Cialis Western Open

A par 71 at 7,326 yards, Cog Hill is a traditional style course with tree-lined fairways and many elevation changes.  The greens are in great shape and rolling very well.  They will be very fast as the week goes on as there is no rain in sight.   

There also hasn’t been any rain in the Chicago area for a while, so the course is quite dry right now, but still in excellent shape.  The rough is quite long and thin in some places, but there are also dry patches and short grass in some areas.  There will be times when the ball will either be buried deep in the rough or playable.    

A few holes to note: 

Number 4 is a 434-yard par 4 and one of the toughest holes on the front 9, with a creek lining one side of the fairway and sand lining the other, it requires a solid tee shot.  The green is sloping and surrounded by bunkers.  Par will be a good score on this hole. 

The finishing holes 16, 17 and 18 are three challenging holes that will make for an exciting end come Sunday.  Number 16 is a 445-yard, par 4 dogleg left with a sloping fairway.  Mike will hit 3-wood of the tee and a short iron in to a flat green, hopefully for birdie!  Number 17 is a 420-yard dogleg-right and requires the tee shot to land in the fairway to be able to set up well for the second shot.  And number 18, is the most difficult hole on the course.   It is a 480 yard par 4 and both the fairway and the green slope towards a pond on the left.  Golfers will want to stay up the right side on this hole to give the best angle coming into this difficult green. 

One of the best things about the Western Open is that money raised from the event goes towards funding for the Evans Scholars Foundation.  The foundation administers a college scholarship program for students who are caddies at area clubs.   There are also student caddies this week during the Wednesday pro am – it’s a nice break for me and real treat for the student caddies to get to play with a pro.    

Hope you enjoy the week, and thanks for reading.