THE TINLEY PARK GOLF EXPO IS JUST TWO WEEKS AWAY, are you ready to get your golf season rolling. If you haven’t picked up your clubs yet, the Tinley Park Golf Show sponsored by Beggars Pizza is the way to do it. $5 Friday admission, the show tee’s off at Noon, see Tinleyparkgolfexpo.com. McQs Golf Dome & Sports Bar is rolling with activity for the winter season, the golf balls are flying, the OTB has the horses now running, and the sports bar is packed with Blackhawks fans on game night. The Mistwood golf staff is teaching at McQs all winter long, so head to McQ’son Rt. 53 in Bolingbrook, visit Mcqsdome.com for more information. MCWETHYS TAVERN is now open full-time, even though Mistwood GC is closed for the winter. Come see the new clubhouse that will be a hot spot when outdoor golf season gets rolling. On Renwick Rd. ______________________________________________________________________
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 Copperhead at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor Florida.
I will have the updated pictures from yesterdays round on Copperhead in the days ahead, but I will post one down below.
I am fresh off a weekend at Innisbrook resort in Palm Harbor Florida, and it’s safe to say that Innisbrook is back. But I might add, that I’m not sure it was ever gone.
But Copperhead the home of Valspar Tournament on the PGA Tour, at least through 2020 after a new five-year deal, is a great tour course that you can play.
The opening tee shot on the First Hole at Copperhead.
Copperhead has just reopened on December 8th, from a 7 month renovation that has paid off.
White bunker sand used last year in the bunkers, got moved to the greens during renovation and the bunkers again got more new white sand.
A few trees got removed, and as a result the course is more playable for members and resort guests. It won’t be easier for the PGA Tour players.
I played the Island Course as well at Innisbrook, and while it has some really good holes, I got spoiled playing Copperhead after the new renovation, and would like to see the Island Course get the same treatment Copperhead got. Some renovation work there might not be a bad thing. What I saw of the resorts North and South courses, showed them to be looking good and in great condition.
Copperhead does need some grow-in yet, to be done both in the fairways and on the greens. But it appears all should be good by the time the pro’s arrive in March. Resort owner Sheila Johnson has things moving in the right direction both at Innisbrook, and at the other Salamander Resort properties in Florida and Virginia. For more information on Innisbrook, see Innisbrookgolfresort.com.
At the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.
THE PGA SHOW in Orlando was another success in my mind. The exhibitors minus Nike were out in force and over 42,000 people were in attendance according to the PGA.
I remember my first PGA show back in the late 1990’s, when it was said that some 25,000 people were there. When I returned to the show 4 years ago, the PGA said over 35,000 people were there. Now just a few years later, the show is even bigger, it doesn’t seem to stop growing. So much for the sport of golf being dead or dying.
I have already started posting stories on the products I came in contact with, and will have plenty more in the next few weeks. See my weekend stories on both Antigua outerwear and Oofos foot recovery shoes. I have great interviews with Illinois Golf Coach Mike Small, and LPGA Director of Communications Kraig Kann speaking on how the LPGA is moving forward with the LPGA International Crown, that will now be played at the Merit Club in July.
The Halfway House 555 S.York Road in Elmhurst, Simulator golf at it’s best,play over 90 courses from around the world. Halfwayhousegolf.com.
I’ll loop through Florida for a few days before heading home from South Carolina later this week. I hope the snow is gone by the time I hit Illinois, I love our golf domes but I’m ready now for the outdoor golf season. RS