S tand on the first tee of Hickory Hills Country Club high above the fairway and you can’t help but reflect on the history of this course located on the south side of the metro area. The only question on your mind is: which notable era of the property should you consider. Is it the heritage of the layout which dates back in 1917? Is it the celebrated legacy of the course’s architect, James Foulis, who emigrated from Scotland to become a US Open champion and the first golf professional at Chicago Golf Club? Or is it the property’s geological history—its ridges and glens formed some 14,000 years ago at the edge of what is known as the Tinley Moraine? While more stories about the fascinating history of the property—and its three generations of women ownership— are told later in this article, the chapter that truly matters to golfers is the improve- ments made to this 5,928-yard gem in just the past few years. With golf’s resurgence across the country post-pandemic, the timing felt right to update the 108-year- old publicly accessible layout. “We started our review process
24 GOLFChicagoMagazine.com
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