- The Forge at Palmer Hills: The family that putts together has fun together
The Quad Cities of Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, offer bountiful golf. Nearby Silvis, Illinois, even hosts a PGA Tour Event, The John Deere Classic, at the spectacular TPC at Deere Run. But the area’s courses don’t just cater to the core golf demographic. There are also plenty of opportunitiesContinue reading “The Forge at Palmer Hills: The family that putts together has fun together“ - The future is bright for Kokopelli Golf Club in Marion, IL
Kokopelli Golf Club in Marion has seen its share of ups and downs over the past 25 years. The Steve Smyers design has seen multiple changes in ownership since its founding, including a group that included Smyers himself. The most recent owners are Rodney Cabaness and Shad Zimbro, local businessmen who have been at theContinue reading “The future is bright for Kokopelli Golf Club in Marion, IL” - Grand Geneva Resort and Spa: From bunnies to birdies
The Lake Geneva area of southern Wisconsin has been the preferred getaway for Chicagoans ever since 1871, when Chicago burned and industrialist families fled the remains of the city smoldering in the sweltering summer heat. The shores of Lake Geneva are lined with the “summer cottages” of families with names like Wrigley and Maytag –Continue reading “Grand Geneva Resort and Spa: From bunnies to birdies” - SentryWorld reasserts dominance in Wisconsin destination golf
Before Whistling Straits. Before Erin Hills. Before Wild Rock. Before Sand Valley. Before all of these Wisconsin “destination” golf courses, there was SentryWorld. SentryWorld debuted in 1982 in Stevens Point, when Sentry Insurance commissioned Robert Trent Jones, Jr., to build a course to cater to locals and business colleagues as well as attract golfers fromContinue reading “SentryWorld reasserts dominance in Wisconsin destination golf” - Honma TW757 Fairway Woods boast tradition and tech
Japan is a golf-crazed nation. The sport is associated with status, leisure, and wealth. When I lived there in the early and mid 1990s, I would sometimes spend $200 in an evening just at a driving range–and the range was packed with golf nuts like me. Honma is one of the top golf equipment companiesContinue reading “Honma TW757 Fairway Woods boast tradition and tech” - Bloodline Vale: Stand up for your putts
You’ve likely seen the infomercials for the putters that stand up behind your ball. This review is NOT about those putters. The Bloodline Vale (HPP) ($299) does stand up on its own, but there is no infomercial for Bloodline putters, the original self-standing putters. The Vale is Bloodline’s newest addition. It’s a mallet with aContinue reading “Bloodline Vale: Stand up for your putts” - Fyre Lake Golf Course is a magical place
PGA Certified Director of Golf Mark Krizic took over ownership of Fyre Lake Golf Course in July, 2020. Nearly two years later, his initial assessment of the Nicklaus-designed course has only grown more certain. “When I first came here, I said, ‘This is a top-10 Illinois course,’” remembers Krizic. “Look around at this property. There’sContinue reading “Fyre Lake Golf Course is a magical place” - Edison Wedges: Invented for the average player
Terry Koehler has been in the golf equipment industry for 40 years. He began with Ray Cook Putters in the early 1980s. He joined Ben Hogan Golf in the early 90s. He founded both Eidolon Golf and Scor Wedges, where he developed the first progressive weight wedge system. Then he brought Ben Hogan back toContinue reading “Edison Wedges: Invented for the average player” - Glynns Creek Golf Course: A municipal gem in the Iowan countryside
The mighty Mississippi meanders serenely between Illinois and Iowa, separating the two Illinoisan cities of Rock Island and Moline from the two Iowan cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. Together, they constitute the Quad Cities, an area rich in history, food, entertainment, and golf. Riverboat gambling is the biggest tourist draw, but well over a half-dozenContinue reading “Glynns Creek Golf Course: A municipal gem in the Iowan countryside” - 2022 Father’s Day Golf Gift Guide
This Father’s Day, I’m particularly reflective. My son—the younger of my two kids—just graduated from high school, and he’ll soon make his way out of state for college. He won’t be playing golf there, but I hope he takes the work ethic embodied in the photo below with him when he goes. This was hisContinue reading “2022 Father’s Day Golf Gift Guide” - 2022 Masters Gift Guide
For over a decade, I’ve been writing a Valentine’s Day Golf Gift Guide. But realisticly, that’s not a day for golf gifts. What should be a holiday though, at least for those of us with green running through our veins and visions of birdies dancing through our heads, is Masters Week. If you live inContinue reading “2022 Masters Gift Guide” - Cleveland Launcher XL Driver: If you like “long and straight”
Cleveland Golf is historically known for its wedges and putters. Recent Cleveland driver offerings have also been extremely strong, however. In 2021, Cleveland’s Launcher Driver line literally expanded Cleveland’s august reputation with the Launcher XL. The Cleveland Launcher XL ($399) lives up to its moniker. The driver head is 6.7% deeper front to back, whichContinue reading “Cleveland Launcher XL Driver: If you like “long and straight”” - Holiday Gift Guide 2021: Feed your golf habit
Routines are powerful. In golf, routines are especially valued. How many times have you heard top players talk about the importance of maintaining their pre-shot routine, or their practice routine, or their fitness routine? For amateurs, just working regular play into your routine is key to improvement. You’re not going to lower your handicap playingContinue reading “Holiday Gift Guide 2021: Feed your golf habit” - Kohler is more than Whistling Straits (But The Straits Course IS awesome)
Let’s be very clear: There is MUCH more to The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin, than The Straits Course at Whistling Straits. This iconic and unique resort offers four Pet Dye courses, not to mention the Kohler Waters Spa (try the Rain Man or Woodsman Massage treatments), one of the best restaurants in the MidwestContinue reading “Kohler is more than Whistling Straits (But The Straits Course IS awesome)” - The General rules over The North and The South at Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa
The General at Eagle Ridge Resort is the centerpiece of the Eagle Ridge Resort. The 6,820-yard Roger Packard and Andy North design is the newest of the four golf courses at the sprawling four-season resort just outside the historic town of Galena, and it’s the track that guests plan their golf vacations around. The resort’sContinue reading “The General rules over The North and The South at Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa” - Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa: The original Illinois golf resort
In the early to mid-1800s, Galena, Ill., was the most prosperous and important city in “the West” – much more so than a quiet lakeshore trading post 170 miles to the east named Chicago. Galena was a bustling riverboat and lead mining city, with 14,000 inhabitants, famous for its related, often scandalous, industries: alcohol (RedContinue reading “Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa: The original Illinois golf resort” - Mistwood Golf Club: Private club experience, public course rates
“O Romeoville, Romeoville, where the hell art thou Romeoville?” That’s how I tried to identify a route to Mistwood Golf Club on my phone. Siri, however, just got confused. “Artificial intelligence,” my ass. Anyway, once I got the directions sorted, I headed north to an area I perhaps unfairly associate with over-crowded, expensive courses with a pace ofContinue reading “Mistwood Golf Club: Private club experience, public course rates” - Stoatin Brae at Gull Lake View Resort in Augusta, Michigan: One of the best in the nation
The year was 1963. Darl Scott, the golf course superintendent at Gull Lake Country Club in Kalamazoo, Michigan, decided to build his own public access course, the West Course at what would grow to become Gull Lake View Resort. Over the ensuing decade, the Scott family would build their East Course, followed by the StonehedgeContinue reading “Stoatin Brae at Gull Lake View Resort in Augusta, Michigan: One of the best in the nation”
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