I write from the perspective of a Chicago area resident who has been involved in the administration of amateur golf for 20 years. As everyone knows we have a large number of outstanding private clubs. We also have some tremendous privately owned daily fee courses. Some are famous, e.g. Cog Hill, others less well known, e.g. Silver Lakes. We also have a widespread network of municipally owned course. Some have been around since the early days of golf like some of the Chicago Park District Courses e.g Jackson Park, Waveland (Marovitz). The north shore has some old courses, Winnetka, Wilmette, Sunset Valley. There are some outstanding middle aged courses like Village Links of Glen Ellyn. There are even newer ones built in the last 30 years or so in towns like Elgin. Somehow, they all seem to work together. The courses that have failed, public or private, usually result from an economic problem in their particular area or alternatively, because they were bought out for housing developments. Certainly nobody should suggest that long standing successful municipal courses which communities have grown to depend upon should be privatized or eliminated in order to protect someone who wants to compete. I have greater sympathy for an operator who finds himself with new competition that enjoys competitive advantages due to tax breaks, ability to sustain losses and the like. but I think that each situation should be judged on its own. When Elgin built its courses, there was a real demand that was not being met in the private sector. The park district stepped up and did an excellent job.
Finally a word about Jackson Park. I have stayed out of the discussion which has largely consisted of individuals bashing a project based on lack of information and/or personal agendas. The project is far from ready to go, in large measure because it will not move forward until the Obama Presidential Center receives final approval. That approval is waiting for Washington which has more important problems right now although, I suggest that even before the current crisis this administration was not excited about any project related to President Obama. Nonetheless, all of the infrastructure changes needed for roads, tunnels, etc. have already been approved by the state legislature so that they will be built when the Obama Center is constructed regardless of whether the golf course is modified. As planned, all of the money to construct the golf course will be raised privately and administered by a private foundation with a blue ribbon Board composed of local residents, business leaders and representatives of the golf associations. Cost of rounds will remain at municipal rates for residents while floating upward for non-residents. Each of the significant golf related youth and charity organizations will participate like the First Tee, Tiger Woods Foundation, Evans Scholars, and the CDGA Foundation. Budgeting is being reviewed to avoid the course from becoming a "money pit". Assuming the operational issues are solved and the project is completed, it will provide recreational benefits and bring jobs to the neighborhood which badly needs them. Moreover, the course would be a great venue for the tour with its proximity to the lake and downtown, bringing even more economic benefits.
It is a ways from fruition. But rather than taking uninformed cheap shots, I suggest it would be best to sit back, see how we come out of this crisis, wait to see what the plan ultimately looks like and whether the private money gets raised. The one thing I know for certain is that the information exchanged on this site has been singularly uninformed.