Since entering the “golf blog world” years ago, my goal was to have a lot fun nurturing my favorite hobby and build some great relationships along the way. So far I’ve been lucky to make some great friends like Chip Usher, Scott Readman & Emma Chislett along with their families, my guy Red, Victor Afable, etc. These are people that I would genuinely consider friends first and all the golf B.S. is secondary. Hell, I would even put our own Tommy and Jon in this category. I’ve been fortunate to have tremendous experiences because of these people, and for that reason, I consider myself “successful” in this golf arena.
Well, this past year I had one of those great experiences. The long and short of it is I was contacted through the site following our review of the Olympia Fields North Course regarding some interesting content ideas. The end result was an invitation to return to Olympia Fields to play a little golf and discuss some of those ideas, as well as learn more about the historic club.
Returning to Olympia Fields
Since this was a return trip, I had a much better idea of what to expect when I arrived. I made my way through all the parking lots to the back of the clubhouse, where I parked my car and dropped my bag off at the drop. My first stop was the massive locker room where I had a pleasant reunion with the legit best locker room manager in the biz, Red. It was great catching up with Red and talking about his plans for next year at Olympia Fields, the website, and his winter plans in Florida. Red then directed me to my locker where I changed my shoes before heading to the range.
Olympia Fields Country Club has a massive driving range. On the “clubhouse end,” you have a nice wide open range with plenty of targets. Should you get sent to the back end of the range, you drive through the small neighborhood of sick houses right in the middle of the club and find yourself looking at the same targets, but with a view of the creek working its way through the range. Pretty neat.
I had a nice little warm up and was then rejoined by Red and Olympia’s club historian, Bob. Following some brief introductions we hopped into the carts and headed to the first tee. (Small note, these are the second nicest golf carts I’ve ever ridden in.)
The North Course Strikes Again!
While Olympia Fields Country Club is rich with American golf history, the North Course is at the center of many of the Club’s greatest moments. Two of those being the 1928 US Open where Johnny Farrell outlasted Bobby Jones, and the 2003 US Open where Jim Furyk won his only Major Championship. For me, this was an opportunity to settle some unfinished business. About one year prior, I was invited to play the North Course and got the living daylights beat out of me. Let’s be honest, Olympia’s North Course is a monster. Last time out, I put up one of the biggest numbers I’ve posted in years!
Having only exchanged quick pleasantries on the driving range, I spent a little extra time on the first tee box getting to know my playing partners. This is where I found out that our host, Bob, was the father-in-law of the frontman from The Wombats. The Wombats, you may or may not recall, were featured in our Driving Range Music post back in July. Small world. Poor Bob probably wasn’t expecting to get bombarded with questions about Matthew Murphy’s golf game, how he met his daughter, and life on tour rather than Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, and one of the most historic clubhouses in the country.
I wouldn’t call it a mistake, but not rolling putts on the adjacent practice green cost me for a few holes! Olympia North isn’t the munis we’re used to here at DRH. Though the greens were considered to be rolling fairly slow for the North Course, the ball seemed to fly and break all over the place. They were fair, and I got comfortable eventually, but it did cost me for quite a few holes! I can’t say I ever really got in a good groove – such is the game of a golf blogger – but I was able to hit a few good shots on the day, and make a significant improvement compared to my previous North Course round. That said, I still feel I have unfinished business there and some demons to deal with at a later date.
The Experience
I find these types of experiences are often difficult to convey. What I appreciated about the experience I had courtesy of Red and Bob is that everything was basically focused around guys who love to play golf, having a nice day on the course, and talking about all sorts of golf (and Wombats) topics. Given Bob knew we were all golf-history junkies, he allowed us to play at a nice, reasonable, leisurely pace so he could point random things out on the course, tell us stories about the club’s history, or give us insight into what’s in store for the future of the North Course. This alone may have been better than getting to actually play the course! While this club is a sanctuary for Bob, he was more than happy to share it with us and allow us to soak it all in.
Playing alongside Red was just like playing with an old friend that I’ve walked the links with for years. Occasionally he’d tell a story where you forget, “oh yeah, you see all sorts of important people come through your locker rooms and have played alongside some great figures.” Red’s ability to make you feel just as important as anyone else is humbling and a testament to his character. Spending time with Red makes it easy to understand why he’s so beloved by the membership and staff alike at OFCC. A stroll around the property with Red will be all the proof you need.
The North Course itself, man, what a course. I stand by my original review where I say it’s sneaky tough. Just look at the 14th hole!
Hit something short and safe on #14 and you have a million yards in (that’s an exact yardage). Take a wood and you better be dead accurate because there is absolutely zero safety. If you aren’t alive on the hole, good luck scrambling in… This is only one example of many that can pop up and make you pay.
Though I had seen it before, the North Course was still a fun challenge and a ton of fun to play. It’s one of those courses that could destroy me every single time, and I’d gladly fight it again. Maybe one day, just maybe, I’ll even put up a decent score.
Final Thoughts
Between the North Course and my experiences with the people at Olympia, it’s easy to understand why Olympia Fields is one of the best clubs in Chicago. The hospitality shown to me by not just Red and Bob, but the whole staff at Olympia was exceptional. Legitimately, some of the best I’ve encountered in the Chicagoland area. Willie Park Jr.’s North Course is a brilliant golf course that I hope the OFCC membership is grateful to be able to play anytime they want. I’m certainly grateful for the opportunity to have played there and look forward to talking golf history with Red and Bob again someday soon. Maybe I’ll even tell Bob’s Seve Ballesteros story sometime down the road…
