Jim McWethy owner of McWethy Golf, Mistwood Golf Club and MCQ’s Dome shows off the menu at McWethy’s Tavern now open in Mistwood Golf Club. McWethysTavern.com or call (815)-254-7001 for more information. Links & Tee’s Golf Dome located at 880 West Lake Street in Addison is your Year-Round golf faciilty. Outdoor golf and range in the summer, Award Winning Golf Dome in the Winter. Fore more information on the Links & Tee’s Golf Dome visit Addisonparks.org or call (630)-233-7275 Ext.4.                  _____________________________________________________________________

The Gog Blog’s Chicago’s #1 Online Golf News Source by Rory Spears, Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy.

The golf ball makers have come out with two new golf balls in time for the 2016 golf season.

Pinnacle has created two new balls that have been designed with new core technologies. Pinnacle says the new Pinnacle Rush will give the golfers extraordinary distance, and the new Pinnacle Soft will provide the golfer with a feel ball.

The softest Pinnacle ever, the Pinnacle Soft takes a high-energy but low compression core with a soft ionomer cover to provide a soft feel and low spin for longer distance.

All Pinnacle golf balls, are designed, tested and manufactured by Acushnet Company’s world-class R&D and operations teams- that represents more than 20,000 year of golf ball making expertise, and is located here in Massachusetts.

A dozen of the new Pinnacle Soft Golf Balls.

“Pinnacle has been a longstanding leader in it’s segment of the market. Given our extensive performance testing of these products, we expect that this lead is likely to grow,” said Michael Mahoney, Director, Golf Ball Product Management. “Pinnacle Rush is either longer, or longer and softer, than the other top selling distance competitors that retail under $20. Pinnacle Soft is longer and softer than the leading competitive products positioned as extremely soft or low compression.”

Pinnacle Rush for when you need distance.

The new Pinnacle Rush is designed with proprietary high-energy core technology that produces fast ball speed for extraordinary distance on all full swing shots.

The Rush ball takes an advanced icosahedral dimple design with only 332 dimples to give a more consistent ball flight, while it’s ionomer cover adds a better feel.

“Pinnacle Rush is designed to max out a golfers distance potential. It’s a distance-focused construction with a low compression core and a firm cover. That combination gives you a high initial velocity off the clubface with very low spin, which is a perfect recipe for hitting it long. And because Rush has a lower overall compression than most other distance balls, it provides a very playable feel,” said Scott Cooper, Titleist R&D’s Product Development Manager.

Pinnacle Rush is available in White and optic Yellow. Pinnacle Soft can be purchased in White-with black play number, White with pink play number, and Pink with a black play number.

The new Pinnacles will available in pro shops this month, both models are offered in standard dozens at $15.99 MAP or ($19.99 MSRP). For more information please visit Pinnaclegolf.com.

Golfers will see a new full in-store campaign this month, including new signage when the balls arrive.

  McQ’s Dome on Rt. 53 in Bolingbrook is a home for winter golf, try McQ’s for golf, betting horses and or the Sports Bar and make a day of it, for more information see McQsDome.com or call (630)-739-7600. While Mistwood Golf Club is closed for winter in the new clubhouse is McWethy’s Tavern and you need to try it. A full menu and great bar menu, try McWethy’s before all the golfers get there in April and getting a table gets a little tougher, call (815)-254-7001. Links and Tee’s has announced the date for their winter open house hosted by Steve Kashul of the Golf Scene, it’s Sat. Feb. 6th, so save the date. For more information on Links & Tee’s call (630)-233-7275. 880 West Lake St. ______________________________________________________________________

The Gog Blog Chicago’s #1 Online Golf News Source by Rory Spears, Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy. At Shinnecock Hills GC in Southhampton Long Island NY.

It’s time for another chapter of our Fall Classics, or Great Golf on a cold day. Today it is a cold day, and my visit to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on fall day was one of the great rounds ever. It’s always fantastic to play the great courses, and Shinnecock Hills is sure one of them.

The links style golf club is rated one of the top 5 courses in the country by various publications, it will host it’s Fifth U.S. Open in 2018. the club hosted the second U.S Open in 1896, then it’s second one 90 years later in 1986. It then hosted U.S Opens in 1995 and in 2004. Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore did some minor tweaks to the course in preparation for the 2018 U.S. Open. Mostly adding or adjusting a few tee boxes.

