Cog Hill #4-Dubsdread

[Terry Lavin]

Terry,

I wonder if they've now lost both ways.  Not only have they lost their Open bid, but they may have turned their core business of local golfers away as well.  After one post-renovation round I doubt a lot of average players will pony up $155 for repeat punishment.  Before the reno, it was at least possible to enjoy onesself if you were hitting the ball well, now it's simply beyond reach for most of us.

I think they probably have lost both ways.  I'll say this: there's no way that they will ever get a US Open and if the players complaints about the golf course gain any traction with the tour, they may well lose the tour stop as well.  There are better venues in Chicago than Cog Hill, especially for an event that benefits the Evans Scholars Foundation.  Cog Hill has never sent a kid to college.

[PCCraig]

Terry,

I wonder if they've now lost both ways.  Not only have they lost their Open bid, but they may have turned their core business of local golfers away as well.  After one post-renovation round I doubt a lot of average players will pony up $155 for repeat punishment.  Before the reno, it was at least possible to enjoy onesself if you were hitting the ball well, now it's simply beyond reach for most of us.

I think they probably have lost both ways.  I'll say this: there's no way that they will ever get a US Open and if the players complaints about the golf course gain any traction with the tour, they may well lose the tour stop as well.  There are better venues in Chicago than Cog Hill, especially for an event that benefits the Evans Scholars Foundation.  Cog Hill has never sent a kid to college.

Terry:

It seems they have sent at least one through the Evans program:
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/lemont/sports/x272786739/Caddying-turns-shy-guy-into-Evans-Scholar

Considering they don't have a big caddy program to begin with at Cog Hill that's not that bad. But I agree there are clubs with great golf courses that I'm sure have sent way more kids to college through the program.

After this week they need one or two years of perfect conditions and the players raving about the golf course before they can even begin to talk about the Open again. Sure, the USGA could probably make it work if they had to, but there are better options (based on the GCA alone).

[Terry Lavin]

Currently, there are over 800 kids in college on the Evans scholarship.  More than 10,000 others have already gotten a free education because of the Evans.  99.9% of the caddies work at private clubs, where the members fund the program with their donations.  For some reason, some people in positions of authority think that it makes more sense for a tournament like this to be held at a public golf course, which strikes me as counterintuitive, because places like Cog Hill absolutely depend upon cart revenue to function.  I know they've attempted to get a caddie program going and I'm sure that a handful of Cog Hill caddies have gotten the scholarship, but there's no comparison when you look at what private club members have done to fund the program.  I'd like to see this tournament played at a private club with a tradition of backing the Evans Scholars Foundation and one that is clearly superior to Cog Hill.  As I said before, there are courses that would qualify on both counts here in Chicago and elsewhere.

[JSlonis]

Well, after listening to all the players complain about the course....to me it sounds like the perfect US Open venue.

And if there's one silver lining in this black cloud, it's that the tournament got moved into the playoffs.  If it were still a tournament in July that players could skip without any repercussions, it sure sounds from their comments that they would - in droves.

That's probably a correct assessment.  I know of one highly ranked player (who will remain nameless) that can't stand the course and is only at the tournament because it's a playoff event.

[PCCraig]

Currently, there are over 800 kids in college on the Evans scholarship.  More than 10,000 others have already gotten a free education because of the Evans.  99.9% of the caddies work at private clubs, where the members fund the program with their donations.  For some reason, some people in positions of authority think that it makes more sense for a tournament like this to be held at a public golf course, which strikes me as counterintuitive, because places like Cog Hill absolutely depend upon cart revenue to function.  I know they've attempted to get a caddie program going and I'm sure that a handful of Cog Hill caddies have gotten the scholarship, but there's no comparison when you look at what private club members have done to fund the program.  I'd like to see this tournament played at a private club with a tradition of backing the Evans Scholars Foundation and one that is clearly superior to Cog Hill.  As I said before, there are courses that would qualify on both counts here in Chicago and elsewhere.

I agree with you on every point above and wasn't trying to prove you wrong with my link, I was just surprised at first to read your post where you said Cog Hill had never sent anyone to college.

[PCCraig]

From Ed Sherman's Chicago Golf Blog:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/blogs?blogID=business-of-sports&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3af5555513-c950-4657-a93a-80db16fdf4adPost%3afeb90696-2cbe-4d6c-993a-cc31d81a22b0&plckCommentSortOrder=TimeStampAscending&sid=sitelife.chicagobusiness.com

"Last week, Mr. Kaczkowski said the WGA and BMW were looking at the 2010 and 2011 events at Cog Hill to determine the future of the tournament in Chicago. After last week, you'd have to say the local golf community and Cog Hill better mount quite a rally in 2011."

[Terry Lavin]

Those are some tough comments by Sherman in his blog, but, regrettably, there's a factual basis for all of it.  The players didn't like the conditioning of the course and they seemed liberated by the ability to bash Rees Jones in a non-US Open forum.  The good old days of "we love playing at this public golf course" seem to be by the wayside, for a number of reasons.  I'm sure that the WGA and the PGA will figure something out rather soon, but there are a lot of factors involved, including the future of the Fed-Ex Cup.  If this tournament were moved back to its 4th of July date, there wouldn't be any more carping about low attendance, that's for sure, but I don't know that any of the pros are going to fall in love with the punitive layout any time soon.

[David Egan]

Would Olympia Fields have any interest in hosting the event every other year?  The North course is so great and, after the unfair bashing it got in 2003, I think it deserves a second look.

[PCCraig]

Would Olympia Fields have any interest in hosting the event every other year?  The North course is so great and, after the unfair bashing it got in 2003, I think it deserves a second look.

I agree that OFCC would be a neat place to hold the event, they sure have the course for it! (Plus they have the train station on property).

But so much goes into bringing a tournament of this size to a club who knows if the membership would be up for it.

[C. Squier]

Would Olympia Fields have any interest in hosting the event every other year?  The North course is so great and, after the unfair bashing it got in 2003, I think it deserves a second look.

I agree that OFCC would be a neat place to hold the event, they sure have the course for it! (Plus they have the train station on property).

But so much goes into bringing a tournament of this size to a club who knows if the membership would be up for it.

It would have this uneducated non-voting member's vote 

[Terry Lavin]

A no-brainer.

[Mike H]

Has Butler National opened its membership to women, if so would the membership of Butler welcome back the Western Open?

[Terry Lavin]

Nope.  Still all-male.