BMW to Conway Farms? Yes, if...

Writing from Chicago

Thursday, February 9, 2012

It was about three weeks ago that a source close to Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest confirmed that the club and the Western Golf Association had agreed to hold the 2013 BMW Championship – the Western Open in days past – at the elite north suburban course.

So why no announcement? When asked about the delay, a WGA spokesperson said, "It'll be a while."

Here's why, according to another source close to the situation: Conway Farms also wants the 2015 BMW, and wants an agreement for it now, so both can be announced at the same time.

Easy to accomplish, right? One would think the stars were lined up.

After all, the WGA, stung by player criticism of the revised Dubsdread layout at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, wanted a new Chicago-area site. Conway Farms proved a better site than The Glen Club, the Glenview layout that was also in the running. The WGA wanted Conway, a club that emphasizes walking and caddies, and thus is a big supporter of the Evans Scholars Foundation, the WGA's caddies to college charity arm. Conway wanted the WGA for the prestige, headaches of staging a big-time tournament aside.

But 2015 is taken. The PGA Tour's deal with San Francisco calls for Harding Park to host "the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup playoffs," to paraphrase the contract's terms, no later that 2015. The BMW is that tournament.

So the Tour, by contract, has to be in San Francicso in 2015. The WGA is being told by Conway Farms it has to be at Conway Farms in 2015. And, oh by the way, the whispers are that the WGA's deal with the Tour calls for a tournament in Chicago every other year, and Cherry Hills Country Club, just outside of Denver, is hosting the BMW in 2014.

If there's a year between 2014 and 2015, only the Incas know, and their calendar runs out in December.

There is a solution, though it would entail arranging many dominoes, some of which may have already fallen. Move the 2015 BMW to the second week of the playoffs, and switch the tournament played in Boston to Baghdad by the Bay. That would give Conway the BMW it demands, give San Francisco the penultimate tournament its contract requires, and give the Tour a playoff tournament on the West Coast for the first time since the Tour Championship was played at the Olympic Club well over a decade ago.

Easy, right? Not necessarily. Details of the Deutsche Bank Championship's contract with the sponsor and the course, Tour-operated TPC Boston, are unknown.

That's why it might be "a while" before the official word is forthcoming. And while it's highly unlikely, what if Conway's brass insist on a 2013-2015 combination and the Tour and WGA can't make it happen? Do they reject the 2013 BMW after all the planning? Not likely, but if that happens, where would the BMW end up?

It would take a while for that question to be answered.

– Tim Cronin

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

Golf Show season begins today

Writing from Chicago

Thursday, February 2, 2012

It's Groundhog Day, which, as all Bill Murray fans know, means repeating the same thing until you come to the last reel of the movie, or something like that. It also means the first golf show of the winter season, a new one. In contrast to the bigger shows at the Tinley Park and Rosemont convention centers, this one is focused on equipment, and is at a golf course.

Visit Cantigny Golf in Wheaton today from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., where a number of manufacturers, including Titleist, TaylorMade, Nike, Cleveland, and Chicagoland-based Tour Edge and Wilson Staff, will be showing their wares for the 2012 season, less than a week after their formal introduction at the PGA show in Orlando. Admission is $10, which seems a bit steep, but prizes will be awarded every half-hour and someone will win a Cantigny foursome. Children 12 and under get in free.

– Tim Cronin

Erfurth, Heckel shoot age in PGA's senior series

Writing from Chicago

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Illinois Golf Hall of Famer Bill Erfurth and Steve Heckel, owner of Crab Orchard Golf Club in downstate Carterville, proved in the PGA’s recent Quarter Century Club Championship that age is only a number.

Heckel shot his age – 67 – by scattering six birdies in the opening round, and birdied four of his last five holes to close with a 71 for 138 at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to win the 65-through 69 division of the tournament.

Erfurth, ageless though his driver’s license says 82, totaled 151 thanks to rounds of 74 and 77 to share first place in the Half-Century competition with Nunzio Ciampi, of Palm City, Fla. Each had won the title before, Erfurth two years ago, and darkness fell before a playoff could take place. They were named co-champions.

Erfurth’s rounds also tied him with Paul Kelly for first in the 80-84 age bracket, that category earning him $415. Heckel’s haul was $3,100, while mini-tour founder Jerry Tucker, who got his start in golf when Heckel gave him a job at Crab Orchard, pulled in $3,300 for capturing the 60-64 bracket.

– Tim Cronin

Welcome to Illinois Golfer!

Writing from Chicago

Monday, January 30, 2012

A hearty welcome to Illinois Golfer, dedicated to coverage of the game in Illinois and beyond. While our name has the state in it, we're interested in all things golf, inside and outside the borders of the Land of Lincoln, and especially so when Illinoisans, either native or adopted, are involved.

Watch this website for much more in the days to come! And thanks for stopping by.

– Tim Cronin