The Par 5, 16th hole called Shinnecock, last great chance for birdie coming home.

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is listed on the National Register of Historic Place as of September 29th, 2000.

It is the oldest formal golf club in the United States as of 1891, and claims to have the oldest clubhouse as of 1892. It was the first major formal course to admit women, and it did that from when it first opened.

Shinnecock Hills came into being because of the efforts of William K. Vanderbilt, Edward Meade, and Duncan Cryder. The three men traveled to France, where they met Willie Dunn from Scotland who was building a course in France. Upon return to the states, they scouted for a location for a club, and bought 80 acres in the sandhills of Long Island near the LI Railroad and Shinnecock Canal. The land was purchased for $2,500 and the original 44 members each paid $100 dollars to join.

The view from behind the 9th green at Shinnecock Golf Club.

Willie Davis from the Royal Montreal Club designed the first 12 holes that opened for play in late summer of 1891.

The Stanford White designed clubhouse then opened in 1892. In 1893 a 9-hole course for women only opened. Finally in 1894 Dunn arrived to complete the last six holes, and make the club an 18 hole course.

By 1896 Shinnecock was hosting it’s first U.S. Open and second open ever played, but the course was not long. The USGA has the open playing at under 5,000 yards. Most of the field broke 80 and that led to a demand to make the course longer and more difficult. In the field was a black golfer John Shippen, the first black player to play in the U.S Open. the club also hosted the U.S. Amateur in the same year won by H.J. Whigham.

The Par 3 17th hole, called Eden.

The demand for a tougher golf course, marked the end of the ladies course. The redesign took place in 1901 and was done by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor who kept five of the holes designed by Dunn.

In 1937 William S. Flynn redesigned the course again, and made the course now 6,740 yards from the back tees. Flynn kept five of the holes done by Macdonald and Raynor and one more additional green. The course was lengthened again prior to the 2004 U.S. Open by adding new tee’s, it played at 6,996 yards.

Jonathon Jennings is the superintendent at Shinnecock Hills, after coming over from the Chicago Golf Club. Jennings is seen here working at Chambers Bay during U.S. Open week in 2015.

The club has hosted the Walker Cup in 1977, the cup was won by the United States over Great Britain and Ireland by a score of 16-8.

When the club was first built, members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation held build the course. The nation has laid claim to the land over the years and says the course is built on some ancient Indian burial grounds.

There have been legal issues over the multiple sales of the land and a 1,000 year lease that was signed between the tribe and the Village of South Hampton. It’s unclear how it will all be resolved. The club is surrounded by other top clubs like the National Golf Links, and the Sebonack Golf Club, with Southampton CC nearby as well.

There is more history about the club on it’s website Shinnecockhillsgolfclub.org.

 McQ’s Dome on Rt. 53 in Bolingbrook and Links & Tee’s on Lake Street in Addison are two of the Chicago area’s premier golf domes. Both facilities are open daily. For more information see McQsDome.com and addisonparks.org. Winter golf season is here in Chicago, and it’s not too early to start work on your game for great golf season in 2016. ______________________________________________________________________

The Gog Blog Chicago’s #1 Online Golf News Source by Rory Spears, Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy. In studio at WSBC and WCFJ AM Chicago.

The 2016 golf season is here. Did you enjoy a holiday break from the game. I did, I haven’t hit a ball in more than a month, but now I’m recharged and ready to go. Departure for Florida and the PGA Merchandise Show is now less than three weeks away and I can’t wait.

I’ll be in the domes a few times in the next few weeks and I hope to see you there. I’ll be checking out some of the new clubs on the market at some demo days that will be upcoming. The thought of some new irons has me going at this point. I’m ready for a new pair of golf shoes, how about you. The socks I already got and I’m enjoying the new Foot-Joy Crew style sock, with the charcoal based bottoms. Comfy they are, and I’m sure when the inside of the golf shoe rubs off, the colors will blend right in with the sock. I bought my pairs at Cog Hill, you can find them there.

