Remembering Jim McWethy

Writing from Chicago

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Jim McWethy knew what he was getting into when he took sole control of Mistwood Golf Club.

What he didn’t know was how deep he was getting into golf’s business side.

Before his revitalization program was finished, he’d spent $6 million on remodeling the golf course and building a performance center, and nearly twice more on a sumptuous clubhouse that replaced the original, a dump that appeared to have been built upside-down. While he was at it, he took over a rundown golf dome a few miles away and made it the most modern in the country.

McWethy did this not only because he loved golf, but because his business instincts saw an opportunity to make a go of it. He was right. Mistwood went from afterthought to success, with excellent playing conditions, an unparalleled staff, and delicious food. McWethy’s Tavern, the restaurant in the clubhouse, was the best dining in Romeoville and several towns beyond.

McWethy died Monday night, victim of a lung illness. He was 76.

He had taken up golf as a kid, growing up in Palos Heights near the Navajo Fields Country Club, property which is now Trinity Christian College. He never lost the love for the game, and that brought him to become an investor in the then-new Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville in 1998. It struggled to gain an audience until McWethy bought it outright from a second group of partners in 2003.

McWethy’s total investment in Mistwood was estimated at $16 million, with $10 million sunk into the clubhouse. Asked by Illinois Golfer in 2012 why he did so at a time when others were retrenching, McWethy said, “I do believe it can be a successful venture, but I also realize I’m running counter to almost everybody else in the golf business.

“It’s a big roll. I do not expect it’s going to be paying handsome rewards. I just want rewards for it.”

McWethy graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa in 1965, but never forgot his alma mater. The Berry Center there is named after his grandfather, whose bearings distribution company grew into the world’s largest before its sale.

McWethy invested in everything from software to a blueberry farm. Rarely did he meet with anything but success.

In 2009, he called himself “technically retired.” Anyone who knew him knew that was a bunch of hooey. Mistwood was a perfect example. During the remodeling of the course, he was as interested in the type of rock that would make up the facing of the bridges near the clubhouse as he was the type of grass architect Ray Hearn and superintendent Ben Kelnhofer were selecting for the fairways and greens.

In 2012, he took over the old Ditka Golf Dome in Bolingbrook, refurbished it, named it McQs and then the Mistwood Golf Dome. It boasts the first TopTracer ball-tracking system in any dome, and a new shell.

McWethy was also a member of Chicago Golf Club.

McWethy is survived by his wife Susan, grown children Todd and Gretchen, and a legion of friends. Services are pending.

– Tim Cronin

Deere canceled; fan restrictions cited; charity continues

Writing from Chicago

Thursday, May 28, 2020

The fairways of TPD Deere Run will be silent this July.

The John Deere Classic was canceled this afternoon, the result of an inability to hold a tournament with fans as planned given the restrictions imposed by Illinois’ rules for reopening businesses. It returns to TPC Deere Run in 2021.

A limitation on groups to no more than 50 in Phase 4 was the breaking point. All four Illinois zones, including the Illinois side of the Quad Cities area, move to Phase 3 on Friday. Groups of up to 10 will be allowed then, along with foursomes and one-to-a-customer (unless family) carts, plus practice range availability.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday the area of Illinois including the Quad Cities could move to Phase 4 on June 26.

For a golf tournament to be held, and with fans, the area would have to be in Phase 5, the “Illinois Restored” final phase, which includes safety measures in place.

The John Deere Classic’s week begins with local qualifying on Monday, July 6. Phase 5 isn’t possible that early, based on Illinois guidelines.

“While we considered several alternatives for the Classic, this was the choice that made the most sense for our guests, the players and the Quad City community at large,” tournament director Clair Peterson said in making the announcement, which he called a “difficult decision.”

The Deere’s Birdies for Charity program, which raised $13,819,154 for 543 charities last year, will continue in modified form. Each penny pledged will be converted to a $20 donation – the tournament averages around 2,000 birdies per year – and the bonus supplied by Deere & Company, which bears the cost of the operation, will also be paid.

“Thanks to John Deere’s ongoing support, we are able to promise a five percent bonus even though we are not having the tournament,” Peterson said.

July 9-12 were the dates for the 50th Deere, which started in 1971 as the Quad Cities Open. Deere became title sponsor in 1999. Now, the 50th Deere, with the attendant celebrations, including a commemorative book, will be played 50 years exactly after the inaugural took place at Crow Valley Golf Club on the Davenport-Bettendorf border. Dylan Frittelli will still be the defending champion.

“We understand and respect that the Quad Cities market has dynamics and challenges that prevent the playing of the John Deere Classic in 2020,” PGA Tour competitions chief Andy Pazder said. “I have no doubt the event will return stronger than ever in its 50th playing in 2021.”

