36 Holes in Chicago

I played more golf on Friday than I have played in the last couple of months.

The day started with a round at Old Elm Golf Club in Highland Park, a suburb north of Chicago. This is a very old school place. It is a men only club with a couple hundred members, most are 70+, so it doesn't get a lot of play. It's a pretty short course measuring 6,465 yards from the longest tees for a par of 73 . The course rating is 70.7 and it has a slope rating of 123 on Bent grass.  Designed by one of the great American designers, Donald J. Ross, the Old Elm course opened in 1913. There are no golf carts or trollies here, you have to take a caddy.

There had been a torrential downpour the night before we played so the greens were playing slow, which is a shame as the small, fast greens are really this courses only defense. There are plenty of bunkers, but they were all casual water hazards due to the rain. Old Elm is a great walking course and fun to play. It would be great to play it again when the greens are in shape.

The second round of the day was on the tougher Onwentsia Golf Club course, in Lake Forest. Onwentsia celebrated its centennial in 1995, and is one of the oldest golf clubs in the country. The course was designed by one of America's most outstanding golf course architects, Charles Blair MacDonald in 1895, and was renovated in 1997 based on the design plan of Tom Doak. It was the home of the 1906 US Open and has hosted many prestigious events over the years. The course is 6,645 yards from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 71.9 and the slope rating is 127 on Bent grass.

Once again we were treated to caddies only and a guest locker with my name on it. The course had drained well and the greens were a lot faster than the morning round. It is a beautiful layout with an internal nine and a second nine running on the outside. It reminded me a lot of my home club CECC, with a much nicer clubhouse.