Inside the course: Cog Hill Golf and Country Club

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Condon/PGA TOUR

The 18th hole at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club is a splendid setting for a winning putt in the third leg of the Playoffs.

Sep. 6, 2009
By PGA TOUR Staff

The TOUR moves west to the Chicago area for the third week of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup -- the BMW Championship. Learn more about this week's venue, Cog Hill Golf and Country Club -- Dubsdread course.

Fast facts

Course Superintendent	Ken Lapp
Original architect	Dick Wilson and Joe Lee (1964)
Course remodel	Rees Jones/Wadsworth Contruction (2008)
Number of TOUR events as host venue	18 (including 2009)
Course ranking	Ranked 47th (out of 55 courses) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2007*
Yardage history	7,386 (2009)
	7,326 (2004-07)
	7,320 (2003)
	7,224 (2002)
	7,073 (1996-2001)
	7,040 (1991-95)
Par value:	71
Grass	Pencross bentgrass (tees); Bentgrass (fairways); A1 bentgrass, A4 bentgrass (greens); Kentucky bluegrass(rough)
Tournament Stimpmeter	10-11 feet
Sand bunkers	98
Water hazards	7
Course tour	Click here \| Learn about the changes

* The BMW Championship was played at Bellerive Country Club in 2008

Course record

Player
Jeff Sluman
John Adams
Dudley Hart
Nick Price
Brian Henninger
Stephen Ames
Tiger Woods

Year
1992
1993
1998
2000
2000
2000
2007

Round
3rd
3rd
4th
1st
2nd
2nd
4th

Finish
T7
T4
T3
P2
T6
T15
Won

Holes-in-one

There have been 13 aces recorded at Cog Hill GCC

Player	Hole	Year
Scott Hoch	14	2004
Mike Small	2	2004
Lucas Glover	12	2004
Franklin Langham	2	2000
Joey Sindelar	12	1996
Joel Edwards	14	1995
Scott Gump	14	1995
Doug Tewell	6	1994
Nolan Henke	14	1992
Mark Calcavecchia	14	1992
Tommy Armour III	6	1991
Rick Dalpos	14	1991
David Sutherland	14	1991

2007 Rankings

Toughest Hole

	This 482-yard par 4 was the most difficult hole on the course in 1995. The green -- tucked behind water to the left, a ravine in front and sand on both sides -- is difficult to hit in regulation unless the tee shot is perfectly positioned in the middle of the fairway. Gusting winds can make the second shot tricky. 2007: 0 eagles, 51 birdies, 157 pars, 49 bogeys, 12 double bogeys, 1 other.
Easiest Hole
	This 519-yard par 5 is a prime eagle opportunity. The hole is straightaway with a slight dogleg right at the green. 2007: 4 eagles, 136 birdies, 107 pars, 13 bogeys, 0 double bogeys and 0 others.

Cog Hill G&CC			2007 rankings		17-year average
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. score	Rank	Avg. score	Rank
1	4	455	3.988	10	4.037	9
2	3	180	2.992	9	2.995	12
3	4	424	3.819	14	3.965	14
4	4	434	4.012	8	4.183	4
5	4	480	4.069	5	4.158	6
6	3	242	3.088	3	3.205	3
7	4	425	3.912	12	4.030	10
8	4	384	3.8	15	3.979	13
9	5	600	4.773	16	4.852	16
10	4	380	3.858	13	3.887	15
11	5	564	4.608	17	4.762	17
12	3	220	3.073	4	3.169	5
13	4	482	4.135	1	4.211	2
14	3	192	3.019	7	3.080	8
15	5	519	4.496	18	4.628	18
16	4	445	4.05	6	4.092	7
17	4	420	3.942	11	4.007	11
18	4	480	4.135	1	4.253	1

Course origins

In 1926-27, a golf course was built by manual labor and horse-drawn equipment. This backbreaking work produced Cog Hill No. 1. It opened on Fourth of July weekend, 1927. The original No. 2 course opened in the fall of 1929. Depite 12 years of the Great Depression, the golf course prospered, and the people who had money continued to make their way to Cog Hill.

In 1963, Dick Wilson was hired to build a third course. After completing that design, he was then asked to build a fourth course that would be good enough to hold a national open or PGA Championship. Wilson agreed but, unfortunately, passed away before finishing the project, and Joe Lee completed the course.

Cog Hill has also added five holes adjacent to parts of courses No. 2 and 4 to play during construction and renovation projects. Over the years, Jemsek Golf and Cog Hill have hosted many national championships. Cog Hill hosted the 1970 and 1989 USGA Men's Public Links Championship, the 1987 U.S. Women's Public Links Championship, the 1988 Western Junior and numerous U.S. Open qualifiers and Men's Public Links qualifiers. In 1991, the Western Golf Association brought the Western Open to the Dubsdread course at Cog Hill, where the tournament remained until 2007. Cog Hill hosted the third leg of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, the BMW Championship, in 2007, and it will again from 2009-11.

