Tom Watson to be captain of the team in the first place, had left people concerned about the direction the PGA was headed under Bishop’s leadership. Bishop took heat for keeping Dick’s Sporting Goods as an advertiser during PGA events, after the sporting goods chain layed of 480+ PGA professionals this summer.

The PGA of America Board of Directors felt the latest remarks by Bishop were inconsistent with the policies of the PGA.

“The PGA of America understands the enormous responsibility it has to lead this great game and enrich the lives in our society through golf,” said PGA Chief Executive Officer Pete Bevacqua. “We must demand of ourselves that we make golf both welcoming and inclusive to all who want to experience it, and everyone at the PGA of Maerica must lead by example.”

Under the Bylaws of the PGA Constitution,Vice President Derek Sprague has been appointed the Association’s Interim President until Nov. 22, when the election of new national officers takes place at the PGA’s 98th Annual Meeting. PGA Secretary will assume a dual role of VP and Secretary until the meeting and elections are held.

“The members and apprentices of the PGA of America must uphold the highest standards and value of the profession, as well as the manner in which we conduct ourselves at all times,” said Sprague the GM and Director of Golf at Malone (NY) Golf Club. “We apologize to any individual or group that felt diminished, in any way, by this unacceptable incident.”

Bishop took down the tweet against Poulter, and wanted to apologize sooner but was told not to comment by the PGA. Bishop apologized to the board and spoke to them before the vote was taken to remove him from office. He will not be given the term Honorary President that is given to the immediate past president, nor will his presidency be part of any official history of the PGA.

For more information and Bishop’s full statement, see PGA.COM.

BY: RORY SPEARS

LINKS AND TEE’S IN ADDISON, FOOT GOLF AND THE OUTSIDE COURSE STILL ROLLING FOR THE FALL. The Dome coming soon in November. Addisonparks.org. Call (630)-233-7275 Links & Tee’s on lake Avenue in Addison.

Architect Greg Martin standing at Wilmette Park District Golf Course, wins another Design Excellence Award

The American Society of Golf Course Architects, has selected the Carillon Golf Projects by DRHorton/Cambridge Homes as Design excellence winners.

These projects provide a unique recreational golf amenity for the residents of the Carillon development. The improvements provide valuable functional and environmental benefit for the community, and includes wetland protection and mitigation, stormwater management and open space enhancement. Each of these projects provides a par 3 golf course integrated into residential communities created by DRHorton/Cambridge Homes.

The four projects included Carillon North, Carillon Lakes, Carillon Club and Cambridge Lakes. The improvements included meeting the engineering requirements, and the environmental restrictions.

Carillon North is a 9-hole par 3 course that sits around 7 acres of wetlands and stormwater storage. The Grayslake park District now owns and operates the facility.

The other projects were adjusted to provide 3-hole par 3 courses, to solve recreation and engineering requirements. Carillon Lakes, less stormwater work was done, but stream protection, playability and visibility were needed. Carillon Club required substantial stormwater management. Cambridge Lakes saw the need for wetland avoidance and mitigation.

All the course have large greens,and multiple tee’s that allow for varied play and multiple rounds. Bunkers are located to provide golfers with a challenge, without obstructing green access. In all cases the intent was to create a walkable and enjoyable experience that is accessible for the residents of the community.

Martin Design will be highlighted as an award winner in the quarterly magazine BY DESIGN, that’s produced by the American Society of Golf Course Architects. All 9 award winners will be named. Martin Design was pleased to work with DRHorton/Cambridge Homes on the project.

The Batavia based Martin Design was created in 1991, and was previously named as an award winner for improvements at the city of Aurora Illinois, Phillips Park Golf Course.

Martin Design is currently working on other projects in the Chicago area, for more information on them visit martindesigngolf.com.

BY: RORY SPEARS ASSISTANT EDITOR, LEAD WRITER

        THE LPGA INTERNATIONAL CROWN HAS A NEW TITLE SPONSOR FOR 2016, AND 2018 . NORTHBROOK BASED UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES WILL START RUN IN 2016 AT RICH HARVEST FARMS.

As expected, Underwriters Laboratories has signed on for the next two International Crowns, with the first one being played at Jerry Rich’s, Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove come July 18-24 of 2016.

“We are thrilled to announce UL as the title sponsor for the 2016 and 2018 UL International Crown,” said LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan. “When we came up with the idea for the International Crown our goal was to launch a truly global event for women’s golf which we did earlier this year at Caves Valley Golf Club. We were looking for a partner to help grow it globally and I can think of no better partner than UL, whose business aligns perfectly with the LPGA.”

“We at UL are very proud to extend our involvement with this one-of-a-kind international tournament in women’s golf,” said UL CEo Keith Williams. “UL is a safety science company protecting people, products and places for more than a century. UL’s long-established history of championing innovation and the LPGA’s rooted history in advancing leadership and competition makes us unique partners of global excellence.”

