Butler National Golf Club

Butler National was the vision of Paul Butler, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of the village of Oak Brook, Illinois. In 1972 he engaged architect George Fazio, a former tour player, to build a demanding championship course on the former York Country Club grounds, with construction supervised by Fazio's nephew Tom Fazio. Opening for play in 1974, Butler became one of the country's toughest tests, a par-71 layout stretching past 7,500 yards with numerous forced water carries. Even before it opened it had been designated a long-term home for the PGA Tour's Western Open, and it hosted that historic championship every year from 1974 through 1990. The club ultimately gave up its role as Western Open host after 1990 rather than change its membership policies. Deliberately low-profile and intensely private, Butler National retains a reputation as one of the Chicago area's most exacting and exclusive courses.