Warming up with a little golf this winter

I first got the itch two weeks ago, but it got worse last week.

In years past, watching the PGA Tour pros open their season with back-to-back events on the idyllic Hawaiian Islands hardly moved me.

Sure it was a pleasure to watch, but the urge to actually go out and swing a club didn't usually kick in for me until the Masters rolled around in early April.

This year, however, the moons aligned. The combination of tropical vistas coinciding with the timely arrival of Golf Digest -- featuring its Hot List of the best new equipment on the market -- did the trick.

I had some scratching to do.

I had to find some places where a golfer with clubs in his hands in the middle of January wouldn't be hustled away by big guys in white jackets.

But this isn't Hawaii. It's Chicago. And it's cold. Real cold.

So what's a golfer to do?

Get in the car and find some golf sanctuaries, that's what. And when I did, I discovered I wasn't alone. There were others.

Libertyville SC

With a large cup of java, a couple of Advils, some crudely drawn maps and the nagging feeling that I was in over my head, I set out.

The thermometer in the car read 22 degrees as I headed north up Route 83 toward Libertyville and the Libertyville Sports Complex.

I pulled in only to find I was just the third car in the lot.

"It gets jammed here on the weekends," Reid Adams, the golf center manager, assured me. "We get a lot of guys who are going on trips. And we also have winter leagues here."

I bought $10 worth of balls and set up on the lower level of the two-story, open-air structure -- armed with a 6-iron, a driver and a desire not to wrench my back on my first swing of the year.

I put my card in the slot and watched in glee as the first ball popped up on a tee from beneath my mat.

The 40 automated tee stations have walls on either side of you, one behind you and a heater above you. My heater wasn't working too well.

So there I was: looking out at a hitting area with a thin layer of snow covering the grass like powdered sugar on a big cannoli. I was directly in line with the 150-yard sign. I grabbed my 6, looked down though my breath at the ball and … yes, right over the sign. Four of my next five shots followed suit -- straight and pretty long.

That's it, I figured. Leave on a good note.

It wouldn't last.

Ballybunion

On my way to Libertyville, I noticed what looked like a hand-painted sign in front of Ballybunion. It read simply: "Heated Range."

It was just a small sign in the parkway, like the Burma Shave signs of old or a political sign you see everywhere these days. I didn't have the place circled on my map, but the sign wooed me. On my way back from LSC, I had to check it out.

Again I was the third car in the lot. Weird.

I walked through the automatic sliding doors and into the foyer of the quaint, wooden structure.

"She should be here in a sec if she saw you pull in," a guy said as he walked past me and went into another room.

What?

After a couple of minutes of standing there with my clubs, I walked out the sliding doors and there she was, run-walking toward me through the parking lot.

"Sorry," said Nancy Likliter, who set me up with a $9 bucket of balls and turned on the heater at my station.

After a strong start to the day, I wanted to see how I'd do at stop No. 2. Alternating thwacks with an unseen golfer in the next station, I fell into my usual pattern -- straight, right, right, straight, right. Maybe it was because they didn't have automated tees.

Probably not.

Buffalo Grove G&SC

My third stop was the dome at the Buffalo Grove Golf and Sports Center.

Rushing in from the cold parking lot, the first two things you notice are: 1. It's warm! 2. This has got to be the cleanest place I've ever seen.

The place was packed with golfers on both decks hitting into a beautiful dark blue background that really helps you follow the path of your shots.

Unlike the outdoor ranges, the people here weren't layered up and hunched over from the cold. In fact, there were a lot of smiles, which may explain why this place was named the best golf dome in the United States and Canada for two years running.

"We have a lot of regulars," Lucy Rosset said, while effortlessly processing a steady stream of customers. "We have five older gentlemen who take one spot, have some coffee and have a real good time. It's a community meeting point."

I decided to take a break from hitting balls, but before I left, I spotted a small chipping green in the corner. I set up over a loose ball that was about 10 feet off the green, smacked it up the hill and … right into the cup.

What is going on?

TopGolf in Wood Dale

A dome, a couple of outdoor ranges -- what next?