PARSON’S XTREME GOLF has new clubs (PXG) out and expensive one’s too. But they might be well worth the buck, because several tour pro’s have jumped over to play them including current British Open Champion and John Deere Classic board member Zach Johnson. I don’t know much about the clubs other than they come with a big price tag, but I will look for them at the PGA Show and at PGA Tour events.

I’m not sure why Johnson switched now, unless it’s like most pro’s do, for the money and or the other deal was up or gave them a window to leave. It makes me wonder how Johnson will do in 2016, time will tell and that time starts this week in Hawaii.

KAPALUA is back this week with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions (TOC) and this year the champions are coming. Tiger and Phil for some reason whimped out of this event for the last several years, now they probably both wish they were eligible to play in it. You see you do need to win a PGA Tour event or a major to get in.

Congrats to Mike Jones our former local Illinois professional who now runs Kapalua Golf, he picked up the ball left by Gary Planos who set very high standards at Kapalua for years and has the stars of the tour back on Maui. Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler lead a great field in to the Plantation Course at Kapalua. I’ll be watching, how about you.

IT’s nice to see that Mark Rolfing who is still fighting off cancer, will be working the tournament this week. Kapalua is a home game for Rolfing who has a nice place on the Bay Course at Kapalua.

The Gog Blog will return this week with another Fall Classic, stay clicked in to find out which course is next. RS

  McWethy’s at Mistwood and McQ’s Dome are both open for the winter golf season. McWethy’s Tavern is ready for your business, open daily call (815)-254-7001. McQ’s Dome is open for golf, betting the ponies in the OTB, and for fantastic food and beverage in the sports bar. See McQsdome.com or call (630)-739-7600, or 739-1592.   ______________________________________________________________________

The Gog Blog Chicago’s #1 Online Golf News Source by Rory Spears, Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy. In the Sunice Typhoon Jacket.

The 2016 Chicago Golf Season is underway, with the playing of the annual Eskimo Open at Cog Hill.

This year with a few inches of snow on the ground and the temperature around 30 degrees, 88 players tee’d it up.

When the open was done and closed, the winners were in the Low Gross, Jim Coan and Jeremy Bilecki with 69’s.

The Low Net winner was Kevin Kaspar with a 64 to win by 1 shot. the open was played out on courses 1 & 3.

Cog Hill Course #4 was named by Golf Digest in the Top 100 public golf courses in America by it’s rating panelists.

Cog Hill is also offering several memberships in 2016, including it’s junior membership and it’s Cog 4-Dubsdread membership. Don’t forget the Cog Hill Junior Tour will return in 2016. For information on various Cog Hill memberships for 2016 and more, please visit Coghillgolf.com or call (630)-264-4455.

  Links & Tee’s is one of the few Year-Round Chicagoland Golf Facilities, right now the Golf Dome is open and winter activities are in full swing. To buy multi-use passes, sign up for lessons, attend ladies night or more see addisonparks.org or call (630)-233-7275. ______________________________________________________________________

The Gog Blog Chicago’s #1 Online Golf News Source by Rory Spears, Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy. On 18 at Pinehurst #8, in Pinehurst NC. Weather permitting, Pinehurst will be round #1 for me in 2016.

Happy 2016 Golfers, I hope you ended 2015 in fine form and 2016 is even better. More pars, more birdies, more eagles or better.

While it’s only Jan, 2nd I have looked into the crystal ball for 2016, and have some thoughts about the golf season ahead in the new year. Especially for around town here in the Chicago and Illinois area.

Starting tomorrow on a low 30’s degree day, the Eskimo Open at Cog Hill gets the year going with tee times at 7 AM through 11 AM on Courses 1 & 3.

Just $46 dollars will be your first green fee of the year, this includes a warm drink and some chili when your done playing. Visit Coghillgolf.com or call (866)-COG-HILL. The rest of January is all about the domes up here. The Gog Blog will hit the PGA Show in Orlando and start sending out stories on all the new items I see down there. By the time I return in February it will be time for our local indoor golf shows.

Tinley Park is up first from February 12-14, with Rosemont up on the calendar two weeks later, watch for more details to follow on both shows.

