The Evans at Canal Shores

The Evanston Wilmette Golf Course Association and KemperSports have announced the rebranding of Canal Shores as The Evans at Canal Shores. This new name and logo mark the beginning of a new era for the historic 100-year-old course, with the goal of providing exceptional and memorable experiences to golfers in the Chicagoland area.

Led by KemperSports and the Canal Shores Board, this nonprofit course is being revitalized through the collaboration of several golf industry leaders, including the Western Golf Association/Evans Scholars Foundation, First Tee – Greater Chicago, Wadsworth Golf Charities, the Chicago District Golf Association, Quitno Golf Designs and private contributions. The revamped course will reopen in 2025, with an improved par-60, 18-hole golf course, a youth development training center and the Western Golf Association Caddy Academy.

“Canal Shores has held a special place in the community for more than 100 years,” said Board Chairman Matt Rooney. “The Evans at Canal Shores continues the legacy of Canal Shores while placing additional emphasis on youth development and the training opportunities for youth caddies that will emerge from the renovated golf course.”

The renovation, which began in 2022, is led by architect Todd Quitno. The project aims to modernize and reshape the urban golf course. Located along the North Shore Canal, which flows into the Chicago River, The Evans at Canal Shores will become a hub for youth golf development and caddy training, thanks to partnerships with First Tee – Greater Chicago and the Western Golf Association/Evans Scholars Foundation.

The new name honors Chick Evans, one of the greatest amateur golfers of all time, who attended high school in Evanston. Instead of turning professional, Evans partnered with the Western Golf Association to use his earnings from his golf career to establish the Evans Scholars Foundation in 1930.

Since then, the Foundation has awarded full tuition and scholarships to more than 13,000 youth caddies, including the 1,130 Evans Scholars enrolled this year at 24 leading universities across the country. The Evans at Canal Shores is less than a mile from the first Evans Scholarship House, founded in 1940 on the campus of Northwestern University.

The course’s new logo features an owl atop a golf club, symbolizing the course’s commitment to being a responsible member of the community and its mission to educate local youth through golf.