Something completely different: TopGolf in Wood Dale, the only place like it in the Midwest and only the seventh of its kind in the world, according to event coordinator Laura Combs.

It's not easy to explain exactly what this place is.

In a nutshell, TopGolf is a two-story (soon to be three) heated outdoor range like my first two stops. But unlike the other two, the aim here is not to just set up the ball and whack it. The aim is to, well, aim well and pick up points.

Interspersed throughout the landing area are several circular "greens" with flags in the middle, only the greens here look like oven burners or crop circles and are able to almost instantaneously tell you how close to the flag your shot landed thanks to a computer chip in each ball. The results appear on a screen at your station so you can see if you outdid your opponent.

"Quite a few people were hesitant at the beginning," Combs said. "They just wanted to come out and hit balls."

With assistant manager Steve Ryland watching, I gave it a shot and immediately became, in the immortal words of Dottie Pepper, a choking dog.

Thumping four straight for no points, one for 9 and another couple for 3 before skulking away with my head bowed.

I could see how this could be fun, though. Bring a couple of friends, set up one of the variety of games offered, have a few drinks and just relax. And maybe afterward head to the restaurant or the fully stocked pro shop.

That sounds like a good plan for next time, but it was time for me to move on.

Golf Nation

The final stop on my midwinter tour was Golf Nation in Palatine.

One minute I was walking into an otherwise nondescript building on Quentin Road, and a few minutes later I was on the seventh tee at Pebble Beach (hitting over the green and into the water three straight times with a choked up 7-iron). Or at least it felt that way, thanks to one of four state-of-the-art simulators that briefly transport you to another place.

A warm place.

Pebble Beach is but one of 57 top courses available at Golf Nation, but this place is more than fancy gizmos.

You want an indoor putting green that can be rolled to reach any number on the Stimp Meter? You got it. An undulating chipping area? Check. A greenside bunker to blast out of? It's here.

A restaurant, a locker room, an executive suite, an outdoor heated range, a fitness room, a Skills and Drills area, pro shop? Check and check.

"It's kind of like a private club without the huge membership fee," said general manager Tim Wuhrman.

And a heck of a way to end a warm journey on a cold day.

If you go

Here's a glimpse at some of the area's indoor golf facilities:

Ballybunion Golf Learning Center

Route 83 and Aptakisic Road, Long Grove, (847) 634-3363

• Facilities: 20 outdoor heated stations

• Hours: Vary; call ahead

• Web: Not available

Buffalo Grove Golf Dome & Sports Center

801 McHenry Road, Buffalo Grove, (847) 459-2321

• Facilities: Dual tiered golf dome

• Hours: Monday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Web: bgparkdistrict.org

Des Plaines Golf Center

853 N. River Road, Des Plaines, (847) 803-4653

• Facilities: three-tiered outdoor heated range; 80 stations

• Hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily

• Web: desplainesparks.org

Golf Learning Center

1850 N. Hwy. 45, Libertyville, (847) 367-1506

• Facilities: dual tiered, 40 automated outdoor heated stations

• Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Web: libertyville.com/sportscomplex

Golf Nation

399 N. Quentin Road, Palatine, (847) 202-4653

• Facilities: virtual golf, indoor putting, chipping; fitness center

• Hours: Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Web: golfnation.us

Links and Tees Golf Facility

880-950 W. Lake St., Addison, (630) 458-2660

• Facilities: Dual-tiered heated indoor golf dome

• Hours: Sunday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays; Friday-Saturday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

• Web: addisonparkdistrict.org

Sports Zone Golf Dome

10 Business Rte. 30, Aurora, (630) 820-8624

• Facilities: Heated golf dome

• Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed on weekends

• Web: sportzonepark.com

TopGolf Wood Dale

699 West Thorndale Road, Wood Dale, (630) 595-4653

• Facilities: two-tiered, 50 outdoor heated range stations

• Hours: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily

• Web: topgolfusa.com

White Pines Golf Dome

500 W. Jefferson St., Bensenville, (630) 766-0304

• Facilities: two-tiered heated dome, 50 hitting stations

• Hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily

• Web: whitepinesgolfdome