About the CDGA

Midwest Golf House and the Three-Hole Sunshine Course are the CDGA’s home

The Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA) is the regional governing body for amateur golf in Illinois and parts of three other states. The CDGA services nearly 400 clubs and 80,000 individual golfers. Golfers receive member offers, a USGA Handicap Index® and competitive playing opportunities, while clubs receive USGA rating and measuring services, turfgrass diagnostics and educational seminars. Midwest Golf House and its Three-Hole Sunshine Course are home to our Foundation, which annually serves more than 1,000 individuals with special needs and wounded veterans while also bringing playing opportunities to youth golfers. Founded on March 18, 1914, the CDGA is one of the largest and oldest golf associations in the United States

The CDGA is directed by a district-wide board of directors and an advisory committee comprised of past presidents of the Association. Directors, known as “Blue Coats,” donate their services and time, amounting to more than 15,000 man-hours a year. The Association is serviced by a staff of 19 and is based at Midwest Golf House and the Three-Hole Sunshine Course in Lemont, Ill. A Central Illinois office is located in Peoria, Ill.

The Blue Coats and staff handle thousands of inquiries annually through personal visits, phone, email and correspondence regarding rulings, handicaps, tournament procedures, places to play-and-stay, greenskeeping practices and various information requests from people across the country. In addition to these services, the CDGA is one of the few golf associations in the country to provide turfgrass services to its member clubs.

CDGA services for individual members include:

    • HANDICAP INDEX®
      FROM THE USGA® - The CDGA is the only Illinois-based Allied Golf Association of the USGA authorized to provide golfers with an official Handicap Index® from the USGA®, which summarizes a player’s skill level and evens the playing field for golfers of all abilities.

    • COURSE RATING & MEASURING PROGRAM - The CDGA is authorized by the USGA to conduct Course Ratings. The CDGA Course Rating Committee updates Course and Slope Ratings and yardages at member clubs on a rotational basis. Permanent records are kept with the Association and the USGA.

    • WEBSITE - The CDGA’s official website features My CDGA Caddie, a personalized section which allows players to access their handicap information and, if their club allows, to post scores from any computer with internet access. Tournament registration as well as the Green Book course directory are also available on the CDGA website.

    • MEMBER
      COMMUNICATIONS - A complimentary subscription to Chicago District Golfer magazine, customized profile on CDGA.org and access to the MY CDGA smartphone app keeps CDGA members up-to-date on all things golf-related.

    • TURFGRASS RESEARCH PROGRAM & SUPERINTENDENT SUPPORT - The Turfgrass Program provides three areas of turfgrass support to the Chicago District including diagnostics, research and education. On-site, rapid diagnostic support is the cornerstone of the program. The Turfgrass Program presents three educational events annually: the MAGCS/CDGA March Education seminar, the Medinah Club Leadership Conference, for private club Green Committee members and superintendents, and the Turfgrass Field Day on the Sunshine Course in Lemont. Click here to learn more about the CDGA Turfgrass Program.

    • EDUCATION EVENTS - As an Allied Golf Association of the USGA, the CDGA is your local resource for Rules of Golf and USGA Handicap System knowledge. Each year, the CDGA conducts several basic rules seminars at locations throughout the Chicago District, all of which are free for members to attend.

    • TOURNAMENT PROGRAM - This season, the CDGA will sponsor and conduct more than 50 championships for amateur golfers - high and low handicappers, juniors, seniors, men and women. These include, but are not limited to, the CDGA Amateur, Illinois State Amateur, Illinois State Mid-Amateur, Illinois State Senior Amateur, Better Ball of Pairs series, as well as regional qualifying rounds for USGA championships. For a tournament schedule, click here.

    • CDGA FOUNDATION - The Foundation brings the benefits and resources of the game of golf into the lives of beginners, juniors, individuals with physical and mental challenges and veterans throughout the areas served by the CDGA. Through the generosity of many clubs, groups and individuals children as well as adults are being offered the opportunity to learn more about the game with programs like the Sunshine Through Golf camp program. Many CDGA member clubs host these camps with the assistance of the Foundation staff. To visit the Foundation’s website, click here.

    • THREE-HOLE SUNSHINE COURSE - The Three-Hole Sunshine Course at Midwest Golf House is designed to service the CDGA, CDGA Foundation and all allied golf associations. The Sunshine Course is located in the Midwest Golf House Complex on eight acres of land across the street from Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. The Sunshine Course, built in May 2002, services the CDGA through the CDGA Foundation, turfgrass research, and as an arboretum. The course features three par-3 holes, a chipping and putting green and the I*Mag*Jen Clubhouse. For more information about the Sunshine Course, click here.