HERITAGE OAKS is OPEN TODAY. Make your tee times now up to a week in advance. NEW Clubhouse, new golf course, new range, new simulators. HeritageOaksgc.com      ______________________________________________________________________

The Gog Blog Speaks Out-by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy or Facebook and LinkedIn. In the new Heritage Oaks Pro shop.

IT’S OPEN.

HERITAGE OAKS is open as of today.

I played yesterday to see what the changes look like to the former Sportsman’s Golf and Country Club.

Really enjoyed my round, with my radio partner Ed Stevenson, and my IL. State representative Jon Carroll. You don’t ever know you might meet on a golf course.

I like the improvements across the board that were done do the facility. I didn’t play my best golf. But that’s okay, it was just to be back at the facility formerly known as Sportsman’s Golf and Country Club.

THE BIGGEST QUETION SO FAR is why did the Northbrook Park District change the name. Good question and a better answer from Director of Golf Greg Barron during Golfers on Golf Radio on Saturday.

Barron explained that a name likes Sportsman’s sounds more like a hunting and fishing club. But that is not the case. Golf and Country Club, the golf course is NOT a country club, there is no pool, no tennis courts, and it’s not private. Because there is a great variety of Oak Trees on the property, the name just fits with the look of the golf course.

So the new range, the new clubhouse with simulators, the new putting green, the golf course improvements all look good. The greens had issues, no more, they are much improved along with the fairways and the tees. The halfway house (Sporty’s) and the new restrooms look great. The 19th hole will lead to hours of fun for everyone hanging out there, all year round.

IF THERE IS A SECOND QUESTION it’s, is there a Phase II to the project ? Because things that I’ve seen at other renovations include, tree removal, new carts, bunkers added or removed, white tour sand replacing the old brown sand. I know everyone has a budget, and the Northbrook Park District spent it’s fair share giving golfers a much better facility than they had. But there is more they could do. In the meantime however, golfers go enjoy Heritage Oaks. It’s a fun well priced public golf facility and after your round, enjoy a seat on the patio with a beverage of your choice. It’s a great setting. You should shop the pro shop and see all the new apparel with the new logo. It’s a sharp look.

I caught up with architect Rick Jacobson on the Heritage Oaks patio by the Fire-Pits for his thoughts on the golf course and some work he is doing at Kemper Lakes this fall. Because the new tees will make that championship layout even stronger as the yardage grows to around 7,550.

CLICK HERE to hear the interview with architect Rick Jacobson.

ANOTHER ANCHOR SITE OR TWO! THE USGA Announced last week that Oakmont that just hosted the US-Amateur near Pittsburgh, and Merion (my favorite course) have been given a series of USGA events over the next 29 years. So are you ready for the 2050 U.S. Open at Merion or the 2049 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Maybe not.

MORE ANCHOR sites are popping up around the country. But while Pinehurst, Bandon Dunes, and Oakmont and Merion are good choices. It begs the question ? When is the Midwest Anchor site going to be announced. Or is there one. Could it be Erin Hills, or Oakland Hills newly redone South Course by Gil Hanse. What if over the next few years the latest rumor about Butler National making a membership policy change is true. Could the USGA bring some U.S. Opens to Oakbrook. Word has been for years that the USGA would bring an Open to Oakbrook when the ladies become members. Butler and Butterfield would make a great combo site for the US-Amateur.

BECAUSE ONE OF THE things that makes golf so strong, is that at least two of it’s majors get moved around. So the country can see the best players in the world near their hometown.

A TIP OF THE CAP or Golf Visor to James Piot for winning the U.S. Amateur after being 3 Down with 9 holes to play. But runner-up Austin Greaser played great and had a chance to win. I met Greaser at this years Western Amateur, good kid and I hope he wins a major amateur event in 2022 after two close finishes this summer.

ANOTHER TIP OF THE CAP to Nick Hardy of Northbrook. Congrats on getting that PGA TOUR Card. Both earned and well deserved.

I’M NOW OFF on a scouting trip to Ohio, details are coming in the days ahead. The weather is great. So go play some golf. Try out the new Heritage Oaks. RS