Golf: Looking forward to another Lincoln Highway

One of the benefits of the summer Links With Locals column is it affords me the opportunity to sneak in a practice round at the site of the Men’s Lincoln Highway golf tournament.

I took advantage of that opportunity Tuesday afternoon and evening at Shady Oaks Country Club, south of Amboy. My home away from home as a youth, Shady Oaks will host the 99th Men’s LHT on Saturday and Sunday.

After heavy rains on Monday morning forced Shady Oaks to close for a bit that afternoon, I wasn’t quite sure what kind of shape the course would be in. It turned out to be just fine, with the exception of some slower greens that I’m sure will be speedy by Saturday.

It had been a few years since I’ve played Shady Oaks, and some changes were noticeable. About 20 trees have been taken down, most prominently on the par-4 12th hole. Tee shots to the left now have a clear path to a long and narrow green. A big tree next to the clubhouse was also removed, to make room for more motor carts.

A troublesome area short and to the right of the fifth green was also fixed, as it was tilled and re-sodded this spring with fresh turf. Previously, it was dirt, with very little to prevent a slightly errant shot from running into serious trouble.

The sixth tee box was also leveled and re-sodded. On Tuesday, several bunkers were filled with fresh sand.

Shady Oaks last hosted the Men’s Lincoln Highway in 2017, and that was a difficult weekend. Several inches of rain fell on Friday night, on the eve of the tournament, and the creek that meanders through several holes went over its banks. It had receded enough by Sunday that a 27-hole event was played, but it was very soupy.

A favorable forecast for this weekend should have the course ready for the area’s top golfers. Two teams from Shady Oaks and one each from Indian Oaks (Shabbona), Timber Creek (Dixon), Fairways (Rochelle), Lost Nation (Dixon), Emerald Hill (Sterling), Rock River (Rock Falls), Sunset (Mount Morris), Deer Valley (Deer Grove) and PrairieView (Byron) will tee it up.

“Shady Oaks is very excited to host the 99th Lincoln Highway,” Shady Oaks member Dave Kemp said. “We’ve been looking forward to this since we did our last one. To get this course in shape, the stockholders, the members, the friends of Shady Oaks, and all the volunteers put in the time to get it in the shape it is. Our superintendents and their staff, the clubhouse staff – they’re all just buzzing to get this tournament this year.

“The course is in great, great shape. It’s about the best it’s been in a long, long time. I think the golfers are totally going to enjoy the experience, and it should be a great challenge.”

My playing partners on Tuesday were all Shady Oaks members: Kemp, Ed Dunn, Greg Ohlendorf and Jeff Lovgren. Kemp and Ohlendorf will compete this weekend.

Kemp and I have been knocking heads for about four decades, dating back to my time as a youth at Shady Oaks. We’ve competed in club tournaments, Lincoln Highways, Rock River Classics and other events, and it’s about a dead heat between the two of us. I was fortunate enough to get him at the inaugural Senior Men’s Lincoln Highway back in May, but he’ll be tough to handle this weekend on his home turf.

Kemp has worked at Raynor Garage Doors for 40 years, and is the pricing manager there. His son, Clayton, is a junior at Augustana College in the pre-med program, and he plays golf for the Vikings. Clayton will also compete for Shady Oaks this weekend. Keeping the Kemp men in line is Dave’s wife, Kathy.

Dunn sold Country Companies insurance for 37 years, and now he and his wife Gail split their time between Illinois and Arizona, with 6 months in each locale. Nicer folks you will not find, and Ed can still putt with the best of them.

Ohlendorf works for Plote Construction in Hoffman Estates, but hustles his way back to Amboy to get rounds in at Shady Oaks, often with his wife, Patti, an accomplished player in her own right. Ohlendorf’s late father, Lou, was the veterinarian in Amboy for more than 40 years, and fixed up many a cat in the Weidman house during that time.

Lovgren is the sales manager at the Bobcat dealership in Dixon, and his younger brother, Joey, is a classmate of mine at Amboy High School, class of 1983. Jeff’s niece is Mallory Powers, an all-state basketball player for the Clippers the past two seasons, and she will play at Illinois Wesleyan next winter.

The five of us formed a team for the always-popular Tuesday night men’s league at Shady Oaks, but we finished well out of the money. We also had a side game going in which many, many quarters were extricated from my pockets. On this night, these guys were sharks and I was chum.