The PGA Tour had planned the Deere as the first tournament back with spectators, after four without fans. The limitation on size of gatherings, whether fans or players – 156 would be in the field – plus a 

“Our top priority is the health and well-being of players, fans, volunteers and support staff of the John Deere Classic,” Mara Downing, Deere’s VP of global brand and communication, said in a release. “We know this announcement will come as a disappointment to the Quad City area and to the broader golf community.

“We look forward to celebrating the 50th playing of the tournament in 2021.”

The PGA Tour had planned the Deere as the first tournament back with spectators, after four without fans. Now it plans a tournament, either at TPC Sawgrass in Florida or elsewhere, on the week of the Deere. Immediately speculation arose that the Players Championship, the Tour’s bellwether tournament that was halted after one round as the pandemic spread in March, could be replayed.

The next large spectator tournament in the state that could be affected is the BMW Championship, set for Aug. 27-30 at Olympia Fields Country Club. That tournament – the Western Open under its original name – had already been pushed back a week.

– Tim Cronin

Course owners chafe at limited golf

Reporting from Chicago

Monday, April 27, 2020

Golfers will be allowed to play the game they love beginning Friday.

The lifting of the COVID-19-related ban on golf doesn’t mean course owners are happy.

Rather, they’re gritting their teeth as they open their courses, though not their clubhouses.

“We’re in the red with twosomes and no carts,” said Brian Broderick, owner of Carriage Greens Country Club in Darien. “We’ll be able to get 80 to 100 players a day on the course.”

With 15-minute intervals between twosomes, that means an early start and some nine-hole rounds. But Broderick reports his first three days, beginning Friday, are sold out.

Mark Haines, owner of Lincoln Oaks Golf Course in Crete, knows his regulars have been playing in Indiana. His course is two miles from the border. He’s done the same thing.

“Two weeks ago, I played White Hawk in Indiana,” Haines said. “There were 176 cars in the lot, and 103 had Illinois plates. They’re still going to hop the border now, because they can play foursomes.

“As a whole, my regulars are going to Indiana once a week. They play here three times a week.”

Haines saw no reason for foursomes to be prohibited.

“In golf, you know who you’re with. It’s you and your brother or your friends. There’s not one scenario that tracks COVID-19 back to a golf course. That’s what’s most frustrating about this.”

Haines can move 28 to 32 people off the tee in normal times. Only eight will be allowed per hour for the moment. That means no leagues or outings – most of which include lunch before or after, which is essentially out with clubhouses and sit-down restaurants closed. Courses can offer take-away meals, but that’s it. They can’t even sell golf balls. Like Broderick, he’ll be running in the red, but losing less money than if his operation remained completely shuttered.

“We’re all gonna get beat up this year,” Haines said. “In another month or so, it could get really bad. Golf courses today rely on leagues and outings. How can we do leagues with eight players an hour?”

He also saw no reason to prohibit practice.

“It’s asinine,” Haines said. “You can’t go to the practice green or the chipping green. At White Hawk, they had six different stations and you weren’t near anyone. So you can’t properly loosen up.”

Haines wrote on Lincoln Oaks’ Facebook page that it cost him $4,250 to run the course, adding “Allow 4 comes and now we can come close to paying some bills.”

Broderick, who has not laid off any staff, said he applied for the federal small business loan and received $6,000 of the $55,000 he requested. He said it costs $2,000 a day to run Carriage Greens.

The angst with the 33 regulations carries over to the private club scene. One club e-mailed its members announcing they could play again, but took a jab at Gov. J.B. Pritzker, calling the rules “very strict and some would say draconian and unreasonable. … It is clear that the Governor’s office is just looking for violations of these rules to shut down golf as they did in March.”

There’s nothing in the two pages of regulations that indicate any such intent, but the frustration factor is high among golfers, club members and course owners.

“They’re bullshit, a Band-Aid on a gushing wound,” Broderick said. “These rules are absolutely insane and ridiculous.”

Broderick also lashed out at the Illinois PGA and Chicago District Golf Association, which had been lobbying Pritzker’s office for a lifting of the ban, which was instituted on March 19 after two days of play following the original shutdown oder.

“We’re done with them,” Broderick said. “We’re not paying any more monthly fees. I don’t know how many people they had in Springfield banging on the door, but you don’t get any points for trying. You get points for results.

“I see zero value in these associations. No one even tried to contact me.”

As of Monday afternoon, the Cook County Forest Preserve District and city of Chicago courses were expected to remain closed. The DuPage County Forest Preserve District will open two of its three courses on Friday and the other one next week.

– Tim Cronin

Later this week: Illinois Golfer's first digital issue of the season, with an updated course directory.