By March, the courses will be looking to open around St. Patrick’s Day, hopefully they will all be open by April Fools Day. I’m wishing the best to courses like Mt. Prospect and Glenview who will be open for a full season for the first time in three years. Mistwood for the first time in five years won’t be renovating the course, building a performance center or a new clubhouse.

Last spring the weather was not great, and while Illinois might not be as nice as it should look on TV during masters week, hopefully it’s a better spring for area courses.

In the spring the golf side of the Oak Meadows renovation will get rolling behind architect Greg Martin and his team. The Salt Creek work is mostly in place, and now it’s time for the golf building to begin. Oak Meadows is expected to reopen for golf in May of 2017.

At the end of May, the Sr. PGA will return to the Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, just a short little drive around the south end of Lake Michigan on Memorial Day weekend.

June brings the Web.com Tour to the Ivanhoe Club in the name of the Rust-Oleum Championship, it’s a new event the week before the U.S. Open. Some local players should be in the field in the first of four big tournaments in Lake County, the hot spot for  tournament golf in 2016 in the Chicago area.

The Arlington Lakes Golf Club that closed last July will reopen from a Mike Benkusky renovation in June, it will be interesting to see how golfers react to 3-hole, 6-hole 9-hole and 18-hole loops the club will offer. Speed golf will be an option at Arlington Lakes, every day of the week. the club will doing almost $500,000 worth of improvements to the clubhouse.

July has the Illinois Open again at Royal Melbourne, with Hawthorn Woods serving as the second course. On the heels of that is the LPGA UL International Crown, that is now being played at the Merit Club. The Merit Club is a great venue, but the club and the LPGA have their work cut out for them after making a last minute change from Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, and pulling the event together. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

August will start with the Western Amateur at the historic Knollwood Club in Lake Forest, the Colt and Alison design renovated a few years ago by architect Keith Foster has put the club back on the map. It successfully served at the second course during the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur held at Conway Farms.

The Olympics return with golf and it will interesting to see how that all works out, and how well the new course by Gil Hanse will have taken shape by then.

During the Olympic break, the John Deere Classic will tee it up in August for the first time in it’s history. But the John Deere Classic will not have defending champion Jordan Spieth but should be a great event anyway, with maybe a few new players that normally don’t get in the field.

If you want to follow the BMW Championship this year, you will have to drive down to the Crook Stick Golf Club North of Indianapolis this year, in 2012 the Pete Dye designed course was a great host and Rory McIlroy won the tournament.

At the end of September the Ryder Cup returns to America at the Hazeltine Golf Club near the Twin Cities in Minnesota, many Chicago golf fans that enjoyed Medinah’s Ryder Cup in 2012, will be looking to make the trip to this event again.

Hopefully the fall and early part of winter will be as nice as this year, and that nice time of the year to go play golf will come around again.

The 2016 golf season starts tomorrow with the Eskimo Open are you ready? I hope to see you on the links in the months ahead. RS.

THE ESKIMO OPEN THIS SUNDAY AT COG HILL on Courses 1 & 3 only $46. Tee times start at 7 AM-through 11 AM Coghillgolf.com

Eskimo Open this Sunday, a Chicago Golf Tradition. Call Cog Hill at (866)-COG-HILL

Happy New Year from all of us at Golfers on Golf. Standing L-R Mike Munro and Ed Stevenson. Seated L-R Rory Spears and Ed Stevenson.

HAPPY NEW YEAR from all of us at Golfers on Golf.

From Mike Munro, Ed Stevenson, Bill Berger and Rory Spears, a Happy New Year and to a great 2016, more Pars, Birdies, Eagles or better.

     Support our winter sponsors like Links & Tee’s Golf Dome in Addison, call (630)-233-7275 Ext 4 for New Years Day Hours.

    McQ’s Dome in Bolingbrook is open today from 8 Am to 6 Pm McQsDome.com for details and more. Support McQ’s Dome a sponsor of Golfers on Golf.

     McWethy’s Tavern now open at Mistwood Golf Club (815)-254-7001. A proud supporter of Golfers on Golf. Mistwood GC on Renwick Road. Call for New Years Day Hours.

The Gog Blog returns on January 2, with a look ahead at 2016 on the Chicago Area Golf Scene.