KemperSports to take over management of Cantigny Golf
Cantigny Golf and KemperSports have announced that KemperSports has been selected to manage the golf course in Wheaton. Owned by the Cantigny Foundation, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundations, the 27-hole public golf course becomes the 16th KemperSports-managed property in Illinois.
In addition to the course, Cantigny Golf offers learning programs for all ages at the Cantigny Golf Academy. The property also features a comprehensive junior golf program and the Cantigny Youth Links, a 9-hole course specifically designed for golfers ages 8 to 15. Additionally, Cantigny Golf is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.
KemperSports will be responsible for management of all golf and hospitality operations, with current Cantigny staff in these areas becoming KemperSports staff. The transition is expected to take place in mid-February.
“Working with KemperSports will help us build on Cantigny Golf’s 25-year history as a great golf destination, with a focus on young golfers just learning the game,” said David D. Hiller, president and CEO of the McCormick Foundation.
“As a leader in golf course management, KemperSports is the ideal choice to help shape the future of Cantigny Golf, continuing to offer extraordinary recreation opportunities to our community.”
Opened in 1989 and designed by Roger Packard, Cantigny Golf immediately received national acclaim by being recognized by Golf Digest as the best new public course and as a top-25 public course in the country. In addition to the course, Cantigny Golf includes a full-service clubhouse with multiple dining options, golf shop, locker rooms, and private event meeting spaces with room for up to 180 guests.
The course will host the 2014 Illinois State Amateur Championship this summer for the fourth time. In the recent past, Cantigny Golf has been host to the Chicago Open and the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
Cantigny Golf has a long-standing commitment to encouraging the sport of golf among young adults. More than 1,200 youth are introduced to golf each year through Cantigny Youth Links and clinics.
Since 1989, the caddie program has engaged more than 800 local students, with nine caddies selected as recipients of the prestigious Evans Scholarship. Through support of The First Tee of Greater Chicago, young people are provided character-building and life-skills lessons for success as they learn golf. Cantigny is the home course to five local high school and college golf teams.
Reflecting the McCormick and Cantigny commitment to veterans, the Cantigny Honor Club offers special greens fees rates and other benefits to veterans and active duty members of the armed services. Cantigny Golf also hosts organizations assisting disabled veterans and children through donated facility use and staff time, including Revelation Golf, Sunshine Through Golf, Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital and the Chicago District Golf Association.
“As Cantigny Golf looks to celebrate its 25th anniversary, we are excited to be working with them to further the mission of the organization,” KemperSports CEO Steve Skinner said.
“The course has a great reputation among regional golfers and we look forward to enhancing the guest experience and continuing the fantastic junior programs developed by Cantigny’s team.”
Cantigny Golf is bordered to the north by Cantigny Park, home to the Robert R. McCormick Museum, the First Division Museum, formal gardens, and picnic and camping areas. Cantigny Park and Cantigny Golf cover 500 acres, once the estate of Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
For information on Cantigny Golf, visit cantignygolf.com.