Final update: Let there be barebones golf

Writing from Chicago

Friday, April 24, 2020

Updated 6 p.m. 

The Year of the Pandemic took a slight turn for the better on Thursday, when the fine print in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest sheltering order included the lifting of the prohibition against golf, effective Friday, May 1.

In other words, you have a week to get your game in shape.

And to get yourself in shape. Riding a cart is out, though no reason was given in the guidelines issued Friday afternoon by the Illinois Department of Commerce.

There’s more. The 33-point guidelines include the expected prohibitions on clubhouse access, indoor dining – take-away food only, and no chairs or benches to sit down and eat – and using bunker rakes or removing the flagstick. (Who knew the USGA and R&A were ahead of their time when they brought back the flagstick-in rule last year?)

The big surprise is the limitation to twosomes. The prohibition on foursomes, coupled with tee times only every 15 minutes, will put a crimp in whatever revenue courses already crippled by closure for over a month will be able to bring in. Only eight players an hour instead of 20 – foursomes with 12-minute tee times, which was half-expected – and walking instead of riding may make some courses decide it isn’t worth opening at all.

In Wisconsin, where courses were allowed to reopen on Friday, and Indiana, where there was no closure, foursomes are allowed, as well as carts.

Play will be by advance reservation and payment only. At least in theory, you won’t be able to walk up and pay cash to play.

Other restrictions include:

• Closing of practice areas. No range balls, no practice green.

• Players will have to bring their own pull cart. Courses won’t be allowed to rent theirs, part of the limitation on contact points.

• There will be no bunker rakes or ball washers. Drinking fountains will be turned off.

• The cup will be elevated. Hit the raised liner, and you’ve holed out.

• Courses won’t be allowed to sell balls or tees. Or anything else but a green fee.

• Private clubs, and those few courses where they’re used, won’t be able to have caddies. If that lasts for more than a month or two, it’ll have large ramifications for private clubs – and the caddies who earn good money toting the bags of the well-off.

This will, at least at first, be barebones golf. But it will be golf.

“We just kept trying to point out that golf is an activity that can be played outdoors with natural social distancing, and it should be classified as an outdoor activity, not as a non-essential business,” said Robert Markionni, executive director of the Chicago District Golf Association, and one of the state’s golf leaders who lobbied the governor’s office to reopen courses, which were closed on March 19 after about two days of allowed play after the first stay-at-home order to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus was issued.

“That was the baseline argument,” Markionni added. “Then the ancillary arguments: It is exercise. It is a step back to normalcy for those who play the game. We all want to do stuff that we were doing before. If you can go out and play golf, I don’t care if it’s three holes or six holes or nine holes, you’re bringing something back in, giving people an opportunity to do something. And a million people in this state are golfers.

“We weren’t trying to say golf should be treated special. We were just trying to simply say golf should be part of the solution and really isn’t part of the problem.”

Carrie Williams, executive director of the Illinois PGA and co-leader with Markionni of the effort to restart the game, noted adherence to the guidelines will be critical.

“It is our hope that anyone violating the guidelines would be penalized on a facility-by-facility basis,” Williams said. “But it is our concern that if there are multiple violators or infractions, that golf could be taken off the table for all.”

In Indiana, where it’s supposed to be one to a motor cart unless it’s family members riding together, there’s been at least one report of that dictum being violated.

Williams said it was her understanding the twosome rule was crafted to match the twosome guideline for boating and hunting, two other outdoor recreation activities that will be allowed beginning May 1.

“We provided our thoughts, and we knew it would be vetted by their medical team,” Williams said.

Pritzker’s announcement on Thursday was coupled by the extension of the general stay-at-home order for another month, through the end of May.

“It’s monumental,” Williams said of the state allowing golf while the stay-at-home order was extended.

As yet unknown: Whether the municipal courses controlled by the Cook County Forest Preserve District and city of Chicago will open. On Friday, the websites associated with those courses still said “temporarily closed.”

In general, expect the privately-owned courses, including Cog Hill, Makray Memorial and Mistwood, to be open on May 1. The same will be true of Canal Shores, which had been operating before the shutdown.

The reopening will throw a lifeline to the private layouts, all of which depend on a steady revenue stream to stay alive. Losing play in March and April, typically poor weather months, was painful, but every day in May brings with it the prospect of better weather, and to be closes would mean revenue never to be recovered.

The CDGA and Illinois PGA, along with groups downstate, had been lobbying Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to bring the game back, noting the social distancing part of the game would take care of itself. How much their argument carried weight with the decision-makers is unknown, but the continual drumbeat from the general public couldn’t have hurt. Golf was coming up in Pritzker’s news conferences in recent days.