“The International Crown now gives the world the opportunity to witness the best that women’s golf has to offer, much like the Masters does for the PGA. Rich Harvest Farms is proud to have UL on board to help make the tournament a huge success,” said Jerry Rich President and Owner of Rich Harvest Farms.

The world top 100 ranked women’s players list show that 60 percent of the players represented there, are from Asia, until now they have no place to compete for their countries on an international basis. In 2016 after the completion of the International Crown, the players will then go play in the 2016 summer olympic games.

UL served as an ambassador sponsor for this years inaugural International Crown played last July at Caves Valley CC in Maryland, the first championship was won by Spain.

Ambassador sponsorships for 2016 at Rich Harvest Farms have already been announced to Rolex and the Naperville based Calamos Investments.

The announcement of the home for the 2018 International Crown was made, and The Republic of Korea will be the host country. That announcement was was well received by multi-time major championship winner Inbee Park ranked No.2 by the Rolex Rankings. “I look forward to playing in front of our fans in 2018, and know our nation will help elevate the event on an international scale.

Rich Harvest Farms Owner Jerry Rich (L) competes in the International Crown Pro-Am at Caves Valley this past July, with LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan (R).

During an interview with Golfers on Golf, Rich Harvest Farms owner Jerry Rich said that he doesn’t know when the 2020 location will be announced, but he is hoping for the event to again return to Rich Harvest Farms. Rich and his staff had worked hard with another company that would have had the crown stay at Rich Harvest in 2016, 2018, and 2020. While there was some disappointment from that corporation backing out, Rich and his staff are glad they could bring UL to the LPGA’s table, and help secure them into sponsoring the next two LPGA International Crown matches.

With the amount of business UL does in the Far East. It doesn’t seem out of the picture that for as many years as UL does title sponsor the crown, that the event goes back and forth every other playing from Rich Harvest Farms to a Far East location. Should Team Spain continue it’s success it had in winning this year, that country might wish to step up and bring the crown to Europe.

Rich says his staff has “their marching orders” to make 2016 a year that fans of womens golf never forget. You can bet that the Rich Harvest Farms experience in 2016 will be one that golf fans talk about for a long time, like they still do about the Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012.

Jerry Rich owner of Rich Harvest Farms speaks about the new title sponsor agreement with Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook.

Stay clicked in for information and details about the International Crown as they unfold leading up to 2016.

BY: RORY SPEARS ASSISTANT EDITOR, at SCIOTO CC Home of the 2016 U.S. Sr. Open & the course that built Jack Nicklaus.

MASTER CRAFTSMAN SCOTTY CAMERON has done it again, this time on two fronts. First up with the launch of the new Futura X5 and X5R. They will arrive in your favorite pro shop on Halloween October 31st, and that is not scary thought. Unless you think are about all the putts you might start making with one of these in your bag.

The new Scotty Cameron Futura X5

Now for over a decade, the Scotty Cameron Futura putter designs have meant performance and stability to golfers of all levels.

The new Cameron Futura putter designs will provide the same stability, while adding a new advanced perimeter weighting with a solid, forgiving feel, vertical and horizontal sight lines for a easier alignment. The new X5 is model is angled in the back, while the X5R features a more rounded shape. The Matador Red Midsize grip matches well with the face-balanced mallet design for those players wanting to make a more square-to-square stroke.

“The Futura X5 mallet is for someone who likes the stability of a bigger head, the feel of a bigger grip, and likes to look down and see more lines for alignment purposes. X5 is more of a mechanical shape where the X5R is a softer, rounder shape. There’s nor right or wrong. Same performance, same weight, same feel. It all depends on what you like to look at,” Cameron said.

“We’re finding that mallets make up as much as 50 percent of the putters used on the PGA Tour each week-and for good reason. The size of the head is larger so it looks and feels more stable on the ground. The bigger the head, the more lines you can add for alignment. We worked with many players on tour and in the Putting Studio during the development of the X5 and they all told us the same thing: It adds confidence.”

The Scotty Cameron Futura X5 Dual Balance (DB) putter combines the X5 head style with Dual Balance technology to provide maximum stability for all golfers who struggle to make a consistent stroke with a conventional length putter. Like all Dual Balance models, Futura X5 DB has a 50-gram heavier head (400 grams total) and a 50-gram counterweight in the butt of the shaft. Dual Balance putters have a standard length of 38 inches with a 15-inch grip that allows the player to grip down below the counterweight for a more stable stroke.

THE NEW SCOTTY CAMERON X5R FUTURA MODEL

The new Futura X5 and Futura X5R, join the Futura X family, and create the highest MOI line of putters. The Futura X head design was a result of Cameron’s work with Titleist Ambassador Adam Scott, who calls his Futura X, “the most stable putter I have ever played.”

Cost Futura X5 and X5R have a MAP of $349 and a MSRP of $375. Futura X5 Dual Balance has a MAP of $399 and a $425 MSRP.

For more information on Loft/Lie Lengths/Color/Finish/ Neck/Offset and Grip. Please visit Titleist.com or Scottycameron.com. Some lengths are by custom order only.

