Medinah Country Club is hosting this year's Presidents Cup despite the inconveniences it causes members
This article appeared in the June 2026 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
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Photographs by Charles Cherney
Medinah Country Club president David Latham (left) and Presidents Cup host committee chairman Michael Scimo say that hosting big tournaments is part of Medinah's history.
The question is obvious: Why do this? Why would Medinah Country Club, or any club for that matter, subject themselves to hosting a major golf event? Why put up with your facility basically becoming a construction site for a good part of the summer, with the constant rattle and bangs of work crews building stands, massive chalets and numerous large structures for merchandise, the media and more?
Why subject the club to navigating through the logistics required of a host club to support the event, which consists of countless committees and the need for an army of volunteers. The hours involved for planning and execution can seem infinite.
Why close your course to your members several weeks prior to the event and then several weeks after to allow it to recover from the beating of thousands of people trampling on that once finely manicured green grass?
Once again, why do this?
The answer is simple: How could Medinah not do this?
“Our members support the fact that we host tournaments,” said host committee chairman Michael Scimo. “It’s part of the deal here at Medinah.”
“It is our heritage, it is our path,” said club president David Latham. “It’s in our blood.”
Medinah has more than 30 committees and 400 member volunteers going full speed in preparation to host the Presidents Cup, Sept. 21–27. The four days of match-play competition will pit 12 U.S. players against 12 International players from outside of Europe on its newly renovated Course No. 3.
Once again, the golf world’s spotlight will be on Medinah as the Chicago area’s prime major event venue. The club has welcomed three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, a Ryder Cup and several PGA Tour events, with the most recent being the 2019 BMW Championship. Latham proudly points out that Medinah will now be the only club to have hosted a U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
Latham says Medinah hosting major events is a big reason why many members, including him, eventually join the club.
“My first introduction to Medinah was through the 1990 U.S. Open,” Latham said. “I had never heard of it before and watched it on television. And I think for a lot of people, what introduces them to Medinah is coming to the tournament. I know a lot of members who, the first time they ever set foot on the property was during a tournament.”
Latham said the tournament will be a family a
air for him. His wife and two daughters will once again be serving as volunteers, as they have for previous events at Medinah.
“For many of our members, working together and volunteering on tournaments is the best part of being a member here,” Latham said.
Medinah’s work with the 2026 Presidents Cup began in 2018. After hosting the 2012 Ryder Cup and just before the club hosted the 2019 BMW Championship, club officials approached the PGA of America about Medinah being the venue for another PGA Championship. However, they soon learned it was less feasible with the PGA of America deciding to shift the PGA from August to May. Among other reasons, Scimo says the ground is often too soggy in early spring, which complicates the build-out and could yield suboptimal tournament playing conditions.
Around the same time, club officials heard the PGA Tour was interested in Medinah as a possible location for the Presidents Cup, which the Tour owns and operates.
“To be fair, we didn’t know much about the event at that time,” Scimo said.
Scimo said the club quickly decided it was a good fit and was one of four facilities to submit a proposal to the PGA Tour.
Holding up the 100-page document, Scimo said, “It was a very involved process. We mobilized the team of about 15 members, and we worked on that for like three months.”
Medinah was selected, and the club was quickly knee-deep in planning for the event, especially Scimo.
“This is like a full-time job for Mike,” Latham said.
There is an infinite number of details involved, and many unexpected challenges pop up. For instance, Scimo did not expect to deal with this issue: With all the machinery needed for tournament infrastructure, the club had to cut its on-site parking in half this spring.
“We have 400 employees and suddenly we had to find parking for them,” Scimo said. “We are using every nook and cranny of this place to park the cars. That’s an example of things you run into.”
The club will have to make other adjustments required to set up the event, and it definitely will impact the members. This won’t be a normal summer at Medinah. At some point in September, Course No. 3 will be closed to member-play, as Scimo says, to allow “the course to shine” for the Presidents Cup.
“We’re planning a party,” Scimo said. “I think everybody understands that when you plan a party, you have to clean your house and get it ready.”
The reward isn’t in financial terms. Yes, Scimo says, Medinah expects to make a profit in hosting the Presidents Cup. However, Scimo said they are not game-changing dollars, and certainly not enough to justify all the sacrifices the club’s members have to make for the event.
“It is not a financial decision by any stretch,” Scimo said.
The ultimate payoff for Medinah comes in terms of being able to showcase the club to the thousands of people who will be on site and to a worldwide TV audience.
“When you go to Ireland, or you go to Florida, or go anywhere, and somebody sees Medinah on your bag, they say, ‘Oh, I know Medinah,’” Latham said. “That is a point of pride for everyone at the club.” The goal for the club, Scimo said, is centered on one thing: “We want to host the best Presidents Cup ever.”
Latham notes that Scimo opened the first committee meeting for the Presidents Cup with that mantra and has done the same for every meeting ever since.
“I think for every tournament we’ve held here, we have set the bar,” Scimo said. “When I start a meeting or I do an update, it’s ‘Let me tell you what we’re doing to ensure that we host the greatest Presidents Cup in history.’ That’s what we want to do. That’s our singular goal.”
Ed Sherman is a former golf writer for the Chicago Tribune.
Medinah Looking for More
One thing is certain: Medinah Country Club will host more tournaments after the 2026 Presidents Cup.
Club president David Latham says Medinah has an outside play committee with members exploring all possibilities.
“They're in charge of exploring everything,” Latham said. “I'm talking professional tournaments, amateur tournaments, collegiate tournaments, high school tournaments. We are the premier club in the Midwest. And I think giving back to the game, giving back to the community, being part of the development of younger players, is very important to me. So, I've asked them to explore all possibilities, regardless of economics and regardless of professional or amateur status.”
There is an expectation that Medinah will continue its relationship with the PGA Tour and the Western Golf Association by hosting another BMW Championship at some point. Latham also mentioned looking into a U.S. Amateur and LPGA events.
It gets a bit trickier with the Ryder Cup and U.S. Open since the Ryder Cup is booked out through 2037 and the U.S. Open has just three openings through 2051. The PGA Championship likely is off the table if it is continued to be played in May.
“We aspire to have positive relationships, constructive relationships, with all of the governing bodies,” Latham said. “It's a bit challenging because, especially for the major bodies of golf, things are scheduled so far out in the future. It’s up to us to figure out how the puzzle comes together.”
—Ed Sherman