ON THOSE DAYS  the temperatures drop or the rain falls, it’s still okay to take it inside in preparing for this summers outdoor golf season. For indoor simulator golf head to the Halfway House at 555 S. York Rd. in Elmhurst, over 90 courses from around the world to pick from, and enjoy the daily specials while your there. Call (331)-642-8050 or online go to Halfwayhousegolf.com. MCQ’s Dome on Rt. 53 in Bolingbrook is a full sized golf dome, OTB to play the horses, and a sports bar with great food and drink. You can take lessons from the Mistwood Golf Staff, or take aim at those Mistwood banners hanging from the roof. See mcqsdome.com or call (630)-739-7600. The Award Winning Links & Tee’s Golf Dome is still running until the weather really warms up, and the outdoor side of Links & Tee’s Golf opens for the summer. Check out Links & Tee’s all year round, located on Lake Street in Addison, go visit Addisonparks.org or call (630)-233-7275.       ______________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by Rory Spears in McWethys Tavern at Mistwood Golf Club. Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy.

  The historic and famed Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton will host the next USGA event in the Chicago area, when the inaugural U.S. Sr. Women’s Open comes in July of 2018. The Charles Blair Macdonald statue outside the clubhouse.

The Chicago Golf Clubs famous logo, Far and Sure.

When the final putt fell at Olympia Fields last August during the U.S. Amateur Championship, the United States Golf Association was done here in the Chicago area.

It marked the first time in decades that anyone could remember, the USGA not having a future event on the calendar in the Chicagoland area.

The USGA and the PGA of America both had Chicago and it’s area clubs off the radar.

During an interview with then USGA President Tom O’Toole, O’Toole suggested to the local media in attendance at Olympia Fields that it was time for the media to convince our local clubs to start sending invites to the USGA, that they were ready to invite the USGA back to town.

Fortunately for the golf fans of Chicago, what was already in the works was the USGA and one of it’s founding members the Chicago Golf Club, discussing the very first U.S. Senior Women’s Open coming to Chicago.

“The USGA was looking for a location that had a wow factor,” says Brad Kinsey, president of the Chicago Golf Club.

Chicago Golf did succeed in landing the inaugural Sr. Women’s Open, while Peggy Kirk Bell’s Pine Needles Resort in Southern Pines North Carolina received the second one.

The Chicago Golf Club’s centennial book tells an amazing story about one of America’s most historic golf clubs.

But for Chicago area golf fans, and golf fans from further destinations that are likely to attend, the 2018 U.S. Sr. Women’s Open will be as much about the chance for spectators to walk the grounds of Chicago Golf, as it will be to see who wins the championship.

The story line is amazing and will bring another great chapter in the game of golf’s history.

How much do we know about what July of 2018 should look like at the Chicago Golf Club.

The field for a U.S. Open will be smaller than normal, with only 120 players. As Chicago Golf Club is more suited for a smaller field with the facilities it has. In fact the club did not have air-conditioning in 2005 for the Walker Cup, so it was brought in for the week.

For more details on how this inaugural championship came together, and what it might look like when it tee’s off in 2018, the Gog Blog spoke with the Chicago Golf Club’s President Brad Kinsey. With the championship still 28 months off, there is still some planning to be done and details to work out. But here is where things stand fresh off the announcement, that the USGA is back on the schedule in Chicago.

Click here to hear the interview with Brad Kinsey, President of the Chicago Golf Club.

What the Chicago Golf Club should provide this USGA championship, is a place where the atmosphere is contained and spectators will feel like they got to see the entire golf course and the championship during that day.

The Gog Blog and Golfers on Golf Radio will continue to follow the championship over the next two-plus years, as it gets closer to teeing off and making golf history. For more information on the championship, see USGA.org.

 Jim McWethy invites everyone to come try McWethy’s Tavern at Mistwood Golf Club located in Romeoville, enjoy the mixture of a golf and fine dining environment at McWethy’s Tavern on Renwick Road, call for reservations at (815)-254-7001. Roger Cleveland of Callaway Golf, has created a superior line of new custom wedges that are in your pro shop, don’t let your short game suffer through another golf season. Visit Callawaygolf.com and your pro shop or retail store. Demand more, demand Callaway.