Posts Tagged ‘virtual golf course tour’

A great reason to hit the links… Family Golf Month!

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

Not that any avid golfer needs a reason to go whack and hack at his or her favorite course, but here’s a great reason to bring the rest of the family along. Play Golf America, the Golf Channel and a host of others are promoting July as Family Golf Month.

So what exactly does that mean? Well, the whole purpose of FGM is to promote and grow the game of golf by creating an environment that is fun to learn the game in.  Let’s face it, golf is a tough game (par is victory for most players) and can be a bit intimidating. My first time out, I felt like I was constantly in the way of other golfers, playing god-awful, not to mention, all the unspoken rules I managed to break. Looking back, it’s a wonder I stayed with it.

Family Golf takes that intimidation factor away and creates a casual, yet structured way to learn the game and, as the name suggests, caters to the needs of families and young golfers.

Nationally, there’s nearly 2,100 facilities participating in Family Golf Month. Locally, here in Chicago, one of the biggest and long-time supporters of Family Golf is Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Illinois. The Jemsek family understands the importance of growing the game and their customer base. Cog Hill always delivers a first class golf experience, and their work with Family Golf Month is no exception.

For more information on Family Golf Month and the other great family golf promotions, visit Cog Hill Golf and Country Club.

Now, go grab the kids and the spouse and hit the links!

You can check out the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club virtual golf course tour here!

Golf Course of the Day: Indian Oaks Country Club, Shabbona, Illinois

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Located in the beautiful rolling farmland of Northern Ilinois (about halfway between Chicago and Rockford, roughly 20 miles south of DeKalb), Indian Oaks Country Club in Shabbona, Illinois features 18 holes of great golf. The course, designed in 1964 by Ken Locke, features Kentucky Blue Grass fairways and four sets of tees to accommodate golfers of all skill levels.

Indian Oaks Country Club isn’t going to crush your soul if you’re a beginner, nor cause you to pull your hair out if you’re a scratch golfer. What it will do is give you a most enjoyable day of golf, with some interesting challenges amidst beautiful surroundings and being catered to by a very friendly, very attentive staff. Indian Oaks does put a premium on being able to hit the ball straight with all of it’s fairways being lined by trees. The greens are well manicured, as is the entire course and they are sculpted to give your putting game a challenge.

From the back tees the par 72 course lays out to 6,715 yards with a course rating of 71.8 and a slope of 118. From the forward gold tees, the course lays out to 5,055 yards with a course rating of 64.2 and a slope of 100.

For the Indian Oaks Country Club virtual golf course tour we’ll start with the dogleg par 4, 244 yard (226 yards from the gold tees), Hole #5 with a handicap of 16. Next up is the par 3, 168 yard (76 yards from the gold tees), Hole #6 with water guarding the green and a handicap of 14. Last, but not least we move to the par 4, 452 yard (309 yards from the gold tees) Hole #9 with a handicap of 8.

Check out the Indian Oaks Country Club Virtual Golf Course Tour

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Golf Quote of the Day: Life is better spent golfing

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

The difference between golf and government is that in golf you can’t improve your lie.  ~George Deukmejian

Truer words….

Check out a virtual course tour!

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Golf Course of the Day: Hilldale Golf Course, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Designed by world renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1970, Hilldale Golf Course is located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois a mere twenty minutes from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. This beautiful golf course was built on land that once served as a sportman’s club and was owned by Marshall Field, the famous Chicago retailer.

The course is a challenging 18 hole par 71 that from it’s back tees lays out 6,432 yards. From the forward, red tees, the course measures out to 5,227 yards. Hilldale is loaded with risk and reward with 13 holes where water comes into play. This is a course were selecting the right club is essential and a premium is placed on accuracy and precision shot-making ability. With four sets of tees, Hilldale Golf Course provides a challenge for golfers of all skill levels.

The practice facilities at Hilldale Golf Course are first rate with all grass driving stations, chipping and putting greens to help you get ready for a day on the course along with a short game area complete with bunkers.

Here on Look Around Golf, we have three of Hilldale’s challenging holes for the Hilldale Golf Course virtual golf course tour. Let’s take a closer look…

We’ll start with the par 5, 506 yard (461 yards from the forward red tees), Hole #2 with a handicap of 2. With ponds guarding both sides of the fairway, (the second one on the right side going all the way up to the green) this hole is a truly tough nut to crack.

Next up is the par 4, 406 yards (335 from the forward red tees), Hole #10 with a handicap of 5. With mature trees guarding the right side of the downhill fairway and out-of-bounds along the left, the challenge is just beginning. Your approach shot will be over water to the elevated, tiered green that is guarded by bunkers on both the left and the right. You really don’t want to land on the top level when the flag is on the lower.

We finish up with a nasty par 3, the 191 yard (147 from the forward red tees), Hole #13 with a handicap of 9. It’s all about carrying the shot because depending on your tee selection, the huge pond will be covering the right side or be there right in front of you. There’s clusters of bunkers on the backside of the large green.

Check out the Hilldale Golf Course Virtual Golf Course Tour

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Golf Quote of the Day! Life is better when you’re holding a six iron…

Monday, October 4th, 2010

Golf is golf. You hit the ball, you go find it.  Then you hit it again.  ~Lon Hinkle

I tend to spend most of my time in the looking for the ball department, lol…

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Check out a Virtual Golf Course Tour!

Golf Course of the Day: Midlane Golf Resort and Suites, Wadsworth, Illinois

Monday, October 4th, 2010

As Fall begins to settle in here in the Midwest will be devoting our course of the day posts to Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan golf courses before moving to more sunny climes in November. Here’s a great course that many Chicago area golfers really don’t know about, Midlane Golf Resort and Suites.

