The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The pages of Chicago District Golfer in 1999 featured items on golf courses, events and figures that retain prominence today. Numerous entities spotlighted 25 years ago were in the headlines again in 2024, ranging from courses like Beverly Country Club and Flossmoor Golf Club (pictured above) to golf club manufacturers such as Gary Hansberger and Bob Bettinardi.
Learn more about 1999 by perusing the five Chicago District Golfer issues from that year via the links below:
The year’s first edition announced LaSalle Bank as the new sponsor of the Chicago Open, profiled golf club manufacturer Gary Hansberger, memorialized Chuck Eckstein and Harry Mussatto, and previewed the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club.
New Chicago Open host Beverly Country Club graced the cover of this issue, which also spotlighted the 100th anniversary of the Western Golf Association (WGA). Both entities are still prominent in 2024, with Beverly having hosted the 104th CDGA Amateur Championship in June and the WGA celebrating its 125th birthday at the BMW Championship in August.
Another member club, this time Flossmoor Golf Club in its centennial year, was featured on the cover of this issue. Also spotlighted were Mike Gilligan, then of the PGA of America and now a CDGA employee, and the Slope aspect of the Course Rating System.
History was made in 1999, as this issue’s cover boy D.A. Points cemented his third Illinois State Amateur title. He became just the second person to win the event three times at stroke play, with nobody having achieved the feat since.
Bob Ackerman’s triumph at the Chicago Open served as the focal point of this year-end edition, which also contained profiles of then-Illinois basketball coach Lon Kruger, putter manufacturer Bob Bettinardi and new CDGA president Jerry Maatman.