Next show stop, Tinley Park

Writing from Chicago

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The season for golf shows in the Chicago area continues on Friday, Feb. 17 at the Tinley Park Convention Center with the aptly-named Tinley Park Golf Expo. The three-day run begins at noon on the aforementioned Friday. Admission is $5 on Friday, $10 on Saturday and Sunday. Parking is free all three days. There will be a big demo area, big hitter Joe Hajduch will show you how to hit the ball out of the building, and someone will win golf for life at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park, one of the show's backers.

The following weekend will find the Chicago Golf Show back at its usual stand, the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Admission prices are identical to the Tinley show, but parking in the mammoth Rosemont garage will set you back $11 or so. Chip Beck's on the teaching stage Friday, with Craig Stadler there Saturday and Sunday.

Which show is better to go to? It's hard to say, given that Tinley's expo is the inaugural edition. The place is all but sold out of exhibition space, while the Rosemont show has rebounded in the last couple of years. It may be worth hitting both.

And, for the really ambitious with gas in their tank, this Friday starts a three-day run for the West Michigan Golf Show at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. Friday's hours are from 3-8 p.m. Central time, with doors opening Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. Central. Don't say we didn't warn you.

– Tim Cronin