THE SCOTTY CAMERON GALLERY has opened in Southern California, located in the town of Encinitas (North of San Diego) just off of Highway 101. Cameron calls the facility, “part retail space, part high-end product gallery, 100 percent putter fitting facility.”

“Opening the Scotty Cameron Gallery is something I have dreamed about for a long time. I’ve always wanted to have a place open to the public where I can share things that I have created and love,” said Cameron., whose Scotty Cameron by Titleist putters have been the choice of more players on the PGA Tour since 1997 and counting.

“But above all, the Gallery is a place where golfers can come to understand what is happening between the ball, the putter and the player- and how we get those the things to work in harmony.”

This is the first Scotty Cameron studio in America, Cameron already has opened studios in Korea and Japan.

At the Gallery, golfers will receive the same tour like treatment, that PGA players get at Scotty’s state-of-the-art research and development facility in nearby North County San Diego-the Scotty Cameron Putter Studio where tour players get fitted by Scotty and his team.

Fitting are limited and booked by appointment only on the Gallery Website, scottycamerongallery.com or by calling (760)-591-9720. Located at 927 S. Coast Highway 101, Suite E-100. Gallery hours are Tues-Sun 10 Am to 5 Pm.

Stay clicked in for more information on Titleist, and the new line of Titleist 915 drivers and fairway woods coming out in November.

BY: RORY SPEARS-ASSISTANT EDITOR

IPGA.COM

Jim Holmes has been named the 60th winner of the Illinois PGA Professional of the Year Award winner for 2014. Holmes is in his 29th season at the Ravinia Green Country Club in Riverwoods. The award is the highest award that is presented in the Illinois PGA Section.

” I am completely overwhelmed being named the Illinois PGA Golf Professional of the Year,” said Holmes. “It’s a pretty impressive fraternity of Illinois PGA Professionals on the list of former award winners. I’m honored and humbled to be mentioned in the same light as those gentleman. To do something you love and are passionate about over 30 years is very rewarding.”

Holmes will be honored at a dinner this coming Thursday October 23rd at Medinah Country Club, that starts at 7 PM. The program that night will feature Holmes and all of the other winners of section awards from 2014.

The nine other section award winners are as follows.

Katie Dick-Pius of Palatine, Assistant Golf Professional of the Year                                   Gary Pinns of Wheaton, Teacher of the Year                                                                     Brett Packee of Vernon Hills, Youth Development Award                                                   Tim Buscombe of Champaign, The Bill Strausbaugh Award                                             Todd Sones of Vernon Hills, The Horton Smith Award                                                       Eric Aldrich of Glen Ellyn, The Player Development Award                                               Andy Schuman of Lake Zurich, PGA Merchandiser of the Year Award-Private Facility     Steve Gillie of Hampshire, PGA Merchandiser of the Year-Public Facility                         Wally Hynes of Naperville, The Bill Heald Career Achievement Award

Prior to working at Ravinia Green, Holmes started his career at Park Ridge Country Club under Ken Weiler, who Holmes credits as being the professional who made learn the golf business the right way while growing up. Holmes went on to work at Westmoreland, then Ravinia Green, he left for Highland Park Country Club and spent six years there, before returning to Ravinia Green where he has been the head professional for 29 years. Holmes is in his final year at Ravinia Green and will be retiring and moving to Florida. But will commute north for summer months to his home in Northbrook.

For more information on the Illinois PGA, the 2014 IPGA section award winners and the upcoming dinner at Medinah Country Club this Thursday night. Please visit IPGA.com.

BY: RORY SPEARS-ASSISTANT EDITOR & LEAD WRITER

  2015 AT CONWAY FARMS.

WGAESF.COM SUPPORT CADDIES, SUPPORT THE WGA.

THE 2015 BMW CHAMPIONSHIP returns to the Chicago area and Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest. The BMW was played at Conway Farms in 2013, and attracted record crowds for the event held in September. Zach Johnson completed the Illinois Slam with his win that year.

Excitement is already building for the championship’s return to the Chicago area. Nearly 40 percent of the available hospitality is already sold out.

“We’re enthused by the response we’re receiving for the Chicago area based corporate community,” said Vince Pellegrino the western golf Association’s senior vice president of tournaments. “Based on the strong, early commitments were getting as we introduce our 2015 hospitality options, we’re poised to experience another highly successful BMW Championship.”

The BMW Championship provides an ideal setting for client engagement and employee appreciation, with options that provide exceptional views of golf and the finest food and beverage options the event offers.

Private and shared hospitality venues are available on holes 11,15,16,17, and 18 with all inclusive packages starting at $18,800. Plus amateur positions are available for hospitality buyers in the Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am, that provides the opportunity to play Conway Farms tournament week with one of the top 70 players on the PGA Tour.

Since 2007 the BMW Championship has contributed more than $16 million to help send hundreds of Evans Scholars to college on full tuition and housing scholarships. The 2015 BMW Championship will be played from September 14-20.

For more information on hospitality packages, venue locations and pro-am involvement, visit BMWChampionshipUSA.com.