The Lake County Forest Preserve District is building yet another golf course. This one, named Thunderhawk, will be close to the Wisconsin state line and will be an upscale course designed to cater to the more affluent golfing community.
Whether an expenditure of $10 million for this project could be considered a prudent expenditure of taxpayer’s money, I leave to heads far wiser than mine. It is my opinion, however, that Lake County should not be in the country club business.
Although designed for the affluent, there is, at least, a way for the less advantaged to share in this bounty. About a year ago, I passed on to a board member a packet of information from the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship Fund.
The information described in detail how to establish a caddie program that could provide deserving youths with an opportunity to earn money, build character, get experience with golf and possibly earn the chance to receive a college scholarship. (Hundreds of scholarships, worth millions, have been distributed through the Chick Evans program.)
The board member to whom the information was forwarded apparently saw no value in the program and it was left to die on the vine. After waiting a respectful year to see if any interest was displayed, I forwarded the suggestion to yet another board member with a request for a yes or no comment on whether the idea had, in his opinion, merit.
It appears that the idea, once again, was shunted out of the way. This appears to happen with great frequency when ideas and suggestions do not originate with the power structure.
The idea is good. It has worked and is working in hundreds of similar situations. The beneficiaries are the youngsters involved in the program, their communities, society in general and golfers who long for the days when caddies were available. Isn’t the Chick Evans program worth a serious look?
