Getting To Know: Shepherd's Crook Golf Course By Brian Weis

Getting To Know: Shepherd's Crook Golf Course

An Insightful Interview With Ken Whitmore, Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Ken Whitmore who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Return to the roots of golf at Shepherd's Crook, the Zion Park District owned and operated layout that offers a passage back to golf's heritage.

Opened in August, 1999 Shepherd's Crook has earned rave reviews as a course that is both challenging and exciting to play. Designed by Keith Foster, who has designed some of the most interesting courses built in the last 10 years, is a links-style course that creates a feeling of playing Ireland's Ballybunion or Waterville courses. Shepherd's Crook's design reflects the golden era of golf course architecture of the 1920's and 30's with bentgrass fairways, tees, and greens.

"Shepherd's Crook is routed with classic and strategic design principles that cut features naturally to the terrain. The vision of Shepherd's Crook returns golfers to the game's past" (Keith Foster, Architect for Shepherd's Crook Golf Course).

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Shepherd's Crook is a very distinct style course. It's plays fair to the average golfer with wide fairways. Layout is very good. It is a must play if you are in the area.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Trying to keep the ball in the middle of the fairway because high fescue surrounds a lot of the property.

Any recent changes to the golf course? Or any upcoming changes?
We hired a new ground superintendent a year ago and he's done a lot of work with the Greens to improve them. If you have not been here in awhile you will be impressed with the greens.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
"Rated 5 Stars" (Chicagoland Golf Magazine)

"100 Best Fairways" (Golf for Women Magazine)

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #9 Snake Bite.

The closing par 5 plays out of a chute of trees to the open fairway. From the landing area you've got three options: Play right of the center fairway bunker for the easier second shot, but you'll be looking at three greenside bunkers for a difficult third. Play left of the center fairway bunker for the more difficult second shot and the green opens up beautifully to receive the third. Kill it over the bunker and go for the green in two. Beware of false fronts on this green.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Hole #18 Devil's Ditch.

The long road home is a double dogleg par 5. Get your ball between the fairway bunkers and you've got a chance to carry the ditch on your second shot. If not, play for position to the landing area short of the ditch while watching the bunkers left. Long ball hitters - kill your tee ball over the left of the two right fairway bunkers, hit the downslope and run. The perched and devilish green is now vulnerable. Beware though, two false fronts.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The locals rave about our cheese burgers.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,771
Slope: 130
Rating: 72.1

More Information
Shepherd's Crook Golf Course 351 North Green Bay Road Zion, IL, 60099 (847) 872-2080

www.shepherdscrook.org

Revised: 04/26/2019 - Article Viewed 20,134 Times - View Course Profile

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.