JOE JEMSEK

The history of modern golf parallels the life of Joe Jemsek. He pioneered high standards for public courses. Born in Summit, IL on Christmas Eve in 1913, he grew up in Argo, IL, 20 miles southwest of Chicago. He began his golf career as a caddie at the long gone Laramie golf course in Chicago for 50 cents a round. He became a professional at seventeen, tried the tour and didn't like it despite a game that kept him below par. He came back to Cog Hill, where he had also caddied, and mastered every job connected with a golf operation. He has been a caddie, caddie master, greenkeeper, salesman, professional, cook and bottle washer!

In 1939 he bought St. Andrews in West Chicago, IL with its clubhouse and two courses and began his long career of bringing first-rate, well-maintained courses, good food and drinks to the public golfer.

Mr. Jemsek's next acquisition was Cog Hill (Lemont, IL) in 1951; then leased Glenwoodie (Glenwood, IL) in 1959; Pine Meadow (Mundelein, IL) in 1985 and built Summer Grove (Newnan, GA) in 1998. Mr. Jemsek added a third course to Cog Hill in 1963 and his beloved Number Four, or Dubsdread, in 1964. Dubsdread and Pine Meadow are ranked in the top 100 public golf courses in the country. They rank with Pebble Beach in Monterey, Doral in Miami, Bethpage in Farmingdale and other top facilities open to the public.

Joe Jemsek is the sky-ride golf champion of the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. He drove a golf ball 501 yards into Lake Michigan from the sky-ride tower, 168 feet in the air. Staged in the interest of science and measured by the U.S. Navy engineers, Jemsek took the trophy offered by a local restaurant, defeating nine local golf professionals.

Jemsek Courses have the service of 22 PGA and LPGA teachers and six high schools call Jemsek courses home.

In 1991 Mr. Jemsek's dream of a top championship at Dubsdread came true when the Western Golf Association awarded the Western Open to Cog Hill. The championship repeated in 1992 and every year since. Jemsek courses have also been sites for the 1997 U.S. Amateur championship; 1970 and 1989 U.S. Amateur Public Links championship; the 1987 and 1990 Ram Intercollegiate; the 1992 Great Midwest Conference and numerous national qualifying rounds. They also host many school competitions and many charity Pro-Amateurs.

With all this in his life, Joe Jemsek was most proud of being a Class A member of the PGA since the early forties, of receiving the PGA Professional Golfer of the Year award in 1991, and being the first to represent public golf on the Executive Committee of the United States Golf Association (1988-1989).

Joe Jemsek died April 2, 2002. He was a widower, and left two children, Frank and Marianne (Mrs. Gerard Hinckley), seven grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.