Southland Golf: Glenwoodie Undergoes $3 Million Facelift

If the old Glenwoodie was a well-respected golf course, then the new Glenwoodie is a whole lot better.

Located at 19301 State St. in Glenwood, this village-owned course underwent major renovations to both the course and the clubhouse in the last year.

“This is an old course,” Glenwoodie golf pro Phil Robbins said.  “It was getting to the point where a lot of the bunkers were getting overgrown with trees.

“In golf, you don’t want to have holes that have double-penalties, where when you hit into a bunker you are then trying to hit over a tree.”

The village invested approximately $3 million into both the clubhouse and course work.

The course plays to a length of 5,176 yards to 6,715 yards with a par 72. The new clubhouse, opened in June, is a spacious 14,000 square feet compared to the 9,000 square feet of the old clubhouse.

“We wanted to enhance the entire experience for a golfer when they come to play here,” Robbins said.

The banquet hall seats 400 and will host outings, weddings and other parties.

Glenwoodie was built in 1926 and originally was a Jewish country club.

“The story goes that they put together the back-nine first and by the time they started building the front-nine they ran out of money,” Robbins said. “That is why there is more character to the course on the back-nine, but the front-nine still has some signature holes.”

The course was designed by Harry Collis and was leased by the archdiocese until the village purchased the course in 1996.

The 16^th hole long has been recognized as the signature hole at Glenwoodie. This 475-yard hole was made even more challenging when three willow trees that used to save a lot of balls from going out of bounds were removed during the renovations.

“A hole that has been know around the area got even more difficult Robbins said.

For additional information call (708) 758-1212 or log on to the club's website at www.glenwoodiegolf.com

COMING FRIDAY: Log on at 6 a.m. Friday to view a video demonstration of how to play the toughest hole at Glenwoodie.