The Dubsdread Course was built from the natural terrain and is known for its many oak trees lining the fairways and its large, undulating greens. The signature hole on Dubsdread is No. 16, a 397-yard par 4, with a dogleg-left fairway and great views of the countryside. Its green is four-tiered and surrounded by trees. Golf Digest rated Dubsdread as the "Best Public Course" in the state for 1996, and GOLF Magazine chose it 16th among the "Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the U.S." for 1998. In the category of "America's 100 Greatest Courses," Golf Digest ranked it 59th for 1995-96 and 40th for 99-2000. GOLFWEEK ranked it 16th in the category of "America's 100 Best Modern Courses" for 1997, 27th for 1998 and 29th for 1999.

Dubsdread reopened the spring of 2009 after a $5.2 million renovation was completed, a project led by Rees Jones that began after Cog Hill hosted the 2007 BMW Championship. Changes included the reconstruction of all greens and tee complexes, reshaping of the fairways, a new risk-reward pond on No. 7, significant tree management, the repositioning and sculpting of all 98 bunkers, a new irrigation system, additional drainage, and Sub-Air aeration and moisture removal systems were installed on all 19 greens (including the practice green). -- Source: Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

Tournament course history

Course	Location	Years
Bellerive CC	St. Louis, Mo.	1953, 2008
Beverly CC	Chicago, Ill.	1910, 1963, 1967, 1970
Blue Mound CC	Milwaukee, Wisc.	1916
Blythefield CC	Belmont, Mich.	1961
Brentwood CC	Brentwood, Calif.	1950
Brookfield CC	Buffalo, N.Y.	1948
Butler National GC	Oak Brook, Ill.	1974-1990
Calumet CC	Homewood, Ill.	1924
Canterbury GC	Beechwood, Ohio	1932,1937
CC of Peoria	Peoria, Ill.	1934
Cincinnati GC	Cincinnati, Ohio	1905
Cog Hill G&CC (Dubsdread)	Lemont, Ill.	1991-2007, 2009
Colonial CC	Memphis, Tenn.	1923
Davenport CC	Davenport, Iowa	1936, 1951
Euclid Club	Euclid, Ohio	1902
Glen Oak CC	Glen Ellyn, Ill.	1915
Glen View GC	Chicago, Ill.	1899
Highland G&CC	Indianapolis, Ind.	1926
Hinsdale GC	Hinsdale, Ill.	1907
Homewood CC	Homewood, Ill.	1906
Idlewild CC	Flossmoor, Ill.	1912
Indianwood G&CC	Lake Orion, Mich.	1930
Interlachen CC	Edina, Minn.	1914
Keller GC	St. Paul, Minn.	1949
Kent CC	Grand Rapids, Mich.	1904, 1911
Kenwood CC	Cincinnati, Ohio	1954
Mayfield CC	Cleveland, Ohio	1919
Medinah CC	Medinah, Ill.	1939, 1962, 1966
Memphis CC	Memphis, Tenn.	1913
Miami Valley GC	Dayton, Ohio	1931
Midlothian CC	Midlothian, Ill.	1901, 1969, 1973
Milwaukee CC	Milwaukee, Wisc.	1903
Normandie GC	St. Louis, Mo.	1908
North Shore GC	Chicago, Ill.	1928
Oakland Hills CC	Birmingham, Mich.	1922
Oakwood Club	Cleveland Heights, Ohio	1921
Olympia Fields CC	Olympia Fields, Ill.	1920, 1927, 1933, 1968, 1971
Ozaukee CC	Mequon, Wisc.	1929
Phoenix GC	Phoenix, Ariz.	1941, 1942
Pittsburgh Field Club	Aspinwall, Pa.	1959
Plum Hollow GC	Southfield, Mich.	1957
Portland GC	Portland, Ore.	1955
Presidio CC	San Francisco, Calif.	1956
Red Run GC	Royal Oak, Mich.	1958
River Oaks CC	Houston, Texas	1940
Salt Lake City CC	Salt Lake City, Utah	1947
Skokie CC	Glencoe, Ill.	1909
South Bend CC	South Bend, Ind.	1935
Sunset CC	St. Louis, Mo.	1946
Sunset Ridge	Winnetka, Ill.	1972
Tam OShanter CC	Niles, Ill.	1964, 1965
Western G&CC	Redford, Mich.	1960
Westmoreland CC	Wilmette, Ill.	1917
Westwood CC	St. Louis, Mo.	1938, 1952
Youngstown CC	Youngstown, Ohio	1925