Sports
Southland Golf: Getting Away From the City at George Dunne
Snuggled in a forest preserve, George Dunne National Golf Course offers players a challenging layout, say nothing of a scenic escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Chicago is a vast urban sprawl.
George W. Dunne National Golf Course offers an escape from the gridlock and pavement with a scenic golf course nestled in the woods of the Cook County Forest Preserve.
It’s the scenery, among other reasons, that has golfers coming to play at George Dunne, according to Chuck Kohut, a marketing director for Billy Casper Golf. The company took over management of George Dunne in 2003.
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“You’re in the middle of the forest preserve,” Kohut said. “You don’t hear cars, you don’t see any buildings. It’s nice and quiet, sort of golf as it was meant to be.”
Kohut added other reasons for why the course recently was ranked as the only perfect-10 public facility in the Chicagoland area by Golf Chicago, as well as why it received 4.5 stars from Golf Digest.
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“A combination: Course conditions, customer service, as well as overall experience that people just come to expect and rely on when they play one of our facilities,” Kohut said.
Golfers agree with Kohut’s assessment. “This golf course is gorgeous,” said Lito Siwa, who has played golf at George Dunne for around eight years. “It’s well-maintained, and it’s a decent price.”
Siwa also said the course is very challenging, with long tee shots and plenty of hazards, which include bodies of water. “It’s a really competitive course,” he said. “I would say it’s a championship course.”
Kohut said the degree of difficulty can be managed.
“It’s a difficult golf course,” he said. “It’s long, 7,000 yards from the tips. It can play tough or easy. It all depends on where the superintendent decides to put the flags that day.”
Mitch Gold, who hails from Chicago, comes to play George Dunne for the scenery.
“This is a lovely course," he said. "You’ve got deer running across it. This is the only course in the city or anywhere around where you can play and you don’t see a house, a car or anything. You’re in the forest preserve. It’s wonderful.”
Here is the course website for rates.
COMING FRIDAY: Log on at 6 a.m. Friday to view a video demonstration of how to play the toughest hole at George Dunne National.