Located in Wadsworth, Illinois (north of Chicago on I-94), Midlane Golf Resort and Suites is home to one of Chicagoland’s finest 18-hole golf courses. Midlane, with its four sets of tees offers a challenge to both the serious beginner and the most accomplished golfer and is ranked as one of the Top 20 area courses by Chicagoland Golf Magazine.

The course lays out at 6,848 yards from it’s gold championship tees and is defined by water, water and then more water. Midlane has a rating of 73.4 and a slope of 138 from the back tees. From the forward red tees, the course doesn’t let up much, measuring 5,021 yards, with a rating of 70.1 and a slope of 125.

Architect Bob Lohmann created the back 9 and renovated and updated the original Robert Bruce Harris front nine. The course is a gorgeous, well-manicured treat with bluegrass fairways and bent grass tees. One of the unique features of Midlane Golf Resort is the 17th hole, which is a replica of Augusta National’s classic and legendary par three 12th hole.

Practice facilities include a driving range with target greens and bunkers. There is also a putting green and a short game area to practice your chipping and bunker shots and give yourself a chance to warm up to the challenge ahead.

The course has hosted several tournaments and events including the Illinois Open and Illinois PGA Match Play Championship.

Midlane Golf Resort is truly that, a first class golf getaway and full service resort with an excellent staff and fully stocked Pro Shop.

For the Midlane Golf Resort and Suites virtual golf course tour we start with the toughest hole on the course. The par 5, 546 yard (423 from the forward red tees) Hole # 4 with a handicap of 1. With bunkers on the right of the fairway and water all the way to the green, this hole places a true premium on accuracy.

Next up is the par 3, 198 yard (107 from the red tees) Hole #17 with a handicap of 16. This is the replica of Augusta’s 12th and as such, demands you carry your shot over the water that guards the front and right of the green.

Finally, we finish with Hole #18, a great, double dog leg finish to a day of challenging golf and another hole where water plays a big part in your play. The par 5, 540 yards (419 yards from the forward red tees) Hole #18 has a handicap of 6.

See the Midlane Golf Resort Virtual Golf Course Tour!

Golf Course of the Day: Hidden Valley Golf Club, Norco, California

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Beautiful, unique and another gem in Southern California’s golf paradise, Hidden Valley Golf Club in Norco, California (north of Corona and east of Riverside) features a course design that favors and preserves the rock outcroppings, natural vegetation and dry streams amid the perfectly manicured fairways and greens.

With five sets of tees, Hidden Valley offers golfers of all skill levels a great golfing challenge. From the back tees, the expert golfer will be faced with carrying the ball over numerous canyons and ravines to get to the fairways and greens. The middle tees will offer some of those same challenges to average golfers. The forward tees are situated as to give beginning and less experienced golfers a clearer path to the greens.

Designed by Casey O’Callaghan, the course features great changes in elevation with stunning majestic views of the surrounding mountains. Hidden Valley Golf Club measures out to 6,721 yards from the back tees for a par of 72. The course is rated at 73.3 with a slope of 140. From the forward tees, the course lays out at 4,649 yards.

Check out the Hidden Valley Golf Club Virtual Golf Course Tour here!

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Golf Quote of the Day: Life is better with a six iron in your hands

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Through years of experience I have found that air offers less resistance than dirt.  ~Jack Nicklaus, on why he tees his ball high.

That explains everything,lol…

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Golf Course of the Day: Indian Wells Golf Resort, Indian Wells, California

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Southern California is home to some of the very best golf courses in the country. The Palm Desert courses are spectacular, especially if you’re a golfer from the midwest, eastern or southern parts of the country. Indian Wells Golf Resort in Indian Wells, California is truly one of the premier golf facilities in Southern California.

Indian Wells has the distinction of having two 18-hole championship courses that rank in the Top 20 ‘Best Courses You Can Play” in California by Golfweek Magazine. A serious accomplishment for any facility, and an amazing one considering the amount of truly great public courses in California.

We have both the Celebrity Course, designed by Clive Clark and the Player’s Course, created by John Fought from Indian Wells Golf Resort here on Look Around Golf.

For the virtual golf course tour of the Celebrity Course, a par 72, 7,050 yard layout, we are featuring the par 5, 519 yard, Hole #14, the par 4, 471 yard, Hole #15 and finish with the par 4, 388 yard, Hole #18.

For the slightly longer, par 72, 7,326 yards of the Player’s Course we start with the par 4, 459 yard, Hole #6, move to the par 3, 146 yard, Hole #17 and finish with the par 4, 491 yard, Hole #18.

To see the gorgeous Indian Wells Golf Resort virtual golf course tour, click here.

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Joe T. Jemsek, Golf Talk Interview, Part 4 of 4

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

We’re proud to have golf course designer Joe T. Jemsek spend some time talking with us for our latest Golf Talk Interview. Besides being a dashingly handsome and very cool guy (check out those shades!), Joe has worked on over a hundred golf courses both here in the United States and also overseas. His insights into golf course design were enlightening and made for a great interview.

The interview took place at Pine Meadow Golf Course in Mundelien, Illinois and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Pine Meadow for there assistance and hospitality in making this interview possible.

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In part 4,  Joe talks about what his personal philosophy of golf course design is and what he tries to achieve on all of his projects.

See Part 1 of the Joe T. Jemsek interview

See Part 2 of the Joe T. Jemsek interview

See Part 3 of the Joe T. Jemsek interview

See the Pine Meadow Golf Course virtual golf course tour.

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