Golf Course Overview: Rend Lake Golf Resort By Brian Weis

Golf Course Overview: Rend Lake Golf Resort

Insights From An Insider With Brian Laur, PGA Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Local and traveling golfers love to research course before playing, whether it is to gain some local knowledge or to set the expectation for their experience. Below is an interview with Brian Laur who shares some valuable insight about the property, its most talked about holes and the signature dish/drink to consume at the 19th hole.

How Does Your Course Differ From The Others In The Area?
With our hotel on-site and 27 holes we are unique to southern Illinois. The course is fairly open but does have hundreds of mature trees if a golfer hits their ball far enough off line. With some of the largest greens anywhere, Rend Lake gives everyone the feeling that they are hitting the ball straighter than normal, only to get up to your ball and realize a 70 foot putt is upcoming!

For someone who has not played the course in awhile, has there been any new changes/renovations to the course or property?
The condition of the course is the main thing that people who have come back to Rend Lake after being gone for a while have commented on. The greens are in excellent shape and are a good speed considering many putts could have ten feet of break or more.

What is your course's answer to Amen Corner? (Describe your best/hardest 3 back/back/back holes)
The 3 starting holes on the West Course(#19-#21) would probably be regarded as the most difficult 3 holes in a row. Depending on the tees you are playing the length of these three make them very difficult. #19(originally #10 as this was the back nine until 1994) is a good dogleg right that most golfers would be best to leave their tee shots slightly left. The left side of the fairway slopes right to put you in perfect position and most golfers would be blocked out by large, mature trees if hitting into the right side of the fairway. An uphill second makes it difficult to judge. #20 is a long par 5 with trees overhanging in an area that most would lay up for their third shot. This hole plays longer than any other 5 Par on the course. #21 is unusually straight for Rend Lake but plays well over 450 yards from the back tee, especially with a back pin location. An old oak tree looms on the left side of the fairway @ 150 yards out which can play havoc with even the best tee shots. The green is the largest of all 27 holes and hitting the green in two definitely does not guarantee a par. If you play these three holes well, the back nine can definitely be a lot of fun. Within that same nine holes golfers get to see beautiful views of the actual lake. Holes 23-25 provide these views. #23 is a short 5 par with a view of Rend Lake off in the distance behind the green. Holes 24 and 25 are both par 4's with lay up options off the tee. Water is in play on each tee shot and the lake runs down the left side of #25 providing the golfer with the best view of the water.

What is your course's claim to fame, or is there a little known fact that golfers should know about the property?
We are owned by a water district, the Rend Lake Conservancy District, that provides water to over 80 communities throughout southern Illinois. Our "Golf Ball Water Tower" has been highlighted in magazines for its uniqueness and anyone who has driven on Interstate 57 (the main interstate to Chicago) has seen the huge golf ball on a tee that has become our trademark.

What tournaments/events have you (recently) hosted or will be hosting?
We just found out that we will again have the honor of hosting the Gateway PGA Southern Illinois Open. This is a major event in the Gateway Section and golfers from outside the area love the opportunity to come in and play a 27 hole event for cash. We have included many new scrambles and tournaments over the last year and are in the planning stages to add even more events this coming year. One popular event from last year is the Coors Light 4 person scramble held on the Saturday before Mother's Day. Another event that we plan to do at least twice this coming year is a 2 person 27 hole scramble. For $50 per person you get to play 27 holes w/cart, lunch provided by Birdies Sports Grille, 2 drink tickets and many prizes and tee gifts. This past year giveaways were provided by Koerner Distributing and Pheasant Hollow Winery.

Besides golf, what other amenities do you offer if a golfer wants to spend most of the day at your facility?
Birdies Sports Grille has numerous televisions for viewing sports and can be described as a mini Buffalo Wild Wings. There is another separated section to the restaurant for a more low key atmosphere. There are bike trails within walking distance of Seasons Lodge on site and numerous outdoor activities with over 18,000 square miles around Rend Lake itself.

Contact Course
Rend Lake Golf Resort
12476 Golf Course Road
Whittington, IL, 62897
618 629-2353
www.rendlakegolfresort.com

Revised: 03/03/2015 - Article Viewed 30,980 Times

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.