Spotlight shines
on Cog Hill

By Ray Brewer,
Staff Writer

Lemont, Ill. - The name Dubsdread sounds intimidating enough without the following figures.

Please, don't get too frightened.

PGA Tour great Nick Price shot a 269 over 72 holes four a course record, while fellow PGA Tour members John Sluman and John Adams have fired one-day course records, nine-under par 63s.

If they can conquer this course, you can to. Right?

Dubsdread, home of the PGA Tour's Motorola Western Open, is the fourth of four courses at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. Cog Hill is a privately owned course that is open to the public and located 30 miles southwest of Chicago.

Being home to the Motorola Open is a honor club officials are proud to be associated with.

"Just the simple fact of the television exposure," said head pro Jeff Rimsnider about the PGA event that returns to this course the weekend. "From day one nine years ago, the PGA has offered insight on things to change to make the course better."

These changes have actually made the course easier for the players - believe it or not.

"We have went ahead and made those changes to make this a better course," Rimsnider said. "The PGA's recommendation have made the course more fair."

The course has been closed down for the past two weeks in preparation for the Motorola Western Open.

"It's neat for the tournament to come," Rimsnider said. "We get close to 30,000-40,000 people in attendance each day. It's a change of pace from day-to-day activity."

Don't forget your sand wedge. You might need it more than your driver.

"It's a championship layout course," Rimsnider said. "It has a lot of oak trees. There are not a lot of water hazards, but every green is surrounded by sand. We have 119 bunkers."

The course offers a variety of holes that allow you to use all of the clubs in your bag. There are plenty of holes that call for the typical driver and short iron. However, there are several different holes where you will need to tee of with a wood or iron.

Golf Digest also thinks very highly of this course.

The golf publication recently lists them 40th in the nation on the private course ratings while readers of the magazine have voted Cog Hill a five-star place to play.

While the Dubsdread is the signature course the club has to offer, the other three courses are doing just fine in the shadow of "Dubes."

"The less challenging course is No.2 and that is the most popular," Rimsnider said. "It runs along side Dubes and has the same scenery. It just doesn't have the length or the hazards."

Course No. 1 and 3 are on the opposite side of the street from Dubsdread.