The revised stay-at-home order announced Thursday carries with it a caveat. Should there be a spike in infections, everything being opened, golf courses and some state parks included, could be closed down. The same may be true if potential spot checks show courses or areas around clubhouses are overcrowded. Golfers are – as they are filling out their scorecards – on the honor system.

That sounds like something everyone can handle.

– Tim Cronin

–––

We’ll have a full report on the success of the argument to open golf courses in the season-opening May issue of Illinois Golfer, available on this website next week.

Updated: Let there be barebones golf

Writing from Chicago

Friday, April 24, 2020

Updated 4:25 p.m.

The Year of the Pandemic took a slight turn for the better on Thursday, when the fine print in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest sheltering order included the lifting of the prohibition against golf, effective Friday, May 1.

In other words, you have a week to get your game in shape.

And yourself in shape. Riding a cart is out, though no reason was given in the guidelines issued Friday afternoon by the Illinois Department of Commerce.

There’s more. The 33-point guidelines include the expected prohibitions on clubhouse access, indoor dining – take-away food only, and no chairs or benches to sit down and eat – and using bunker rakes or removing the flagstick. (Who knew the USGA and R&A were ahead of their time when they brought back the flagstick-in rule last year?)

The big surprise is the limitation to twosomes. The prohibition on foursomes, coupled with tee times only every 15 minutes, will put a crimp in whatever revenue courses already crippled by closure for over a month will be able to bring in. Only eight players an hour instead of 20 – foursomes with 12-minute tee times, which was half-expected – and walking instead of riding may make some courses decide it isn’t worth opening at all.

In Wisconsin, where courses were allowed to reopen on Friday, and Indiana, where there was no closure, foursomes are allowed, as well as carts.

Play will be by advance reservation and payment only. At least in theory, you won’t be able to walk up and pay cash to play.

Other restrictions include:

• Closing of practice areas. No range balls, no practice green.

• Players will have to bring their own pull cart. Courses won’t be allowed to rent theirs, part of the limitation on contact points.

• There will be no bunker rakes or ball washers. Drinking fountains will be turned off.

• The cup will be elevated. Hit the raised liner, and you’ve holed out.

• Courses won’t be allowed to sell balls or tees. Or anything else but a green fee.

• Private clubs, and those few courses where they’re used, won’t be able to have caddies. If that lasts for more than a month or two, it’ll have large ramifications for private clubs – and the caddies who earn good money toting the bags of the well-off.

This will, at least at first, be barebones golf. But it will be golf.

“We just kept trying to point out that golf is an activity that can be played outdoors with natural social distancing, and it should be classified as an outdoor activity, not as a non-essential business,” said Robert Markionni, executive director of the Chicago District Golf Association, and one of the state’s golf leaders who lobbied the governor’s office to reopen courses, which were closed on March 19 after about two days of allowed play after the first stay-at-home order to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus was issued.

“That was the baseline argument,” Markionni added. “Then the ancillary arguments: It is exercise. It is a step back to normalcy for those who play the game. We all want to do stuff that we were doing before. If you can go out and play golf, I don’t care if it’s three holes or six holes or nine holes, you’re bringing something back in, giving people an opportunity to do something. And a million people in this state are golfers.

“We weren’t trying to say golf should be treated special. We were just trying to simply say golf should be part of the solution and really isn’t part of the problem.”

As yet unknown: Whether the municipal courses controlled by the Cook County Forest Preserve District and city of Chicago will open. Early Friday morning, the websites associated with those courses still said “temporarily closed.”

In general, expect the privately-owned courses, including Cog Hill, Makray Memorial and Mistwood, to be open on May 1. The same will be true of Canal Shores, which had been operating before the shutdown.

The reopening will throw a lifeline to the private layouts, all of which depend on a steady revenue stream to stay alive. Losing play in March and April, typically poor weather months, was painful, but every day in May brings with it the prospect of better weather, and to be closes would mean revenue never to be recovered.

The CDGA and Illinois PGA, along with groups downstate, had been lobbying Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to bring the game back, noting the social distancing part of the game would take care of itself. How much their argument carried weight with the decision-makers is unknown, but the continual drumbeat from the general public couldn’t have hurt. Golf was coming up in Pritzker’s news conferences in recent days.

The revised stay-at-home order announced Thursday carries with it a caveat. Should there be a spike in infections, everything being opened, golf courses and some state parks included, could be closed down. The same may be true if potential spot checks show courses or areas around clubhouses are overcrowded. Golfers are – as they are filling out their scorecards – on the honor system.

That sounds like something everyone can handle.

– Tim Cronin

–––

We’ll have a full report on the success of the argument to open golf courses in the season-opening issue of Illinois Golfer, available on this website next week.