MCQ’S DOME is your place for an indoor tune-up of your golf game, get with the Mistwood golf club professionals for a spring lesson or a review of your clubs. Stop at mcQ’s, enjoy the OTB or the Bar & Grill. Bolingbrook Rd in Bolingbrook mcqsdome.com ______________________________________________________________________
BREAKING NEWS-RYDER CUP returns to Hazeltine GC, Chaska Minn. in 2028.
THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation, with BIG 3 Partner Len Ziehm on the Dye Course at PGA Village. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy., Linkedin and Facebook
I could use more weather like this, like the day I had in Port St. Lucie with BIG 3 partner Len Ziehm. So much for Global Warming,as the Chicago area is running 10 degrees below normal for this time of year, so say most of our local TV and Radio weather people.
I would like to see things warm up so that the local courses can get a start on summer, and start booking in some rounds. It would be nice to have a great golf season from start to finish this year. according to a recent study by World Golf and Health, playing golf and walking is a very healthy thing to do. Check out the results and findings of this study at golfandhealth.org.
I know 50 degrees is on the schedule a little bit this week, let’s hope it keeps on the schedule for a while until it turns into days where we should be at 60 or 70. In the meantime if outside does not work for you, then take it in the dome, and there is no place like mcQ’s in Bolingbrook. Next Saturday it’s the place for golf, horses and Loyola, MCQ’s one stop golf and more.
BIG 3 partner Len Ziehm has a few new travel posts on his site, Lenziehmongolf.com you should check them out. Myrtle Beach is among them, and speaking of MB, you can now sign up for the World’s Largest Amateur Tournament that is played in Myrtle Beach in late August. You can sign up now and save $100 on the tournament entrance fee. Myrtlebeachworldamateur.com for more details on this fun event, that attracts over 3,000 golfers every year.
TIGER WOODS is not a popular subject it appears based on several stories this past week. First up there is book on TW due out this week, that talks about Woods repeated run in’s with former President Bill Clinton. Don’t invite them to the same event. Another story suggests Woods is bad for business, as the sponsors are not heading back in his direction quite yet. Another feature says Woods is getting the TV time, but Phil Mickelson is playing much better golf, and fans like Phil more because he is more like Arnold Palmer. I will put out my top 10 picks for the Masters and one hint is that ol’ TW is not on it.
SPEAKING OF THE KING..Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge is upping it’s game again with improvements in the practice area and on both courses. It is interesting to see what Bay Hill is doing, since one story sent our way has some folks at BH thinking the PGA Tour will be gone in four years.
WITH THE Players Championship moving back to March, somebody has to go that month and my pick would be the WGC Mexico event. Why go to Mexico anyway, so the players can continue to get sick. The entire month of March should be the Florida swing. The PGA TOUR asked Valspar to move to the fall, and the answer back was NO.
So now without Arnie, maybe Bay Hill is on the chopping block. That could also be a good move sending the Mastercard event to the fall. Players in a relaxed mode come October could give Arnie an annual tribute. For the Florida guys who don’t play in the fall, they might play at Arnie’s place, it would be a home game for many. In addition no need for the PGA Tour to fear the NFL if you have a good field. In October the NFL has three weeks of night games, London games, and bye-weeks all rolled into one. This opens up plenty of markets to watch golf.
SPEAKING OF THE TOUR… ICYMI Sentry insurance is the new sponsor for five years at the Tournament of Champions event that starts the year in Maui Hawaii at Kapalua. Which BTW will be undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation by the original course designers Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore.
The new clubhouse drawing for the University of Iowa Course Finkbine
Apologies for leaving this note out of my college golf update this past week.
The University of Iowa course Finkbine will be getting a new clubhouse and support facility.
This has been approved by the State of Iowa and the universities board of regents.
The cost of the project is $9.95 million and will replace an aging 52 year old building. The new clubhouse plans got the approval of both golf coaches, Tyler Stith of the men’s team and Megan Menzel the women’s golf coach. Construction will start this spring and the new clubhouse will open in spring of 2019. Congrats to the Hawkeye’s on this great development for their golf teams. Donor gifts to the athletic department will pay for the cost of the project.
I HEAR that in the latest round of public forum on the Lake Bluff Golf Course by the Park District on keeping the golf course open or to close it in 2019, that some speakers didn’t have much good to say about the Billy Casper golf management firm running the golf course. Most of the successful park district golf courses in the area, do not have a golf management firm operating them.
KUDO’s to Illini Men’s Coach Mike Small and his team on a big win at BIGHORN in California over the weekend. Illinois was 40 under par as a team. The “W” was needed by the 15th ranked Illinois Team.
FORMER ILLINOIS STANDOUT Steve Stricker is on a roll, with his second Champions Tour win in two tries, Stricker has played well on the PGA Tour when he plays there. He will now play in Houston next week in a late attempt to get into the Masters, here’s hoping he makes it. If he gets in, he could contend.
The Gog Blog returns on Tuesday. RS