OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. -- Most golfers know Olympia Fields Country Club because its famed North Course has hosted several major championships over the years, among them the 1997 U.S. Senior Open and the 2003 U.S. Open.
Its South Course is almost as challenging, if not nearly as famous -- and both are consistently ranked among the top 10 in the state of Illinois. Now, however, the club is planning an ambitious makeover of the South Course to make it as competitive as possible with the North.
The renovation will make the South Course "competitive for the next 40 years," said Golf Course Architect Steve Smyers, who is handling the makeover of the course, which was designed by Tom Bendelow and built shortly after the club was formed in 1915. No timetable has yet been set for the project's completion.
While much of the club's attention went to the North Course over the years, maintenance and upgrading of the South Course suffered. The greens have changed from their original shapes, and many of the bunkers have deteriorated.
"We want to celebrate what was originally here and bring it up to modern standards," said Club Manager Russell Ruscigno. Along those lines, Smyers' charge is to reintroduce its original style and strategy, which had been lost over the years. He'll also modernize the layout, add about 500 yards to its length and improve its drainage and irrigation.
"It's a very good golf course," Smyers said. "We are rereading the land, restoring shot values and the historical landing areas, which means moving the tees back."
In the 1920s, Olympia Fields was the largest private country club in America by the 1920s, boasting the North and South courses and two others on a plot of nearly 700 acres. Financial troubles during World War II led forced the club to sell the other two courses for residential development, leaving the North and South.
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