Tom Bendelow – South Shore Country Club Chicago

[PCCraig]

The following is the history of South Shore a la CPD website;
“The South Shore Cultural Center, a 65-acre park with a golf course, tennis courts, a bathing beach, and an impressive building, originated as the South Shore Country Club. In 1905, Lawrence Heyworth, president of the downtown Chicago Athletic Club, envisioned an exclusive club with a "country setting." Heyworth selected unimproved south lakefront property, often used for fishing and duck hunting, for the new country club.
The club's directors hired architects Marshall and Fox, later known for designing many of Chicago's most luxurious hotel and apartment buildings, including the Drake Hotel. For inspiration, Heyworth provided a photograph of an old private club in Mexico City, but asked the architects to exclude expensive embellishments. As the club could not yet collect dues, work had to proceed quickly and inexpensively. To this end, members Marshall Field and A. Montgomery Ward lent their store delivery wagons to transport turf, sod, and trees. Mr. Worcester, Vice-President of the Peoples Gas Company, put in lighting for the grounds and clubhouse.
Enjoying immediate success and social importance, South Shore Country Club quickly outgrew its facilities. Marshall and Fox were hired to build a new clubhouse, incorporating the original ballroom. Constructed in 1916, the larger and more substantial reinforced concrete building, like the original, was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style. The country club's membership peaked in the late 1950s. Simultaneously, many African-Americans began settling in South Shore. Because the private club excluded black members, it went out of business in the 1970s.
In 1974, the Chicago Park District purchased the property to expand its lakefront facilities. The park district planned to demolish the severely-deteriorated clubhouse. However, community members rallied together to save the historic building. Rehabilitating the clubhouse as a cultural center in the late 1970s, the park district has since restored other historic features including the front colonnade, entry gate and stables.”

I had played there once in High School after volunteering there for a Junior Golf camp and remembering it wasn’t half bad. I find this interesting because I never knew if was a Bendelow design. Was it ever 18 holes? Or always nine? It really has fantastic land right on the lake.

And this may be extremely far fetched, but considering how close Jackson Park is to South Shore, I wonder if it ever occurred to anyone to connect the two pieces of land. Imagine the possibilities if they connected and built a top-notch Bethpage / Torrey Pines level course along the lake in Chicago, in hopes of getting major tournaments??? Crazy, but could be cool. There has to be at least 140 acres between the two courses.

[PCCraig]

Nothing guys? I thought Bendelow was well respected on GCA.

[RJ_Daley]

Pat, with my name and all, you'd think I had a better handle on Chicago! 

But, I did spend quite a time using google 'street view' and one can circumnavigate both South Shore and Jackson park quite well and get decent views through the chainlink fences onto the golf courses.  My impression is that you are correct on the land available.  But, like my name twin might say, 'that would cost 10s of millions!    The land seems typically city park tree infested (which is generally a good thing for the residents needing greenspace in that southside environment).  And, I doubt any private entity could undertake to transform the courses into anything approaching a "championship" venue.  I doubt the City of Chicahga could justify that. 

[PCCraig]

Considering the money that will likely be spent on the South Side for the Oylmpics, this would be nothing. Perhaps Bethpage would be a pushing it a bit, but something that could legit compete with Cog Hill for best public in the State, sure. Why not get Kemper Sports (the management company for CPD) involved and give them an ownership stake in the resulting course.

My question is, is there enough room to build something long enough. Imagine using the shoreline for a finishing 18th hole with the Chicago Skyline in the background!

[RJ_Daley]

Pat, I was doing some quick distance measurements of length of corridors for golf.  The interior streest would need to be taken out to get runs of 1500ft, which is about a championship length of par 4 of about 450yards.  So, then figure finding the length of par 5s at 600yards, you really would need an atomic bomb to hit the place first, before you could start redesigning a championship venue... IMHO... 

[RJ_Daley]

As far as acreages go, you can use google planometer to calc rough measure.  I get Southshores 9 holer on about 40 acres or slightly < if you take out the building areas. 

http://www.acme.com/planimeter/

[Adam Clayman]

Pat, I'm familiar with the course, having grown up very nearby. The land this course occupies is not all that. Pretty flat. But, the area between the two courses does have some perfectly gentle rolls and enough interest to make good golf. As I recall, the one shot hole nearest the stable has a green most of us would love to challenge daily. A sort of tilted plate with a buried elephant, too boot, as I recall.

 Several holes are chocked with trees making this a poster child for everything wrong with a majority of Chicagoland golf.

Since this idea of yours is a good one, I highly doubt anyone would consider doing it.  

This property, for a short period of time, was owned by the Rainbow Push people, wasn't it? It could've easily been some other type of organization, like Louis Farakhan's ministry. So long ago, I've forgotten.
 
The inside of the building is spectacular. Some movies scenes have been filmed in the formal dining area. One, as I recall, was some finishing school, maybe in either Ferris Buller's Day Off??

[RJ_Daley]

Adam, I suppose it could be like doing another East Lake urban rehab.  But, I truly suspect that the cost to sculpt actual interesting golf contour for FW shots of championship calibre would be enormous.  Although, it would sure be a plum tree of contracts and patronage rewards and such (putting on my 'machine' hat.  )

[PCCraig]

Is it crazy? Yes absolutly.

I completley understand the chances of this ever happening is next to none. But in what other major city, downtown, is this kind of land available? This is ON the lake. Considering what was done at Whistling straights on what you could call worse land for a golf course than this...why not?

I think this would have to be done a la private contracting hence my mention of KemperSports. However if others put up the money for it, and lease the land from the City, why not??? Think of the jobs that could be given around the area in just the construction alone.

[Tim_Cronin]

Think of the bribes and the indictments, too!
Instead of Silver Shovel, we'd have Gold Gorse or something.
I wrote before the Open at Bethpage that if the USGA really wanted an Open on a muni, it should come to Chicago and play Jackson Park as is, complete with car horns on Lake Shore Drive, police sirens, people trying to run you over as you cross the street, not to mention varying green speeds. And a range what, three blocks away? That would be an Open.

[PCCraig]

Should we have a contest as to who can come up with the best routing on the combined land using google maps?

Anyone up for the challenge?

[RJ_Daley]

No offense, but I'm not up for the challenge, given it is too time consuming to really do it with anything beyond routing some stick lines... That doesn't say a darn thing about what would have to be done with the land shaping and contouring nor the city street infra structure to even approach reality or plausibility.  I don't know how deep the sand is off shore there, but it might take a "Lido" like Hurculean dredging effort to pull up enough sand to make contours.  Maybe that Crown Prince in Abu Dahbi or their sovreign wealth fund could take the cost, I suppose, with all their experience of creating land from the bottom sands of the drink.  Maybe hire Tiger to design it? 

But, If a certain guy wants to mention anything about a similar piece of land in a big city with similar if not way better existing natural features and assets... that COULD be designed to hold tour/major competition, who would I be to stand in his way?... 

[Chuck Brown]

It is an interesting idea, that I have considered while playing Jackson Park myself.  One issue is that if you really 'upscale' the whole thing, you still have major streets traversing the park.

I have really enjoyed playing Jackson Park as is.  A good rule of thumb there is to take driver out of your bag altogether.  There are two Par 5's that, with driver, you can dominate, but it is otherwise nearly useless to carry driver at all.

I imagine what it must have been like to play that course with state of the art maintenance, in an era when 220 yards was a good drive.  It would have been a first-class muni.