Some of Chicago's wealthiest golf clubs are missing something: Air conditioning in the locker room

CHICAGO - Stroll into the men's locker room at some of Chicago's most moneyed and prestigious golf clubs, and you'll think you've gone back in time.

Metal lockers. Benches with spike marks. Forget about gold-plated faucets in the bathroom. You're more likely to find a jar of blue Barbicide liquid to disinfect the small, black combs.

Spend a few minutes looking around, and you might start to feel a drip of sweat go down your back. The locker rooms, you see, do not have air conditioning.

"Some days you come out of the shower," said one member of an elite club, "and you feel no cooler than when you walked in."

Here's the weird thing: That's exactly how many of Chicago's wealthiest golfers want it.

Minimalism reigns at North Shore clubs such