St. Andrews clubhouse pictured in 1939.

On July 2, 1925, the West Chicago Press ran a front-page story, " New Course to be Laid Out North of Here". This was announcing the birth of St. Andrews Golf Club. Built on 244 acres of farm land, this new 18 hole private course (designed by John McGregor) would be ready for membership in 1926 and would become course #1, St. Andrews, in future years. 1929 would see the completion of the #2 course, (Lakewood) which was designed by E. B. Dearie, Jr.

Now while all of this was going on in West Chicago, a young kid from Argo, named Joe Jemsek, started hitching rides to Lemont so he could caddy at a new course called Cog Hill (which was built by the Coghill brothers). At sixteen, Joe decided to try and make a go at being a professional golfer by entering tournaments and even trying the winter tour. Unfortunately each spring he found that he had gained no more than he had started with. With that realization, he started concentrating on the business side of golf. Working side by side with Marty Coghill, Joe began to learn about every aspect of running a fine tuned golf course. From maintenance crews to tournaments to bookkeeping and merchandising, Joe tried to cram in as much golf knowledge as one could cram into a dawn to dark workday. Eventually these experiences allowed him to become head pro and to take over ownership of the Cog Hill pro shop.

1935 Golf Membership Application

St. Andrews clubhouse pictured in the late 1940's.

Now back to West Chicago. St. Andrews started out as a private club. It did not do well only having 18 holes and so it was sold. The new owners, recognizing the problem, soon added the second 18 holes. But then, in 1932, financial problems caused by the depression caused it to be taken over by one of the original investors, Frank Hough. Unfortunately, Mr. Hough died a few years later, leaving St. Andrews and the neighboring Lakewood Housing Subdivision to his two daughters, Grace and Alice. The two sisters and Alice's husband, Phil Flanagan, tried to run St. Andrews but it was too much, both physically and financially (They had to take out a loan to keep the course afloat.). It was at this point that Mr. Flanagan was referred to Joe Jemsek. He called Joe in for an interview and offered him the job of Head Professional and Club Manager. Joe decided to make a change and take the job. So in 1938, Mr. Flanagan hired the young Jemsek to be the pro/manager at St. Andrews.