MY GOLFVISIONS RECORD: 16 courses in four states

CHESTERTON, Ind. – Tim Miles  Sr. tells me I’ve made golf history. He says I’m the first member of GolfVisions’ Player Pass program to play all of the 16  courses offered in this most innovative program, and I’ll tell you it wasn’t easy. Miles,  the GolfVisions president, started the Player Pass program two years ago and tweaked it for this season. GolfVisions is a course management firm that Miles founded under the name GreenVisions in 1989.  It presently oversees 11 courses in Illinois, two in Indiana, one in Michigan and two in Florida. Under the Player Pass program, you pay an annual fee to join, then get one free greens fee at each course plus other perks – the lowest fee the course offers for your playing partners, free range balls and discounts on meals and pro shop merchandise. (more…)

Quad Cities should be considered a golf destination spot

By Len Ziehm MOLINE, IL. – For years now I’ve told my golf-media buddies from the Quad Cities that they reside in ``the golf capitol of Illinois.’’ They think I’m kidding but, after four decades of covering the PGA Tour stop in that community, I’m not so sure. In fact, I can now say that the area encompassing Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa could be a golf destination – and I’m NOT kidding. Golf in the Quad Cites is relatively inexpensive. That’s a big plus.  Nothing…continue reading →

Yarrow, Island Hills are Good Bets for Golf in Michigan

By Len Ziehm AUGUSTA, MI. – Michigan-based golf course architect Ray Hearn has made an impact in Chicago with his work at Flossmoor Country Club, one of the area’s top private facilities, as well as at Mistwood in Romeoville, one of the best public courses. If you want to test more of Hearn’s work you don’t have to go very far. Two of his earlier works are just over the Michigan line, and they’d make good stopovers for those who plan to attend the second Champions Tour major tournament in Michigan this summer.…continue reading →

Golf Now Chicago’s Concierge Golf Outing

By Len Ziehm TINLEY PARK, IL. – At first it seemed a walk down memory lane. I hadn’t been back to the Odyssey Country Club in Chicago’s south suburbs since 1997 – the third and final year the course was used as the site of the Illinois Women’s Open championship. Odyssey got that tournament, the state’s most prestigious for women,  off to a great start. This recent visit was to participate in the Concierge & Hospitality Professionals Golf Outing, a delightful affair organized for the eighth straight year by Cheryl Justak to create…continue reading →

Indiana’s Swan Lake lands U.S. finals, ING gathering

By Len Ziehm GREENVILLE, S.C. – Swan Lake, the Indiana resort that has operated  relatively low-key since its opening in 1969, is about to elevate its profile. Located in Plymouth, near the Notre Dame campus, Swan Lake hosted the National Junior College Championships last week and will host that event again in 2014. Of even more note, it’ll be the site of the U.S. finals of the World Golfers Championship this September and the International Network of Golf spring meeting in 2013. The announcements of both came at this year’s 22nd ING spring…continue reading →

French Lick Adds A Fourth Course, Sultan’s Run

By Len Ziehm FRENCH LICK, Ind. – If ever there was a comeback story in the golf business, it is the one unfolding at French Lick Resort. This little town of the same name in southern Indiana, near Louisville, was  the home to one of the popular vacation retreats in the United States in the early 1900s and its two stately hotels reflect that. The French Lick Hotel (now with a 24-hour casino added) has 443 rooms and suits and dates back to 1845. The West Baden Hotel, with 243 rooms and suites,…continue reading →

Eagle Ridge

By Len Ziehm GALENA, IL. – I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for the Eagle Ridge Resort. Not only has it been a favorite get-away retreat for about 40 years, it’s also a place where I’ve been on hand for some special events. In 1984 I played in the grand opening outing for Eagle Ridge’s South course, a Roger Packard design. In 1997 I played in another celebratory round, one to mark the opening of The General -- Eagle Ridge’s premier layout, created by Packard and Andy North. That’s why…continue reading →

FarmLinks Finds It’s Time For A Change

By Len Ziehm SYLACAUGA, AL. -- The FarmLinks course in this little town about 45 miles from Birmingham already has a big reputation. Golf Digest, Golfweek and the National Golf Foundation have recognized it for one good thing or another. Soon, though, things will be changing. Honours Golf, which managed the facility for 10 years, will be leaving and a new management team is coming in. Honours did a good job, but 81-year-old owner Jimmy Pursell wants to take his course in another direction. Pursell, who made a big impact in the fertilizer…continue reading →

Searching For Golf Bargains On Florida’s Gulf Coast

By Len Ziehm SARASOTA, FL. — The main goal was to get to know a new area on our first two-month winter odyssey and — of course — that meant getting to know the golf options on Florida’s Gulf coast. We did a good job of both. Between our arrival in Sarasota on Dec. 30 and our departure on Feb. 29 we played 14 of the 18-holers and one of the nine-holers. We didn’t have access to the area’s premier private clubs, like Concession, The Founders Club, Sara Bay, Longboat Key Club, Venetian,…continue reading →

Alabama’s An Underrated State For Golfers

By Len Ziehm GULF SHORES, AL. — There is, I believe, a misconception about golf in Alabama. Sure, the creation of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail 20 years ago was a big boost for golf in the state. In fact, it was a marketing breakthrough for the entire golf industry. The Trail has 11 courses covering 468 holes, with most in the Birmingham area. Newcomers to Alabama may well gravitate to those layouts. There’s a lot more to golf in Alabama than the Jones Trail, however. I witnessed that up-close-and-personal on the…continue reading →