BY: RORY SPEARS ASSISTANT                EDITOR & LEAD WRITER

If you did not go out and hit it over the last day or two, odds are you have missed your chance to do so. Winter not fall temperatures are now in the air, and that has left area courses no choice but to close for the 2014 outdoor golf season.

There might be some courses that are “still open” and courses that don’t close if you wish to play like course No.1 and course No.3 at Cog Hill. They stay open all year. The cold weather has come in a little earlier this year, which for those who wanted to play outside for the rest of the month is not a good thing. But if there is a silver lining to this, it might be next spring if golf season starts a little sooner than it did this year.

If you are courses like Mt. Prospect and or the Glenview Park District golf course, you need a good spring so your opening from renovation is in late May or early June. Not in mid-July. In Mt. Prospect the park board meets tonight, and on the docket is an update on the golf course.

The renovation work is now reportedly done, at least all of the holes are shaped even if they did not get much or any time for the grass seed to take shape.

THE PAR 5, 18TH HOLE AT SHEPHERD’S CROOK GOLF CLUB, IN ZION.

Monday was a great final day to play if you got out like I did. The Par 5, 18th hole at Shepherd’s Crook was my final hole for the season, I just wish that par putt had fell.

There was three straight birdie putts on holes 13-14-15, all inside of 20 feet. None fell, two lip outs and one left in the jaws with my Titleist looking down in the hole. But it would not fall in, and my chances to break 80 for a final time this year went by the wayside. But it’s things like that, that leave one longing for next year’s season to start up. In the meantime there will have to be some dome visits, and time on the living room carpet, with the Perfect Putting Aid created by Blackberry Oaks professional Chad Johansen.

If you didn’t play Monday when the temps reached into the low 60’s, there was yesterday. The low 50’s that the temperature was supposed to hit, ended up being more like the upper 40’s early in the morning. By noon time it was 42 degrees and headed downhill. But that didn’t stop the diehards from finishing that final 18 holes. Reports of groups at Buffalo Grove and on Arlington Lakes on the back nine about 3:30 in the afternoon, had golfers playing in the cold but determined to finish before the cold or sunset said “that’s enough” for this year.

Have you had enough for this year. If not I’ll have some travel idea’s coming up here soon. Big 3 partner Len Ziehm has rolled into South Carolina after playing the latest Pete Dye creation in Virginia, see lenziehmongolf.com for details. Ziehm will have updated travel locations soon.

Big 3 partner Tim Cronin and I will tag team USGA Executive Director Mike Davis and USGA President Tom O’Toole later this week, stay clicked in for those stories.

Did you play enough golf in 2014, if not why. Did you take that golf trip to a great destination course or two. If you didn’t hit your goals, take a trip before the holidays. If that isn’t in the cards, then it’s time to sit down and figure out what the plan is for next year. It’s not too early.

My plan starts with checking out a new driver, and planning some golf around the PGA show come January of 2015 in Orlando.

In the meantime, it was nice to play almost 70 rounds this year, spread out over 12 states. Here’s hoping that 2015 is even better. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to seeing you in the domes. White Pines, MCQ’s, Buffalo Grove and Links & Tee’s in Addison.

Boy I’m glad I played on Monday. Hope you played in the last 48 hours. If not, the sand in the hourglass has run out. RS