SWING OUT ILLINOIS STYLE!

Illnsois is the ultimate golfer's paradise this summer. Boasting 700 golf courses and resorts on a par with the world's best (with 200 in the Chicago area alone), golf in Illinois is already a favourite with expoerts nad amateurs alike.

August 9-15 will place Illinois firmly in the golfing spotlight when the 81st PGA championship tees off at hte Medinah Country Club, Medinah, approximately 35 miles from the centre of Chicago. Golf pros from all ove rhte world will be gathering to compete in this prestigious tournament to win the chesished Wannamaker trophy. Defending champion Vijay Singh will of course be prsent hoping to retain his fifth championship title.

If playing rather than spectating is more your ball game, your best starting point would be Chicago's Cook COunty which has been ranked 5th in the United States by the National Golf Federation due to its 121 public golf courses. Chicago has 12 city golf courses including the Harbourside International Golf Centre, boasting two 18-hole championship Scottish Links style courses, and the Family Golf Centre: a unique par-e course located right in the heart of hte city.

Further into the Chicago suburbs, are two resorts offering a whole host of facilities both on and off the green. The Indian Lakes Resort, in Bloomingdale, ad the Willow Crest Golf Club, at the 150-acre luxury Oak Brook Hills Resort in Oak Brook are conveniently located next to two of the best shopping malls in Illinois: the Woodfield Shopping Centre and the Oak Brook Shopping Centre respectively. Both with 18-hole courses, luxury accommodation and fitness centre, jacuzzis and saunas, these reosrts include all the ingredients for the perfect holiday.

Outside Chicago, the golfing options are endless. With more courses than there are days in the year, goflers are spoilt for choice! In this beautiful historic town of Galena, the 6,800 acre Eagle Ride Inn and Resort is famed for its narrow fairways adn picturesque tree-lined landscaping. C onsistently ranked by top golfing magazines, this fabulous resort has something for everyone, and non-golfers will delight in the horse-riding, swimming, fitness facilities, hiking trails, tennis courts, boating, fishing and restaurants also available.

Longshot Golf Holidays, the leading UK golf operator, is featuring two Illinois resorts in its 1999 "Best Golf Under the Sun" brochure. Oak Brook Hills Hotel & Restaurant and Indian Lakes Reort are both situated in leafy western suburbs of Chicago, about 30 minutes from downtown.

Lead-in price at Oak Brook Hills is £895 per person for 7 nights sharing a double room, return flights London/Chicago O'Hare and reutrn airport transfers by limousine. Golf at the resort's Willow Crest costs £49 pre round including a shared cart.

Indian Lakes Resort has two on-site courses and a 7 night package with return flights and limio transfers starts from £655 per person. Golf on the East and West course can be booked for £32 per round including shared cart.

For more informaiton call the Illinois Bureau of Tourism & Film Brochure Line on 0181 668 4465 or visit their website at http://www.enjoyillinois.com.