67 “The pieces were assembled, and the execution was a matter of having the owner trust the team to deliver a golf course that will achieve the defined goals,” says Myslinski. “Another piece of the puzzle was having a golf course architect willing to embrace the vision for both the golf and environmental aspects, while developing a sustainable approach.” That architect was Todd Quitno, with KemperSports’s Josh Lesnik contributing design input. Quitno set about developing a masterplan and by March 2023 work to revitalise the facility was ready to begin. A fundamental change to the routing was the conversion of the former first hole to a large putting green, with the second becoming the new opening hole. To compensate for the loss of the old first, Quitno created a unique hole at the north end of the property, close to the Wilmette Harbor. “We’ve added a 65-yard putting hole that will be a great source of fun,” says Quitno. “This will play as the seventh, with the nearby Baha’i temple serving as a backdrop.” The former seventeenth has also been reconfigured to include an 85-yard parthree bonus hole, designated as 17B. The green has been doubled in size with a small but pinnable central plateau dividing the surface into sections. The eighteen-hole course will play to a par of 60 and now also features several new template greens, with Quitno payiong homage to nearby Chicago Golf Club and Shoreacres. The remaining greens have been restored to their original pads, which date back to the 1920s when Tom Bendelow redesigned the course. “Our decisions on greens came from a historic angle,” says Quitno. “Several of Bendelow’s green pads still existed on the course but the actual putting surfaces had shrunk down to little circles. Where it made sense, “ We’ve added a 65-yard putting hole that will be a great source of fun, with the nearby Baha’i temple serving as a backdrop” The sixth, the 65-yard putting hole seventh and the eighth (foreground) occupy the northern tip of the site, directly across the canal from the Baha’i House of Worship REPORT Photo: Canal Shores
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