Zinkand Golf Design Completes Restoration of Chicago’s Venerable Old Elm Club

The First Call

Meticulous, Multi-Year Project Focused on Marrying Harry S. Colt’s Bold Bunkering Style With Donald Ross’s Inspired Putting Surfaces

Zinkand Golf Design (ZGD) – led by golf course architect David Zinkand and his more than 25 years of experience designing, managing and shaping projects in the field – has completed a multi-year bunker and greens restoration project at suburban Chicago’s Old Elm Club.

Thanks to the course’s one-of-a-kind design pedigree, the engagement represented a unique opportunity for ZGD and its principal designer, David Zinkand. Harry S. Colt routed the golf course in 1913 during one of his rare visits to the United States. Donald Ross then led the construction, including its greens, during his absence. Together, these two legends of the “Golden Age” of golf course architecture are credited with 16 designs among GOLF Magazine’s 2023-24 Top 100 Courses in the World. Yet Old Elm, recently ranked among GOLF Magazine’s 2024-25 Top 100 Courses in the U.S., represents the only project where the two men crossed paths.

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