An effort to create affordable "short courses" all across the country - golf courses with anywhere between three and nine holes - is taking its first swings in Dundee Township, Ill., just northwest of downtown Chicago.

The Links Learning Center at Randall Oaks will be the first facility in the Links Across America project when it opens next summer. It will feature a four-hole short course with no tees so the holes can be played from varying distances based on a player's skill level and a short-game practice area with an 8,500-square-feet putting green, a bunker complex and chipping area.

Creating facilities that provide golf opportunities to young people, families, adult beginners of all ethnic backgrounds and individuals with disabilities or injuries is one of the driving principles of Links Across America.

"The Links Across America project will give us four holes plus a short-game practice area that is accessible to people with disabilities, and we are committed to making this a truly accessible facility," says Randall Oaks Class A superintendent Mike Sprouse, a 26-year GCSAA member. "We brought people in from disability groups during construction to make sure everything was accessible. We are creating a chance for people who might never get involved with the game to finally have that opportunity."

The Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Wadsworth Golf Construction, funded the development of Randall Oaks, which was designed by Lohmann Golf Designs and built by The Bruce Co. Following the Links Across America model, both companies donated a large portion of their services to the effort.

In addition to Randall Oaks, Links Across America has projects in planning or discussion in Georgia, Arkansas and Wisconsin.
Randall Oaks Class A Superintendent Mike Sprouse, a 26-year GCSAA member, says, "We brought people in from disability groups during construction to make sure everything was accessible. We are creating a chance for people who might never get involved with the game to finally have that opportunity."

The Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Wadsworth Golf Construction, funded the development of Randall Oaks, which was designed by Lohmann Golf Designs and built by The Bruce Co. Following the Links Across America model, both companies donated a large portion of their services to the effort.

In addition to Randall Oaks, Links Across America has projects in planning or discussion in Georgia, Arkansas and Wisconsin.