CHICAGO, January 28, 2014 – Cantigny Golf and KemperSports announced today that KemperSports has been selected to manage the highly-regarded golf course in Wheaton, Illinois. Owned by the Cantigny Foundation, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundations, the 27-hole golf course is widely recognized as one of the finest public courses in the Chicago area and becomes the 16th KemperSports-managed property in Illinois.
Cantigny Golf operates with a mission to provide exceptional recreation and education opportunities to the people of Illinois. In addition to the course, Cantigny Golf offers dynamic 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 recognized as 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 after 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 highly-developed caddie program has engaged more than 800 local students, with 9 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 also the proud 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 our 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,” said KemperSports CEO Steve Skinner. “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 rest upon 500 acres, once the estate of Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
For more information on Cantigny Golf, visit www.cantignygolf.com.
About KemperSports
Northbrook, Ill.-based KemperSports builds, owns and manages golf courses, resorts, athletic clubs and lodging venues across the U.S., Caribbean and Central America. The company’s award-winning portfolio includes nationally-ranked courses and tournament venues such as Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, named the No. 1 Golf Resort in North America by Golf Digest and GOLF magazine; The Glen Club; Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook, IL; Desert Willow Golf Resort; Harbor Shores, site of the 2012 and 2014 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid; and Chambers Bay, host of the 2010 U.S. Amateur and the 2015 U.S. Open. For more information about KemperSports, please visit http://www.kempersports.com.
Join the KemperSports social media conversation at www.facebook.com/kempersports and www.twitter.com/kempersports.
About the McCormick and Cantigny Foundations
The Robert R. McCormick Foundations are committed to fostering communities of educated, informed and engaged citizens. Through philanthropic programs, Cantigny Park and museums, and Cantigny Golf, the Foundations help develop citizen leaders and work to make life better in our communities. Established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, the McCormick Foundation is one of the nation’s largest foundations, with more than $1.5 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.mccormickfoundation.org.
Contact:
B.R. Koehnemann for KemperSports
847.480.4844
brkoehnemann@kempersports.com
Phil Zepeda for McCormick Foundation
312.445.5039
pzepeda@mccormickfoundation.org
