Interview With Len Ziehm, Golf Writer at the Chicago Sun-Times By Brian Weis

Interview With Len Ziehm, Golf Writer at the Chicago Sun-Times

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Len Ziehm who is officially retired after 41 years at the Chicago Sun-Times, but still the paper's golf writer. He also does a weekly column for the Daily Herald and monthly columns and features for Chicago Area Golf newspaper. In addition, he regularly contributes to the Chicago District Golfer magazine and Illinois PGA website. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
I was 11, and my mother took me out - first to a PGA tournament and then to play at Mission Hills course.

What is your current home course?
Stonehenge, in Barrington, IL.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Breaking par for the only time - 1-under 34 for nine holes at Chicago Park District's Columbus Park course.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
On the course it's certainly slow play. That drives me crazy.

What is your favorite golf destination?
I've been to lots of goods ones, but Eagle Ridge and Grand Geneva are always excellent.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis - played it just after it opened, but don't remember it. I'm kind of in the mindset of going back to old favorites these days, and that one tops the list.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Blackwolf Run, River course.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I'd upgrade the impression of nine-hole rounds and nine-hole courses. Fun golf doesn't have to 18 holes on an 18-hole course. There are plenty of great nine-holers.

Dream foursome (living)?
Herb Gould, Gary D'Amato, Larry Williams, Barry Cronin.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
All dead, I'm afraid - Reid Hanley, Phil Kosin, my Dad and my brother Rich.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long putt.

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of my life.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Twilight.

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power fade.

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom.

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot dog, for sure.

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Thick rough.

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid.

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 3.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Palmer.

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Elvis.

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun, definitely.

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run.

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Lay up.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18 nowadays.

Revised: 09/22/2011 - Article Viewed 30,708 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.