Work begins on 27-hole golf course at Schaumburg Park District

by Carol Sente

At last. The Schaumburg Park District has added to its list of owned facilities the Schaumburg Golf Club, formerly Golden Acres, a 205-acre, 27-hole golf course.

A fast and exciting pace has been set for golf course improvements and renovation. The master plan for the golf course includes the renovation of all 27 holes; the addition of a practice and teaching green; a golf course irrigation system; a new 45,000 square-foot golf clubhouse and banquet facility; and a new 12,800 square-foot golf course maintenance building.

Jerry Handlon, director of the Schaumburg Park District, said that the purchase of this course was a high priority of the park district because of the increased popularity of golf, and because of the requests that he had received over the year from several community groups to provide a banquet facility within the Schaumburg Village limits. The facility also has a great potential to generate revenue.

This is an artist's rendition of what the Schaumburg Park District's clubhouse and banquet facility will look like when it's completed. The building will sit on a 205-acre tract of land, formerly Golden Acres, a 27-hole golf course.

"Public agencies are interested in buying golf courses for two reasons. One reason is to keep scarce land open. Private golf course owners are selling to developers because of the higher profit they can make. The second reason is that golf courses with banquet facilities are big money makers; probably the top park-district-type of facility in profit potential," said Handlon.

The park district projects a $100,000 profit for its first year in business. Because of all of the changes and construction going on, park district officials aren't making projections for future years until they see how the construction affects its first year. The golf services and the banquet services will operate as one enterprise fund.

In the five short months that the park district has owned the course, it has completed many smaller projects like resurfacing the driveway and parking lot, renovating the pro shop and constructing office space in the clubhouse. Renovation of the first nine holes began last May; construction of the golf course maintenance building began last June. The additional 18 holes will be renovated nine holes at a time.

"We hope that we can renovate nine holes per year," said Handlon. "But, a great deal depends upon the weather. We want to make the course more challenging in certain areas and more interesting overall. We will accomplish this by adding the driving range with a teaching area; entirely redesigning several holes; enlarging the tees and greens; redoing the sand traps; and planting Beck Grass in the fairways."

All of the golf course changes were viewed as necessary by Handlon, his board of park commissioners and staff.

"After we acquired Golden Acres, we realized that the course and facilities had not received the yearly maintenance that

it needed," said Marge Connelly, park board president.

Of course, it wasn't only the Schaumburg Park District that was eagerly eyeing Golden Acres. Yet, it was the fact that the park district wanted to keep the 205 acres as a golf course that provided it with the ability to acquire the course. Private developers interested in rezoning part of the property for single-family homes, commercial developments, etc., were running into zoning difficulties with the Village. The park district financed the purchase of the course and will finance the improvements through an alternate bond system. The park district renamed the course the Schaumburg Golf Club because it wanted the community and Village to feel part of the course.

Senate & Rubel Ltd., Architects, designed the clubhouse and banquet facility. The golf club will get a new two-story clubhouse. The main level will house a pro shop, pro offices, a lounge and grill, an outdoor seating area, a catering kitchen, and three banquet rooms. One banquet room will accommodate 250 persons. The other two will accommodate 70 persons each. The basement will be used to store and maintain the electric golf carts. The second story provides for storage, baby-sitting, the golf caretaker's apartment, and future clubrooms. Parking spaces for the new facility will accommodate 355 cars.

Construction on the 45,000 square-foot clubhouse and banquet facility is planned to begin in December and open in mid 1992.

Ted Sente, principal of the architectural firm, was asked to critique the existing Golden Acres clubhouse and banquet facility. "The park district's intention was to renovate the existing facility which was built in the 1920s. Mr. Handlon envisioned embellishing upon the 1920s motif and having employees dressed from this period. Unfortunately, the building does not have the needed clearance heights between the floors. The building is antiquated and maintenance needs have been neglected. The building is of a wooden structure, not large enough for the park district's program requirements and many areas are beyond repair," he said.

The clubhouse and banquet facility is in the preliminary design stage. The building elevation has been approved by the park board. The facility's site orientation has changed slightly from the original facility to accommodate the practice green and to provide better golf course views.

"There are lots of views of the golf course from the lounge and grill, banquet facility and pro shop. The building style could best be termed Midwest Prairie, with low, long sweeping roofs and large overhangs," said Sente.

Vince Merenda, former superintendent of recreation, has been selected by the park district to oversee operations at both the Schaumburg Golf Course and another course, Walnut Greens. His new title is superintendent of golf services. "Vince was selected because he has faithfully served the Schaumburg Park District for seven-plus years and (he) appreciates the park district's philosophy. Also, he has the background that we were looking for; recreation, business, facility management, food service, and golf service," said Handlon. The new superintendent of recreation is Molly Hammer.

Nick Hungristo, former superintendent of greens at Walnut Greens is now the superintendent of greens and grounds for both golf courses.

Bob Lohman & Associates of Crystal Lake, Ill., is redesigning the golf course.

About the author
Carol Sente is the marketing director for Sente & Rubel Ltd., Architects, Northbrook, Ill. The company is also working on design projects for Arlington Heights, Itasca, Palatine, and Oregon park districts in Illinois.