Olympia Fields: North Course

Olympia Fields, North Course:  Resurrected from obscurity with careful renovation and arranging this Chicago area course became the unexpected host of the 2003 U.S. Open.  Founded in 1915 within 700 acres of rolling Illinois countryside 4 courses were built by 1925.  Tom Bendelow designed #1, Bendelow and William Watson #2, William Watson #3 and Willie Park, Jr. designed the 4th, which quickly became the favorite and recognized as one of the best in the world.  During WW II the club was forced to sell half the acreage.  Holes from the first 3 courses were combined into the South Course and the 4th became the North course. From its inception Olympia Fields has played host to major golf tournaments of the U. S.:  The 1925 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen, the 1928 U.S. Open when Johnny Farrel defeated Bobby Jones in a playoff, the 1961 PGA Championship won by Jerry Barber and the 1997 U.S. Senior Open won by Graham Marsh finishing at even par.  In addition the Western Open, formerly considered a major, has been held here five times and whose winners included Jack Nicklaus in 1968 and Bruce Crampton in 1971.  It was however, the success of the U.S. Senior Open that prompted the USGA to consider Olympia Fields for the U.S. Open  Prior to that the course had slipped from prominence due to the rise of modern equipment and a distinct lack of desire for publicity by the membership.  But attitudes change and after golf course architect Mark Mungeam lengthened the North course by 283 yards to a 7,190 and deepening most of the fairway bunkers, the par 70 layout once again possessed the luster of its prestigious past.  For the U.S. Open  the front and pack nines of the North course were reversed excepting the 1st and 10th holes, thus the members 2nd became the 11th and the members 11th became the 2nd.  The modification was made in order to accommodate the huge facilities required for the World's major golf tournament.  Jim Furyk proved the player for the course when he coasted to his first major championship win at the 2003 U.S. Open.  

Ken Boltz has created a wonderful interpretation of the U.S. Open course setup for Links 2001.  The course is available for free and may be found for download at the Links Corner.

For questions or comments please send e-mail to David.

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Artists' Golf is a conceptual work of art Copyright 1995 - 2008 by David B. Lewis and all original paintings, drawings and art works are Copyright by David B. Lewis. All rights reserved.  Maps of existing courses are original artistic interpretations and impressions from a variety of sources and are not intended to be accurate renderings or representations of the actual courses.  They indicate my interest and study and are intended purely for the pleasure and information of the viewers and are not for sale or profit.