Parks And Recreation
It took me 32 years but I attended my first community meeting. This particular meeting was assembled by the Chicago Parks District. The topic? The development and routing of a new golf course.
But this isn't just any golf course. This golf course is being built on the South Shore of Chicago near the site of the future Obama library with scenic views of the city skyline, four holes bordering Lake Michigan, a proposed rate of under $50 for Chicago residents, free for kids under 17 and a world-class design team led by the world's most notable golfer, Eldrick Tiger Woods.
Knowing our host tonight was the Chicago Park District and having watched Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson conduct many successful Pawnee community meetings on Parks and Rec, I felt prepared for my first meeting. With my binder and notebook in hand, I was ready for some civic action to take place.
The land being discussed has a rich Chicago history. Selected as the host site for the 1893 World's Fair, Scotsman Tom Bendelow (the “Johnny Appleseed” of American golf courses) to layout the 18 holes at Jackson Park and the neighboring 9 holes at South Shore. Both courses opened for play in 1899, making them the oldest public golf courses in the country west of the Alleghenies.
The pair of courses today are your typical munis, just 15 mins from Chicago’s city center. They both offer simple layouts with some interesting contours and are fun to play but otherwise uninspiring (narrow fairways, tiny greens, poor drainage, and muni traffic).
In the community meeting, I listened to Beau Welling, the senior design consultant for TGR (Tiger’s design firm) take the stage to discuss the golf project's roadmap, the latest iteration of the proposed course design (now on version "V"), and the importance of local feedback (now on community meeting number 11).
At that moment, I couldn't help but wonder where Tiger might be listening from as Beau presented his latest ideas.
I was captivated.
Beau showed the community the following new features:
New routing that has holes 14-17 along the lake.
A clubhouse that sits in a new location, closer to residents to serve as a gathering point and mid-way through the course to provide for two 9-hole loops.
A pond and natural area to assist with drainage so the course plays firm and fast.
Pedestrian trails to allow residents and visitor access to walk through the course.
A six-hole short course with holes ranging from 50-100 yards for kids and beginners
I imagined the pedestrian walkways, community gathering points, short courses, and firm and fast conditions and thought about the granddaddy of all public golf facilities. My links heart began to flutter. Was Beau talking about St. Andrews? Will South Shore Chicago become the neo-classic Old Course!?
I know, friends -- it's golf blasphemy to even suggest a links course. The course won't be on sand, it won't have dunes shaped by the sea, and there will be no fescue covered contours. But golf conditions aside, I bet that when St. Andrews decided to change the Old Course from 22 holes to 18, Fife had one heck of a community meeting. I would imagine it wasn't much different than the community meeting I witnessed.
WIth all this in mind, Beau, TGR, and Chicago Parks District has my attention. Could a links golf inspired course save municipal golf in America? Let's name the course "Old' Tiger ‘Morris’ Woods!
Sticking around to listen in on the community Q&A with representative from the project, I hear things like “Tiger thinks modern golf has gotten too hard." And “Tiger wants his courses to be fun, playable and bring people back to the game.” And “Tiger loves links golf and wants his course to play firm, fast and with a focus on the ground game." And "Tiger wants golf to be more fun for beginners and high handicappers, but strategically challenging for a scratch.”
Playable. Fun. Enjoyable. Strategic. How ironic is it that the man responsible for impossible “Tiger-proofing” course designs is now on a mission to make golf courses more playable and fun? Where once Tiger ushered in the dark age of nasty narrow courses, expensive technology, and target golf, he's now fighting back with width, playability, strategy, and meaningful projects that get people playing more golf. Legacy much?
Take out all the hype, Chicago politics, and the name "Tiger Woods." Instead, think about what else is really special about this project.
It's a course being built without dollars that need an immediate return (private donations), a course that has sustainability as its focus rather than profitability ($50 green fees and free for kids), and a world-class design team setting out to build a course that can host the best players in the world AND serve as a playground for the everyday golfer.
Like most, I’ve been curious and cautiously skeptical about the project. But after tonight's experience, I'm all aboard.
While it's not hard to get a golf geek like me to get jazzed about a new course, I think about the amazing and unique opportunity for the Chicago community, the impact they can make on city, and most importantly, a brand new course for all of the kids of the South Shore.
I’m really rooting for Team Tiger and his pals at the Park District to pull this one off.
And if they run into budget issues, my advice is to take a page out of the Leslie Knope (and Tom Morris) playbook.