FROM THE EDITOR

Golf is a "lifetime sport," I'm told. So I can rest easy knowing my time will come to leave the league of gimme-duffers and join the impassioned club to which so many of you already belong.

According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), 25 million people in the United States play golf, and 80 percent more often than not patronize public courses (see p. 33 for more NGF stats).

"Illinois park district and forest preserve courses are generally way above the national standards for public courses," says Dr. Ted Flickinger, IAPD's ex- ecutive director, whom NGF classifies as an "avid golfer" (playing more than 25 rounds per year).

"Our golf courses are more plush and challenging compared to those you will find in typical public courses across the nation."

He should know. He's played at nearly one-third of Illinois' 120 public courses and many throughout the United States.

Like so many who love the sport, Flickinger—who started playing 10 years ago at age 43—says the challenge is part of its lure.

"One minute you're trying to hit a 250-yard drive, five minutes later you're on the green trying to make a 3-foot putt."

Regarding the "golf versus the environment" debate, Flickinger says: "We are certainly doing a better job of making our golf courses as bird sanctuaries and introducing many of the native flowers and grasses, using less herbicides and pesticides. The Lake County Forest Preserve District is a good example." (See lead story on p. 29.)

Many public courses in Illinois have received top ratings by Golf Digest and are host to major PGA and amateur golf tournaments. Others are annual sites for local fundraisers, golf outings, competitive league play and all around good times.

"Most are self-supporting operations," says Flickinger. "They're not a drain on the taxpayers."

Now that's a gimme everyone will take.

ANN LONDRIGAN
Editor

4 / Illinois Parks and Recreation