Women’s Golf Headed to Historic Chicago GC
Legendary venue lands Women’s Open and Walker Cup
Chicago Golf Club, in Wheaton, Illinois, has been chosen by the USGA as the host site for the 2033 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2036 Walker Cup. America’s oldest golf club, designed by C.B. Macdonald in 1893 (and later Seth Raynor), has previously hosted 12 USGA championships, most recently the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2018.
“Hosting the best players in the world – men, women, amateur and professional – for USGA events is a point of pride for our club and a significant part of our long his- tory,” said Herb Getz, Chicago Golf Club president. “We very much look forward to building upon that history and continuing our valued partnership with the USGA on an even larger stage well into the future.”
Winnetka Golf Club is now managed by KemperSports.
Bringing in the Big Guns
Winnetka Park District hires KemperSports to overhaul golf facility
The Winnetka Park District Board of Commissioners has hired Chicago-based KemperSports, a leading golf, sports, entertainment and hospitality company, to manage Winnetka Golf Club (Winnetka, Illinois) and oversee an extensive course renovation to the club’s public nine-hole and 18-hole courses.
The renovation project started late last summer and is being designed by Illinois- based golf course architect Rick Jacobson. Renovations include re-leveling and resurfacing greens, tees and fairways, remodeling fairway and select greenside bunkers and overall improved drainage at both courses to better handle heavy storm events.
Both courses are closed in 2023 and are set to reopen in the summer of 2024.
Visit winnetkagolfclub.org.
Hometown Touchdown
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins buys golf course in home state of Michigan
Cousins
He has more career fourth-quarter come- backs (22) than NFL greats Joe Theismann, Jim Kelly and a fellow named Aaron Rodgers. But Kirk Cousins might’ve made his greatest save this past summer, when he bought Clearbrook Golf Club from family friends in Saugatuck, Michigan, near his hometown.
“Our family recently purchased the Clearbrook Golf Course from our friends and longtime owners, Jim and Candy Jeltema,” Kirk and Julie wrote in a letter to the community. “They have managed the course for many years, making Clearbrook a place of connection and fun for our entire community.” Clearbrook has been a local favorite since it opened in 1926, and the Jeltemas were worried they’d need to sell to a developer who would bulldoze it for homes or strip malls. The former owners will stay involved for the near future, ensuring Cousins has a solid backup as he gets his start as a golf course owner.
Visit clearbrookgolfclub.com.
Saints Alive!
Michigan’s St. John’s Resort reborn with bold, new Ray Hearn redesign
The Ray Hearn-designed Cardinal course.
St. John’s Resort, a massive golf course, retail, hotel and conference center on the site of a former seminary, has been a godsend for avid golfers in Metro Detroit. But truth be told, the 27-hole facility wasn’t quite heaven-sent compared to high-end facilities around the state.
Prayers, it seems, have been answered.
The facility, which was bought from the Archdiocese by the Pulte Family Foundation in 2021, is undergoing a massive overhaul, including a complete reimagining of the golf course. The foundation, the charitable arm of the Pulte Homes empire, has tapped “Renovation Ray” Hearn to turn the 27-hole footprint into 18 holes of true championship golf, called The Cardinal.
“The Pulte Homes family trust own it now, and they’re putting a lot of money into the Inn at St. John’s,” Hearn said. “It’s basically a brand-new course, and it’s been so much fun. People are going to be blown away.”
The course was closed all of 2022 and will be most of this year, until taking off the wraps for the public later this fall. We’ll have a full preview in our Summer Issue, so stay tuned! Visit stjohnsresort.com.
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