Officials from the Canal Shores Golf Club believe a new era is close due to a large renovation for the 103-year-old course.
On June 1, with many community stakeholders in attendance, Canal Shores representatives hosted a groundbreaking at the course straddling the Evanston-Wilmette border.
A goal of the project — where the initial work has started — is to redesign several of the holes plus allowing for construction of a new youth golf facility and the formation of a caddie academy.
“Our vision here is to run a program where young men and women from the community learn to caddie and then they go out and hopefully earn the Evans Scholarship which is gateway for them to hopefully create a successful life,” Western Golf Association Evans Scholars Foundation John Kaczkowski.
The scholarship is a full housing and tuition scholarship awarded by the Western Golf Association to a caddie who exemplifies “excellent grades, outstanding character and demonstrated financial need,” according to the group’s website.
Ryan Lach, a current Northwestern University sophomore, is the chapter president of Northwestern Evans Scholars.
At the June 1 ceremony, Lach spoke of what the Evans Scholarship meant to him personally noting how his father lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic and the scholarship received allowed him to pursue a college education.
He also spoke positively about the course where he said he worked often on Saturday mornings.
“Canal Shores is an incredible course, Lach said. “It really serves the community and that sets it apart from a lot of the places nearby because it is just as much for people to enjoy as it is for golfers to play.”
As of June 13, approximately $5 million of the entire $6 million goal for the reconstruction have been raised according to a spokesman for KemperSports, which runs Canal Shores daily operations.
The renovation is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2024.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
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