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 At a time when many of the nation's recession-weary country clubs are cutting back, Medinah Country Club is stepping up with a view toward the 2012 Ryder Cup.
By a margin of more than 4-1, Medinah's membership voted Saturday (June 13) to spend upwards of $3 million on a multi-faceted renovation that would see the club's famed No. 3 Course close August 15 and re-open next June.
"What this overwhelming vote means is that we now will be able to bring our crown jewel up to the world class level where we want it to be," said Club President John Potts. "It will be ready for the 2012 Ryder Cup for the whole world to see. The membership is happy."
Below is a brief outline of each aspect of the renovation project:
- Reconstruction of the 11 remaining original soil-based push-up greens on the club's No. 3 course, site of five major championships and of the 2012 Ryder Cup. These surfaces and the Putting Clock in front of the clubhouse would be replaced by state-of-the-art sand-based greens set to specifications of the U.S. Golf Association.
The greens to be replaced are on holes 3, 4, 5, and 6. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14. A select number of these greens also will be re-contoured. The seven other greens on No. 3 were rebuilt to USGA standards during a 2003 course renovation directed by noted golf course architect Rees Jones. Jones also will oversee this phase of improvements.
- Re-grassing of all 18 greens and the Putting Clock in front of the clubhouse to bring about all pure Bent grass greens upon reopening in June 2010.
- Re-grassing of all 18 fairways and intermediate rough areas to eliminate poa annua and other types of undesirable grasses.
- With Course 3 closed for the renovation, the club will undertake a Cart Path and Hardscape improvement program aimed at upgrading the aesthetics and functionality of cart paths, the halfway house complex, and the area surrounding the No. 6 green and No. 7 and 10 tees.
- Renovation and expansion of the golf course maintenance facility.
Club leaders determined this was the membership's last opportunity to undertake the projects prior to the 2012 Ryder Cup. Moreover, the club in is good financial shape, has a full membership, and a waiting list.
The vote is just the latest in a series of improvements made since the arrival of general manager Dan Miles in 2007 and, shortly thereafter, golf course superintendent Curtis Tyrrell, who oversees all three layouts.
The club has built a new 12-acre state-of-the-art short game practice area adjacent to its newly configured and improved driving range. Last fall, Medinah replaced all 88,000 square feet of tan-colored sand in all 74 bunkers on its No. 3 course with white Tour Signature Sand in order to make the bunkers more playable and more aesthetically appealing.
 Medinah Country Club is the Chicago area's best known and most frequent major championship venue. Course No. 3 has hosted three U.S. Opens (1949, '75, and '90), two PGA Championships (1999, 2006), three Western Opens (1946, '62, and '66), and other prestigious events in the pre-PGA Tour era. Medinah's champions include such historic figures as Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Billy Casper, Gary Player, Hale Irwin, and Tiger Woods.
Founded in the 1920s by a group of Shriners, Medinah features three golf courses, all designed by highly respected Scotsman Tom Bendelow. The massive and highly creative 120,000-square-foot clubhouse designed by Richard Schmid is an architectural blend of styles including Byzantine, Oriental, and Louis XIV. It is the focal point of club activities.
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